ch 190-195

Chapter 191: Schemes

After indulging in his daydreams, Seimei collected his thoughts, closed the panel, got out of bed, and went to wash up.

On the way, he encountered many Konoha ninja who greeted him, and he responded with nods.

Unconsciously, they had been at this base for a month.

And during this month, he had truly lived up to the title of "Demon Sword Seimei," striking fear into the hearts of the Iwa ninja and providing a great sense of security to the lower-ranking Konoha ninja.

At the same time, he also possessed superb medical ninjutsu skills and had saved many wounded.

Therefore, the Konoha ninja in this base were very respectful towards him, not treating him as a minor at all.

It could be said that Seimei had already gained sufficient prestige here, something that many Uchiha ninja couldn't achieve.

However, it was precisely because of this that he became a thorn in the side of some people.

...

In the Land of Fire, Konohagakure, at the Root's headquarters.

Danzo was reviewing the report in his hand.

The more he read, the gloomier his expression became.

A few minutes later, he slammed the report on the table and demanded, "What's going on with this Uchiha Seimei? Why wasn't this reported sooner?"

The Root ninja below him was startled and immediately knelt on one knee. "Reporting to you, sir, in the past period, our manpower has been concentrated in the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning. The remaining personnel were also prioritizing the surveillance of Uchiha Shisui according to your orders..."

Before he could finish, Danzo waved his hand to interrupt him. "Alright, stop."

After he stopped, Danzo picked up another report on the table, which recorded Uchiha Shisui's recent situation.

He quickly finished reading the report and snorted coldly. "Shisui of the Body Flicker, Demon Sword Seimei, Konoha's Twin Stars, what impressive titles!"

Although he sounded dismissive, he regretted not sending someone to kill these two after the Chunin Exams and the failed assassination attempt on Team Nakiri.

Now, both of them had grown in strength and were no longer threats that could be eliminated by one or two Chunin teams. As for Jonin...

Even in Root, they were scarce resources, each with important duties, and couldn't be deployed casually.

Thinking of this, Danzo couldn't help but curse inwardly, "Damn it!"

In fact, if they were just ordinary Uchiha geniuses, Danzo wouldn't be so anxious.

The key was that Seimei and Uchiha Shisui were different from the typical arrogant Uchiha ninja.

On the contrary, they got along very well with the surrounding Konoha ninja and could potentially act as a buffer between the Uchiha clan and the village in the future.

And this was unacceptable in Danzo's eyes.

Having inherited the will of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, Danzo harbored inherent hostility and distrust towards the Uchiha clan.

In his view, the Uchiha clan was an unstable bomb that would eventually rebel. Rather than being caught off guard, it was better to strike first.

The existence of Seimei and Uchiha Shisui might delay the explosion of this bomb, which Danzo didn't want to see.

That's why he had such strong animosity towards them.

Tap

Tap, tap

Tap

Danzo tapped his fingers on the table, lost in thought.

After a long while, he suddenly said, "Recall half of the teams from the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning. There won't be any major developments there for the time being."

"Yes, sir!"

The Root ninja below responded, then asked, "Are you going to use them to deal with Uchiha Seimei and Uchiha Shisui?"

"Foolish!"

Danzo scolded him. "These two have already matured. Using the old methods to deal with them is utterly stupid!"

"I'm recalling them to monitor these two."

If it were an ordinary ninja, after being scolded, they would usually go along with Danzo's words.

But the Root ninja below was different. He only cared about the mission and was focused on how to eliminate Uchiha Seimei and Uchiha Shisui.

So, after hearing Danzo's words, he continued to ask, "Then how will we deal with these two in the end?"

Danzo, clearly aware of his subordinate's personality, didn't argue with him. Instead, he thought seriously for a while before saying, "Aren't they called 'Konoha's Twin Stars'? Inform Orochimaru and have him find a way to transfer these two to the Kirigakure battlefield."

"The Kirigakure battlefield?"

The Root ninja murmured, seemingly understanding something, and then replied, "Yes, sir!"

