"Everyone, stay alert!"
Below, in the Mist Ninja forces to the east, a Mist Jonin noticed Seimei charging directly at their squad and immediately shouted a warning.
Instantly, all the Mist Ninjas stopped in their tracks, raising their kunai to confront Seimei.
Looking into their intensely focused eyes, Seimei's expression didn't waver as he charged right into their attack range.
"Release!"
The next moment, a commanding voice rang out from the Mist Ninja ranks.
Hearing this, all the Mist Ninjas divided into three groups and hurled their kunai.
In an instant, countless kunai rained down like a storm directly aimed at Seimei's face.
Seimei's Sharingan spun rapidly, his reflexes heightened to their limit as he tracked the flight path of each kunai.
Then, with a swift movement of the chakra wings on his back, he darted through the air like a butterfly, effortlessly dodging the first wave of attacks.
However, the second wave was more challenging.
The Mist Ninjas had more time to prepare, so their aim was sharper.
As a result, Seimei had to expend more effort to dodge.
He could withstand these first two waves of attacks, but the third was different.
With even more preparation time, the third group's kunai were not only more accurate and numerous, but some were also rigged with explosive tags.
Seeing the burning explosive tags attached to the kunai, Seimei didn't hesitate. He swiftly changed direction, carving a "V" in the air, distancing himself from the Mist Ninja forces.
The kunai, fighting against gravity and now further away from Seimei, couldn't keep up with his speed.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The explosive tags detonated midair, creating deafening explosions as fireballs erupted, distorting the air with intense heat.
Avoiding the blast waves, Seimei arced through the sky and dived again toward the Mist Ninjas from a different angle.
"Keep attacking!"
The Mist Jonin below commanded again.
Following the order, the Mist Ninjas repeated their coordinated three-phase attack.
No, this time it was four phases.
After the kunai attacks, some of the Mist Ninjas completed hand signs and unleashed various ninjutsu at Seimei.
Unfortunately for them, Seimei had an aerial advantage and could see their every move clearly.
Before they could release their ninjutsu, he had already pulled away.
Their efforts were in vain.
Meanwhile, another Mist Ninja squad from the west, realizing the eastern squad couldn't pin down Seimei, ceased their delay and moved forward at full speed.
Seimei cast a glance in their direction.
Time passed, and Seimei launched his third dive, making it seem like a full-force attack.
The Mist Ninjas below, not willing to take a chance, threw their kunai again.
Seimei continued playing his 'wolf in sheep's clothing' game.
Five times, he repeated this feint, waiting until the western Mist squad was several hundred meters away. Finally, he stopped pretending and launched a real attack.
This time, as Seimei descended, the Mist Ninjas below were no longer as synchronized as before. The repeated harassment had sown seeds of doubt in some of their hearts.
It was this hesitation that Seimei seized upon.
After dodging the first wave of kunai, Seimei reached into his ninja pouch and pulled out several kunai rigged with explosive tags.
With precision, he threw them at the lower-ranked Mist Ninjas.
Due to his elevated position, the kunai sped up after leaving his hand, making them even harder to intercept.
The lower-ranked ninjas had no chance to react, while even the nearby Chunin struggled.
Finally, a few Jonin intervened to deflect the kunai.
But despite stopping the kunai, the explosive tags still went off.
Boom!
The explosion sent waves of searing heat, making it difficult to breathe, and the ensuing shockwave scattered the Mist Ninja formation.
Seeing this, Seimei's eyes gleamed.
Without hesitation, he flapped his wings, creating another arc in the air as he closed in on the disoriented Mist Ninjas.
'Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!'
Seimei quickly performed hand signs and, with a burst of chakra, released a massive fireball, over ten meters in diameter, from his mouth, sending it hurtling toward the Mist Ninja ranks like a falling meteor.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" x3
Below, three Mist Ninjas reacted immediately, forming hand signs and simultaneously launching their Water Dragon Jutsu.
Three massive water dragons shot up, converging on the enormous fireball.
As soon as they collided, the sound of steam hissing filled the air.
In the blink of an eye, the area was shrouded in a dense mist created by the evaporating water, severely limiting visibility.
Seeing this, the Mist Jonin smiled instead of worrying.
For them, such conditions were advantageous.
As they prepared to regroup and devise a new plan, a sudden gust of wind swept through.
"This is bad!"
Recalling Seimei's abilities, the Mist Jonin's faces changed as they shouted, "Everyone, defend yourselves!"
But it was too late.
Before they could react, the wind cleared the mist and continued to blow through their ranks.
In an instant, the Mist Ninja formation was thrown into disarray, with ninjas stumbling and struggling to stay upright.
By the time the wind died down, their formation was completely disrupted.
"Damn it!"
One Mist Jonin cursed at the sight.
But just as he did, a sharp sense of danger surged through him. Acting on instinct, he dove face-first to the ground like a desperate animal.
The next moment, the sound of air being sliced rang out.
Glancing back, he saw a thin, clean cut where he had just been standing, the ground on either side smooth as glass, as if sliced by a razor.
His heart pounded wildly. He had a gut feeling that, had he reacted even a fraction of a second later, he would have been sliced in half just like the ground.
The thought filled him with lingering fear.
(End of Chapter)