A quarter of an hour later.
Once the valley returned to silence, all the ninjas from the Hidden Mist Village were dead.
*Swish~*
A figure appeared beside Seimei.
The newcomer was none other than Sano Nobuhisa.
He looked at Seimei and, without wasting words, directly said, "The Mist Ninjas were heading towards the stronghold earlier. I need you to follow them and monitor their actions."
"Just monitor them?"
Seimei turned his head slightly, asking in a calm tone.
Sano Nobuhisa paused briefly, then continued, "No. If they reach the stronghold before us and launch an attack, you must delay them as much as possible."
Hearing this request, Seimei frowned and said, "Just me alone might not be enough."
This situation was different from the Hidden Mist ambush two days ago. The number of enemies and their overall strength were much greater.
If he recklessly tried to harass them, he might suffer quite a bit.
Although he wasn't worried about his safety due to the existence of *Heaven's Protection*, he still didn't want to take that risk.
Seeing Seimei's hesitation, Sano Nobuhisa quickly said, "Of course, you won't be alone. When they left, I already dispatched two squads."
"They're currently trailing the Mist Ninjas. If necessary, you can command them to act with you."
"Additionally, I'll organize a group here to pursue them as quickly as possible. All you need to do is buy us some time."
"I see."
Hearing this, Seimei thought for a moment and finally nodded.
Since Sano Nobuhisa had already explained things this clearly, it would be unreasonable to refuse.
Besides, with those extra people, the danger wouldn't be as great.
With that in mind, Seimei stood up, flicked the blood off his blade, and sheathed it.
Then, looking at Sano Nobuhisa, he said, "Alright, I'll set off now!"
Without waiting for a response, he quickly raised his hands, formed seals, and used the *Wind Release: Wings of the Wind* technique.
With a "swish," a pair of light blue chakra wings appeared on his back.
Seimei lightly flapped the wings and soared into the sky. After circling briefly, he flew off in the direction the Mist Ninjas had left.
Watching Seimei's departure, Sano Nobuhisa breathed a small sigh of relief.
He then immediately gathered his people and set out in pursuit of the Hidden Mist forces at the fastest speed possible.
...
As time ticked by.
On the other side.
Although the Mist Ninjas were moving quickly, they couldn't match the speed of Seimei's flight. With the general direction already clear, Seimei soon located them.
But before he could get close, a familiar chakra force, accompanied by a mental presence, suddenly entered his mind.
The next moment, the voice of Yamanaka Aoi echoed: "Seimei Jonin, you're here."
Indeed, this chakra belonged to no one other than Yamanaka Aoi.
And right now, she was part of the group pursuing the Mist Ninjas.
Hearing her voice, Seimei nodded and replied mentally, "Yes, where are you now?"
While speaking, he flew above the Hidden Mist group, activated his Sharingan, and scanned the area below to locate them.
Just then, a blinding light flashed into his eyes, causing him to squint involuntarily.
However, the light didn't last long and disappeared after briefly dazzling him.
Seimei opened his eyes again, looking toward the direction of the light, and saw about thirty Leaf Ninjas.
These were clearly the two squads Sano Nobuhisa had mentioned.
The flash of light that had briefly blinded him was caused by sunlight reflecting off a small object, like a mirror.
The intent was clear: to catch his attention.
It had to be said, though this method wasn't particularly clever, it was certainly effective and discreet.
Apart from Seimei, no one else seemed to notice the unusual flash, not even the Mist Ninjas below.
Seimei shifted his gaze away from them and spoke to Yamanaka Aoi mentally, "Continue tracking them. I'll scout ahead."
"Understood, Seimei Jonin. Be careful!"
After a slight pause, Yamanaka Aoi responded.
"Mm."
Seimei acknowledged her, then dispersed the mental and chakra connection.
Lowering his altitude slightly, he began to approach the Hidden Mist group.
Down below, the Mist Ninjas noticed some commotion as he drew near.
But Seimei only made a brief feint before pulling back and gaining altitude again.
After repeating this two or three times, the Mist Ninjas' pace noticeably slowed.
However, with a command from Yasuda Akiku, the Mist Ninjas regained their composure and resumed marching at their original pace, ignoring Seimei's harassment.
Seeing that his efforts to disrupt them were futile, Seimei decided not to take further risks. He flapped his wings and gained height again.
Circling above them a few more times, Seimei felt a bit bored.
After some thought, he formed seals and used the *Mental Link Technique* to give a few instructions to Yamanaka Aoi before flying toward the Blackstone Stronghold.
He intended to check if the other Mist Ninja squad from Flying Fish Town had arrived.
Though based on the timing, they likely hadn't arrived yet, Seimei still wanted to see for himself.
Since nothing significant seemed to be happening on this end for the moment, and it wouldn't take him long to fly back and forth, Seimei felt it wouldn't hurt to make the trip.
Thus, he didn't strictly follow Sano Nobuhisa's orders to keep watching the Mist Ninjas.
Below.
Seeing him fly away, Yasuda Akiku's expression didn't lighten; in fact, it grew darker.
He had been considering launching a surprise attack on the Blackstone Stronghold.
But now, that idea seemed almost impossible.
With the speed Seimei had shown, he would surely reach the stronghold before them and relay the information.
Without the element of surprise, if they insisted on attacking the stronghold, they could end up being caught in a pincer attack.
At that point, escaping would be difficult.
He couldn't take that risk.
"Sigh, what a shame!"
Yasuda Akiku sighed inwardly and thought to himself, "It seems the only option is to rendezvous with Captain Ozawa as planned."
However, this meant he would have no achievements to show for his efforts.
Worse yet, he would have to atone for the losses of the Mist Ninjas who had sacrificed their lives.
Just thinking about it darkened Yasuda Akiku's mood.
Meanwhile, after more than ten minutes of flight, Seimei finally arrived at the Blackstone Stronghold.
(End of Chapter)