It was well known that the individual combat strength of Kirigakure ninja was almost the highest among the Five Great Ninja Villages, coupled with their Water Style: Hiding in Mist Technique, which was extremely effective against the Sharingan.

Clearly, Danzo was planning to borrow someone else's hand to kill them.

It was foreseeable that once Seimei and Uchiha Shisui arrived at the Kirigakure battlefield, they would inevitably face targeted attacks.

After all, no village wanted to see geniuses rise from other villages, and Kirigakure was no exception. They would definitely take action.

If Danzo then manipulated things behind the scenes, such as leaking some information, it was almost certain that Seimei and Uchiha Shisui would be put in danger.

"Konoha's Twin Stars? Hmph!"

Danzo snorted coldly and threw the report in his hand onto the table.

...

Meanwhile.

Elsewhere, after finishing washing up, Seimei ate some food to fill his stomach and then started his mission for the day.

Today, his task was still patrolling.

With his current strength, as long as he didn't do anything reckless or encounter targeted attacks from the enemy, performing such ordinary missions wouldn't pose any life-threatening danger.

And indeed, throughout the day, he didn't encounter a single enemy.

During his breaks, he squeezed in some training, which exhausted him quite a bit.

And at night, his training tasks were even heavier.

So, after having a good rest on his birthday, Seimei entered a state of intense training again. Every day, except for eating, sleeping, and missions, he was training, training like crazy.

Although Seimei didn't know about Danzo's secret schemes, he was very clear that in this world where extraordinary powers manifested, strength was always the most important.

Therefore, he didn't dare to relax for a moment.

Just like that, day after day passed.

In the blink of an eye, a week had gone by.

On the evening of the fourth day, Seimei arrived at the secret base as usual and began his routine skill practice.

First was the Rasengan, which he finished practicing in no time.

Then came Genjutsu: Sharingan...

Originally, Seimei invested twelve thousand chakra points in it every day.

But ever since his "Physique" attribute increased, and he could recover an additional six thousand chakra points daily, he increased his investment to eighteen thousand points.

So, it took a little longer.

After completing the training for these two skills as planned, he didn't have much chakra left.

Seimei then proceeded to practice the Shadow Clone Jutsu. After consuming about fifteen hundred chakra points, he finally stopped.

After a short rest, Seimei went to the deeper part of the base and started using the Chakra Absorption Technique to extract chakra from the captives.

In less than a minute, Seimei extracted nearly thirty thousand chakra points, replenishing his almost depleted chakra.

Then, he returned to the training room.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter 192: Consecutive Promotions

"Inhale... Exhale..."

Seimei took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. After calming his mind, he began the main event of the night - practicing the Mystical Palm Technique.

Why was this the main event of the night?

The reason was simple: after more than three days of practice, his Mystical Palm Technique was on the verge of leveling up.

If nothing unexpected happened, it would level up tonight.

And Seimei had been looking forward to the body strengthening effect of the Yang Release chakra condensed by the Lv6 Mystical Palm Technique for a long time.

That's why he considered it the main event of the night.

Focusing his mind, Seimei quickly formed hand seals and used the Mystical Palm Technique, then skillfully restrained the condensed Yang Release chakra within his body.

Next, he guided this chakra through his chakra pathways, permeating all the cells in his body and starting to strengthen them.

Time passed by.

Three minutes later.

The chakra dissipated, and Seimei formed hand seals again, using the Mystical Palm Technique and repeating the previous actions.

Every three minutes, he would use the Mystical Palm Technique once, gaining proficiency and strengthening his body with the condensed Yang Release chakra.

Although the process was a bit monotonous, Seimei didn't find it unbearable.

There were two reasons for this. First, every time he used it, he gained proficiency, deepening his understanding of the Mystical Palm Technique.

So, he didn't feel like it was just mindless repetition.

The second reason...

Was that the process of strengthening his body was simply too enjoyable, making it hard to stop. Even the repetitive act of using the jutsu became bearable.

...

"Mmm~ Feels good~"

Unconsciously, it was already late at night.

