Grind is My Ninja Way

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The battle raged on.

Seimei activated his Sharingan with three tomoe to its fullest extent, carefully observing the movements of his three opponents.

At one point, he suddenly stepped back, narrowly avoiding Kuroki Izumiya's kunai aimed at his throat.

Without waiting for Kuroki to adjust his stance, Seimei swung his blade in a fierce slash, aiming directly at Kuroki's chest.

Kuroki glanced to his sides, realizing that his two allies couldn't assist in time. He immediately retracted his kunai to block Seimei's strike.

Clang!

The kunai collided with Seimei's blade, emitting a deep, metallic sound.

Sparks flew from the clash, and a powerful force surged forth.

Kuroki's expression shifted slightly as he stepped back to dissipate some of the impact.

However, Seimei was relentless. Seeing his opponent retreat, he immediately followed up with another slash.

Kuroki hurriedly raised his kunai to block once again.

Clang!

The familiar metallic sound rang out once more.

The force from the strike traveled through the kunai. Having barely regained his footing after the previous clash, Kuroki was forced to retreat again.

Seimei's eyes glimmered. He stepped forward once more, swinging his blade yet again.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

In a series of three consecutive strikes, Kuroki managed to block all of them but couldn't maintain his stance. He was sent flying by the sheer force of Seimei's attacks.

"Phew…"

Exhaling softly, Seimei flickered away from his position.

Almost instantly after he moved, a Mist Special Jonin stabbed at his previous location with a kunai, piercing through only an afterimage.

Another Mist Special Jonin threw several shuriken toward Seimei's new position.

Seimei's Sharingan spun rapidly, locking onto the incoming shuriken. He swung his blade, deflecting each one with precision.

Without hesitation, he sheathed his blade and quickly formed hand seals, unleashing a jutsu toward the three opponents—Water Release: Water Severing Wave!

Zzzzz!

A high-pressure stream of water shot from Seimei's mouth like a sharp cutting blade. With a turn of his head, the stream swept across the area ahead.

However, having seen him use this jutsu against Fukui Takuichi earlier, Kuroki and his team were prepared.

They dodged almost simultaneously, evading the attack and halting their advance.

Seizing the moment, Seimei targeted the nearest Mist Special Jonin and performed another jutsu—Fire Release: Incineration Technique!

Seimei's hand seals were so fast that the Mist Special Jonin couldn't discern which jutsu was being used. Instinctively, he dodged to the right.

Seeing this, a knowing smile appeared on Seimei's face.

Realizing Seimei's expression, Sugiyama Daichi felt a pang of unease and tried to stop himself and change direction.

But it was too late.

Boom!

A burst of flames ignited, engulfing his clothing and quickly spreading to consume his entire body.

"Ahhh!"

Sugiyama's agonized screams echoed as he desperately tried to extinguish the flames, to no avail.

Seimei hadn't held back this time, expending nearly a thousand chakra points. The jutsu's power was far beyond what he had previously used against the Mist Chunin.

Sugiyama, unable to extinguish the flames, suffered their full fury.

Of course, Seimei's success was partly due to the intelligence he had gathered.

Earlier, while engaging Kuroki and his team, Seimei noticed Sugiyama's habitual tendency to dodge right when faced with uncertain attacks.

This time, Seimei recreated a similar scenario. Sugiyama reacted instinctively, dodging to the right.

Against a seasoned Jonin, such a habit would usually be inconsequential. But Seimei anticipated this behavior, aiming his attack at the predicted dodge path.

By the time Sugiyama realized the danger, it was too late.

"Daichi!"

The remaining Mist Special Jonin, seeing Sugiyama consumed by flames, quickly formed hand seals to use a water jutsu to extinguish the fire.

But his actions were within Seimei's calculations.

Dodging a kunai thrown by Kuroki, Seimei formed hand seals for another jutsu—Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Flame bullets resembling phoenix flower seeds shot out, each controlled by Seimei to target Kuroki and the Mist Special Jonin.

Caught off guard, the two were forced to evade.

Despite the disruption, the Mist Special Jonin managed to complete a water jutsu, dousing Sugiyama and extinguishing the flames.

Zzzzz!

The sound of steam hissed as water met fire, and Sugiyama's screams intensified.

However, Seimei didn't pay attention to Sugiyama. His gaze fixed on the Special Jonin who had just completed the water jutsu. Seimei formed a new hand seal, unleashing Wind Release: Blade of Wind!

A nearly invisible half-meter-long wind blade appeared and sliced through the air toward the Mist Special Jonin's neck.

"Watch out!"

Kuroki's warning came just in time.

Slash!

The sound of flesh being cut echoed as a wound appeared on the Mist Special Jonin's neck.

Although the blade didn't decapitate him as Seimei had hoped, Kuroki's warning and the Jonin's reflexes allowed him to narrowly avoid a fatal blow.

"Damn it," Seimei muttered, retreating quickly to avoid another kunai, this one with an explosive tag attached.

Boom!

The explosion rocked the area.

Seimei shielded himself from the blast and smoke with his hands while continuing to retreat.

Suddenly, a water column shot out from the smoke, aiming directly at him.

Unlike Seimei's earlier Water Severing Wave, this water jutsu had a broader diameter and focused more on its impact force.

Seimei sidestepped the attack without hesitation, only to face another water column.

This time, instead of dodging, Seimei quickly formed hand seals. Just before the water struck, he unleashed Water Release: Great Shark Bullet Technique!

The massive shark-shaped water jutsu devoured the incoming water column, growing larger as it absorbed the attack, before lunging toward its origin.