Within the Iwa hideout, Seimei was treating the wounded ninja when he suddenly heard an explosion, followed by a second, then a third...
He was very familiar with this sound - the detonation of explosive tags.
"Here we go again..." he muttered, calmly finishing the treatment and stepping out of the infirmary.
Looking down from the window, he saw dozens of Konoha ninja emerging from various buildings, all rushing towards the direction of the explosions.
They were undoubtedly going to provide support.
As for the enemy...
It was naturally the Iwa ninja.
Today was the seventh day since they had occupied this base, and over the past seven days, the Iwa ninja hadn't stopped harassing them.
Not to mention the sporadic skirmishes, there had been four large-scale battles with over a hundred participants on each side.
Although this provided Seimei with ample opportunities to practice his medical ninjutsu, it also put a tremendous strain on their team, barely holding on.
However, the Iwa ninja weren't doing much better either. After several major battles, their losses were comparable to Konoha's.
In fact, due to their lower average combat strength, they had lost even more ninja in terms of numbers.
Therefore, the Iwa ninja could no longer organize large-scale battles like they did a few days ago. Now, they mainly relied on small-scale harassment tactics.
Overall, both sides were in a stalemate.
Why didn't Iwa send more ninja?
Simple, they didn't have enough manpower.
It wasn't just their team that launched the attack, but all the Konoha ninja along the entire frontline were counterattacking.
Currently, nearly two-thirds of the Iwa's frontline bases facing Konoha had been captured, and these Konoha teams were still advancing, attacking the second line of defense.
Compared to their location, those areas undoubtedly needed more manpower.
If that were all, it would be fine. Iwa had a large number of ninja and could still spare some.
But the key was that Konoha's sudden counterattack had also given Suna and Kumo an opportunity, and they were becoming restless.
Suna, also fighting in the Land of Rain, had already started attacking the neighboring Iwa bases.
And Kumo, although in some internal turmoil due to the Third Raikage's death, hadn't forgotten that he died at the hands of Iwa. Their desire for revenge was strong.
So, the Kumo forces were already attacking Iwa's border troops.
With three fronts to fight on, Iwa naturally couldn't spare extra forces to deal with them specifically.
Even Han, their strongest asset, had been redeployed.
It could be said that they had stabilized their position and no longer needed to consider further retreat.
Moreover...
It was foreseeable that they would be staying here for a considerable time.
Therefore, Seimei planned to return to his old trade.
What was it?
Secretly capturing enemy ninja to serve as "chakra batteries," of course. The twenty-one thousand chakra points he could recover daily weren't enough for his training.
Only with sufficient external chakra supplements could he maintain his rapid growth in strength.
So, capturing prisoners was imperative.
Seimei looked at the distant battlefield, thinking that today might be a good opportunity.
As for where to hide these prisoners...
He had already found suitable locations in the past few days. Now, all that was left was to put people in place.
With this in mind, Seimei left the temporary hospital and quietly headed towards the battlefield.
...
In the dense forest, at the edge of the battlefield.
Two Iwa Chunin had just killed a Konoha Chunin and were about to rest and treat their injuries.
At that moment, footsteps approached from nearby.
"Who's there?"
One of the Iwa Chunin exclaimed in alarm, looking up in the direction of the sound.
But in the next moment, he froze, unable to move.
His companion asked, "What's wrong?"
He also looked towards the source of the sound and immediately saw Seimei.
The iconic Sharingan, the short sword at his waist, and his young age allowed him to instantly recognize Seimei's identity. "Demon Sword Seimei!" he shouted.
He immediately looked away and heightened his senses, becoming wary of his surroundings, especially his blind spots.
Clearly, as Seimei made more moves, Iwa had started researching him and informed their ninja about his fighting style and habits.
That's why he had inexplicably gained the title "Demon Sword."
Seimei didn't care about this.
If his tactics were so easy to counter, so many Jonin wouldn't have fallen victim to them.
Looking at the vigilant Iwa Chunin, Seimei didn't choose to throw kunai, use ninjutsu, or draw his sword. Instead, he directly used the Body Flicker Technique to appear before him.
Then, he swiftly formed the seven hand seals - Snake, Ox, Tiger, Rat, Horse, Monkey, Ram - and used the Chakra Scalpel jutsu.
Instantly, a faint chakra coated his right hand. As he swung his palm, it penetrated the Iwa Chunin's body.
Even though Seimei's palm didn't physically touch him, it caused his right arm to lose control.
This was one of the effects of the Chakra Scalpel - severing the opponent's muscles and chakra pathways, making them lose control of certain body parts.
"Ah! What did you do?" the Iwa Chunin screamed as he realized he couldn't control his right arm.
However, Seimei completely ignored him and flashed to the other side of his body, then struck again with a hand chop.
The Iwa Chunin dodged in time, preventing Seimei from touching him, but it was useless.
As the chakra invaded his body, another part of him lost control.
His defensive movements became distorted.
Seizing this opportunity, Seimei appeared before him and, with a glance, cast a genjutsu, putting him to sleep.
Both Iwa Chunin were now incapacitated.
This was Seimei's current strength. Those who hadn't reached the Jonin level weren't even qualified to make him take them seriously.
Ordinary Chunin rarely lasted ten moves against him.
Unless they were Chunin with the potential to become Jonin, they would be easily defeated by him, just like these two Iwa Chunin.
Seimei glanced at them and knocked them unconscious with two blows.
Then, he used the Chakra Scalpel to sever the muscles and nerves in their limbs, completely eliminating any chance of escape.
After that, he formed hand seals again and used the Shadow Clone Jutsu to create a clone.
He ordered the clone to take the two away and then started looking for his next target.
That's right, he had no intention of stopping here. Now, unlike before, he could take this opportunity to capture more prisoners.
This way, he could focus on training for a while.
(End of Chapter)