Grind is My Ninja Way

Whoosh~

A gust of sea breeze blew past, stirring up waves over half a meter high.

The white mist on the battlefield, losing Ao's Chakra maintenance, quickly dissipated under the wind.

Seimei just stared at Terumi Mei, saying nothing.

Similarly, she also looked at him warily, trying to find his weaknesses.

Time passed by, and the atmosphere between the two became increasingly oppressive.

The surrounding air seemed to solidify, making it almost impossible for the seriously injured Ao and Uchiha Tekka to breathe.

Whoosh~

Another gust of sea breeze blew past.

Terumi Mei's hair on her forehead was blown, blocking her vision.

'Now's the chance!'

Seimei's thoughts moved, and the Chakra gathered at the soles of his feet suddenly erupted, increasing his speed to an extremely exaggerated level.

A large area of seawater beneath his feet suddenly caved in.

Then, his body turned into an afterimage, instantly appearing in front of Terumi Mei.

Whoosh~

A flash of sword light.

Seimei swung the long katana in his hand, infusing Wind Release Chakra into it. A layer of green light suddenly appeared on the blade.

Instantly, an extremely sharp aura emanated from it, striking directly at Terumi Mei's snow-white neck.

"So fast!"

Seeing Seimei suddenly appear in front of her, Terumi Mei was startled.

And when she felt the sharp aura on Seimei's blade, her face changed drastically.

Instinctively, she wanted to dodge.

However, when she caught a glimpse of the seriously injured Ao behind her from the corner of her eye, she gave up on that idea.

At this moment, she could dodge, but Ao behind her would definitely be hit hard.

This was something she absolutely didn't want to see.

So, she gritted her teeth and immediately raised the kunai in her hand, blocking it in front of her.

Seeing this, Seimei smiled slightly and secretly increased the force in his hand.

Clang~

The long katana and the kunai clashed, making a crisp metallic sound.

Although Seimei hadn't reached adulthood yet and had a relatively small physique, the terrifying boost from his 16 points in 'Physique' allowed him to unleash power far surpassing that of an adult ninja.

Moreover, the presence of the long katana made it easier for him to exert his strength compared to her kunai.

However, even so, after the two clashed, Terumi Mei didn't retreat a single step.

Seimei's gaze focused slightly, and upon closer inspection, he saw that the arm holding the kunai had become slightly thicker, with visible muscle lines, clearly indicating the use of some kind of secret technique to enhance her strength.

Not only that, but beneath her feet, a large area of the sea surface had also caved in.

Obviously, a significant portion of the force had been discharged into the sea by her.

This alone made Seimei realize that her taijutsu was definitely not weak.

Previously, when she fought with his shadow clone, she did her best to avoid close combat, giving the impression that she wasn't skilled in taijutsu.

But now...

Seimei shook his head inwardly.

Undoubtedly, she had been hiding her true strength from the beginning.

Or rather, information!

Seimei was almost certain that her taijutsu was definitely not inferior to that of an ordinary Jonin who specialized in it.

Thinking about it, as someone who would become a Kage in the future, how could she have such a big weakness?

Everything about her was just a disguise.

Various thoughts flashed through his mind, and Seimei suddenly exerted force, pushing Terumi Mei back.

Indeed, her taijutsu, compared to an average Jonin, was not weak.

But Seimei's taijutsu, or rather, his swordsmanship, was also not something an average Jonin could compare to.

With a thought, Seimei swung his long katana again, slashing at Terumi Mei.

Terumi Mei didn't dare to be careless at all and hurriedly blocked.

Clang, clang, clang~

The kunai and the long katana clashed, and the sound of metal striking echoed continuously.

Seimei and Terumi Mei exchanged blows, fighting fiercely.

Unconsciously, the intensity of the battle between the surrounding Kiri-nin and Konoha ninjas decreased. Each of them spared some attention, closely watching the fight here.

Obviously, they knew very well that in this battle where the numbers and strength were not too different, the final victory depended on the two leaders.

If Terumi Mei defeated Seimei, the Konoha ninjas on the field would naturally have to retreat.

Conversely, if Seimei won, the Kiri-nin would have to fall back.

······

Clang~ Clang~

Soon, five minutes passed.

The battle was still ongoing!

Just when everyone thought this battle would continue for a longer time.

Slash~

Suddenly, the sound of a blade cutting through flesh rang out, and specks of blood splattered.

"Ugh~"

Terumi Mei groaned and abruptly pulled back.

A not-so-shallow wound could be seen on her right arm.

Glancing at the bloodstain on her forearm, enduring the burning pain coming from it, Terumi Mei stared intently at Seimei's long katana and thought to herself: "What was that just now?"

Just a moment ago, in the midst of their intense fight, Seimei suddenly changed his tactics. His sword strikes were no longer as wide and open, righteous and awe-inspiring as at the beginning, but instead became sinister and unpredictable.

This sudden change in style made her very uncomfortable, and then...

Then she fell for it!

She clearly saw the katana coming and instinctively blocked, but suddenly realized that Seimei's attack had just begun.

This forced her to pause and reconsider her response.

And it was this momentary pause that created an opening in her defense.

It was only because she reacted quickly and adjusted in time that she didn't suffer a more serious injury.

Otherwise, she might have ended up like Ao, seriously injured and falling to the ground.

But even so, it made her feel very troubled.

If every one of Seimei's attacks from now on was like this, with feints and reality mixed together, even if her reactions were fast, sooner or later she would reveal a bigger opening.

Moreover, was this swordsmanship or genjutsu?

Without figuring this out, she couldn't implement targeted defense, and the trouble later on would be even greater!

While Terumi Mei was pondering, Ao, who had already retreated to the edge of the battlefield, suddenly shouted: "Watch out for the sword light! He's using the sword light to cast genjutsu on you, affecting your senses!"

As the saying goes, those involved are blind, while onlookers see clearly.

Terumi Mei, being in the midst of the battle, couldn't see through Seimei's 'Illusionary Sword Technique' for a moment, but Ao, from the outside, used the Byakugan's ultra-fine observation of Chakra to notice the clues.

Coupled with the fact that he himself had just been severely injured by this move from Seimei not long ago.

Therefore, he immediately understood Terumi Mei's predicament and hurriedly spoke out to remind her.

And what he said was indeed correct. More than a week had passed, and thanks to the foundation laid by the lv7 (0/0) 'Swordsmanship', Seimei's 'Illusionary Sword Technique' had improved from lv4 (701/2000) to lv5 (1150/5000)!

And for general C-rank skills, lv5 was already considered perfected. Although 'Illusionary Sword Technique' wasn't a C-rank skill, lv5 was still an important turning point.

After reaching this level, he could already do many things.

For example, using the sword light to cast genjutsu.

That's right, now his 'Illusionary Sword Technique' could be cast using the light reflected from the blade during combat. Its concealment was countless times stronger than before.

That was why both Ao and Terumi Mei fell for it one after another.

It wasn't that they weren't vigilant enough or lacked strength, but that his methods were too clever.

Similarly, even if the opponent knew the principle behind this 'Illusionary Sword Technique', it wasn't something they could easily avoid.

After all, during a battle, you couldn't not look at the opponent's attack patterns and angles, right?

In this way, Seimei had plenty of opportunities to use the 'Illusionary Sword Technique'. What he just did was just a small demonstration.

Next, it depended on whether the opponent could withstand it.

(End of Chapter)