As the dust gradually settled, a figure at the edge of the scene emerged—Seimei.
At this moment, his hands were just lowered.
It was evident that the water column from earlier was the result of his ninjutsu.
Indeed, he had been forced back, but that didn't mean he couldn't finish things off.
The "Water Release: Severing Wave" didn't disappoint, as it struck Fuyuki Takuya from a distance, killing him outright.
As for Hasegawa's grim expression, Seimei didn't care in the slightest.
Not only that, but he grabbed the long blade stuck in the ground beside him, a blue glow radiating from his body as he activated "Instant Sword Technique." With incredible speed, he dashed toward his opponent.
Of the three who had surrounded him earlier, only one now remained.
He intended to take them all down in one go.
Several Mist Ninja Chūnin who tried to interfere were easily evaded by Seimei as he advanced.
Upon seeing his approach, Hasegawa didn't immediately flee. Instead, he formed hand seals and quickly executed another ninjutsu.
Thick water spears, as large as an arm, formed in the air, shooting toward Seimei like javelins.
However, while such an attack might work against ordinary ninjas, it was insufficient against Seimei.
His Sharingan spun rapidly, instantly locking onto the trajectory of the water spears.
With a few swift movements, he dodged the attacks effortlessly, hardly slowing down.
Reaching the building's base, Seimei glanced up at Hasegawa above him. His steps paused briefly before he stomped hard on the ground, launching himself upward like a cannonball.
Using the structure for momentum, he propelled himself upward with swift steps until he landed on the rooftop in front of Hasegawa.
By now, only a few seconds had passed since Hasegawa's last ninjutsu, leaving him no time to prepare another one.
As expected, Hasegawa instinctively retreated to widen the distance between them.
However, this seemingly reasonable move made Seimei wary.
He didn't immediately follow but instead looked down at his feet.
In the next moment, his pupils contracted.
Not far ahead, he noticed intricate patterns etched onto the rooftop. One more step, and he would have stepped right into them.
This discovery startled Seimei.
These weren't ordinary patterns—they were sealing techniques.
Although the seal seemed hastily prepared and likely wasn't very powerful, sealing jutsu represented one of the most fundamental and mysterious forces in the ninja world. Without knowing its specific effects, Seimei was unwilling to take any chances.
On the other side, seeing Seimei stop abruptly without stepping forward, disappointment flashed across Hasegawa's face.
Though Hasegawa wasn't certain whether the sealing array could trap Seimei, not even having the chance to test it left him frustrated.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
A few kunai flew from Hasegawa's hands, hurtling toward Seimei at the edge of the rooftop.
Seimei's Sharingan spun swiftly, immediately noticing the explosive tags attached to the kunai.
Instead of deflecting them, he chose to evade.
As he moved, he also formed hand seals, activating two ninjutsu in quick succession—"Earth Release: Hardening Technique" and "Chakra Armor."
The next moment, flames erupted, accompanied by a deafening explosion.
Seimei was thrown back by the shockwave, nearly falling off the rooftop, but emerged completely unscathed.
Regaining his footing, Seimei looked toward Hasegawa.
Through the smoke, he saw his opponent had moved away from his previous position, now heading toward the far edge of the rooftop.
"Trying to run? Dream on!"
With a cold snort, Seimei stabbed his blade into the ground beside him.
He raised his hands, rapidly forming hand seals, then opened his mouth to unleash "Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
In an instant, dozens—if not hundreds—of fireballs shot out like burning bullets, bombarding Hasegawa in a dense barrage.
At this point, Hasegawa was still a distance from the rooftop's edge.
Unable to escape, he had no choice but to dodge and retreat, further widening the gap between himself and Seimei.
Hasegawa's close-combat skills were inferior to those of his earlier teammates, so he didn't dare engage Seimei head-on.
He hadn't fled initially because he intended to act as bait, luring Seimei into the sealing array.
Now that his plan had failed, he naturally wanted to distance himself, stalling for time and awaiting reinforcements.
Yes, stalling was his only option.
Hasegawa knew all too well that he couldn't defeat Seimei alone, so his best strategy was to delay.
Unfortunately for him, while Hasegawa wanted to delay, Seimei had no intention of giving him the chance.
After his fireballs missed their mark, Seimei wasted no time activating another ninjutsu—"Wind Release: Wind Blade!"
Whoosh!
A half-meter-long, transparent wind blade shot out at incredible speed, slicing toward Hasegawa.
Though Hasegawa didn't see the wind blade immediately, he sensed the danger as it approached.
Without hesitation, he ducked low, narrowly avoiding the attack.
The wind blade flew over his head and struck a distant building's wall, leaving a deep gash despite the distance.
Had it hit Hasegawa, it would have easily cut him in two.
Missing his target, Seimei decided not to waste more chakra on ninjutsu. He grabbed his blade and charged at Hasegawa.
Earlier, when using the "Phoenix Sage Fire Technique," Seimei had deliberately directed some fireballs at the rooftop to destroy parts of the sealing array.
With the seals now broken, he no longer had to worry about triggering them.
This allowed him to take a direct path to his opponent.
As a result, the distance between them closed rapidly. In the blink of an eye, Seimei was in front of Hasegawa.
Hasegawa froze momentarily. Only when he saw the destroyed sealing array did he snap out of it, realizing Seimei's combat experience was far superior.
Raising his kunai, Hasegawa tried to block Seimei's slash.
Clang!
The clash of steel was heavy and resounding.
Seimei's attack was simple and unadorned, relying on sheer strength.
Yet, the force was overwhelming, sending Hasegawa flying backward with his feet off the ground.
As Hasegawa flew off the rooftop, Seimei wasted no time, hurling a shuriken after him.
Forming hand seals mid-throw, he activated "Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
In an instant, the single shuriken multiplied into hundreds, all hurtling toward Hasegawa.
Unable to block them all, and with no way to maneuver in midair, Hasegawa used a substitution jutsu to save himself.
But substitution jutsu wasn't a space-time ninjutsu, and it couldn't completely evade all the attacks.
When Hasegawa reappeared, several shuriken were already embedded in his body.
Below the building, near the corner, Hasegawa struggled to get up but failed.
A cold sensation rose behind him, chilling him to the core.
He glanced back and saw a familiar figure.
Who else could it be but Seimei?
Hesitating for just a moment, Hasegawa made his decision.
Silently, an explosive tag appeared in his palm, beginning to ignite.
But before it could detonate, his head was severed.
Seimei retrieved his blade, glanced at the burning explosive tag in Hasegawa's hand, and vanished from the spot.
Boom!
A violent explosion erupted, reducing Hasegawa's headless corpse to shreds.
Splat.
A charred arm landed in front of Seimei, making his eye twitch.
vote and read more inpatreon
belamy20