*Squelch!*
The sound of a blade piercing flesh echoed.
Seimei thrust his blade forward, hitting a Hidden Mist Jonin directly in the back.
Feeling his life slipping away, the Jonin's movements stiffened for a moment.
Then, without hesitation, he used the last of his strength to pull out an explosive tag from his pouch and immediately activated it.
Up ahead, the Konoha Jonin, who had been distracting the enemy, saw this and quickly leaped back.
At the same time, he shouted a warning to Seimei, "Careful! Explosive tag!"
Upon hearing the warning, Seimei didn't hesitate. With a quick tap of his foot, he pulled out his long blade and retreated a considerable distance.
In the next instant, a violent explosion erupted.
Scarlet flames engulfed the Hidden Mist Jonin and spread outward.
However, it was just a single explosive tag, so the blast radius was limited, failing to harm Seimei or the other Konoha Jonin.
The two shielded their faces from the incoming shockwave with their hands, and once the explosion subsided, they exchanged a knowing glance.
Then, each picked a direction and dashed off.
At this point, it had been over twenty minutes since Seimei had fully unleashed his strength.
In that time, he had assisted other Konoha Jonin in killing three Hidden Mist Jonin.
This significantly improved the situation for Konoha's side.
It's easy to understand why.
Each time Seimei killed an enemy, it freed up a Konoha Jonin of equivalent strength.
These freed Jonin would then join the other battles. Even if they couldn't eliminate enemies as quickly as Seimei, they ensured their comrades wouldn't be easily defeated.
At the same time, it became harder for the Hidden Mist Jonin still fighting to break away.
This gave Seimei more time to target and kill other Hidden Mist Jonin.
Clearly, it was a snowball effect.
Seimei was single-handedly turning the tide of the battle for Konoha.
It was easy to predict that as he killed more Jonin, the Hidden Mist side would collapse faster and faster.
There would come a point where Seimei wouldn't even need to intervene, and the remaining Konoha Jonin could team up to take down the Hidden Mist Jonin. When that happened, the Hidden Mist's collapse would be imminent.
From then on, whether Seimei targeted lower-ranked ninjas or continued to go after Jonin, the remaining Hidden Mist Chunin and Genin would face overwhelming attacks from Konoha's Jonin.
Neither Seimei nor the other Konoha Jonin were enemies the surviving Hidden Mist ninjas could handle.
So, the collapse was inevitable.
And now, that moment wasn't far off.
Though the Hidden Mist forces had appeared threatening at first, they had divided into two groups, which inevitably weakened both.
For example, while there were many Hidden Mist Chunin and Genin present, there were fewer Jonin compared to the previous day.
Those strong ninjas from the Yuki clan had mostly followed Ozawa Yuki, departing by sea to head to the Blackstone stronghold.
Here, the number and strength of the Jonin were much more average.
In contrast, Sano Nobuhisa, in his effort to ensure the ambush's success, had brought most of the Jonin from his base.
As a result, the balance of high-level power between the two sides had shifted.
At the start, neither side had a clear advantage. But as Seimei killed five Hidden Mist Jonin and gravely injured another, the Hidden Mist forces were gradually pushed into a disadvantage.
Now, it was just a question of who would be the final straw to break the Hidden Mist's will.
With that thought, Seimei scanned the battlefield and quickly locked onto a Hidden Mist Jonin.
This man had a body covered in white bone spikes and wielded a bone sword. His fighting style resembled a dance as he frantically attacked Uchiha Shisui.
That's right, Uchiha Shisui.
He, too, had been drawn into this ambush battle.
Seimei recognized the enemy.
While he didn't know his exact identity, those characteristic "Shikotsumyaku" (Dead Bone Pulse) abilities revealed the enemy's origin.
If Seimei wasn't mistaken, the ninja belonged to the Kaguya clan from the Hidden Mist.
The techniques he used were from the Kaguya clan's secret dances: the Dance of the Willow and the Dance of the Camellia.
His agile movements and lightning-fast attacks showcased the excellence of these techniques.
However, Seimei had encountered even stronger Kaguya clan members and had already killed two of them, so he wasn't impressed.
With this in mind, he moved to the edge of the battlefield and, after spotting an opening, joined the fight.
Uchiha Shisui wasn't far behind in skill, and with Seimei's support, they gained a considerable advantage.
Immediately, Kaguya Kotaro felt the pressure. He could barely handle one Sharingan, but two were too much.
In an ironic twist, it was usually the Uchiha clan's ninjas who were overwhelmed and attacked due to the fear of their Sharingan.
But today, the tables had turned.
Though Kaguya Kotaro likely didn't appreciate this "luck," the situation had already unfolded, and there was no going back.
Without hesitation, Seimei slashed at Kotaro, aiming directly for his back.
The sharp aura of the blade could be felt in the air. Even though Kaguya Kotaro couldn't see it, he sensed the killing intent.
But Seimei's timing was perfect, leaving Kotaro with no chance to block.
Now, all he could do was dodge.
But in doing so, he would completely lose the upper hand.
With Uchiha Shisui's Sharingan, he would seize this chance to suppress Kotaro.
After that, Seimei and Shisui would finish him off in a matter of minutes.
Sensing the impending danger, Kotaro's Kaguya clan instincts for madness and bloodlust kicked in.
Instead of dodging, Kotaro took a cut from Uchiha Shisui in exchange for unleashing another Kaguya clan secret technique—the Dance of the Larch!
In the next moment, he spun like a top, and the bone spikes covering his body turned into sharp weapons, striking at Seimei and Uchiha Shisui.
Even with the Three Tomoe Sharingan, Shisui struggled to keep up with Kotaro's rapid movements and had no choice but to dodge.
Seimei, with his Mangekyo Sharingan, could see through the attack, but now wasn't the time to reveal that ability, so he dodged as well.
However, Kotaro seemed determined not to let them escape. Seeing them dodge, he immediately chased after them.
His body kept spinning, resembling a chainsaw, ready to shred Seimei and Shisui into pieces.
As a result, Seimei and Shisui could only keep using their body flicker techniques to evade.
For a moment, it seemed like the two were on the defensive.
But this was just a façade. Neither Seimei nor Shisui showed any signs of concern.
Why? Because both of them knew that the Kaguya clan's burst of power had limits.
Once Kotaro's outburst ended, it would be their turn to decide his fate.
So, they waited quietly for their opportunity.
(End of Chapter)