After cleanly taking down the Mist Village jonin before him, Seimei turned his gaze toward another Mist jonin in the distance.
At that moment, he had just plunged his kunai into the shadow clone that had been using "Wind Style: Blade of Wind."
**Poof!**
With a puff of chakra, the shadow clone vanished.
At the same time, images of the previous battle between the Mist jonin and the shadow clone flashed in Seimei's mind.
Although brief, for Seimei with his Sharingan, it was enough to analyze and reference.
Without any hesitation, Seimei immediately shouted to the special jonin beside him, "Follow me!"
With that, he launched into "Flash Sword Technique" and attacked the Mist jonin.
Seeing Seimei rush toward him, Oomura Ken had no hesitation and immediately met the attack.
Quickly, the two clashed in combat.
**Clang, clang, clang!**
The sound of metal clashing filled the scene.
However, despite not retreating, Oomura Ken had learned from Akirin Yosuke's lesson. He dodged whenever possible, blocking only when he had no choice and refraining from counterattacking.
Clearly, his only goal was to stall.
And in this full-defense stance, even Seimei struggled to find an opening.
A jonin is a jonin, after all!
Earlier, the only reason Akirin Yosuke had fallen was that he was up against both Seimei and the special jonin. Against two attackers, even he couldn't defend himself.
Additionally, Seimei and his shadow clone had been perfectly in sync through their "Mind Link" technique, creating an ideal opening for Seimei to strike.
Otherwise, even with his skills, it would have been nearly impossible to defeat Akirin Yosuke so quickly.
Still, he'd lost a shadow clone in the process.
It could be said that killing any jonin is no easy feat.
Especially when a jonin is focused solely on defense; breaking through is difficult without extraordinary power.
And what Seimei lacked now was time.
However, he wasn't about to resort to his Mangekyo Sharingan just yet; after all, he wasn't without allies here.
Just as he thought this, the special jonin from Konoha joined the fray, moving immediately to replace Seimei's position.
In a flash, Seimei understood his intent.
He quickly let his ally take over the main offensive role.
Then he began to circle around Oomura Ken, striking occasionally to assist his ally while searching for an opening.
And in this aspect, the Uchiha clan's Sharingan was unmatched.
Pushing his three-tomoe Sharingan to its limits, Seimei saw every move Oomura Ken made in slow motion, crystal-clear.
His heightened perception gradually allowed him to read his opponent's habits.
Taking advantage of his ally's relentless attacks, Seimei began to increase the pressure as well.
...
Time ticked by, second by second.
At one moment, when the special jonin ignored an oncoming kunai to suddenly counter Oomura Ken, Seimei noticed a sharp change in Oomura Ken's expression, as if recalling an unpleasant memory.
The next moment, he pulled back his kunai and held it defensively in front of him.
**Clang!** The kunai collided with another kunai, producing a long-lasting metallic ring.
Just then, Seimei's pupils dilated slightly as he whispered to himself, "Perfect timing!"
A glimmer of blue light flashed. Activating "Flash Sword Technique," Seimei instantly appeared behind Oomura Ken.
Swiftly, he swung his blade.
He poured a large amount of Wind Style chakra into the blade, which generated a visible wind blade along the edge.
A powerful sense of danger washed over Oomura Ken. Without turning, he could already imagine a blade aimed at his back.
This is precisely what people mean by "feeling the prick of a blade at one's back."
Instinctively, Oomura Ken abandoned his confrontation with the special jonin, dodging diagonally to avoid Seimei's sword.
However, while he dodged Seimei's strike, he left his side exposed to Seimei's teammate.
Without a moment's hesitation, the special jonin hurled his kunai at Oomura Ken's exposed flank.
**Slash!**
The sound of flesh being cut echoed.
Blood splattered.
A gash appeared on Oomura Ken's right arm, neither too deep nor too shallow.
A sharp, burning pain surged through him.
But Oomura Ken barely had time to check the wound, as Seimei, who had missed his strike, began weaving hand signs, clearly preparing a jutsu.
Catching sight of Seimei's hand signs, Oomura Ken didn't have much time to think. He quickly raised his hands and performed a series of hand seals, activating Water Style: Water Formation Wall at an unprecedented speed!
**Whoosh!** A water wall rose from the surface of the sea, standing tall before him.
At that moment, Seimei exhaled a stream of fire, which vaguely took the shape of a dragon.
Seeing this, Oomura Ken felt a surge of relief, realizing he had made the right gamble.
Although "Water Style: Water Formation Wall" could block various jutsu, it was especially effective against Fire Style.
Seeing the seals Seimei had formed and recalling his recent "Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu," Oomura Ken had correctly anticipated another Fire Style jutsu.
This foresight would undoubtedly buy him valuable time.
However, as a smile of triumph began to form, his eyes widened in shock, and his expression froze.
He realized that Seimei had indeed launched a Fire Style jutsu, but it was not the "Dragon Fire Jutsu" he'd expected. It was "Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Jutsu."
Compared to the "Dragon Fire Jutsu," the key difference was that this jutsu divided the flames into three fire dragons, attacking from three different directions.
Oomura Ken's Water Formation Wall was only an ordinary jutsu, unmodified like Second Hokage Tobirama Senju's technique that could form a circular barrier.
The water wall he had raised could only block attacks from directly in front.
Seimei, however, split his attention and controlled the three dragons to strike Oomura Ken from the left, center, and right.
As expected, the water wall blocked the frontal dragon, but the other two dragons bypassed it and charged at Oomura Ken from both sides.
Although Oomura Ken reacted swiftly, dodging the direct impact, he still suffered burns from the fiery explosion of the dragons.
Watching the battered Oomura Ken, Seimei nodded in satisfaction.
This had been his first real test of the "Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Jutsu" he had learned from Shisui Uchiha.
Under the right conditions, it had proven quite effective.
Still, being his first trial, his technique was a bit unrefined.
Otherwise, Oomura Ken wouldn't have managed to complete his own high-level jutsu—the Water Style: Water Formation Wall—first.
As for the outcome…
Let's just say, luck wasn't on Oomura Ken's side today!
*(End of chapter)*