"Who's there? Show yourself!"
The leader of the Mist Village ninja team grimaced as five of his subordinates fell in an instant. Without hesitation, he unleashed a powerful jutsu toward the direction where he sensed the hidden presence of Seimei.
"Water Style: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
He no longer cared about concealment. The moment he acted, it was with his strongest technique, aiming to flush Seimei out of hiding.
The ninja leapt back onto a tree and unleashed a torrent of water from his mouth. Upon hitting the ground, it transformed into a massive wave, surging forward with great force through the dense forest. Trees, grass, soil, and rocks were swept along in its wake.
In the forest.
Seimei observed the attack with a calm smile, pleased rather than alarmed.
Why? Because for some time now, he had wanted to learn this particular jutsu.
Its ability to clear the battlefield was comparable to his own "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough," but it had the added benefit of creating a water-filled terrain that would enhance subsequent water-style techniques—a remarkably versatile ability.
Even better, when mastered to its peak, it could evolve into the "Water Style: Giant Exploding Water Colliding Wave," a rare A-rank jutsu that Seimei had long coveted. Unfortunately, he hadn't had the chance to learn it—until now.
Watching the Mist ninja execute the technique from start to finish, Seimei wasn't about to let such an opportunity slip by.
Without hesitation, as soon as his opponent acted, Seimei activated his Sharingan, utilizing its copy ability.
Not stopping there, he also used his Byakugan to carefully observe the chakra flow within the opponent's body, enhancing the precision of his copying ability.
Efforts bore fruit.
With the combination of both dojutsu, Seimei successfully learned the technique just as his enemy executed it.
On his skill panel, a new entry appeared: "Water Style: Exploding Water Colliding Wave - Level 1 (1/200)."
"I wonder if he'll cough up blood when he realizes I've just stolen his technique," Seimei thought with amusement, his hands already forming seals.
Before the incoming wave could reach him, he cast "Wind Style: Wings of Wind."
Whoosh!
A pair of pale blue chakra wings materialized on Seimei's back. With a single flap, he rose into the sky, escaping the forest and the rushing torrent below, which flattened a vast swath of trees without so much as grazing him.
Seeing Seimei soaring above them, the lead Mist ninja's expression darkened.
It wasn't fear or anger that the jutsu had failed. He had only intended to force Seimei out of hiding.
However, Seimei's high vantage point created a new problem: if he flew away to alert the Black Stone base, their mission would inevitably fail.
Should reinforcements arrive, the Mist ninjas would have little chance of escape.
Understanding this, desperation flickered across the team's faces.
Someone attempted to take Seimei down immediately.
To everyone's surprise, Seimei didn't flee. Instead, he flew straight toward them.
"An opportunity!"
The Mist ninjas' eyes lit up. If they could kill Seimei here, their mission still had a sliver of hope. At the very least, they could claim the life of a promising young Konoha ninja, dealing a blow to their morale.
With this resolve, the Mist ninjas launched a coordinated attack.
From above, Seimei observed the barrage of kunai and shuriken headed his way. Without hesitation, he formed seals and cast "Earth Style: Hardening Technique."
A faint glow enveloped Seimei's body.
Though subtle in appearance, the effect was anything but. His skin became as hard as steel, with a dense layer of earth chakra forming an impenetrable barrier.
Even the sharpest tools enhanced by wind chakra couldn't pierce his defense.
The ninja weapons clattered harmlessly against him as Seimei surged forward, closing the distance to mere meters.
Before his opponents could react, Seimei formed seals at lightning speed and cast "Lightning Style: Thunderbolt."
Zap!
Twin streaks of lightning shot from his palms, striking two Mist ninjas dead on. They crumpled to the ground, severely injured and incapacitated.
"Damn it!"
A special jonin from the Mist cursed and quickly formed seals.
A massive water dragon surged forth from the lake below, roaring as it ascended toward Seimei.
The "Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu," a B-rank technique, was executed flawlessly, its sheer power evident in every movement.
Recognizing the attack's precision and timing, Seimei prepared to evade by flapping his chakra wings.
But then, his Byakugan caught a faint movement behind him.
The Mist leader had stealthily formed seals and aimed his right hand, mimicking the posture of firing a gun—a technique Seimei knew all too well.
"Water Style: Water Gun Jutsu!"
This secret technique of the Hozuki clan was deadly.
Seimei paused mid-flight, narrowly avoiding the high-speed water projectile that grazed past, leaving a visible trail in the air.
"So, he's a Hozuki," Seimei murmured, analyzing the enemy's strategy.
His abrupt stop thwarted the ambush, leaving the Hozuki jonin puzzled at how Seimei had detected the attack.
But Seimei had no time to dwell. With the water dragon fast approaching, he formed seals and unleashed "Water Style: Giant Shark Bullet Jutsu."
A colossal shark made of water materialized, swallowing the water dragon in a single gulp.
The sheer scale of the shark left the Mist ninjas in stunned silence.
Wasting no time, Seimei directed the empowered shark toward the ground, aiming to end the confrontation decisively.