Grind is My Ninja Way

Seeing the expressions on their faces, Seimei instantly knew the kind of naive thoughts running through their minds.

Indeed, splitting himself into ten clones did reduce Seimei's power somewhat.

But no matter how much it was reduced, he wasn't someone mere Chūnin or Genin could hope to contend with.

Not to mention anything else, just his chakra reserves—after over twenty days of intensive improvement—had reached nearly 200,000 points.

Even divided into ten, each shadow clone had nearly 20,000 points.

This alone exceeded the chakra reserves of most average Jōnin, not to mention Chūnin or Genin.

Thus, even if he merely used chakra as a blunt instrument, Seimei could crush them to death.

And in fact, that was exactly what he did.

The shadow clones and Seimei himself launched an assault on the group of Mist Ninja, starting with the ninjutsu Fire Release: Scorching Flame Technique!

Few among them, like Niikawa Genichi, could react quickly enough to sense danger and dodge. Most of the Mist Genin and Chūnin had no chance to evade this attack.

This was, after all, a secret technique passed down in the Konoha Anbu. Whether in terms of its effect or stealth, it far surpassed ordinary ninjutsu.

What's more, Seimei had trained the technique to its peak proficiency, allowing him to use it with unparalleled skill.

As a result, most of the targeted Mist Ninja were set ablaze.

However, to ensure these people wouldn't burn to death—allowing him to extract their chakra—he and his clones used only a minimal amount of chakra.

Thus, many of the Mist Ninja, while severely injured, managed to put out the flames on their bodies.

Seimei and his clones, dodging the incoming ninja tools aimed at them, swiftly appeared beside these scorched enemies.

Once the flames were extinguished, they immediately captured their targets.

What followed was a simple process.

Seimei and his clones each used Chakra Absorption Technique, employing their captives as human shields to disrupt the attacks of other Mist Ninja while draining their chakra.

Thanks to the high efficiency of his Chakra Absorption Technique, nearing Level 7, he could completely drain a Mist Ninja's chakra within mere seconds.

Once their chakra was depleted, Seimei and his clones would repeat the process—engaging in close combat, employing ninjutsu or ninja tools, and incapacitating another group before capturing them.

Of course, the process wasn't entirely smooth.

Not all of his captives were cooperative.

Some Mist Ninja tried to take him down with them, while others on the periphery attacked without regard for their comrades' safety.

When faced with enemies seeking mutual destruction, he would disrupt their plans through genjutsu or disable their ability to self-destruct, continuing to absorb their chakra.

For those who were impossible to stop, he would simply discard them without hesitation.

As for those who recklessly attacked without concern for their allies, they inevitably became Seimei's next targets.

In this way, after just three or four rounds, the Mist Ninja surrounding him completely lost their will to fight.

Looking at the corpses scattered around, they no longer dared to attack proactively.

Unfortunately for them, their hesitation didn't mean Seimei would let them go.

As long as neither his own chakra nor that of his clones reached full capacity, he wouldn't stop.

And so, a one-sided massacre began.

Seimei and his clones moved like cold, unfeeling machines. Their crimson Sharingan eyes reflected no emotion—only the silhouettes of their next targets.

Wherever they passed, blood and carnage followed.

During this time, a few Mist Jōnin who had defeated Konoha Jōnin tried to intervene. But facing Seimei's relentless assault, they were no match.

If lucky, they might escape with their lives; if not, they were cut down on the spot.

After all, these Mist Jōnin had sustained injuries in their previous battles.

But Seimei?

With his extraordinary regenerative abilities and advanced medical ninjutsu, even minor wounds healed almost instantly.

The disparity was clear.

Time ticked by, second by second.

Finally, after half an hour of Seimei's ruthless slaughter, the remaining Mist Ninja could no longer endure and began to retreat in disarray.

The first to crumble were the Genin closest to him, followed by the Chūnin he was engaged with, and finally the Jōnin.

Defeat is contagious, spreading like a landslide.

Perhaps the Jōnin could have held on longer, but the mass retreat of Chūnin and Genin forced them to withdraw.

After all, no matter how skilled they were, there were only about a dozen of them.

If surrounded by Konoha's forces, even escape would be impossible.

So, as the lower-ranked ninjas fled, the Jōnin had no choice but to cover the retreat, holding back Konoha's pursuers.

For example, as most of the surviving Mist Ninja broke away from the Konoha forces, several Mist Jōnin immediately combined their efforts to unleash Water Release: Exploding Water Shockwave, attempting to scatter the Konoha Ninja.

However, Seimei wasn't about to let Konoha's forces miss such a prime opportunity for pursuit.

Noticing the Mist Jōnin's actions through his Sharingan, he immediately leapt to the front of the Konoha ranks.

Originally, several Konoha Jōnin had prepared to combine their efforts to counter the Mist Jōnin's attack. But seeing Seimei take the lead, they quickly stepped aside.

Being fellow Jōnin, they knew a bit about Seimei's capabilities.

Among his known strengths, his vast chakra reserves were the most notable.

In this situation, having a large chakra pool was the greatest advantage.

Moreover, after the intense battle earlier, they were eager to conserve chakra.

With this unspoken understanding, they ceded the position to Seimei without hesitation.

Seimei wasted no time. Upon reaching the front, he swiftly formed hand seals and unleashed his own Water Release: Exploding Water Shockwave!

The Mist Jōnin, aiming to maximize their technique's effectiveness, had to account for their allies.

But Seimei, acting alone, had no such concerns.

Though a step behind in forming seals, he still managed to synchronize his attack with theirs.

Instantly, two massive waves collided with a thunderous roar.

Despite being made of water, the sheer volume of these waves crashing together caused the ground to quake.

Boom!

A deafening sound reverberated as a towering wall of water, over ten meters high, rose between the two sides.

And that was only the beginning.

As both Seimei and the Mist Jōnin continued channeling chakra into their respective waves, the water wall grew higher and higher—surpassing 20 meters, then 25, then 30.

Finally, when both sides reached their limits, the struggle came to a halt.

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