"Kill!"
*Clang! Clang! Boom! Bang!*
"Ah!"
In the dense forest south of the Blackstone Outpost, two squads of ninjas were locked in a fierce battle. On one side were the Mist Ninja, and on the other, the Konoha Ninja.
After more than two hours of relentless pursuit, the two forces finally encountered each other in this dense woodland.
When enemies meet, tempers flare. Without much discussion, the battle erupted immediately.
In an instant, the forest was filled with the sounds of shouting, the clashing of ninja tools, the thunderous explosions of paper bombs, and the cries of injured ninjas.
This scene was just a microcosm of the entire battlefield.
At the same time, dozens, if not hundreds, of battles were raging across various locations.
Through his Shadow Clones, Seimei had already learned that several nearby outposts were also under attack by Mist Ninjas.
Some commanders, like Sano Nobuhisa, chose to lead their forces in a proactive attack. Others, lacking sufficient strength, opted for a defensive strategy, waiting for reinforcements.
Regardless of their choices, they were inevitably drawn into this large-scale conflict.
Seimei also learned through Nobuhisa's connection to headquarters that the battles weren't confined to their area; similar conflicts were breaking out in other regions.
Currently, nearly the entire eastern defensive line of Konoha was engulfed in flames of war.
Thus, Seimei regarded this battlefield as merely a minor piece of the larger puzzle.
This time, the Mist Ninja didn't play games or use diversionary tactics; they launched an all-out assault.
As a result, battles everywhere were fiercely intense.
Even Seimei's area had to allocate additional Shadow Clones to monitor all the nearby battlefields in real time.
Thanks to his presence, the outpost he was stationed at—one of the four major breakthrough points targeted by the Mist Ninja—remained secure despite the heavy pressure.
Having stabilized the situation, Seimei began leveraging his intelligence advantage for personal gain.
He hadn't forgotten how the Mist Ninja's movements over the past ten days had drained a significant amount of his chakra, slowing the growth of most of his skills. Only a few had seen any notable progress.
Back then, he'd resolved to make the Mist Ninja pay once the war began.
Now was the time to act.
Moreover, he had discovered a great opportunity.
---
The Blackstone Outpost
To the west, in another section of forest, a squad of over ten Mist Ninja was moving swiftly. They bypassed several battlefields and headed straight for the eastern Blackstone Outpost.
As Konoha's logistical hub on this battlefield, the importance of the Blackstone Outpost was undeniable.
If it were destroyed, even partially, it would severely disrupt the operations of Konoha's frontline forces.
This Mist Ninja squad's mission was to infiltrate deep into enemy lines and sabotage the outpost.
They were even willing to sacrifice other units to divert Konoha's attention, creating an opening for this infiltration team.
The squad had performed admirably, finding a vulnerability in Konoha's defenses and slipping past the frontlines undetected.
If all went well, they would reach the Blackstone Outpost in an hour and exploit its thin defenses to carry out their sabotage.
However, fate had other plans. Seimei discovered their presence in advance.
It wasn't one of his Shadow Clones that spotted them—it was his real body.
The Mist Ninja hadn't ignored the threat of Seimei; they had concealed themselves in the forest throughout their journey.
If it had been one of his Shadow Clones, even with the Sharingan, they might not have noticed anything unusual.
But unfortunately for them, they encountered Seimei's real body, which was patrolling this area.
With his Byakugan's penetrating vision, Seimei could spot them even if they were underground, let alone hidden in the forest.
To avoid alerting them, Seimei didn't attack immediately. He pretended to be one of his Shadow Clones, casually scanning the forest below before flying off toward the frontline.
The Mist Ninja, having encountered Seimei's aerial patrols multiple times during previous battles, assumed this was just another Shadow Clone and didn't suspect anything.
Even if they had realized it was his real body, they wouldn't have been overly concerned. After all, they didn't know Seimei possessed the Byakugan.
As soon as Seimei left their line of sight, he dispelled his *Wind Release: Wings of Wind* and landed in the forest, silently trailing the squad.
---
About half an hour later, the Mist Ninja reached a location not far from the Blackstone Outpost.
To ensure they were in peak condition for the upcoming mission, they decided to take a short rest.
It was at this moment that Seimei struck.
He flung a shuriken and quickly formed hand seals to activate *Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!*
Although his skill level in this technique was only at beginner level (Lv. 1) and unsuitable for intense combat, it was more than sufficient in this scenario where the enemy had stopped to rest, giving him ample preparation time.
In an instant, the single shuriken he threw multiplied into hundreds, spinning through the air toward the Mist Ninja squad.
Seimei had timed his attack perfectly. The Mist Ninja had just begun to relax after receiving the order to rest. His sudden assault caught them completely off guard.
Even so, the Mist Ninja weren't amateurs. Their skills were sufficient for an infiltration mission.
As soon as Seimei launched his attack, they reacted swiftly.
However, when they saw the barrage of shuriken raining down, they instinctively assumed they were surrounded and immediately formed a defensive formation.
This was exactly what Seimei had hoped for.
Without missing a beat, he formed hand seals again and unleashed *Fire Release: Dragon Flame Jutsu!*
*Whoosh!*
Flames burst from his mouth, transforming into three fire dragons that flew toward the Mist Ninja squad from the left, right, and above, following closely behind the shuriken barrage.
The Mist Ninja had barely managed to deflect the shuriken when they found themselves surrounded by the blazing fire dragons, leaving them with no time to react.
Three skilled Mist Ninja—a Jonin and two Special Jonin—quickly stepped forward, forming seals and unleashing their own jutsu to counter the fire dragons.
The other Mist Ninja, seeing their leaders intervene, breathed a slight sigh of relief.
But their relief was short-lived.
From within the forest, a thin stream of water shot out, piercing through one of the Mist Ninja and the tree behind him in an instant.
"Ah!"
The injured Mist Ninja let out a pained scream.
The lead Jonin immediately realized the danger and shouted, "Watch out!"
He began forming seals to counter Seimei's next move.
But it was too late.
After eleven days of training, Seimei had raised his *Water Release: Water Severing Wave* to Level 6, significantly increasing its effectiveness.
With a slight turn of his head, he guided the water stream, sweeping it across the gathered Mist Ninja.
"Ah!"
"Ahh!"
Screams of pain echoed through the forest.
In just one sweep, three Mist Ninja were cut in half, while another lost an arm. Including the first victim, five members of the squad were down—a third of their total strength.
Although most of the fallen were only Chunin, losing so many members in such a short time dealt a significant psychological blow to the remaining Mist Ninja.