Up ahead.
Seeing the group of Cloud Ninja scattered, Seimei did not hesitate. He immediately formed hand seals again and unleashed his jutsu—Fire Release: Dragon Flame Jutsu!
Taking a deep breath, his chest swelled up, and when he reached his limit, he exhaled a massive amount of air mixed with Fire Release chakra.
Whoosh!
A stream of flames erupted from his mouth, instantly transforming into three massive fire dragons.
Under his control, they charged toward three Cloud Jonin.
The three reacted immediately.
Among them, Sarui and another Cloud Jonin swiftly dodged to the side.
The third Cloud Jonin, however, performed Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu, rapidly forming a water dragon that collided head-on with Seimei's fire dragon.
Boom!
A muffled explosion echoed.
The violent clash between fire and water triggered a terrifying explosion in the area.
Immediately, torrents of water and showers of fire rained down, covering a radius of several dozen meters.
Some Cloud Chunin, unable to react in time, were caught in the aftermath.
However, Katui had no time to care about them.
He had deliberately chosen to meet Seimei's attack head-on, hoping to create an opportunity for his two teammates.
Now, it all depended on them.
But when he turned his gaze toward them, his expression changed dramatically.
One of them stood frozen, eyes vacant—clearly trapped in a genjutsu.
The other, less than a meter away from Seimei, was completely immobilized by a strange sealing technique.
Seimei turned, looking at the Cloud Jonin who was still holding a kunai but was now restrained by the Curse Seal of Self-Binding. He let out a light chuckle, then reached for the longsword at his waist, ready to finish him off.
Seeing this, Katui had no time to be shocked. He quickly pulled several shuriken from his pouch and hurled them at Seimei.
At the same time, the surrounding Cloud Chunin also launched their attacks—some throwing weapons, others casting jutsu—all aiming at Seimei.
However, facing these incoming attacks, Seimei merely glanced at them.
After confirming that there were no particularly powerful techniques among them, he raised his hands to form seals, instantly activating Chakra Cloak and Earth Release: Hardening Jutsu, before ignoring the attacks entirely.
The next moment, the attacks landed on him.
Yet, they failed to cause any damage.
Physical attacks, such as kunai and shuriken, were blocked by the Earth Release: Hardening Jutsu, while energy-based jutsu were negated by the Chakra Cloak.
Seimei stood unharmed within his defenses.
Seizing the opportunity, he drew his longsword and, in a flash, slashed through the throat of the Cloud Jonin trapped by the Curse Seal of Self-Binding.
Slash!
A spray of fresh blood filled the air.
The Cloud Jonin's head flew off.
Looking at the corpse, Seimei shook his head.
This individual was merely a Special Jonin skilled in stealth and assassination. Once his movements were exposed, taking him down was effortless.
Ignoring the horrified gazes around him, Seimei shifted his attention to the other Cloud Jonin he had trapped using Genjutsu: Sharingan—the sensor ninja of the Cloud team, Sarui.
In truth, she was simply unlucky.
She had attempted to use genjutsu on Seimei earlier to disrupt his perception and judgment, hoping to support her teammates' sneak attack.
Unfortunately for her, Seimei had activated his Mangekyō Sharingan in an instant, turning the genjutsu back on her.
If he had mastered the Uchiha clan's secret technique, Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change, he could have countered even earlier using just his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
Shaking his head, Seimei's body glowed with a faint blue light as he prepared to use Shunpo Blade Technique to close the distance.
However, just then, Katui appeared beside Sarui and injected a thread of chakra into her body, breaking the genjutsu.
Seeing this, Seimei's brow furrowed slightly.
Without hesitation, he pushed forward, ignoring the attacks from the surrounding Cloud Chunin and appearing directly in front of the two.
Sarui had just opened her eyes when she saw Seimei.
Noticing that his eyes had reverted back to the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, she hesitated slightly, as if about to speak.
But before she could utter a word, Seimei's longsword slashed toward her.
Not daring to be distracted, Sarui immediately leaned backward, barely dodging the attack.
Beside her, Katui seized the opportunity, stabbing his kunai directly at Seimei's heart.
At this moment, Earth Release: Hardening Jutsu had already worn off, leaving Seimei with only the Chakra Cloak, which was ineffective against physical attacks.
After a brief moment of consideration, he abandoned his assault on Sarui and instead withdrew his sword to parry Katui's attack.
Clang!
A crisp metallic clash rang out.
Seimei's longsword precisely intercepted Katui's kunai aimed at his heart.
Then, with a twist of his wrist, the angle of his blade shifted, forcing Katui off balance as his kunai scraped past Seimei's side.
The sudden shift closed the gap between them.
Seeing this, Seimei's eyes lit up.
His free left hand shot forward, preparing to unleash Rasengan at Katui's chest.
"Watch out!"
At that moment, Sarui suddenly shouted.
As she spoke, she threw a kunai straight at Seimei's throat.
Detecting the danger, Seimei's Sharingan flickered, and he slightly tilted his head, narrowly avoiding the kunai.
But this brief distraction gave Katui time to react.
Seeing the high-density chakra sphere forming in Seimei's left palm, Katui recalled how a squad captain had been gravely injured by this very technique before.
A cold sweat broke out on his back.
Without hesitation, he sidestepped, dodging Seimei's attack.
Not stopping there, he also swung his kunai in a counterattack, aiming at Seimei's chest.
Having missed his strike, Seimei had no choice but to retract his sword and block again.
Clang!
The familiar sound of metal striking metal echoed once more.
Though his attack was stopped, Katui didn't let up.
He immediately launched a relentless offensive.
For a while, the crisp sounds of blades clashing filled the battlefield.
The two exchanged dozens of moves in mere moments.
Initially, Katui had the advantage due to the short length of his kunai.
But before long, Seimei evened the odds.
Then, Katui began losing ground.
Even in this disadvantaged position, Seimei's masterful swordplay allowed him to land a small but noticeable injury on Katui.
Though minor, it clearly demonstrated the gap between their close-combat skills.
Sarui, observing the fight, realized that her companion was no match for Seimei.
She immediately began forming hand seals to cast a jutsu.
However, what she didn't know was that Seimei's true target had always been her.
The moment she raised her hands to form seals, Seimei suddenly abandoned his fight with Katui.
Even though it meant taking a slash from Katui's kunai at his waist, he dashed straight toward Sarui.
"Aah—!"
Sarui gasped in shock and instinctively tried to retreat.
But it was too late.
Just as she moved, Seimei activated Lightning Release: Thunder Flash Blade.
In an instant, dazzling lightning flared from his sword, disrupting Sarui's vision and perception.
The next moment, a cold breeze swept past.
She felt a sharp pain in her throat—followed by an overwhelming suffocation.
As the lightning faded, she clutched her neck, her vision blurring as she stared at Seimei.
Her eyes were filled with despair.
"Sarui!"
Behind her, Katui shouted in anguish.
It was clear that their relationship was close.
But no amount of grief could change the outcome.
Sarui was dead.