In the training room, Seimei used the Mystical Palm Technique again. A surge of even purer Yang Release chakra flowed into all his cells, making him moan involuntarily.

Three minutes later, Seimei opened his eyes, recalling the insights that had flashed through his mind, and was certain that his Mystical Palm Technique had leveled up.

The extremely pure Yang Release chakra he had just felt was condensed by the Lv6 Mystical Palm Technique, and its body strengthening effect had at least doubled.

Seimei estimated that in at most a month, his "Physique" attribute would undergo a second transformation.

At that time, the gap between it and his "Spirit" attribute would further narrow, unleashing even more potential.

Then, both his chakra limit and chakra recovery speed would be further enhanced.

Thinking of this, Seimei couldn't help but feel excited.

But he quickly suppressed this feeling.

'There's still a month to go, no need to rush!'

With this thought, Seimei continued his original training plan and started practicing the Lv6 Mystical Palm Technique.

He continued until late at night, when all the 40,000 chakra points allocated for today were exhausted, and then he finally rested.

...

Four hours passed in a flash.

Seimei woke up from his sleep, shook his head to clear his mind, and quickly went to the deeper part of the base.

After checking the condition of the captives and confirming there were no problems, he left a shadow clone to guard them and returned to the base.

Thus, a new day began.

That afternoon.

Seimei took advantage of his break to practice the Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu again.

His three Chunin subordinates were also training nearby.

Suddenly, Seimei completed the hand seals for the Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu at an almost instantaneous speed.

Moreover, the power of the fireball he released was also stronger than usual.

With a loud boom, the tree in front of him was completely engulfed in flames, startling the nearby Chunin.

By the time they looked over, Seimei had already closed his eyes, recalling the insights that had flashed through his mind.

A moment later, he opened his eyes again and murmured, "So this is the mastered Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu?"

Seimei raised his right hand. Without needing to try it himself, he was certain that he could now perform this jutsu with one-handed seals.

Just like the Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique back then, after reaching mastery and with sufficient Chakra Control, he could achieve this.

"Captain, what's wrong? What was that just now?"

As Seimei was lost in thought, his three subordinates suddenly approached and asked.

Seimei snapped back to reality, shook his head, and replied, "Nothing, just some progress."

"Some progress?"

The three looked at the tree that was almost burnt to charcoal, their heads filled with question marks.

Seimei didn't want them to ask more questions, so he made up an excuse and sent them away. Then, he continued to practice the Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique on his own.

As soon as he started, he noticed the difference.

If his proficiency before had been increasing by "+1 +1," now it was alternating between "+1 +2."

Clearly, this was the bonus from mastering the Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu.

'Well, perhaps the Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique also contributed...'

Seimei shook his head, stopped thinking about it, and focused on his practice.

Originally, the proficiency difference between his Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique and Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu wasn't that big.

Now, with this boost, his Dragon Fire Technique leveled up earlier than expected.

And, like the Fireball Jutsu, he could now perform it with one-handed seals.

With this, all three Fire Style jutsu that Seimei knew had reached mastery.

As for the ten thousand chakra points saved each day...

Seimei planned to divide them into two parts. Five thousand points would be used to practice Wind Style: Breakthrough, further accelerating its proficiency gain.

The remaining five thousand points would be used to practice Wind Style: Wind Blade.

Although his Wind Style: Breakthrough hadn't reached the mastery level of Lv5 (0/0) yet and might not provide a significant bonus to Wind Style: Wind Blade.

However, the learning difficulty of Wind Style: Wind Blade itself was more than one level higher than Wind Style: Breakthrough.

So, even with the bonus, it wouldn't be too big.

Therefore, Seimei could accept this slight loss.

Moreover, with the additional five thousand chakra points, it would take at most five days for his Wind Style: Breakthrough to reach mastery.

Then, the bonus would be restored, and it wouldn't delay him for too long.

So, there was no need to hesitate.

Over half an hour later, Seimei completed today's Wind Style: Breakthrough practice according to plan, increasing its proficiency by sixty-five points.

