Upon hearing Seiki's words, panic stirred among the group.
"What? Four-Purple Flame Formation?"
None of us even knows the basics!
Seiki calmly replied, "So you must master it in the shortest time possible!"
"Can we really do this?"
Shaking his head slightly, Seiki said firmly, "Not only must you do it—you must excel! The barrier can't be broken from outside, but if you die, it'll fall too. That means you'll also need to form an inner barrier to protect yourselves!"
Everyone felt a heavy weight pressing down on their hearts. A single mistake from one person could cost all their lives—perhaps even Seiki's life depended on them!
Meanwhile, Seiki quietly observed them with calm confidence.
He wasn't the least bit worried about how fast they could pick it up.
This was a classic case of easy to learn, hard to master.
Back in the original storyline during the Fourth Great Ninja War, even Dan Kato—resurrected through Impure World Reincarnation—had been immobilized by this exact barrier.
At that time, the barrier had been formed by four ordinary ninja under Choza Akimichi, who'd come from completely different villages and barely shared any teamwork or coordination.
Besides, back then Choza Akimichi had belonged to the First Division of the Allied Ninja Forces, not the Barrier Unit—meaning those ninja were likely learning it on the spot.
If even they could pull it off, there was no way Seiki's team of geniuses couldn't do the same.
Not to mention Seiki had added an extra motivation—the drive to protect his life.
In the worst-case scenario, even if they failed, he could always unleash his hidden ace in battle to protect everyone.
Might Guy counted on his fingers, muttering, "Four times seven is twenty-eight people needed to seal them—we don't have enough here!"
Asuma shook his head, "According to Seiki's plan, if Seiki and Master Duy each handle one opponent, we only need to seal the remaining five."
"Twenty people," Kurenai's gaze swept across the group. "Still not enough. That means some of us will have to serve as nodes for two, even three barriers simultaneously!"
Hearing this, the pressure on the group grew heavier.
Not only did they have to master this quickly, but they'd also be using it against elite Jonin like the Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist—and now some of them must act as multiple nodes at once.
Even if they managed it, the barrier would probably only hold for a short time.
That might be acceptable for a normal test, but this time it was Seiki's very life entrusted to them.
This was the one time when failure simply wasn't an option!
Seeing their anxiety, Seiki gently reassured them, "You just focus on doing your part. Leave the rest to me!"
At his words, determination returned to everyone's eyes.
That's right—Seiki was never wrong.
Their only job was to master this barrier technique as soon as possible.
As for figuring out how to defeat the enemy in such a short time—that was Seiki's problem to solve.
Quickly, the group sprang into action with high efficiency, cooperating and beginning their practice without delay.
Might Duy also seemed to be inspired, but not wanting to interrupt Guy, he could only hug Seiki Shimaseki tightly while shedding tears of emotion. "Is this the blazing passion of youth? I'm just too moved!"
Seiki Shimaseki encouraged earnestly, "Master Duy, it's up to the two of us now!"
Might Duy nodded firmly, "Right, we must give our best effort too!"
After saying that, he ran off alone to a corner to warm up.
Seeing everyone united and full of enthusiasm, their eyes seemingly sparkling with infinite radiance, Seiki Shimaseki also nodded slightly.
Just like what he had done back at the Academy—he could've carried the team solo, yet always chose the hardest path.
Because his goal wasn't just victory in the arena; beyond the battlefield, he wanted to win people's trust!
The more involvement others felt, the stronger the cohesion became.
And the stronger the cohesion, the more people would be attracted.
At school, using his class as the foundation, he absorbed students from different grades until becoming the school leader. On the battlefield, naturally, he could use this small group as a base to absorb ninjas from various ranks and become a battlefield leader.
Only when enough people recognized his leadership could his future reforms proceed smoothly.
...
Outside, the Seven Ninja, aimlessly searching everywhere like headless flies, were growing somewhat annoyed.
"Damn it, where exactly are those Konoha brats hiding?"
"Could the Cloud ninjas have lied to us? Is it really true that Seiki Shimaseki's Flying Thunder God Technique doesn't consume much chakra at all?"
"Dammit, we should've brought a Sensor ninja with us!"
"Maybe they're already resting comfortably back at camp while we're still stupidly wandering around looking for them."
"Forget it, let's just go since we've already tried hard enough."
Seiki, who had half an ear on the commotion outside, facepalmed when he heard them. No wonder Mist treats the Byakugan like a precious relic on par with the Rinnegan—you really have no reconnaissance abilities at all, do you?
As Seiki hesitated over whether he should loosen the barrier suppressing sensing abilities, Jinin Akebino vented his frustration by slamming his Kubutowari onto the ground.
"Aargh! This is so annoying..."
The earth ahead shook and collapsed, exposing part of the hidden underground cave.
Both groups froze in stunned silence.
This development didn't quite seem right?
But the Seven Ninja quickly regained their composure and surrounded Seiki and his comrades with smirks.
"Hehe, so you guys were hiding here all along!"
"You made us go through so much trouble finding you... Today's kids really are getting less and less adorable!"
"Little boy, Uncle here is genuinely about to get angry!"
Seiki remained calm and merely observed the enemies with a composed expression.
"The current issue is, how do we complete the barrier?"
Maybe using the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique again could work, but with the enemy now alert, it might not fully succeed this time.
If the attempt failed, their intentions might be exposed immediately.
Therefore, success on the first try was essential!
Thinking thus, Seiki lowered his voice and said solemnly, "Master Duy, please cover me from here on out!"
While assigning tasks outwardly, Seiki also privately conveyed details to the others via their soul link.
It's almost like an upgraded version of the Yamanaka clan's jutsu, the Spirit Transformation Technique, which could definitely develop similar abilities.
Might Duy gave a firm nod, suddenly brimming with excitement as he looked at the Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist. "Kai, did you see that? Even your dad can take on an S-ranked mission now!"
Then he couldn't help but turn around and ask, "This counts as an S-ranked mission, right?"
Kai immediately burst into tears and gave a thumbs-up, shouting, "Of course it does!"
Seeing their heartfelt reactions, the Seven Ninja finally relaxed — they'd briefly worried Might Duy might actually be a serious threat.
"That guy's just an idiot after all!"
Straightening up with intense focus, Might Duy announced dramatically, "As the first human expert to face me, I'll definitely..."
"Human expert?" Biwa Juzo caught that detail sharply. "Does that mean you've fought tailed beasts before?"
Might Duy curled his lips upward, giving him a thumbs-up. "Actually, I've only ever sparred with animals — this is my first real battle against a person!"
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