Chapter 46: Return

Several hours passed in a flash. Seimei was initially worried that other enemies would pursue him, but as the sky was about to brighten and he hadn't seen a second person, his tense spirit relaxed a bit. If the enemy had the upper hand, they wouldn't ignore Shiraishi Kuraudo's life or death, so it was likely that his side had won. Next, he just needed to wait patiently for rescue. As for returning on his own... Seimei thought about it, but ultimately gave up. After all, his side's victory was just his speculation. What if the battle was intense and the enemy couldn't attend to this side for the time being? Wouldn't he be walking into a trap if he went back? So, it was better to wait patiently! And this wait lasted for two hours. ... Two hours later. The sky was bright. In the forest. Four Konoha ninja were moving swiftly. Suddenly, the leading Jonin stopped and threw a kunai, shouting, "Who's there?" Hearing this, the three Konoha Genin immediately dispersed, vaguely forming a defensive formation. Clang~ The kunai was intercepted in mid-air. Seimei walked out from behind a tree. Seeing his attire, one of the Konoha Genin facing him exclaimed in surprise, "A Konoha ninja?!" "Yes." Seimei nodded. Seeing this, the leading Jonin still didn't let his guard down and questioned, "Who are you? Why are you here?" Hearing this, Seimei explained his identity and what he had experienced last night in detail. After listening to his account and looking at the wound on his chest, the leading Jonin pondered for a moment before taking him back to the temporary camp. About an hour later, Furukawa appeared at the temporary camp. After verifying his identity, Seimei was taken back to the main camp. From their conversation, Seimei finally understood the whole story. Initially, he felt that the Iwa ninja's surprise attack this time was unreasonable. Their previous defense zone didn't have any important facilities, and taking it wouldn't be of much significance, nor could they hold it. Attacking here was completely a thankless task. Now, Seimei understood that it wasn't meaningless. Because last night, it wasn't just their defense zone that was attacked; several neighboring defense zones, as well as several defense zones on the other side of the main camp, were also attacked. Moreover, it wasn't just the Iwa ninja who participated in the attack, but also the Suna ninja. These two villages had reached some kind of agreement and launched a simultaneous attack on the Konoha main camp. That's right, it was the main camp. The ninja who attacked their outer defense zones could only be considered a feint. The real main force waited for a while before launching their attack. Last night, after receiving distress signals from all sides, the main camp immediately dispatched several teams for reinforcements. However, shortly after the teams set off, the main forces of the Iwa and Suna ninja appeared, directly attacking the main camp from the east and west. These main forces weren't the "rabble" that Seimei and the others had encountered. Once they entered the battlefield, the defense zones on the east and west sides couldn't hold on at all. In just a short time, they were breached. Seeing that the enemy was about to reach the main camp, Orochimaru had no choice but to order the support troops to return. So, while Seimei and the others were struggling to hold on, an extremely fierce battle also took place at the main camp. Needless to say, Konoha ultimately managed to protect the main camp. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to see Furukawa now. However... Seimei glanced at Furukawa's empty right arm and couldn't help but sigh at the dangers of the battlefield. That's right, Furukawa lost an arm in last night's battle, and it was his dominant right arm. This would undoubtedly significantly reduce his strength. But this was already the best outcome. Of the four Jonin on Konoha's side last night, only he and another special Jonin survived. The squad leader, Nakajima Hiroshi, and another special Jonin both died in the battle. In addition, only one Chunin survived. As for Ryosuke and Mizutani Shizuko, although they suffered serious injuries, they were fortunate enough to hold on until Okura Seiya arrived with reinforcements. That's right, although the main camp couldn't provide timely support, Okura Seiya, the Jonin who stayed behind at the base, did provide support. It was precisely because of this that Ryosuke and the others survived. Originally, Furukawa thought Seimei was dead, but suddenly hearing news of him, he initially thought someone was impersonating him. After all, he hadn't shown up for so long, and when he left the battlefield, he was being pursued by a special Jonin. It was normal for him to have died. But no one expected that Seimei would actually survive and even kill the enemy. This made Furukawa very pleased. As for the details of the kill... Seimei emphasized the enemy's underestimation of him and his own caution. Anyway, no one had seen Shiraishi Kuraudo's full strength, so his actual combat power was up to Seimei to describe. Even if someone suspected there might be some issues, as long as he refused to admit it, would anyone stand up for Shiraishi Kuraudo, the enemy? After some time, when his strength increased, this minor issue wouldn't be a problem anymore. ... Returning to the main camp. Seimei first went to see Ryosuke and Mizutani Shizuko. When the two saw him, they were almost moved to tears of joy. Seeing that they were alright, Seimei also showed a rare smile. After chatting for a while, Seimei went to the medical team to treat his injuries. The other superficial wounds were nothing, but the chest injury needed to be dealt with as soon as possible. Although the high temperature of the lightning had cauterized his wound and stopped the bleeding, if not treated carefully, it was very likely to leave aftereffects. Seimei didn't want to end up like the later Moonlight Hayate, coughing every few steps. Speaking of Moonlight Hayate, Seimei thought of the '三日月之舞' (Crescent Moon Dance). Last night's battle made Seimei realize that his ninjutsu was temporarily sufficient for long-range attacks. Next, he just needed to continuously increase their levels. On the other hand, for close combat, 'Basic Taijutsu' was clearly not enough anymore. He needed to learn more advanced techniques as soon as possible. Of course, he didn't want to learn the 'Crescent Moon Dance'. To perform this secret technique, one first needed to summon two shadow clones using the 'Shadow Clone Technique', then the clones and the本体 would quickly teleport in front of the enemy, and finally attack the enemy's vital points from above, left, and right. From this process, it could be seen that this move consumed a lot of chakra and focused on a one-hit kill. It was only suitable for ninja like Moonlight Hayate who specialized in sneak attacks and assassinations. Seimei's goal was to become a well-rounded warrior, not an assassin, so this move wasn't suitable for him. He wanted to learn its prerequisite sword technique - Konoha-Style Kenjutsu. Although this technique wasn't widespread among Konoha ninja, there were indeed a few who knew it. For example, the eternal Genin - Kosuke Maruboshi, and the Konoha Jonin - Hayama Shirakumo both knew this technique and had even developed their own secret techniques based on it. Seimei felt that if he learned this technique and increased its proficiency, he should also be able to develop his own unique sword moves. Of course, these weren't the most important things. The most important thing was that it was relatively widespread, and the village wasn't too strict about it. Basically, as long as one had enough merit, they could exchange for it. The relatively low acquisition difficulty was the main reason why Seimei set his sights on it. While walking, Seimei calculated the battlefield merits he had accumulated over the past month or so, and it was almost enough. Seimei planned to exchange for this technique at the logistics department after treating his injuries.