After a short rest, he called his three subordinates and started practicing Swordsmanship under the guise of sparring.

Due to the lack of enemies these days, his Swordsmanship proficiency gain was slower than expected.

Originally, according to his plan, it should have reached Lv6 today, but now it seemed it might have to wait until tomorrow.

And this was because he had sparring partners; otherwise, it would be delayed even further.

Of course, those who sparred with him also benefited. With Seimei's current swordsmanship, even if they only learned a little, it would be very helpful.

Even if they didn't use swords, gaining some combat experience was also very good.

Therefore, whenever Seimei invited them, no one refused.

This allowed his Swordsmanship to steadily progress.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter 193: Unusual

Ding~

Ding, ding, ding~

The crisp sound of metal clashing echoed through the forest.

With a short sword in hand, Seimei faced off against three Chūnin subordinates, holding his own with ease. In fact, he seemed to be toying with them.

The battle lasted about a quarter of an hour before Seimei saw an opening and kicked each of his opponents, sending all three flying.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The three hit the ground heavily.

One of the young ninjas, around 15 or 16 years old, complained, "Captain, could you go easier on us? You always hit so hard!"

Of course, his words were more of a playful complaint. He was well aware of Seimei’s strength; if the captain had really hit hard, it wouldn’t have ended with just a fall.

Their captain was also skilled in medical ninjutsu and could give them a painful memory, then heal them right after.

Suddenly remembering something, the young Leaf ninja shuddered involuntarily.

Hearing the complaint, Seimei smiled, about to say something, when a figure quickly approached from afar.

Seimei recognized him as one of Nara Shisui’s guards, a fairly skilled Chūnin.

This guard was mainly responsible for communication between the Jōnin and Nara Shisui, occasionally delivering orders.

Judging by the guard’s hurried demeanor, something major had happened.

The three subordinates on the ground realized it wasn’t a simple matter and quickly got up, joining Seimei.

As expected, the guard brought bad news: the northwest side of the base’s defense line had collapsed.

A squad of around 100 Iwagakure ninjas had breached the line and were closing in on the base. Nara Shisui ordered Seimei to lead his team to support and stop the enemy from advancing.

After hearing the situation, Seimei frowned and asked, "Hasn’t Iwagakure slowed their attacks recently? Why would they suddenly launch such a large-scale offensive?"

"Not sure yet," the guard replied with a shake of his head.

Seimei thought for a moment, then waved him off, saying, "Alright, you can go. I’ll head out right away."

"Thank you!" the guard replied and quickly left.

Watching him disappear, Seimei turned to his three subordinates and said, "Get ready, we’re heading out!"

"Yes, Captain!"

The three answered in unison and began checking their gear.

At the same time, Seimei also assessed his own condition. Equipment wasn’t an issue, but he mainly focused on his chakra levels.

Fortunately, Seimei had a habit of maintaining a high chakra reserve during training, replenishing as much as he used.

So, even though he had recently practiced techniques like Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu, Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu, and Wind Style: Great Breakthrough, consuming a significant amount of chakra, he still had plenty left.

If not for this, such a sudden mission would’ve been much more difficult to handle.

But now, apart from some minor physical exhaustion, his overall strength was nearly at its peak.

This gave him the confidence he needed.

A few seconds later, after his subordinates had finished their preparations, Seimei led them out.

By the time they reached the battlefield, the fight had already turned into a raging inferno.

Dozens of Konoha ninjas were locked in combat with nearly 100 Iwagakure ninjas, turning a kilometer-wide area into a battlefield.

However, Konoha was clearly at a disadvantage due to their smaller numbers and being caught off guard.

If it weren’t for the continuous reinforcement of squads like Seimei’s, the situation would have collapsed long ago.

But if things continued like this, they wouldn’t last much longer.

It was no surprise, as the Iwagakure forces were made up of elites, with very few Genin. Most were Chūnin, and there were also quite a few Jōnin.

"Where did they get so many people?"

Seimei was puzzled.

