"But not for long."
As soon as Seimei declared this, he charged forward at Iori, the seaweed-headed ninja.
However, before he could get closer, Hoshigaki Reiichi intercepted him. Left with no other choice, Seimei crossed blades with him.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Seeing Seimei occupied, Iori retreated to a safe distance and began to weave a few hand seals.
Water Release: Water Stitching Bind
He placed his hand on the large gash on the left side of his body and channeled the Jutsu there. Soon, the water chakra released from his hand condensed into viscous water tendrils.
Then, the water tendrils stitched his wound, closing the deep gash and stopping further blood leakage.
Seimei witnessed all of that with his Tenseigan's farsight and 360-degree vision abilities, all while crossing blades with Hoshigaki Reiichi.
He understood what Iori's Jutsu just did.
It wasn't a water release-based medical Ninjutsu.
Nope!
It was more like emergency treatment to stop bleeding and close flesh wounds and cuts in the middle of the battle.
The wound was still fresh.
He would still need proper medical attention after the battle to heal completely.
Of course, if he made it alive, that was.
"Tsk!"
Seimei clicked his tongue in annoyance as he looked at Reiichi.
If not for this meddlesome guy, he would have already dealt with the seaweed-headed ninja. But this fucker ruined it.
The more Seimei looked at Reiichi's shark-like features, the more irritated he got.
But his mind was still calm, observing and calculating everything.
Never mind.
Let's deal with this fish guy first.
With that thought, Seimei increased the speed of his sword slashes. He brought his blade down on Reiichi from all sorts of unpredictable angles, making it hard for Reiichi to block them all.
Seimei unleashed an upward strike at a diagonal angle, targeting Reiichi's right ribs, forcing him to back away while blocking the attack with his blade.
Then, Reiichi brought his sword down, targeting Seimei's left shoulder. And Seimei dodged it by moving to Reiichi's left side and tried to stab Reiichi's heart with the tip of his blade.
This made Reiichi step to his right, causing Seimei's stabbing thrust to miss.
But Seimei didn't mind it at all. Instead, he twisted his wrist and turned his stabbing attack into a powerful slash in the blink of an eye.
Reiichi tried to intercept the strike, but it was too late.
Seimei's blade sliced through his torso, bisecting him in two.
But Seimei wasn't happy at all.
Because the bisected Reiichi turned into water.
Water Clone Substitution Technique. Seimei thought, molded his chakra without forming hand seals, and channeled a large amount of water chakra into the ground.
Water Release: Rising Water Slicer
A vertical wave of high-pressure water split the ground and moved toward the real Hoshigaki Reiichi.
The vertical wave of water was at least five meters high and was sharp enough to cut through hard stones.
It moved at an astonishing speed, reaching Reiichi in the blink of an eye.
This forced Reiichi to back away and side step once again.
The whole clash between Seimei and Reiichi only happened for a period of less than five seconds.
Iori was busy ingesting a minor healing potion in the distance to treat his gash after stitching it with a water Ninjutsu a few moments ago.
As for Ishida, he was looking for an opportunity to attack Seimei.
Since Seimei was entangled with Iori and then Reiichi, Ishida didn't have enough leeway to launch a powerful attack on Seimei without harming his companions.
But now that Seimei was far away from both Iori and Reiichi, Ishida didn't hesitate anymore.
With a flick of his fingers, he grabbed a total of ten kunai laced with explosive tags from his ninja pouch and hurled them at Seimei.
And Seimei immediately sensed his actions.
He turned his head and saw the incoming kunai with explosive tags attached to their handles.
Then, he looked at Ishida, who gazed at Seimei with a vicious grin. The sharp-toothed guy's eyes were practically glittering with anticipation.
This son of a bitch finally made his move. But what's up with this lame ass kunai throw and explosive tags?
Please, go home and strengthen your wrist muscles. By the time these explosive tags arrived at my location, I would have already done a quick stretching, erected an Earth wall, and then moved away from this spot.
Anyway, the scenery here is quite beautiful. Let me make this place your grave.
Seimei thought inwardly, and then he activated his unique movement technique.
Lightning Release: Thunder Body Flicker Technique
Crackle! Crackle!
Purple lightning crackled around his leg, activating the cells of his legs, empowering them, and reinforcing them to a greater degree.
Then, he rocketed toward Ishida, leaving behind nothing but a trail of purple lightning.
He appeared in front of Ishida in a flash. And before Ishida could even react, Seimei slashed at him, cutting off both of his arms.
Thud! Thud!
