"Captain!"
"Captain~"
"..."
Seeing the middle-aged Cloud Ninja trapped by Seimei's Genjutsu, the remaining Cloud Ninjas in the area called out anxiously, as if trying to wake him up through sheer will.
Unfortunately, this was nothing more than wishful thinking.
With a fully mastered Genjutsu: Sharingan and Seimei's current mental prowess, combined with prior preparation, it was impossible for anyone to wake the target without direct physical contact.
Seimei glanced at the panicked ninjas but paid them no mind. Without hesitation, he formed hand seals and activated his technique—Chakra Absorption Jutsu!
Gripping the middle-aged Jōnin's throat, he began to drain his chakra at an alarming rate, like a flood bursting through a dam.
In just a few moments, the Cloud Jōnin's life force rapidly faded.
Within mere seconds, due to the massive loss of both spiritual and physical energy, he completely lost all signs of life.
During this time, the other Cloud Jōnin attempted to intervene, but the Konoha Jōnin blocked their every move.
As a result, they could do nothing but watch helplessly as their comrade was drained to death by Seimei.
After extracting every last bit of chakra from the middle-aged Cloud Ninja, Seimei wasted no time. He immediately rushed toward another Cloud Jōnin, who had been severely injured by his Rasengan earlier.
Seeing Seimei approach, the wounded ninja struggled to resist, desperately throwing several kunai embedded with explosive tags.
However, in Seimei's Sharingan-enhanced vision, these attacks were as slow as a turtle's crawl. With just a few quick sidesteps, he effortlessly dodged them all.
Then, with a flash of his Shunken Jutsu, he appeared behind his target.
The next moment, a blade shimmered.
A sharp slicing sound filled the air.
Seimei's long sword plunged into the Cloud Jōnin's throat, slicing clean through and severing his head in one swift motion.
Splurt!
Blood gushed out like a fountain, instantly staining the ground within a several-meter radius.
Seeing this, the remaining Cloud Jōnin knew the battle was lost. Without hesitation, one of them shouted, "Retreat!" and they all bolted into the depths of the forest.
The twelve Cloud Chūnin who had been under their command obeyed immediately, fleeing without a second thought.
Indeed, despite the chaos, all twelve Cloud Chūnin were still alive—some injured but none killed—simply because Seimei had acted too quickly for them to suffer casualties.
On the other side, as the Konoha ninjas watched the Cloud forces vanish into the trees, their eyes turned to Seimei.
Their gazes held a mix of inquiry and awe.
After all, these were two genuine Jōnin. Yet in just a few short minutes, Seimei had eliminated both of them single-handedly.
Such overwhelming strength demanded respect.
Perhaps, before this battle, some of them had doubted Seimei's decision to lead a single squad against three Cloud squads.
But now, after witnessing his prowess, those doubts had vanished.
Now, they only saw him as a man of both exceptional skill and fearless determination.
If the rest of their battles proceeded in the same manner—preventing the Cloud squads from regrouping and taking them down one by one—then victory was entirely possible.
And given that they already knew the locations of all three Cloud squads, this plan wasn't unrealistic at all.
As such, no one questioned Seimei's decision any longer.
Seimei, however, paid no attention to their thoughts. As they turned to him expectantly, he simply issued an order: "Keep pursuing them. Don't stop!"
"Yes, sir!"
The Konoha ninjas responded in unison.
Immediately, they split into four teams, each consisting of four members, and chased after the retreating Cloud Ninjas.
At that moment, a hidden Konoha Jōnin from the Hyūga clan emerged from the shadows.
Instead of joining the pursuit right away, he approached Seimei with a serious expression and said, "One of their members is a sensory-type ninja. She just detected my Byakugan's probing."
Seimei nodded calmly.
From the very first moment he had observed this Cloud squad's excessive caution, he had already suspected as much.
In fact, he had considered an even greater possibility—if the Hyūga's probing had been noticed, then his own surveillance might have been detected as well.
After all, both of them were using the Byakugan. There was no reason why only the Hyūga's would be noticed.
More likely, the Cloud squad had already realized something was off long ago.
That would explain their extreme vigilance. And when they detected a second attempt at surveillance, they had stopped just outside the ambush zone.
Fortunately, they had a mission to complete and couldn't afford unnecessary delays. Furthermore, the sensory ninja's range was limited. So, even though they avoided stepping into the trap, they still couldn't escape Seimei's attack range.
Otherwise, things might have played out very differently.
The Hyūga Jōnin paused for a moment, noting Seimei's composed demeanor.
Then he understood—his warning had been unnecessary.
Seimei had already anticipated this issue.
Acknowledging this, the Hyūga Jōnin gave him a nod before dashing off to rejoin the pursuit.
Watching him leave, Seimei flicked the blood off his sword, sheathed it, and followed suit.
His next target was the sensory ninja.
Her abilities might be limited, but even so, she posed a threat to their plan of eliminating the Cloud squads one by one.
To prevent complications, it was best to take her out as soon as possible.
With that thought in mind, Seimei quickened his pace.
Soon, the sounds of battle echoed from ahead.
Several Cloud Chūnin had failed to escape in time and had been caught by his subordinates. Now, they were locked in combat.
Seimei glanced at the battlefield, saw that his allies had the upper hand, and didn't waste time interfering. Instead, he activated Body Flicker Jutsu and pressed forward.
As he continued along the path, he came across several more skirmishes, all between Chūnin. In nearly every case, his side had the advantage.
This wasn't because Konoha's Chūnin were necessarily stronger than those from the Cloud Village.
On the contrary, the Cloud Village, being a militant nation, produced highly combat-focused ninjas. Their average strength was among the highest of the Five Great Villages, and these squads consisted of their elite members.
By all rights, their power should have been on par with—or even superior to—Konoha's forces.
The real reason they were at a disadvantage was simple:
The Konoha forces were the pursuers. They had the flexibility to pick their battles.
By exploiting tactical advantages—overwhelming their opponents with numbers and targeting weaknesses—they were able to dominate the fights.
However, this meant their manpower was stretched thin.
Fortunately, with three Jōnin on their side, they could keep up the chase.
Otherwise, the Cloud Ninjas might have turned the tables and launched a counterattack.
Time continued to pass.
Just as the Cloud Ninjas were desperately fleeing, a figure suddenly appeared in their path.
As they focused their gazes, they saw that it was none other than Seimei.
Facing the remaining three Cloud Jōnin and a handful of Chūnin, Seimei wasted no time.
He immediately formed hand seals and cast Earth Release: Earth Flow River!
Although he had not yet mastered this technique to perfection, he had reached level six in proficiency.
As a result, upon activation, the surrounding terrain changed instantly.
The ground before him softened into a flowing mass of mud and rock, surging toward the enemy like a tidal wave.
Caught off guard, the Cloud Ninjas instinctively leaped onto nearby tree branches.
However, the moment they landed, the rushing mudslide uprooted the very trees they stood on, pulling them into its chaotic flow.
Left with no other option, the Cloud Ninjas frantically leapt from branch to branch, struggling to avoid being swallowed by the torrent.
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