But before he could figure it out, several Iwagakure Chūnin rushed towards him.

Initially, they all wore sneers on their faces.

But when one of them saw Seimei’s face, his smile vanished, and he froze in place.

It wasn’t that Seimei used his Sharingan to control him. The Chūnin was simply too terrified to move.

Seimei’s gaze passed over him, locking onto the three approaching enemies. His Sharingan activated instantly, triggering a hypnosis technique. The first man in the lead immediately collapsed, falling into a deep slumber.

The other two were shocked and tried to avert their eyes to avoid being caught in the illusion.

But they were too slow.

Seimei raised his hands, completing the hand signs in an instant, and unleashed a nearly perfect Genjutsu: Sharingan. One of the men froze in place, his mind trapped in the illusion.

With a flicker, Seimei appeared before him, drawing his short sword. In one swift motion, he slit the man’s throat.

Then, with another flash, he moved into the blind spot of the remaining enemy.

Seimei had mastered this strategy, executing it flawlessly. He could predict the opponent’s blind spots and act without thinking.

Before the Iwagakure Chūnin knew what had happened, his heart had already been pierced by Seimei’s sword.

"Ahh!"

Seeing Seimei kill two men in an instant and control the third, the Chūnin who had been frozen in fear suddenly screamed and, with newfound strength, turned and fled.

But he made a critical mistake—turning his back to Seimei.

Without hesitation, Seimei pulled a kunai from his pouch and threw it.

Thud!

The kunai flew over ten meters, striking the fleeing ninja in the back and killing him instantly.

However, the ninja’s scream had attracted the attention of nearby Iwagakure forces.

Someone recognized Seimei and shouted, "The Demon Sword is here! The Demon Sword is here!"

That call acted like a signal, and two Iwagakure Jōnin immediately rushed over, preparing to confront Seimei.

Seimei wasn’t surprised by this.

Ever since he had made a name for himself, Iwagakure had avoided sending lower-ranked ninjas against him.

His swordsmanship was too deadly for Genin and Chūnin, and he could decimate them with ease.

To prevent needless casualties, Iwagakure allowed their lower ranks to flee and call for Jōnin backup whenever they encountered him.

And once the Jōnin heard the signal, they were required to respond immediately in groups of at least two to take on Seimei.

Just as now, upon hearing that Seimei was on the battlefield, two Iwagakure Jōnin rushed to confront him.

Seimei quickly assessed their chakra levels, determining their strength.

"Two Special Jōnin, huh?"

He murmured to himself, then turned to his three subordinates. "I’ll handle things here. You go help the others."

"Yes, Captain!" they responded in unison before moving away.

As Seimei turned to give orders, the two Iwagakure Jōnin exchanged a quick glance, both seeing an opportunity in each other’s eyes.

Without hesitation, they attacked, throwing several shuriken to cut off Seimei’s escape routes and target his vital spots.

(End of the chapter)

Chapter 194: The Plan

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh

Hearing the faint sound of something cutting through the air behind him, a cold smile appeared on Seimei's lips. "Hehe."

As a cautious person, how could he make such a big mistake and expose his vulnerable back to the enemy?

Everything was just to lure these two into attacking first.

As it turned out, they couldn't resist the temptation and took the bait.

And Seimei?

Almost as soon as they made their move, he turned around and looked at them.

In an instant, the three tomoe in his Sharingan spun rapidly, locking onto the trajectories of all the incoming shuriken.

Then, without any hesitation, he pushed off the ground and charged forward like a cannonball.

Along the way, he flickered continuously, skillfully avoiding all the shuriken.

What they thought was a perfect blockade was full of flaws in the face of his Sharingan and proactive attack.

Seimei seized the opportunity, dodged all the attacks, and instantly appeared before the two Iwa Jonin, swinging his short sword.

The entire process was seamless, without any hesitation or pause, ultimately achieving Seimei's goal of counterattacking after the enemy's move.

Yes, it was a counterattack.

Seimei took such a roundabout route and lured the enemy into attacking first, all for the purpose of counterattacking, seizing the offensive rhythm, and initiating the fight.

