Chapter 42: Seizing the Opportunity

Regaining his focus, Seimei fixed his gaze back on the Iwa-nin Chunin in front of him. The battle was still ongoing... Seimei, fighting one against two, showed no signs of weakness. But this was only temporary. After all, Seimei was alone. Facing the combined attacks of two, it was inevitable that there would be openings over time. Therefore... 'I must end this quickly!' And to achieve a quick victory, he first needed to break free from the current entanglement. Constantly engaging in close combat wouldn't allow him to utilize his advantages. What were his advantages? Naturally, it was his lv3 'Shuriken Throwing' and the ninjutsu that had generally been upgraded to lv2. With this in mind, Seimei began to strategize. When he saw Ryosuke and Mizutani Shizuko struggling against the Iwa-nin Chunin, an idea suddenly came to him. So, in the subsequent fight, Seimei would occasionally glance over there, showing anxiety whenever the two got injured. His changes were naturally noticed by the two Iwa-nin Chunin. They exchanged a look, understanding each other without words. Seimei also observed their changes, but he remained expressionless. Now, both sides were waiting for an opportunity. Finally, after an unknown amount of time, Mizutani Shizuko was careless and got her arm scratched by the Iwa-nin Chunin, blood flowing. The intense pain caused Mizutani Shizuko to let out an involuntary scream. Seeing this, Seimei's expression changed slightly, as if his attention was diverted. His dodging movement was slightly delayed. Then, a ripping sound was heard. The clothes on Seimei's left shoulder were slashed open by one of the Iwa-nin, revealing a bit of blood. Seeing this, the other Iwa-nin Chunin's eyes lit up, and he swiftly swung his kunai, aiming for Seimei's vital points. Seimei's subsequent actions perfectly illustrated the saying, "One misstep leads to another." Failing to dodge in time, Seimei suffered some injuries. Although the injuries weren't serious, they could even be considered negligible, but the rhythm of the battle was disrupted. Therefore, under the attack of the other Iwa-nin, he could only retreat step by step. The Iwa-nin who had injured Seimei first also seized the opportunity to launch a fierce attack on him. In the end, Seimei couldn't withstand it and was kicked in the right arm by one of them. In fact, if Seimei hadn't blocked with his arm at the critical moment, that kick might have landed on his head. If that had happened, it wouldn't have been as simple as just being sent flying. That's right, after being hit by that kick, Seimei involuntarily flew towards the back left. However, what the two Iwa-nin didn't notice was that at the moment Seimei's feet left the ground, he kicked off the ground forcefully, making his backward flight slightly faster. But even if they had noticed, they wouldn't have cared because they didn't intend to give Seimei any time to breathe. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Several shuriken and kunais were thrown by the two Iwa-nin, closely pursuing the flying Seimei. Not only that, but they themselves also followed closely behind, ready to deliver the final blow at any moment. Seimei was very familiar with this kind of opportunistic attack method because he had just used it to kill an Iwa-nin Genin not long ago. Without needing to guess, Seimei knew that whether he could dodge this wave of shuriken and kunai attacks or not, the moment he landed, he would face a series of attacks from the two Iwa-nin Chunin. At that time, if he couldn't react in time, he would end up like the Iwa-nin Genin he had killed, being instantly killed by the two Iwa-nin Chunin behind him. Even if he reacted, having lost the initiative, his chances of survival were slim. It seemed that his situation was dire. However, there was no panic on Seimei's face, and there was even a hint of smugness. Thump! Thump! Thump! All the shuriken and kunais thrown by the two Iwa-nin Chunin hit Seimei. However, the sound produced wasn't that of blades piercing flesh, but rather something akin to them being embedded in wood. Wait! It wasn't just like it; they were actually embedded in wood. The Seimei who landed had somehow transformed into a wooden log, riddled with shuriken and kunais. Seeing this, the two Iwa-nin, who were about to move in for the kill, stopped in their tracks and exclaimed in surprise, "Substitution Jutsu!" They weren't surprised that Seimei knew the Substitution Jutsu, but rather how he could have performed it in such a short time. Even they might not have been able to do it successfully. However, these things weren't important for now. The important thing was, where was Seimei now? The two experienced Iwa-nin Chunin immediately scanned the nearby areas suitable for hiding. Then, they saw Seimei standing on a tree branch. 'Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!' Seimei placed his right hand in front of his mouth and spat out a massive crimson fireball. A wave of heat washed over them, and the two Iwa-nin hurriedly dodged. But because they had lost the initiative, even with their quick movements, they were still affected by the exploding fireball. Boom! One Iwa-nin fell to the ground awkwardly. Before he could even catch his breath, he hurriedly grabbed a tree trunk, trying to stand up. But at that moment, a kunai shot out from the smoke. The Iwa-nin quickly shifted his body to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack. However, before he could rejoice, he saw the kunai fly behind the tree and suddenly change direction, circling back from the other side of the tree. Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle! The sound of wire friction filled the air. Before the Iwa-nin could react, his body was bound to the tree by a wire. Only then did he realize that there was a thin, almost invisible wire connected to the kunai, and it was this wire that had tied him to the tree. The Iwa-nin seemed to have realized something and inwardly cursed. He tried to break free, but his arms were bound by the wire, making it impossible to form hand seals. So, he could only rely on brute force. But the wire wasn't so easily broken. As he struggled, a line of fire emerged from the smoke, traveling along the wire like a fire dragon, burning straight towards him. "Ahhh!!!" His agonizing screams echoed throughout the battlefield, lasting for several breaths before gradually fading away. Seimei slowly walked out of the smoke and looked at the Iwa-nin Chunin, whose body was charred black but still alive. He casually threw a kunai, ending his life. Then, he looked towards the right, not far away, where another Iwa-nin was struggling. It was one of the two who had besieged him earlier. At this moment, several shuriken were embedded in his body, and blood was gushing out uncontrollably. He tried to get up several times but failed each time. Undoubtedly, these shuriken were also Seimei's doing. Earlier, he had taken advantage of the smoke cover to briefly activate his Sharingan. With it, he multitasked, not only using the kunai and wire to trap the Iwa-nin in front of him but also sending shuriken into the other Iwa-nin's body. Looking at the struggling Iwa-nin, Seimei shook his head and casually threw a kunai, ending his suffering. With this, both Iwa-nin Chunin had been killed by him. Looking back at the entire battle, the turning point could be said to have started from that kick. After deciding on the quick-victory strategy, Seimei hinted to the opponents that he was very concerned about his teammates' situation. Thanks to his age advantage and his previous actions of immediately rescuing Ryosuke and Mizutani Shizuko after killing his opponent, the two Iwa-nin Chunin didn't suspect anything. So, when Seimei later showed a distracted state due to Mizutani Shizuko's injury, the two didn't doubt it either. After that, Seimei naturally revealed an opening, and the two fell for it. At the moment he was kicked away, Seimei knew his plan had succeeded. Although the opponent's subsequent attacks were well-coordinated, his 'Substitution Jutsu' had long been cultivated to lv3 perfection. Coupled with the extra time he gained by accelerating during his backward flight, it was enough for him to execute the 'Substitution Jutsu'. From this moment on, he turned the tables. First, he caught the opponent off guard with a 'Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique'. Then, using his Sharingan and 'Shuriken Throwing', he trapped one and severely injured the other. Finally, he did what he had just done. He directly started