"Heh~"
Placing the corpse in his hand aside, Seimei glanced at the six Mist Chūnin who had regained their composure and now eyed him warily. A cold chuckle escaped his lips.
The group had been intimidated by his earlier actions, hesitant to launch an attack.
However, their hesitation did not mean Seimei would hold back. He needed to act before the Mist Jōnin broke free, aiming to extract more chakra!
Indeed, from the moment Seimei made his move, nearly a minute had passed, yet he had not encountered any Jōnin-level opponents.
This wasn't due to sheer luck or a lack of Mist Jōnin on the battlefield. Rather, the Jōnin had been intercepted by Konoha shinobi.
Initially, these Konoha shinobi may have been trying to buy Seimei time to cast another jutsu and take to the skies once more.
But now, after witnessing his prowess over the last few seconds, they realized Seimei was no ordinary Jōnin. Even grounded, he could provide tremendous support to them.
Naturally, this spurred them to fight harder.
Seimei, too, wouldn't waste such an opportunity.
With a swift motion, Seimei formed the "Tiger" hand seal and unleashed a Fire Release jutsu—Fire Style: Scorching Blaze Technique—aimed at one of the Mist Chūnin.
Boom!
A flame burst forth.
The targeted Mist Chūnin couldn't react in time, and his clothing ignited instantly.
Moments later, the flames surged, engulfing his entire body.
"Ahhh!"
A scream of agony escaped his lips.
"Akito!"
Someone shouted his name.
But it was futile; Akito was in no condition to respond.
Seimei paid no mind to his fate. After completing the jutsu and disrupting the morale of the Mist Chūnin, he quickly formed the "Rat" seal, casting the Shadow Clone Technique.
Poof!
A cloud of chakra smoke dispersed, and Seimei split into five identical figures, each charging toward a different Mist Chūnin.
This maneuver wasn't just to speed up his progress but also to distribute the chakra within his body.
Thanks to a recent replenishment, his chakra reserves—depleted from an hour of fighting, the journey here, and the earlier skirmishes at Blackstone Outpost—were now completely restored.
To store even more chakra, he created shadow clones.
Despite being clones, they weren't opponents these Chūnin could contend with.
In just over ten seconds, three were subdued—one by Seimei himself and the other two simply outmatched by his clones.
The remaining two didn't last much longer.
Soon, all six Mist Chūnin who had surrounded Seimei were defeated, leaving their allies stunned and unable to react.
Seimei absorbed the chakra from the first subdued Mist ninja before darting toward the one engulfed by flames.
Due to his careful control, the Scorching Blaze Technique hadn't killed the target outright. Even now, the flames had burned out.
Looking into his victim's eyes, Seimei activated Genjutsu: Sharingan.
In an instant, the enemy froze, immobilized. Without concern for the severe burns on the ninja's body, Seimei cast Chakra Absorption Technique, draining his chakra.
A nearby Mist ninja noticed Seimei's actions and tried to intervene.
However, he was alone. The others were either occupied by Konoha shinobi or too far away.
Lacking confidence to face Seimei directly, the Mist ninja hurled a kunai from a distance.
Seimei noticed the move at once. Spotting the attached explosive tag, he retaliated with his own kunai.
Clink!
The two kunai collided midair, emitting a crisp metallic sound.
Sparks flew as both kunai veered off course, falling to the ground.
Boom!
The explosive tag detonated with a loud bang but failed to faze Seimei.
Meanwhile, his shadow clones had also finished absorbing chakra from their respective targets.
Without needing instructions, the clones joined the ongoing battle between the Konoha and Mist shinobi.
With the addition of four Seimei clones, the tide quickly turned in Konoha's favor.
Each clone, having absorbed over 30,000 chakra points, now had reserves far exceeding ordinary Jōnin.
Moreover, their abilities in close combat, ninjutsu, and tactics—aside from slightly weaker defenses compared to the original—were on par with, if not superior to, most Jōnin.
Not to mention, each clone possessed a Sharingan.
Even though the clones couldn't fully unleash the Sharingan's potential due to their nature, the five- to seven-tenths power they exhibited was a substantial advantage.
Thus, the Mist ninja now faced not just one Jōnin but five formidable opponents.
Did they stand a chance? The answer was evident.
As Seimei himself engaged three enemies—one Mist Jōnin and two special Jōnin—the outcome of the battle was already decided.
Within half an hour, fewer than fifty Mist shinobi were either killed or incapacitated, over twenty of whom fell to Seimei and his clones. Another dozen were eliminated by the Konoha shinobi.
In the end, the remaining Mist ninja—just over ten—fled in panic toward the primary battlefield.
In the Forest
Seimei and the Konoha shinobi pursued the retreating Mist ninja.
Suddenly, Seimei halted and turned to gaze into the distance.
Noticing this, a Konoha Jōnin stopped as well and asked, "What is it?"
Seimei motioned for silence, closed his eyes, and concentrated on sensing a distinctive aura of tailed beast chakra in the air.
He could feel it growing stronger and more volatile, as though provoked.
Piecing together his earlier deductions, Seimei was almost certain: this was Namikaze Minato, most likely engaging the Six-Tails.
Abruptly, Seimei opened his eyes and addressed the Konoha Jōnin beside him. "I have another task to attend to. I won't be heading to that battlefield for now. Be cautious!"
Without waiting for a response, he activated Wind Release: Wings of Wind and Chakra Mantle, soaring into the sky at top speed toward the distant chakra source.
The Konoha Jōnin watched him depart, wanting to say more but losing the opportunity.
After a brief moment of thought, he turned to the group. "Don't stop! Keep chasing!"
"Yes!"
The scattered voices of acknowledgment reflected the lowered morale of the Konoha shinobi.
No one could blame them. Seimei's earlier display had been overwhelming. The departure of such a powerhouse naturally dampened their spirits.
Yet, regardless of their reactions, Seimei's decision remained unchanged.
To be continued...