Grind is My Ninja Way

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Countless kunai shot through the air like a dense swarm.

On the northwestern side of Kirigakure's third defensive line, Seimei had just arrived with his subordinates when they were met with hundreds of kunai and shuriken.

Among them were some with explosive tags attached.

Seeing this, Seimei didn't hesitate. He stepped forward, raised his hands to form seals, and unleashed a ninjutsu—Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!

Boom, rumble!

After a moment of earth-shaking turbulence, a wall of earth, roughly 30 to 40 meters long and 5 to 6 meters tall, rose from the ground, standing in front of the Konoha ninja.

The kunai and shuriken struck the wall, either bouncing off, embedding into it, or exploding, but none managed to harm the Konoha ninja behind it.

The barrage lasted over ten seconds before the Kirigakure side gave up, realizing the futility of such an attack and the losses it was causing.

Seeing this, Seimei's eyes lit up. He immediately flicked his wrist, throwing a shuriken.

As the shuriken flew, he rapidly formed seals and unleashed an advanced A-rank ninjutsu—Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!

This time, Seimei expended nearly a thousand chakra points, creating hundreds of shuriken clones at their maximum extent.

Though the sheer number caused their accuracy to suffer, they still served as an effective psychological tactic.

As expected, the dense swarm of shuriken caused the Kirigakure ninjas to instinctively step back.

A few elite Kirigakure jonin exchanged glances before simultaneously forming seals and unleashing a collaborative ninjutsu—Water Release: Water Formation Wall!

Splash!

A towering water wall quickly took shape.

The shuriken barrage struck the water wall, creating ripples and small whirlpools, but it couldn't break through to harm the Kirigakure ninjas behind it.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

As the chakra-infused smoke from the shadow clones dissipated, the shuriken vanished.

The Kirigakure jonin, seeing the attack neutralized, dispelled their technique as well.

"Attack!"

Without hesitation, Seimei issued the command.

Hearing this, the Konoha ninja behind him surged forward, charging toward Kirigakure's third defensive line.

On the way, they threw the kunai and shuriken they had prepared beforehand.

Since Seimei had shielded them from Kirigakure's earlier assault, they now had the advantage of taking the initiative.

Though this advantage wasn't significant, the simultaneous attacks caused noticeable losses to the Kirigakure defenders.

On the battlefield, such small advantages gradually accumulate into decisive victories.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Seimei dashed forward.

However, before he could reach the defensive line, two Kirigakure ninjas intercepted him.

More precisely, one was a jonin and the other a special jonin.

Seimei halted, his gaze sweeping over them before assessing the rest of the battlefield.

A quick calculation revealed that the number of jonin stationed in this direction was disproportionately high.

"Have they redirected jonin from other areas just to deal with me?"

Seimei frowned in suspicion.

Based on his recent performance, even with the two of them together, they weren't likely to hold him back for long.

Did the Kirigakure commander not fear losing both of them? If that happened, their situation would become even more precarious.

Was the Kirigakure commander afraid?

Of course.

But he had no choice.

Given Seimei's demonstrated strength, if left unchecked, it wouldn't take long for him to break through the third defensive line.

At that point, the consequences would be even graver.

Faced with two undesirable outcomes, the commander chose the lesser evil. Losing one or two jonin was preferable to the collapse of the defensive line.

Why not send more reinforcements to mitigate the risk?

The reason was simple—there weren't enough jonin left in Yujin Port to spare.

After all, Seimei wasn't Konoha's only powerful ninja; there were other formidable jonin on their side.

If too many were assigned to deal with Seimei, other Konoha jonin might exploit the weakened defenses.

This would pose a significant threat to Kirigakure's chunin and genin forces.

Even assigning two jonin-level fighters to Seimei was a calculated risk.

Still, compared to letting Seimei run amok, the commander was willing to gamble on the other jonin losing their containment.

At least those jonin could be dealt with by groups of chunin working together.

Seimei, however, was a high-efficiency killing machine once unleashed.

Even if Seimei killed the two blocking him, the Kirigakure commander would likely send more jonin to stall him.

The goal?

To buy time.

This battle wasn't limited to this area; it extended to Konoha's encampment as well.

The commander hoped the forces attacking the Konoha camp would succeed.

If the camp fell, the Konoha forces here would be caught in a pincer attack.

At that point, Seimei would no longer be the main concern.

Even if they lost this position, delaying long enough for the other force to breach the Konoha camp would make it worthwhile. At worst, they'd exchange strongholds.

Seimei, understanding their strategy, quickly drew his long blade and employed the Instant Sword Technique, charging at the two interceptors.

The two didn't retreat. One wielded a kunai, and the other a short sword, attacking Seimei from complementary angles.

The clash began, and sparks flew.

Seimei held his ground in the two-on-one fight.

After a brief exchange, he realized both were skilled in close combat.

The jonin's proficiency was expected, but the special jonin surprised him by employing a unique taijutsu style infused with lightning chakra.

The short sword's swings produced arcs of lightning, limiting Seimei's Sharingan capabilities and occasionally numbing his body through electrical discharges.

Fortunately, Seimei's mastery of all seven chakra natures, especially his deep understanding of Wind Release, allowed him to counter Lightning Release effectively.

Otherwise, the fight could have been troublesome.

"Interesting... They came prepared," Seimei muttered, creating some distance. He activated Chakra Cloak, insulating himself from electrical damage and enhancing his defense.

With that, he charged back into the fray.

The special jonin's lightning-infused taijutsu intrigued him.

In his eyes, the war's outcome was already determined.

Here, Kirigakure had no means of counterattack after losing two defensive lines.

As for the camp, with Minato Namikaze there, it was unbreachable.

Thus, Seimei felt no rush, using this final stage to study and perhaps learn from this taijutsu.

Among the chakra natures he mastered, Lightning Release was his weakest.

Beyond perfecting Lightning Release: Thunder Strike, he had little else to show.

Looking ahead, as his physique grew stronger, his reliance on medical ninjutsu for enhancement would diminish.

At that point, Lightning Release could fill the gap.

Planning ahead was essential.

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