He didn't want to be in a stalemate with the enemy here. The Iwa ninja already had a numerical advantage. Who knew how many more would come if they continued to delay?

So, it was necessary to initiate the fight first.

In this situation, before joining the battle, others would consider whether their actions would disrupt their comrades' rhythm, leading to hesitation.

And this was Seimei's opportunity.

As long as he could seize the chance to eliminate one or two enemies, it would reduce the pressure for the subsequent battle.

Seimei was certain that he would face more than just these two enemies later, so planning in advance was necessary.

These thoughts flashed through his mind. Seimei focused his attention and started dealing with the two in front of him.

Clang, clang, clang

A series of clashes between kunai and short sword rang out.

Seimei continuously attacked with his sword, and the two kept blocking.

For a time, it was hard to tell who had the upper hand.

However, this was just an illusion.

Although these two, working together, could somewhat negate his Sharingan genjutsu, making it difficult for him to utilize his vision-blocking tactics.

But his Lv5, near-Lv6 Swordsmanship, wasn't just about blocking vision.

If he went all out, even in a head-on fight, Seimei was confident he could kill both of them.

But that would require considerable effort.

Seimei didn't want to waste that energy or time, so he pretended to be weak and maintained a stalemate with them for now.

This way, as long as he seized the opportunity, he could easily kill them.

...

Time passed by.

At a certain moment, Seimei suddenly leaned back, avoiding a slash aimed at his throat by the Iwa Jonin in front.

Then, he shifted his weight slightly to his left foot and fell to the right, dodging another Iwa Jonin's attack aimed at his heart from behind.

Seeing their positions and movements, Seimei thought, "Good opportunity!"

Immediately, he activated his Sharingan to its full potential, instantly hypnotizing the Iwa Jonin in front.

But the two on the field had been wary of his Sharingan all along.

So, the moment he hypnotized the Iwa Jonin in front, the other Iwa Jonin behind him noticed the anomaly and immediately launched continuous attacks on him without hesitation.

His purpose...

Was simple: to force Seimei to give up the chance to finish off his comrade and buy time for his teammate to break free from the genjutsu.

The opportunity Seimei was waiting for wasn't now, so after some struggle, he gave up the chance to land the final blow.

Seeing this, the Iwa Jonin behind him breathed a sigh of relief.

Just then, the hypnotized Iwa Jonin woke up. The first thing he saw was Seimei.

And Seimei also happened to look over. The moment he made eye contact with his Sharingan, the Iwa Jonin instinctively looked away.

And this was the opportunity Seimei had been waiting for.

Almost as soon as the Iwa Jonin looked away, Seimei fully activated his Sharingan and cast the genjutsu again.

However, this time, his target wasn't him, but the Iwa Jonin he was fighting against.

Instantly, this Jonin froze in place.

At the same time, the Iwa Jonin who had just looked away in the distance realized his mistake and quickly refocused his gaze on Seimei, throwing his kunai.

But it was too late.

Just before he shifted his gaze back, Seimei had finished his attack.

Pierce

The sound of a blade piercing flesh.

Seimei's short sword pierced through the chest of the Iwa Jonin in front of him, reaching his back.

With this fatal blow, the Iwa Jonin in front of him instantly woke up from the hypnosis.

He looked down at the short sword embedded in his chest, then looked up at his comrade not far away, his eyes filled with confusion.

He wanted to say something, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he couldn't help but vomit a large mouthful of blood.

Seimei flickered, avoiding the blood, and pulled out his short sword.

Without the support of the sword, the Iwa Jonin stumbled a few steps and finally collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

Honestly, if it were a normal fight, he wouldn't have died so easily by his sword.

But the problem was that, to buy time for his comrade, his attacks were too aggressive, leaving him completely defenseless.

If that were all, it would still be fine. As long as his comrade woke up and assisted in time, they wouldn't be afraid of Seimei's counterattack.

But what happened?

His comrade did wake up, but instead of helping him immediately, he looked away.