Drip Drip
"Ahhhhhhhh"
Ishida let out an inhumane scream as his arms fell on the ground, along with a fountain of blood from his empty shoulders, staining the ground crimson.
At the same time, Reiichi used the Body Flicker Technique to arrive right behind Seimei and stabbed him in the back.
The tip of Reiichi's blade was just a few centimeters away, making him smile.
"Got you."
But before the blade could pierce Seimei's skin, he disappeared once again with a flash of purple lightning, leaving a mere afterimage of his figure behind.
Lighting Release: Thunder Body Flicker—Burst Mode
The real Seimei appeared behind Ishida and decapitated him.
Blood leaked out of Ishida's headless body. A moment later, both the corpse and the head fell on the ground, allowing Reiichi to look at Seimei's chilling smile.
"No, you haven't, but…one down."
Seimei said with a smile so cold and filled with bloodlust that Reiichi froze for a moment.
But Seimei knew that he would snap out of it if he attacked him.
So, he decided to finish off the recently recovered Iori before handling Reiichi.
After all, Iori was significantly weaker than Reiichi. And in a battle, you needed to eliminate the weaklings first. Or else, they would surely become as annoying as a buzzing mosquito when you fight the stronger enemies.
To do that, he kept his Thunder Body Flicker—Burst Mode active and disappeared from Reiichi's sight with another flash of lightning.
Seimei appeared behind Iori and beheaded him before he could even register Seimei's presence.
"Two down."
Seimei counted as he looked toward Reiichi, whose eyes were now bloodshot with hatred and rage.
Reiichi was about to spew venomous words and charge at him when he heard Seimei's words.
"You are right, ninja of Kirigakure."
Reiichi paused. His eyes were still filled with rage and hatred. But his face showed a slightly confused expression when he heard Seimei's words.
"What are you talking about?" asked Reiichi in a low, guttural voice.
Seimei walked toward him in a leisurely manner. But his hands still gripped the hilt of his ninjato.
The blade of his ninjato glowed in a purple light, and several arcs of purple lightning bolts danced around it.
Seimei replied, "You were right when you said that war would never care about your identity."
"Children, adults, elders, ninjas, civilians–it claims everyone's lives."
"That those who dared to come to the battlefield should be prepared to be killed."
"That I should be prepared to be killed."
"But it applies to you, too."
"This is war."
"You stepped into this war."
"And tried to kill me."
"So, I did what I had to."
"I killed your friends."
"And I will kill you, too."
"So, tell me. Are you prepared to die?"
Then, Seimei smiled. "Don't worry, I am sure you will be glad to meet your friends again. In the Pure Land, that is."
Reiichi's blood almost boiled in rage at Seimei's mocking words.
"Bastard…I will kill you."
Reiichi reinforced his body with chakra to its limit and dashed forward with unnatural agility.
His movement speed was at least 1.3 times faster than before, helping him arrive in front of Seimei in less than a couple of seconds.
He slashed his blade at Seimei, and Seimei blocked it with ease.
After exchanging more than 20 blows in five seconds, Seimei found a gap in Reiichi's defense and struck his sword-wielding wrist with his hilt, forcing Reiichi to drop his sword, and chopped off his other wrist in a single fluid motion.
"I have wasted enough time here. Let's end this here."
Seimei said before grabbing Reiichi by his neck.
Soon, purple lightning started flickering all around Seimei's body.
Lightning Release: Lightning Shadow Clone Explosion
At the next moment, Seimei, which turned out to be a lightning shadow clone of Seimei, turned into pure destructive lightning and detonated with a loud boom.
Boom!
Crackle! Crackle!
First, lightning paralyzed Reiichi, and then the detonation powered by lightning chakra fried his body and inner tissues completely.
Reiichi was dead.
After a few moments, the real Seimei appeared, looked at the charred corpse of his opponent, and fell into deep thought.
Indeed, an A-rank Ninjutsu is very powerful, especially when you pump it with a lot of chakra.
Even an Elite Jonin-level ninja from the famous Hoshigaki clan, known for their exceptionally tough body filled with vitality, couldn't keep his life after a direct hit.
I thought I would need to sneak up on him and stab him in his back.
Hmm…???
Am I not stabbing people in their backs quite a bit these days?
No, no, Seimei. While this treacherous killing technique is indeed effective against most ninjas, you can't make a habit out of it.
What if some enemy ends up taking advantage of this habit and sets traps on their back?
Seimei mused.
And then, he looked in a particular direction.
"Oh, this guy is finally making his move, huh?"
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