Grind is My Ninja Way

"Captain!"

Not far away, a Mist Ninja Chūnin appeared. He looked at Hasegawa's mutilated corpse and shouted sharply.

Following him, several more Mist Ninja emerged.

They were all Chūnin, and as they appeared, they subtly surrounded Seimei in the middle.

However, Seimei seemed completely indifferent to this.

His gaze swept across them.

Though it was just a glance, he recognized them instantly. These were the same people who had tried to intercept him earlier, after he killed Fukuide Takuichi and moved toward Hasegawa.

Unfortunately for them, Seimei was too quick. By the time they caught up, Hasegawa had already been slain.

But then again, even if they had managed to catch up, they wouldn't have been much of a hindrance.

After all, they were just Chūnin.

Still, just because Seimei thought this way didn't mean they shared the same perspective.

Seemingly unaware of the disparity in their strength, they exchanged glances before launching an attack.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

A barrage of kunai shot toward him from all directions, as if to kill him on the spot.

But such an attack wasn't even worth Seimei's attention.

With just a glance, he locked onto the trajectory of the kunai, easily discerning their tricks.

Most of the kunai were straightforward, but a few were wrapped in explosive tags.

Clearly, they intended to ambush him while he deflected the kunai.

Seimei shook his head, casually throwing a few kunai of his own.

Clang, clang, clang!

His kunai precisely struck the ones with explosive tags, knocking them back toward their senders.

Boom, boom, boom!

A series of explosions erupted, fireballs detonating near the Mist Ninja.

Their attempt to ambush him had backfired spectacularly.

Amidst the chaos, Seimei deflected the remaining kunai with his long blade and vanished from his original spot.

When he reappeared, he was already in front of a Mist Ninja Chūnin.

"Ah!"

The Mist Ninja gasped in shock and hurriedly retreated.

But before he could lower his right foot, his consciousness was pulled into an illusion.

Against these Chūnin, Seimei needed only a moment of eye contact to ensnare them in a genjutsu.

Swish!

The blade flashed, cutting the Mist Ninja's throat.

The suffocating sensation pulled him out of the illusion, but it was too late.

Back in reality, he could do nothing but clutch his throat in vain and await death.

Without sparing another glance, Seimei moved to his next target.

Swish!

Another blade strike.

This Mist Ninja reacted quickly, raising his kunai to block, but it wasn't enough.

Seimei extended his left hand, forming a pale blue chakra sphere in his palm, and slammed it into the Mist Ninja's chest.

Crack, crack, crack!

The sound of breaking bones echoed. The Mist Ninja's face twisted in agony as he coughed up a mouthful of blood and was sent flying.

Not bothering to check if the target survived, Seimei sidestepped incoming shuriken and advanced toward his third opponent.

In no time, the third Mist Ninja fell.

Seimei didn't stop, continuing to search for his next target.

The difference in strength between him and these Mist Ninja was so vast that it felt like a wolf among sheep—none could stop him.

However, the slaughter didn't last long.

As he was about to strike his seventh target, a thick mist enveloped the battlefield.

"Hidden Mist Technique?"

Recognizing the jutsu immediately, Seimei murmured to himself before swiftly casting a counter-jutsu: Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!

Whoosh—

A powerful gust blew from his mouth, dispersing the mist in an instant.

But as the surroundings cleared, a blinding flash of lightning appeared in his field of vision, forcing him to shut his eyes.

Even so, the intense light left him momentarily disoriented, causing him to stumble.

Clearly, this lightning wasn't just meant to obscure vision; it also had genjutsu-like properties, and it was quite effective.

Otherwise, given his mental strength, such a reaction would have been impossible.

As Seimei pondered the nature of this jutsu and whether he could replicate it, a faint whistling sound reached his ears.

Relying on sound, he quickly dodged.

To avoid potential explosive tags or other follow-up attacks, he leaped backward several times, creating significant distance.

His caution proved warranted.

Before he had retreated far, a series of explosions erupted from where he had stood, followed by a strong shockwave.

Seimei used the momentum to retreat further, finally regaining his vision.

But the first thing he saw were two strands of steel wire.

Glancing to his sides, he spotted a Mist Ninja Special Jōnin on each side.

They had cast the wires to entangle his legs, aiming to restrict his movements.

But they were still too slow.

Noticing their plan, Seimei lunged forward, evading the wires.

With a few leaps, he perched on a wall, fully distancing himself.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

More kunai flew at him, this time also carrying explosive tags.

Without hesitation, Seimei threw an equal number of kunai, knocking the incoming ones away.

Boom, boom, boom!

The explosives detonated harmlessly, failing to injure him.

Following the trajectory of the kunai, Seimei spotted two more Mist Ninja: one a true Jōnin and the other a Special Jōnin.

From the chakra levels, it was clear that the one throwing the kunai was the Special Jōnin.

As for the true Jōnin...

Seimei recalled the lingering image from earlier and confirmed that this was the one who had cast the lightning jutsu.

Shifting his gaze back to the Special Jōnin on either side, Seimei deduced their strategy.

"One true Jōnin, three Special Jōnin…"

Seimei shook his head.

It wasn't that they weren't strong—their coordination was decent—but they weren't enough to kill him. In fact, they risked being counter-killed.

Mist Village surely had intelligence on him, given his activity on the battlefield. They should know that this group couldn't stop him.

The only explanation was that they had no one else to send.

The prolonged battles and Konoha's counter-ambush had taken a heavy toll on Mist Village, leaving them stretched thin.

This was good news for both Konoha and Seimei.

All he needed to do was hold off these four long enough for the three Konoha teams to advance.

Once reinforcements arrived, the battle would shift decisively in their favor.

With these thoughts in mind, Seimei stopped hesitating and lunged at his next target.

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