So, in a way, it was the miscoordination between the two of them that gave Seimei this opportunity.

However, Seimei had anticipated such a mistake.

After all, he was the one who orchestrated it.

In the previous "back-and-forth" battle, Seimei had been silently observing the two Iwa Jonin's reactions to various situations and their fighting habits through his Sharingan.

Then, he keenly noticed that one of the Iwa Jonin was particularly afraid of his Sharingan and would often unconsciously look away.

So, he used this to his advantage, creating an opportunity and setting a trap.

That was everything that had just happened.

Seimei consecutively dodged the attacks of the two, confirming that this was the opportunity he was looking for, and decisively used his Sharingan's ability to cast the genjutsu.

In an instant, he hypnotized the Iwa Jonin who was deeply afraid of him, making him experience the power of the Sharingan even more profoundly.

This further deepened his fear of the Sharingan.

Then, when he woke up, Seimei appeared in the right position, using this fear to put pressure on him.

As expected, driven by this pressure, he made the instinctive choice to look away and protect himself.

And this put his comrade, who was waiting for his support, in danger.

Although he reacted in time and tried to make up for it, the opportunity had been missed.

Seimei decisively seized the chance, went all out, and instantly killed one of them, achieving his goal.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter 195: Encirclement

"Damn you, Kurota!"

Seeing his comrade killed by Seimei, Oda Naikou, whether out of guilt or something else, cursed and recklessly charged at Seimei.

However, even when they worked together, the two of them couldn't defeat Seimei, let alone now, when Oda is alone.

After only a few dozen moves, Seimei gained the upper hand and left several wounds on Oda's body with his short sword.

Yet, despite this, Oda did not retreat.

Naturally, Seimei wasn't going to show any mercy.

A dozen more moves passed, and just as Seimei was about to seriously injure his opponent, the ground beneath his feet suddenly began to shift and soften.

Seimei reacted quickly. The moment he sensed something was wrong, he gave up his attack, tapped the ground lightly with his toes, and swiftly left the spot.

The next moment, the ground he had just been standing on turned into a swamp.

It was clear that if he had stayed there just a moment longer, the swamp would have swallowed him whole.

"Who is it?"

Seimei was confused and scanned his surroundings.

Before he could locate the hidden attacker, as soon as his feet touched the ground, a sharp rock spike shot up from below, aiming directly at his heart.

This ambush came fast and fierce, perfectly following the swamp technique just used.

For an ordinary ninja, facing this kind of consecutive attack would have meant serious injury, if not death.

But Seimei was different. He had the Sharingan, giving him reflexes several times faster than normal.

So, when the rock spike first emerged, he quickly performed a double jump and created more distance.

In the end, the spike only pierced the afterimage he left behind.

However, this was just the beginning. Before he could steady himself, another spike appeared.

Then a third, and a fourth...

Seimei dodged the rock spikes like a gymnast, twisting and turning within a radius of several meters, avoiding one spike after another.

In just a few seconds, he had dodged dozens of rock spikes.

The hidden attacker seemed to realize these strikes weren’t enough to hurt Seimei, so they stopped wasting chakra and ceased the jutsu.

Seeing no more spikes appearing, Seimei let out a quiet breath.

Though the attacks hadn’t truly threatened him, losing the initiative felt unsettling.

Moreover, there was another Iwa ninja lurking in the shadows, which kept him on edge.

Yes, it wasn’t just one person attacking him—there were two.

The ninja responsible for creating the rock spikes was different from the one who had transformed the ground into a swamp. Otherwise, the sequence of attacks wouldn't have been so seamless.

After all, performing hand signs takes time.

As Seimei pondered this, a sudden water arrow shot toward him from a distance, moving at an incredible speed.

But Seimei’s reaction was quicker. Sensing the danger, he sidestepped just in time.

The water arrow grazed his arm and pierced through a large tree behind him, showing just how powerful it was.

This was undoubtedly a high-level Water Release technique.

Seimei looked toward the direction from which the water arrow had come and saw an Iwa ninja standing with both hands raised to his chest, mouth slightly open.

