Various thoughts flashed through his mind as Seimei raised his hand to form seals. In an instant, he unleashed a jutsu—Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!
Whoosh~
Flames spewed from his mouth, rapidly coalescing into a massive fireball that spun furiously as it hurtled forward.
However, in the face of this sudden assault, even though Hoshigaki Kisame was merely a shadow clone, he remained remarkably composed.
With a swift sidestep, Kisame effortlessly dodged the fireball's attack. His movements were so precise and fluid that it was as if their earlier conversation hadn't affected him at all.
This alone set him apart from the majority of ninja.
"Always vigilant—worthy of being a true ninja!"
Seimei sighed inwardly but hesitated not even for a moment. He immediately formed seals again, targeting the evading Kisame with another jutsu—Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~
Small fireballs, resembling phoenix flower seeds, erupted from his mouth, shooting toward Kisame in rapid succession, as dense and relentless as bullets from a machine gun.
Seeing this, Kisame skillfully dodged each fireball while simultaneously closing the gap between them.
Whoosh~
The sound of a blade unsheathing filled the air. Kisame drew the long sword from his back and charged at Seimei, intending to engage in close combat.
Unfortunately, Seimei had no interest in wasting time on a mere shadow clone.
Boom!
He stomped hard on the ground, propelling himself backward like a cannonball.
As he retreated, he threw a shuriken.
Immediately, he formed seals mid-air, unleashing a jutsu—Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!
Over the past five days, his relentless hunting spree had yielded over 1.5 million chakra points.
He divided this immense chakra reserve into two parts, dedicating them to mastering the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique and Chakra Cloak, increasing their proficiency by 5,000 and 7,500 points, respectively.
With the chakra saved from perfecting Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall, Water Style: Water Formation Pillar, and Water Style: Severing Wave, his progress with these techniques skyrocketed.
Currently, his Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique had advanced from Lv5 (1830/5000) a month ago to Lv6 (7330/10,000). While it had not yet reached the second qualitative transformation at Lv7, its effectiveness far exceeded that of Lv5.
Now unleashed, the technique left Kisame with no room to evade.
In the end, Kisame was forced to halt his advance, withdraw his sword, and form seals to unleash Water Style: Water Formation Wall!
Splash~
A towering water wall rose before him, blocking the incoming barrage of shuriken.
Watching his shuriken being deflected by the water wall, Seimei's expression remained calm. With his Sharingan fully activated, he monitored every change in the wall and Kisame's movements.
At a critical moment, his eyes gleamed as he thought, Now's the time!
Without hesitation, he unleashed another jutsu—Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!
Whoosh~
Flames spewed from his mouth, transforming into three fiery dragons that charged at Kisame in a triangular formation.
At that moment, Kisame's water wall had just dissipated, leaving nothing to block the attack.
In the blink of an eye, demonstrating the skill of an elite ninja, Kisame didn't retreat but instead surged forward, straight toward the fire dragons.
Just as the flames were about to engulf him, Kisame stomped the ground and unleashed Earth Style: Subterranean Voyage Jutsu!
In an instant, the solid ground beneath him turned into flowing sand, swallowing him whole.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The three fiery dragons struck the ground, causing massive explosions but failing to harm him.
"Hm?"
Seimei raised an eyebrow in slight surprise.
Sensing Kisame's presence still moving toward him underground, it was clear the shadow clone hadn't given up its pursuit.
Seimei shook his head, swiftly forming seals and targeting Kisame's position. With a loud crack, he unleashed Lightning Style: Thunder Strike!
Two dazzling bolts of lightning shot from his palms, striking the ground where Kisame was hiding.
It's well-known that lightning is the perfect counter to earth style.
Moreover, the ground conducts electricity.
In an instant, the underground shadow clone was obliterated by Seimei's lightning.
This is the benefit of well-rounded abilities. By accurately analyzing the enemy's techniques, Seimei could launch precise counterattacks.
Sure enough, Kisame's shadow clone was no match for him.
Gathering his thoughts, Seimei wasted no time, crossing his hands to unleash another jutsu—Shadow Clone Jutsu!
Poof!
With a burst of chakra smoke, four identical figures appeared beside him.
Feeling his nearly overflowing chakra reserves deplete again, Seimei nodded in satisfaction and said to his clones, "Go."
"Understood."
The four shadow clones, inheriting his memories, nodded in acknowledgment without unnecessary words. They each activated Wind Style: Wind Wings, taking to the skies and flying off into the distance.
Their mission was clear: find secluded areas to absorb their chakra reserves and further refine the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique and Chakra Cloak.
Watching them disappear into the horizon, Seimei also activated Wind Style: Wind Wings, soaring into the air to continue his training.
At the same time, he remained vigilant, monitoring the information relayed by his shadow clones on the battlefield and preparing to strike again, stealing chakra from Mist ninja.
Thus, time passed day by day.
A Week Later
It was now January.
With the arrival of the second and third waves of reinforcements, Konoha's advances were unstoppable. In less than half a month, they had reclaimed most of their territory.
The Mist ninja in the Land of Fire had been forced to retreat to four fortified strongholds, with Flying Fish Town being one of them.
As the closest stronghold to Flying Fish Town, Seimei's Black Stone Outpost had fully mobilized and gathered outside the town.
However, they had intentionally left one side unblocked—the side facing the sea.
This strategy served two purposes:
To prevent the Mist ninja in the town from fighting to the death, as leaving one escape route could minimize resistance. To avoid a pincer attack by the Mist ninja from both the town and the sea, where Mist ninja warships were still active.
Lastly, their limited numbers made it impossible to cover every angle.
Thus, leaving an open escape route was the optimal choice.
Fortunately, this issue would soon be resolved.
According to the latest reports, Nara Keiko was quickly mobilizing more troops.
Once reinforcements arrived, even this last gap could be closed, trapping the Mist ninja in Flying Fish Town like fish in a barrel.
The Mist ninja, however, weren't about to surrender so easily.
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