As Seimei observed the battlefield while letting his thoughts wander, the surrounding Mist Ninja launched their attack.
*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!*
A dense flurry of kunai flew toward him, not only targeting his vital spots but also blocking his escape routes.
With a quick scan, Seimei noticed that many of the kunai were laced with poison or tied with explosive tags.
It was clear these enemies were willing to use any means necessary to kill him.
For an average Jonin, this situation would have been truly troublesome.
But Seimei was different. He swiftly formed hand signs and instantly performed a jutsu: *Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!*
In an instant, a fierce gale arose, turning the skies dark.
The incoming kunai, battered by the powerful wind, had no chance of reaching him. In the blink of an eye, they were blown back in all directions.
Seeing this, one of the Mist Ninja immediately shouted, "Everyone, be careful!"
*Boom!*
*Boom, boom!*
Before the warning could even sink in, explosions erupted from the side, followed by a second and third blast.
Indeed, the explosions came from the kunai tied with explosive tags.
Shockwaves spread outward from the blast points, combining with the gale Seimei unleashed. The Mist Ninjas couldn't maintain their footing, stumbling backward one after another.
After a while, the battlefield fell silent again.
However, before they could catch their breath, Seimei leapt down from the rooftop and, using his *Instant Blade Technique*, closed the distance to them in an instant.
What followed needs little explanation—cunning tactics and relentless slaughter.
---
Time passed second by second.
Before long, a quarter of an hour had gone by.
As Seimei prepared to face the sixth wave of enemies, good news finally came from the central battlefield: Minato Namikaze and his team, after a fierce battle, had breached the Mist Village's final line of defense and infiltrated their command center.
In other words, their mission was about to be accomplished.
In fact, even if they didn't breach the command center, their objective was nearly complete.
The reason was simple: the personnel from the Mist's command system hadn't been hiding inside all this time. Most of them had joined the battle as soon as Minato and his team launched their assault.
Now that Minato and the others were about to storm the command center, it was clear most of their opponents were already dead.
That's why Seimei thought that even if they stopped now, their mission was essentially a success.
However, since Minato and the others insisted on storming the command center, there must be another reason—perhaps some key members were still alive, or they wanted to eliminate every last one of them to deal a decisive blow to the Mist Village's command system.
There was also the possibility they were after intelligence.
From what Seimei knew, both Nara Shikakou and the village leadership were infuriated by recent leaks of classified information.
If there was a chance to find some clues here, they wouldn't let it slip away.
Unfortunately, their efforts were destined to be in vain.
After this battle, the individuals replaced by White Zetsu would likely vanish entirely.
Although White Zetsu could imitate people flawlessly, it didn't mean they were undetectable. If one of them were accidentally killed, their true identity would be exposed.
At this stage, neither Uchiha Madara nor Black Zetsu would want White Zetsu's existence revealed to the world.
Thus, this chaotic skirmish served as the perfect opportunity.
Once those individuals were declared missing or presumed dead, the village might eventually realize how their intelligence had been leaking during this time.
But by then, it would be far too late.
---
In the end, the village would remain completely unaware.
Shaking his head, Seimei dismissed the thought and refocused, concentrating on dealing with the surrounding Mist ninja.
Due to his outstanding performance in recent skirmishes, more and more Mist ninjas had come to attack him. While they still posed little threat to him, dealing with so many at once was becoming increasingly bothersome.
Thus, Seimei was now searching for an opportunity to finish them all in one decisive move.
If he could use the Mangekyō Sharingan, his first-stage "Susano'o" would easily annihilate these enemies.
Unfortunately, he couldn't afford to be so reckless just yet.
Since that was the case, he had no choice but to bide his time and wait for the right moment.
**Boom!**
The sound of an explosive tag detonating echoed around him.
Dodging the final desperate attack of a dying Mist ninja, Seimei scanned the area. His eyes lit up instantly.
Just now, in order to avoid being caught in the self-detonation of one of their comrades, the surrounding Mist ninjas had retreated a short distance. This left him with a considerable open space to maneuver.
Without a doubt, this was an excellent opportunity!
Wasting no time, Seimei swiftly dashed to a nearby building and leaped onto its rooftop. With just one more jump, he could break free of the Mist ninjas' encirclement.
Such a bold move naturally did not escape the attention of the nearby Mist ninjas. One of them immediately shouted, "Quick, attack! Don't let him escape!"
**Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!**
A barrage of kunai rained down on him.
Seimei scanned the incoming weapons with a glance, ensuring none carried explosive tags.
Satisfied, he sheathed his blade and formed a hand seal, instantly activating a jutsu—**Earth Release: Hardening Technique!**
In the blink of an eye, his fair skin turned rough and dark, resembling solid rock.
The sound of clanging metal rang out as the kunai struck his hardened body, bouncing off with sparks. None managed to harm him in the slightest.
"Damn it!"
Witnessing this, one of the Mist ninjas cursed under his breath and shouted, "Use Lightning Release!"
Upon hearing this, two Mist ninjas immediately formed hand seals, preparing to unleash a Lightning Release jutsu.
However, Seimei was no stationary target, nor was he the type to passively endure an attack. He had never been one to take a hit without retaliating.
Almost simultaneously with the first wave of kunai striking him, Seimei formed a hand seal and unleashed a jutsu—**Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!**
Consuming 500 chakra points, he created an enormous fireball and hurled it downward from above.
Initially, one Mist ninja had planned to counter with a Water Release jutsu, but upon seeing the sheer size of the fireball, they faltered and retreated along with the others.
**Boom!**
The fireball hit the ground, exploding on impact.
The walls on either side crumbled under the blast's force, sending dirt and debris flying everywhere. The explosion's destructive power rivaled that of an arsenal of ninja tools.
But that wasn't the worst part—the raging flames from the fireball spread uncontrollably, rapidly shrinking the Mist ninjas' safe zone.
Fortunately, the fire lost much of its potency after the explosion. Several Mist ninjas combined their efforts and managed to halt the advancing flames.
However, this was only the beginning.
Spotting his next opportunity, Seimei locked onto a target. With a flurry of hand seals and a single thought, he unleashed another jutsu—**Fire Release: Scorching Flame Technique!**
"Ahhh!"
A scream erupted from the Mist ninjas as one of them was engulfed in flames, rolling on the ground in agony.
"What's going on?"
Someone voiced their confusion.
"It's the Ghost Blade Seimei! That's his attack!"
Another shouted after spotting Seimei's hand seals.
Before they could organize a rescue or devise a counter-strategy, Seimei launched his third attack.
**Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!**
In an instant, dozens—if not hundreds—of small fireballs shot out from Seimei's mouth, raining down on the Mist ninjas below like bullets from a machine gun.
"Watch out!"
"Dodge quickly!"
"Ahhh!"
The Mist ninjas descended into chaos under the onslaught.
Seizing the moment, Seimei threw several kunai equipped with explosive tags. Guided by his Sharingan's precise predictions, the kunai landed perfectly around the Mist ninjas, encircling them.
**Boom! Boom! Boom!**
A series of explosions erupted.
Fireballs ignited around the Mist ninjas, and the resulting shockwaves converged inward. Three Mist ninjas were severely injured on the spot, while the survivors suffered varying degrees of harm.
In this state, they were powerless to stop Seimei's assault.
**Clang!**
Seimei's long blade flashed as it was unsheathed once more.
A streak of azure light followed, and Seimei vanished from sight.
Two minutes later, silence fell over the battlefield.
*(Chapter ends)*