Grind is My Ninja Way

"Yes, it's me!" Seimei replied calmly, meeting Ao's gaze filled with relief after surviving the ordeal.

As he spoke, he swung the long katana, letting the few drops of blood on it splatter.

His movements were casual, fully embodying the phrase "fearless with confidence."

Since the plan of a sneak attack was no longer feasible, Seimei wasn't in a hurry. He simply revealed himself openly.

This way, it could also boost the morale of his side.

And just as he expected, with his appearance, the surviving Konoha ninjas' eyes lit up, and they felt a surge of strength.

This was the role of a leader in a chaotic battle. As long as Seimei, this banner, didn't fall, the ninjas under his command wouldn't completely collapse.

Splash~

The sound of water splashing rang out.

Uchiha Tekka finally climbed out of the water, clutching his chest, and said to Seimei: "Be careful, he's very strong!"

"Mm."

Seimei nodded and said: "I understand."

"Opportunity!"

Ahead, seeing Seimei look away, Ao thought to himself, "Good opportunity," and hurriedly threw the kunai in his hand.

Whoosh~

A faint sound of something cutting through the air came.

Seimei glanced from the corner of his eye, swung his long katana, and accurately deflected the kunai.

Ao didn't mind this. He quickly formed hand seals, opened his mouth, and performed the ninjutsu - Water Release: Water Trumpet!

Although this was just a basic C-rank ninjutsu, it had the advantage of simple hand seals. It could be performed with just the three seals 'Dragon - Ox - Hare', making it perfect for a sneak attack in this situation.

Originally, Ao thought he could catch Seimei off guard with this.

However, unexpectedly, almost at the same time he spat out the water ball, Seimei also opened his mouth and spat out a fireball.

It turned out that while deflecting the kunai attack with his katana, Seimei had already completed the hand seals with his left hand.

That's why he was able to perform the ninjutsu - Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique at the critical moment!

Sizzle~

The fireball and the water ball collided, making a harsh sound.

Then, a large amount of water vapor appeared, rapidly spreading around.

Ao, with his abundant combat experience, immediately thought of utilizing the environment.

So, he quickly formed hand seals and in the blink of an eye performed Kirigakure's signature ninjutsu - Water Release: Hiding in Mist Technique!

At this time, if Seimei wanted to, he still had a chance to interrupt the opponent.

However, he had been craving this ninjutsu for a long time, and now the opportunity was just right.

So, he didn't interrupt. Instead, he fully activated his Sharingan, observing the opponent's hand seal sequence and the general flow of Chakra.

When the opponent completed the hand seals and performed the ninjutsu, he also learned this technique simultaneously.

This was the copying ability of the Sharingan.

Seimei opened the panel and glanced at it. As expected, a new skill appeared on it - Water Release: Hiding in Mist Technique: lv1 (1/200)!

Just like the 'Wind Release: Wind Blade' back then, the copied ninjutsu was directly at the beginner level, without the need for any initial trial and error.

Although with his current Chakra, it wouldn't take much effort to reach the beginner level for such a ninjutsu, it was still good to save some trouble.

Various thoughts flashed through his mind, and Seimei closed the panel, looking around.

At this time, his vision was already filled with white mist, and even his perception was somewhat suppressed.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~

Faint sounds of something cutting through the air suddenly came from the side.

Seimei's ears twitched, and he swung the long katana in his hand, accurately blocking all the kunai attacks.

The surroundings became quiet again, and Seimei wasn't impatient, just waiting quietly for the opponent to make a move.

"Ah!"

Suddenly, while Seimei was patiently waiting, a familiar scream came.

Seimei's expression changed, and with a flash, he appeared in front of Uchiha Tekka, who was not far away.

He saw that Tekka, who was already seriously injured, had another kunai stuck in his arm.

Seeing him coming, Uchiha Tekka wanted to say something, but the next moment, his expression suddenly became extremely terrified.

"Die!"

A chilling voice appeared behind Seimei.

Then, Ao was seen holding a kunai, thrusting it directly towards the position of his heart.

However, as if he had anticipated it, Seimei lunged forward, dodging the attack while also turning his body 180 degrees.

"What?"

Ao was startled and was about to retreat.

But at this moment, Seimei performed the 'Instantaneous Sword Technique'.

A green light appeared on his body, merging him and the long katana in his hand into one, instantly appearing in front of Ao.

Whoosh~

A flash of sword light.

It was about to slash Ao's neck.

At the critical moment, Ao raised the kunai in his hand and blocked Seimei's slash.

Clang~

A crisp sound of metal clashing rang out.

Unable to withstand the force, Ao was sent flying backward.

Seimei pursued relentlessly, his long katana slashing out consecutively, forcing Ao to retreat continuously, unable to fight back for a moment.

Seimei's sword strikes became faster and faster, and gradually, Ao couldn't keep up.

At some point, his expression suddenly became dazed. When he regained his senses, Seimei's long katana was already in front of him.

Ao didn't have time to think and hurriedly raised the kunai in his hand to block.

However, to his surprise, the long katana seemed to be an illusion, passing through his kunai, and behind that illusion, there was another long katana.

Moreover, it seemed to have adjusted its attack angle based on his blocking movement.

At this point, it was too late for him to block.

Ao knew he had fallen for it, and inwardly cursed, "Not good!" His body suddenly retreated violently.

Seeing this, Seimei sneered and said: "It's too late to run now!"

As he spoke, he exerted force in his wrist, and the long katana in his hand became even faster.

Slash~

The sound of a sharp blade cutting through flesh rang out.

Blood splattered from Ao's chest.

A wound suddenly appeared on his chest.

This time, the wound wasn't like the shallow scratch left by Seimei's failed sneak attack earlier. Its deepest point even revealed his white bones.

"Ugh~"

Feeling the sharp pain in his chest, Ao endured the pain and didn't scream, only letting out a muffled groan. Then, he used his last bit of strength to create distance.

Seeing this, Seimei was about to move forward and finish him off.

But at this moment, a water dragon appeared from the side, rushing straight towards him.

"Water Dragon Bullet Technique?"

Seimei's heart stirred, and he gave up the opportunity to finish off Ao. With a flash, he dodged the water dragon's attack.

Swish~

A blue phantom appeared, shielding Ao.

Who else could it be but Terumi Mei?

She looked at Seimei, her eyes filled with vigilance.

Although she had learned about part of Seimei's strength through her fight with the shadow clone, when she saw Seimei defeat Ao so cleanly, she still found it hard to believe.

To this, Seimei could only say that Ao was too impatient and underestimated him.

He used Uchiha Tekka to set a trap for him, but he didn't expect that Seimei would turn the tables and gain the upper hand.

If it weren't for his 'Instantaneous Sword Technique' being at too low a level and his movement speed not being fast enough, the initial counterattack could have taken Ao's life.

Even so, in the subsequent exchange, he still managed to severely injure the opponent with the 'Illusionary Sword Technique'.

Unfortunately, Terumi Mei arrived too quickly...

(End of Chapter)