Grind is My Ninja Way

Meanwhile, the other Konoha Jonin also began their tasks.

Some of them suddenly disengaged from combat and quickly dispersed, organizing the Konoha Chunin and Genin on the field to retreat.

Yes, retreat.

Their mission was to contain Iwagakure's reinforcements, not to die. Fighting while retreating was undoubtedly the best option.

Staying here any longer had no meaning other than being surrounded and annihilated.

And all of this was planned.

Therefore, the Konoha team reorganized very quickly. Not long after receiving the order, they formed over a dozen small squads with Jonin as the core.

During this process, the Iwa-nin Chunin and Genin tried to obstruct them.

However, because their own Jonin were all entangled and there was no high-end combat power to deal with the Jonin in each Konoha squad, nor unified and effective command, they didn't cause much trouble.

A few minutes later, the Konoha ninjas successfully disengaged from the battle.

It was only then that the Konoha Jonin who were entangled with the Iwa-nin Jonin began to withdraw from the battle one after another.

Most of them joined the main force and moved together, but a few, like Seimei, rushed out of the formation and to the forefront.

They were all members of the combat team, responsible for clearing the way for the entire group.

As for why they were going back the way they came?

The reason was simple: this way, after their teammates from other strongholds broke through Iwagakure's defenses, they could rendezvous with them faster.

This would also ensure their safety.

Watching the Konoha ninjas gradually move away, an Iwa-nin Chunin looked at an Iwa-nin Jonin and said, "Captain, should we still pursue them?"

Hearing this, the Iwa-nin Jonin glared and shouted, "Nonsense! Of course we have to pursue them!"

With that, he organized the surviving Iwa-nin and began the chase.

Just like that, one side chased, and the other fled. Half an hour quickly passed.

At the forefront of the team, Seimei, who was rapidly advancing, suddenly stopped and then quickly retreated.

The next moment, several kunai shot from the front, pinning themselves to the tree branch where he had just been standing.

Then, a sizzling sound rang out as the explosive tags tied to the kunai rapidly burned.

The next moment, a violent explosion erupted, and several fireballs rose, instantly igniting the surrounding trees.

Seimei wasn't injured because he had dodged in time.

He stood on the tree branch, looking at the dense crowd of figures that suddenly appeared in front of him, and instantly knew that their path had been cut off.

"I wonder if there are enemies on the flanks as well?"

Thinking this, Seimei took out a whistle from his chest and quickly blew it according to a specific pattern.

This kind of whistle was specially made, and the sound it produced could travel a long distance.

Therefore, as long as they agreed on a code beforehand, they could transmit simple information over a certain distance.

However, the sound of this whistle was very easily recognizable, so it could only be used in situations like this where their presence was practically known. Otherwise, it would be easy to expose their location.

After sending the signal, Seimei put away the whistle.

In front of him, the Iwa-nin completely ignored his actions, seemingly believing they had them cornered, which gave Seimei a sense of foreboding.

However, he quickly put these distracting thoughts aside and focused on dealing with the situation at hand.

He scanned the Iwa-nin with his eyes. There were a total of twenty people: two Jonin, eight Chunin, and ten Genin.

If it were just these people, he still had a fighting chance, but...

Seimei looked into the distance, and through the gaps between the people and the trees, he could vaguely see more Iwa-nin gathering in the distance.

Obviously, these twenty people in front of him were just the vanguard; the main force was behind them.

"In that case, I can only retreat for now..."

With this thought, Seimei didn't hesitate at all. He immediately turned around, intending to leave first.

But at this moment, a sense of crisis suddenly washed over him, making his hair stand on end. Almost instinctively, Seimei leaned back.

The next moment, a cold, gleaming kunai whizzed past his eyes, the sharp air current almost tearing his skin.

'Wind Style?!'

This thought flashed through Seimei's mind, and then he glanced at the owner of the kunai from the corner of his eye.

In an instant, his expression froze.

No wonder, he recognized this person. It was the murderer who had killed Mizutani Shizuko, the young Jonin from Iwagakure - Kohara Shuji.

A few months ago, Iwagakure and Sunagakure had jointly attacked Konoha's main camp, causing significant losses to Konoha.

In response, Orochimaru planned a mission to attack Iwagakure's logistics transfer center.

It was during that mission that Mizutani Shizuko, in order to save him, was pierced through the throat by Kohara Shuji's kunai and died on the spot.

Even now, he still remembered her final gaze, filled with a longing for life.

At that time, he had made up his mind to kill Kohara Shuji and avenge her.

But back then, his Sharingan only had a single tomoe, and his proficiency in the Konoha-style Kenjutsu was only at Lv3.

Additionally, the Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique and the three Fire Style ninjutsu were also only at Lv2 and couldn't be used effectively.

Therefore, Kohara Shuji easily overwhelmed him with simple close combat.

If it weren't for the mission ending at a critical moment, and him escaping the battle at the cost of injury and reaching the side of a Konoha Jonin, he would probably be dead now.

Since then, he had decided that he would definitely avenge this in the future.

Originally, he was still thinking about finding an opportunity to investigate the opponent's whereabouts after this mission ended.

Unexpectedly, he encountered him now.

It was truly a case of enemies on a narrow road!

As for how the opponent got close to him?

Seimei recalled the scene of the opponent's sneak attack just now; how similar it was to back then.

Obviously, the opponent most likely used the Camouflage Technique, a stealth technique, this time as well.

It was only because he reacted quickly and tilted his head back in time to avoid the attack, otherwise, he might have been instantly killed.

Various thoughts flashed through his mind. Seimei looked at the person in front of him with cold eyes, as if looking at a dead man.

Being stared at like this, Kohara Shuji didn't show any fear, even faintly excited.

From the look in his eyes, Seimei knew that the opponent also recognized him.

"That's for the best. If the opponent didn't even remember who I was, then even killing him wouldn't be meaningful."

Seimei thought to himself.

At the same time, Kohara Shuji suddenly twisted his wrist, retracting the kunai that was thrust out at an angle, and then slashed horizontally, aiming directly at his throat.

If it were in the past, he might not have been able to react to this.

But now...

Seimei abruptly activated his Sharingan and, at the moment of using the genjutsu, pushed off the tree branch with his feet, retreating backward.

Kohara Shuji saw Seimei's blood-red Three-Tomoe Sharingan and immediately looked away.

Although his hand movements didn't stop, without visual guidance, they inevitably slowed down a bit.

It was in that instant that Seimei avoided the attack and appeared on another tree branch.

(End of Chapter)