Various thoughts flashed through Seimei's mind before he refocused, drawing his longsword from his waist. His body emitted a flash of blue light as he again used the 'Instant Sword Technique.'
Across from him, Oomura Ken had barely regained his footing when he saw Seimei appear before him.
The next moment, a bright blade gleamed, striking directly into his eyes and disorienting his mind.
"Not good!"
In an instant, Oomura Ken realized the danger and immediately rolled to the side, trying to evade Seimei's attack.
But Seimei had already predicted his movement, throwing several shuriken almost as soon as Oomura Ken ducked.
Thud! Thud!
The sound of flesh being pierced filled the air.
Although Oomura Ken noticed the shuriken at the last second and tried to resist, the injuries on his arm and body slowed him down.
In the end, two shuriken struck him, freezing him in place.
In the next moment, Seimei's blade swept past, severing his head in one swift stroke.
With his head soaring, blood sprayed from his neck like a fountain, staining the surrounding sea red.
Yet, Seimei did not even blink at the gruesome scene.
No, more accurately, his attention had already shifted away.
At this moment, the two shadow clones blocking reinforcements from the Mist Village had been overrun by a dozen Mist ninja.
The three shadow clones attacking the surrounding Mist ninja alongside Seimei had also disappeared, with one destroyed by Oomura Ken and the other two falling in the recent chaos.
This wasn't due to a lack of skill but rather because the clones had taken considerable risks to defeat their opponents quickly.
After all, constant battle comes with risks.
Eventually, they fell to the Mist ninja's counterattack.
Still, their efforts yielded impressive results.
Nearby, the Mist Chunin forces were almost wiped out.
As for the Mist Jonin, after Seimei took down Akazato Yosuke and Oomura Ken, only one remained, a sensory-type Jonin.
When he saw Seimei's gaze sweep over him, he didn't hesitate and immediately withdrew from the fight, darting toward the approaching Mist reinforcements.
Seimei chose not to pursue him, both because it was too late and unnecessary.
He raised his eyes to the dozen Mist reinforcements.
Based on their chakra and aura, Seimei estimated at least five of them to be Jonin-level.
This was clearly more than the surviving friendly forces could handle.
Yet, despite this, Seimei said, "I'll leave them to you."
With that, he ignored the stunned looks of the Konoha ninja and quickly formed a seal, casting 'Wind Release: Wings of Wind' to take to the skies, heading toward the Mist battle ships.
The Konoha ninja watched him go, seeing that the Mist ships continued to advance without stopping.
Only then did they understand—it wasn't that Seimei was heartless; he simply had a more critical mission.
Realizing this, they felt a sense of relief.
Though they still hoped to survive, they knew their primary role now was likely to act as decoys and cannon fodder.
After exchanging glances, they spread out and waited calmly for the Mist reinforcements to arrive.
Meanwhile, a third of the advancing Mist ninja, seeing Seimei fly away, turned back toward the ships.
This filled the remaining Konoha ninja with joy.
Fewer enemies meant a higher chance of survival, however small that chance might be.
Seimei, too, noticed the returning Mist ninja, but he paid them little attention.
With a powerful flap of his wings, he accelerated toward the Mist ships at forty meters per second.
---
Meanwhile, on the deck of a Mist warship in the middle of the fleet, Dazawa Yoshiki's face darkened as he watched Seimei flying toward them.
He had ignored the sacrifices of Oomura Ken and the others, ordering the fleet to press forward to reach the Blackstone stronghold as quickly as possible.
He'd received Ayaka Akijū's message and knew this was a rare opportunity.
But now, seeing Seimei, it was clear he had no intention of letting them escape easily.
This infuriated Dazawa Yoshiki.
Despite his anger, he didn't dare continue advancing with Seimei so close by.
He could disregard the harassment of the Konoha squads because they had limited means of breaking through the traditional defenses.
But Seimei was different—flight was his major advantage.
In this situation, ordinary methods were ineffective against him.
Thus, Dazawa Yoshiki had to be on high alert.
With this thought, Dazawa Yoshiki turned to a female Mist ninja beside him and said, "Mizuki, signal the fleet to halt immediately."
"Yes, Captain!"
Sakura Mizuki responded, pulling a flute from her pouch and blowing into it.
A melodious sound emitted from the flute, spreading rapidly around the area through chakra and reaching the Mist ninja's ears, including Seimei's.
To Seimei, the sound was ordinary, but to the Mist ninja who recognized the signal, it was Dazawa Yoshiki's command.
The Mist ships began to slow and move closer together.
Seeing this, Seimei smirked and prepared to strike while the Mist ships were still slowing down.
However, as he descended, ready to attack, a piercing flute sound suddenly reached his ears.
For a moment, Seimei felt dizzy, almost losing control and falling from the sky.
Fortunately, his strong spirit allowed him to dispel the sound immediately.
He then ascended, dodging kunai and shuriken from the Mist ninja below.
Not far away, Sakura Mizuki's pretty face showed a hint of disappointment.
Dazawa Yoshiki, however, seemed unsurprised.
While Sakura Mizuki was talented and proficient in sound-based jutsu and genjutsu, she wasn't the first to try such tactics against Seimei.
During the surprise attack on Eagle's Mouth Cliff, even the Anbu ninja had deployed the 'Four Mist Seal Formation' and sent Jonin-level Mizukuchi Hideto, a master of sound-based genjutsu, to ambush Seimei.
And what was the result?
Seimei was still alive and well.
Sakura Mizuki's abilities were no greater than Mizukuchi Hideto's.
So Dazawa Yoshiki wasn't shocked to see Seimei break free so quickly.
But that didn't mean Sakura Mizuki was useless.
On the contrary, her presence was invaluable.
With her around, Seimei couldn't act too recklessly.
(End of Chapter)