Grind is My Ninja Way

Various thoughts flashed through his mind. Seimei threw three kunai.

*Clang, clang*

The middle-aged Iwa Jonin's kunai were all intercepted.

Then, Seimei formed hand seals again and swiftly used the Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!

He opened his mouth slightly and spat out hundreds of fireballs, which then split into two streams under his control.

Two-thirds of them flew towards the middle-aged Iwa Jonin, and the remaining one-third targeted the severely injured Aikawa Kai beside him.

From his previous reactions, it was clear that the middle-aged Jonin valued Aikawa Kai greatly; otherwise, he wouldn't be so protective of him.

Naturally, Seimei wanted to take advantage of this.

"Damn it!"

The middle-aged Iwa Jonin cursed, his face darkening upon seeing Seimei's actions. But after cursing, he still had to brace himself and block Seimei's attack for Aikawa Kai.

He had no choice. Aikawa Kai was a rising star of their clan and couldn't be lost here.

That's right, the middle-aged Jonin and Aikawa Kai were from the same clan.

That's why he was the first one to come to the rescue.

'Water Style: Water Wall!'

The middle-aged Jonin swiftly formed hand seals and, before the fireballs reached them, used this B-rank ninjutsu to create a water wall, blocking Seimei's attack.

The fireballs hit the water wall, making a sizzling sound.

Then, a large amount of steam appeared, obscuring Seimei's vision.

Seeing this, Seimei frowned and immediately formed hand seals, using the Wind Style: Breakthrough!

A gust of wind blew past, instantly dispersing the steam and even clearing the smoke and dust in the surrounding air.

When everything calmed down, Seimei looked ahead.

However, there was no one there.

The spot where the middle-aged Jonin and Aikawa Kai had been was now empty, leaving only a hole in the ground about seventy to eighty centimeters in diameter.

Clearly, they had escaped using some kind of Earth Style ninjutsu.

So...

'Was the use of Water Style ninjutsu to block my Fire Style also deliberate?'

Feeling tricked, Seimei was annoyed. He scanned his surroundings with his Sharingan.

Then, he saw the middle-aged Iwa Jonin emerging from the ground in the distance, carrying the unconscious Aikawa Kai in his hand.

Seemingly sensing his gaze, the middle-aged Jonin looked over and gave a mocking smile.

Not only that, but he also made a provocative gesture, as if trying to provoke Seimei into coming after him.

But Seimei wouldn't be so foolish.

Although he was annoyed at being tricked, he wouldn't lose his mind and try to get even. Didn't he see that there were several Iwa Jonin nearby?

If he went over there, and they all abandoned their current opponents to surround and kill him, wouldn't he be in danger?

Seimei wouldn't put himself in such a risky situation.

Taking a deep breath, Seimei looked away and observed the battlefield around him.

The first thing he saw was his youngest subordinate.

He was currently being besieged by two Iwa Chunin, covered in blood, unsure whether it was his own or someone else's.

Without hesitation, Seimei used the Body Flicker Technique and rushed over.

Before the two Iwa Chunin could react, he consecutively cast two genjutsu, controlling them.

Then, he swung his short sword, instantly ending their lives.

"Captain!"

Only after the two Iwa Chunin fell did Seimei's subordinate react and greet him.

"Hmm."

Seimei nodded and, without wasting any words, pushed off the ground and rushed towards the next battlefield.

Since the enemy was willing to let him move freely for Aikawa Kai's sake, he wouldn't be polite and launched a series of attacks on these Chunin and Genin.

In just two minutes, Seimei moved between four battlefields and killed seven Iwa Chunin.

Finally, the Iwa Jonin couldn't stand it anymore and sent two more to deal with Seimei specifically.

However, to Seimei's surprise, these two didn't seem intent on killing him. As soon as they arrived, they focused most of their efforts on defense.

They would only take the initiative when Seimei showed signs of wanting to disengage, and once Seimei counterattacked, they would retreat again.

This made Seimei feel a bit troubled.

But through their actions, he also understood the Iwa ninja's goal. They just wanted to keep him here and prevent him from attacking other Iwa ninja.

As for killing him...

They probably hadn't even considered it, at least not for now.

In that case, Seimei decided to play along and waste their time.

What?

You ask why he didn't kill these two as well?

Indeed, if he went all out, he could do it.

But what then?

Would two more Iwa Jonin come?

This time, Iwa had sent out their elites, and there were quite a few Jonin in their ranks. Could he possibly kill them all?

Seimei believed he had done enough in this battle, having killed nearly ten Chunin, two special Jonin, and two true Jonin.

He had also severely injured one Jonin.

Such a record was enough.

Any more would be too showy.

As the saying goes, "The tallest tree in the forest will be the first to be blown down by the wind."

Before he had absolute strength, Seimei didn't want to stand out too much.

Although his current performance had already surpassed 90% of Jonin, it was still within an acceptable range.

But any more would be too much.

In that case, he might as well go along with the Iwa ninja's plan, slack off a bit, and gain some more Swordsmanship proficiency.

As for the life and death of other Konoha ninja...

That wasn't his concern. He wasn't their babysitter and had no reason to protect them all the time.

Moreover, Seimei felt something was off.

Logically, the battle had been going on for so long, which should have been enough time for Nara Shikaku to assess the situation and concentrate their forces for a counterattack.

But what was happening?

He was still using the tactic of sending small teams in batches.

This way, their forces could never surpass the Iwa ninja's, and their casualty rate couldn't possibly decrease.

If they continued fighting like this, only Konoha would suffer.

Seimei didn't believe Nara Shikamaru couldn't see this. But since he still chose to do so, there must be a reason.

And the reason...

Could only be one of two things. Either other directions of the base were also under attack, and they couldn't spare any more manpower to support them, or Nara Shikamaru was planning something and needed these people to act as bait to keep the Iwa ninja here.

In Seimei's view, the second possibility was more likely.

After all, if it were the first scenario, Nara Shikaku would most likely order them to retreat, shortening the defense line to concentrate their forces and reduce casualties.

Only when he had a deeper plan would he be willing to sacrifice lives to lure the Iwa ninja into staying.

'I just wonder how big his appetite is.'

With this thought, Seimei started to stall for time with the two Iwa Jonin in front of him.

(End of Chapter)