A light drizzle fell from the sky, pattering on the leaves in the forest, gathering together and dripping to the ground, making a pitter-patter sound.
A group of Iwa-nin were walking briskly.
Suddenly, the person in front stopped, looked down at his feet, and shouted in terror, "Retreat!"
As he spoke, he quickly moved backward.
Seeing this, the others, though confused, immediately retreated as well.
Just then, a series of explosions suddenly rang out.
Ahead, several crimson fireballs rose, the high temperature instantly evaporating the surrounding rainwater and igniting many trees.
"It's an explosive tag!"
An Iwa-nin shouted.
The next moment, a strong gust of wind carrying a wave of heat rushed towards them, making it almost impossible to open their eyes.
At this moment, dozens of kunai flew out from the darkness, aiming directly at the Iwa-nin team.
"Watch out!"
The leading Iwa-nin yelled, drawing his kunai and swinging it continuously to block the incoming kunai.
Seeing this, the other Iwa-nin followed suit, defending against attacks from all directions.
It had to be said that these Iwa-nin had good combat skills. Although they were caught off guard, they quickly stabilized their formation, and no one died as a result.
Even the number of injured was few, and their injuries weren't severe.
The first wave of attacks was ineffective, so Tanigawa Maki decisively abandoned the idea of a direct confrontation and ordered the execution of Plan B.
The so-called Plan B was essentially guerrilla warfare, dragging the Iwa-nin into this forest to allow the other team to quickly distance themselves from the battlefield.
As long as they created some distance, the Iwa-nin wouldn't dare to pursue them. After all, this was still within Konoha's territory, and rashly pursuing them was too risky.
The Iwa-nin wouldn't even dare to stay entangled with them for too long. Once Konoha's reinforcements arrived, they would be surrounded.
Precisely because of this, Tanigawa Maki dared to lead just a few people to intercept a group of Iwa-nin.
Several whistles of varying lengths sounded in the forest. Seimei carefully discerned them for a moment and understood their meaning.
"Plan B..."
After pondering for a moment, Seimei murmured, "Alright!"
Since learning the Chakra Absorption Technique, he hadn't had a chance to practice it in a real situation. Now, with this opportunity, he naturally wanted to test it out.
Thinking this, Seimei left his original position.
...
Meanwhile.
The Iwa-nin, having evaded the first wave of attacks, seemed to fear continuous attacks. The team quickly split into several groups, each rushing towards the direction from which the kunai had been thrown.
Soon, the sounds of intense fighting echoed through the forest.
On Seimei's side, three Iwa Chunin also arrived.
Seimei hid in the branches of a tree, his blood-red Sharingan staring intently at the three people below, like a hunter eyeing its prey.
Below.
An Iwa-nin suddenly shivered.
He turned to his companion and asked, "Ishimatsu, do you have a feeling that something is watching us?"
"What? You feel it too?"
The Iwa-nin named Ishimatsu's expression changed drastically as he exclaimed in surprise.
At this moment, all three Iwa-nin realized something was wrong.
But it was too late.
Seimei leaped down from the branches, suddenly appearing in front of the Iwa-nin who had just spoken.
A flash of cold light appeared as Seimei swung his short sword.
Ishimatsu raised his kunai, trying to block.
But at that moment, a pair of blood-red Sharingan reflected in his pupils, causing him to momentarily lose focus.
The next moment, the short sword sliced across his chest, leaving a deep wound that exposed bone.
In just an instant, this Iwa Chunin lost his combat ability.
"Ishimatsu~"
The Iwa-nin who had asked the question earlier cried out when he saw this.
At the same time, he threw his kunai, hoping to stop Seimei from finishing him off.
However, Seimei had no intention of doing so.
He flashed aside, dodging the kunai, and charged towards another Iwa-nin.
The distance was too close, and that person could only swing his kunai to block.
For a time, the clanging of metal filled the air.
The Iwa-nin who had thrown the kunai finally reacted, drawing another kunai and joining his teammate in attacking Seimei.
However, how could the strength of these two ordinary Chunin compare to Seimei's?
'Konoha-Style Kenjutsu' + 'Uchiha-Style Kenjutsu', combined with the Two Tomoe Sharingan, in a short time, Seimei gained the absolute upper hand.
Beads of cold sweat mixed with rainwater slid down the faces of the two Iwa-nin.
Finally, after another failed counterattack, one Iwa-nin suddenly created distance, put away his kunai, and started forming hand seals, seemingly preparing to use some ninjutsu.
But Seimei's reaction was incredibly fast. The moment the opponent disengaged, he seized the opportunity, and the Sharingan's hypnotic ability activated.
The Iwa-nin fighting him froze for a moment, and in the next instant, Seimei pierced his right arm with the short sword.
Then, he kicked the Iwa-nin, sending him flying and crashing heavily into a nearby tree trunk.
Pfft~
A mouthful of blood spurted from the Iwa-nin's mouth. Ignoring the pain, he struggled to stand up.
But at that moment, three more kunai were thrown by Seimei, accurately piercing his other arm and both legs.
"Ah!"
Intense pain washed over him, finally rendering this Iwa-nin combat-incapable.
At this time, the Iwa-nin who had disengaged had just completed his hand seals, and the ninjutsu hadn't even been unleashed yet!
While he was momentarily distracted, Seimei had already charged towards him with his sword.
Seeing this, the Iwa-nin quickly regained his composure, slammed his palm on the ground, and executed the ninjutsu - Earth Style: Mud Swamp Technique.
The next moment, the ground beneath Seimei's feet softened, about to turn into a swamp.
But his reaction speed was simply too fast, and with no one to restrain him, he had already left the affected area before the ninjutsu fully took effect.
Slash~
The sound of a blade cutting through flesh rang out.
Seimei, holding his short sword, instantly sliced off a large chunk of flesh from the disengaged Iwa-nin's shoulder.
If the opponent hadn't dodged quickly, this sword strike would have severed his neck.
But one couldn't escape forever.
Originally, these two Iwa-nin together weren't his match, and now only one was left; he was even less of an opponent.
After just a dozen or so moves, Seimei disabled the opponent's other arm.
Then, rapidly forming hand seals, a ball of chakra appeared in his right palm, and Seimei pressed it against the back of the opponent's head.
The next moment, a continuous stream of chakra flowed out from the opponent's body, passing through the chakra acupoint in his right palm and into his own body.
That's right, Seimei was using the Chakra Absorption Technique.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
After about twenty seconds, Seimei released his hand, and the Iwa-nin in front of him collapsed limply to the ground.
Seimei opened his panel and glanced at it. His chakra had increased by almost a thousand points.
Comparing this to the chakra extraction process just now, Seimei roughly understood the effects of the lv1 Chakra Absorption Technique.
It could extract about one hundred chakra points per second from the enemy's body and convert half of it into his own chakra.
Although the loss was a bit significant, even small gains were still gains, and Seimei didn't mind.
Moreover, as the Chakra Absorption Technique leveled up, these shortcomings could all be improved, so it wasn't a big deal.
(End of Chapter)