There was no doubt this ninja had launched the water arrow.

But Seimei’s attention wasn't entirely focused on him, because nearby, another Iwa ninja was crouching on the ground, moving his hands away from the earth, as if he had just used some technique.

With everything pieced together, Seimei would have been a fool not to realize who his attackers were.

Clearly, the ninja who had just performed the "Earth Release: Earth Pillar Spears" jutsu, creating the rock spikes, was the one who had been trying to ambush him earlier.

"Two Jonin, huh?"

Seimei glanced over both of them and instantly judged from their massive chakra reserves that these two were indeed Jonin.

Looking over at Oda Naikou, who had nearly been forced into a corner by him earlier, Seimei thought to himself, "Two Jonin, and a Special Jonin? They must really think highly of me!"

Without waiting for the three enemies to surround him, Seimei immediately dashed toward Oda Naikou.

As the saying goes, "It's better to break one finger than to hurt all ten."

Of the three, Oda had the weakest strength, and he had already suffered considerable damage, making him the perfect target.

As for the two others in the distance...

Now that Seimei was prepared, he wasn’t too worried about any sneak attacks from them.

After all, with both sides' ninjas fighting nearby, they couldn’t risk using any large-scale jutsu. If it was just small techniques, Seimei was confident he could dodge them.

Thus, he chose to ignore the two Jonin.

At the same time, seeing Seimei charge toward him, Oda Naikou didn’t retreat. Instead, he rushed forward to meet him.

Seeing this, a flicker of surprise flashed in Seimei’s eyes. He had thought that after stalling for his teammates to arrive, Oda would no longer fight so desperately.

To his surprise, Oda was so determined, completely different from the Iwa ninja who had been so frightened earlier that he couldn’t even meet Seimei’s gaze.

"It seems the death of that Iwa ninja really affected him!"

Seimei silently mused and heightened his focus. He swung his sword at Oda while thinking, "But no matter how hard you fight, without strength, it’s useless!"

Clang!

Clang, clang, clang!

The crisp sound of metal clashing echoed continuously, like a torrential downpour, urgent and relentless.

This time, Seimei held nothing back, unleashing his near-level-6 swordsmanship with full force. Combined with his fully evolved three-tomoe Sharingan, he easily overpowered Oda.

In the blink of an eye, Seimei left yet another wound on Oda’s body.

"Ugh..."

Oda grunted, swinging his kunai with all his strength to block Seimei’s short sword, then kicked off the ground to create a bit of distance.

He glanced at the new wound on his left arm, his expression grim.

It wasn’t that Seimei had injured him.

He had already gotten used to being wounded and knew he wasn’t Seimei’s match, so being hurt was expected.

What frustrated him was the difference in Seimei’s power compared to before.

From the strength Seimei displayed now, Oda could tell that he hadn’t been fighting at full power earlier.

Given this realization, the fact that Kurota had died because of his mistake made Oda feel even more guilty.

That’s why his face was so dark.

However, Seimei didn’t care what Oda was thinking. Seeing his opponent pull away, Seimei immediately followed up, keeping up the pressure.

The familiar sound of metal clashing rang out again as the kunai and short sword collided.

But this time, Seimei didn’t have long to press his advantage.

The two Iwa Jonin from afar, after testing the waters and realizing their small-scale tricks weren’t effective, had now fully closed in.

Clearly, they intended to encircle and kill him with all three of them working together.

At this point, Seimei could have easily used a jutsu to disrupt their rhythm and avoid being surrounded.

But he chose not to.

The reason was simple—his swordsmanship was on the verge of leveling up, and Seimei intended to use this opportunity to push it to level 6.

As for the risk involved...

Seimei weighed the situation and believed it was manageable, so he quickly made up his mind.

Of course, he dared to take this risk because he had enough confidence in his abilities, knowing that even if something went wrong, he could rely on his sheer strength to turn the tide.

This was why, in this precarious situation, he chose to use his enemies to refine his swordsmanship.

(End of Chapter)