"Kuroshi!"
Seeing that Hidden Rock Chunin was killed by Seimei in a single strike, the Rock Ninja who was engaged with Ryosuke's fight was furious. After letting out a roar, he forcibly pushed Ryosuke back and charged straight at Seimei.
In response, Seimei stood his ground, launching himself towards the opponent with a push off the ground.
Clang!
The two Kunai clashed, producing a crisp metallic sound.
Both exerted force, and the Kunai rubbed against each other violently, sending sparks flying.
Looking closely into the anger in his opponent's eyes, Seimei's expression showed no signs of change. Perhaps the opponent was close to the Rock Ninja he had just killed and felt rage over his death, but the killer was always hunted by others.
Since he was on the battlefield, he had to be prepared for death. It was impossible for others to want his life while Seimei remained indifferent!
Therefore, Seimei had no psychological burden about killing his opponent.
"Ha!"
As various thoughts flashed through his mind, Seimei let out a low shout, forcefully sweeping aside the Kunai of the Rock Ninja in front of him. After taking half a step back, he charged forward again.
Clang, clang, clang~
The harsh sound of metal clashing rang out in succession. Seimei wielded his Kunai with precision, utilizing various combat techniques from 'Basic Taijutsu' to their fullest.
Although he didn't use any advanced techniques, he still fought evenly with the Chunin in front of him.
After creating some distance between them, they both stopped. Ishi Ichiro looked at Seimei, standing a few steps away, his almost lost rationality—triggered by the death of his friend—began to return.
Though he was reluctant to admit it, this young Genin indeed had the qualifications to be taken seriously.
Putting everything else aside, in close combat, Seimei was not much weaker than him.
If it weren't for Ishi Ichiro's richer combat experience and the significant advantage of his adult physique, he might have suffered a slight disadvantage in the previous fight.
While Ishi Ichiro was observing Seimei, Seimei was also watching him. From their earlier exchange, he had roughly figured out the opponent's strength. Although neither side had used other means yet, Seimei was confident that Ishi Ichiro was not his match.
However, Seimei covertly glanced around.
At this moment, the battlefield was in chaos, filled with the sounds of fighting. While Konoha had the numerical advantage, the large number of combatants made it difficult for the Chunin to unleash their full potential.
The canyon area was not spacious to begin with, and the Hidden Rock Chunin had come prepared, avoiding direct confrontations with Konoha's Chunin. Whenever there was an opportunity, they would slip into the crowd, using the numerous Konoha Genin as human shields.
As a result, the two forces were mixed together, and the Konoha Chunin were hesitant to act, afraid to unleash powerful Ninjutsu. Even the explosive tags had to be used cautiously.
On the contrary, these elite Rock Ninjas had fewer concerns. Since the Genin in the area posed little threat to them, they could move freely among them and use their rich combat experience to inflict damage.
With one side restrained and the other unrestrained, the outcome was predictable. Seimei didn't know what was happening elsewhere, but in the vicinity, several Genin had already fallen.
Thus, even though he was confident he could deal with the Rock Ninja in front of him, Seimei had no intention of doing so, as it would only attract more trouble. As the saying goes, "A tree that stands out in the forest will be blown down by the wind."
Geniuses are often the targets of ninjas from various villages. While he could explain the kill of Kuroshi as a sneak attack, a direct kill of Ishi Ichiro would be harder to justify.
Seimei didn't want to be the one who stood out; he just wanted to quietly survive until the end of the war. Therefore, all he needed to do next was to maintain a balance.
Although Konoha had been caught off guard, it wouldn't lead to a complete disaster. After all, they were not far from Konoha's main base in the Land of Rain, where they might discover the situation at any moment and come to provide support.
At that time, if Hidden Rock Village did not retreat in time, the situation would turn around.
The purpose of Hidden Rock Village's surprise attack was to gain an advantage and weaken Konoha's reserves as much as possible, not to engage in a life-and-death struggle with Konoha.
Therefore, Seimei estimated that these Rock Ninjas could not stay here for long.
What he needed to do was to hold out during this time.
And to hold out, he couldn't allow the Rock Ninja in front of him to rest.
With that thought in mind, Seimei stopped wasting time.
He raised his hand, completed the hand seals, and used Body Flicker Jutsu, moving like a gust of wind to stand in front of Ishi Ichiro, engaging him in battle.
D-rank Ninjutsu—Body Flicker Jutsu could only display an effect similar to 'teleportation' when facing opponents weaker than oneself.
However, when facing opponents of the same level or even stronger, their reaction time would allow them to perceive this level of 'teleportation.'
So, in terms of perception, it just seemed like he was a bit faster.
Even with Seimei using 'Body Flicker Jutsu,' Ishi Ichiro still reacted and attempted to block.
As a result, Ishi Ichiro was forced to interrupt the process of casting his Ninjutsu.
Indeed, just now, Ishi Ichiro intended to use Ninjutsu against Seimei.
Since he confirmed that Seimei's close-combat ability was not inferior to his own, he naturally wanted to take advantage of his strengths and avoid his weaknesses by attacking with the Ninjutsu that Chunin was more skilled at.
Unfortunately, Seimei noticed this thought, and he no longer had the chance.
Not only did he not have that opportunity now, but he wouldn't in the future either.
Whether it was feigning retreat or forcibly creating distance, as long as there were signs of hand seals to perform Ninjutsu, Seimei would take action to interrupt.
Whether it was engaging in close combat or using ninja tools, he would ensure that Ishi Ichiro had no opportunity to cast Ninjutsu at all.
The samurai of the Land of Iron were able to secure a place in the ninja world precisely because of this method.
Although Seimei did not possess the strength and speed of the samurai, with his lv3 'Basic Taijutsu' combined with lv3 'Ninja Tool Throwing,' suppressing an average Hidden Rock Chunin was still manageable.
Moreover, Ryosuke and Mizutani Shizuko were there to support him.
Although the strength of these two couldn't threaten Ishi Ichiro, throwing a shuriken or two occasionally could still disrupt the opponent.
As a result, Ishi Ichiro could only be forced to engage in a struggle with Seimei.
Time passed second by second.
The battles on the periphery and on the cliffs continued, with the commotion caused by the Jonin growing increasingly loud.
From time to time, the aftershocks of the fighting swept over, forcing everyone in the area to dodge.
Even Ishi Ichiro took advantage of this opportunity.
He dodged the falling rocks above his head, raised both hands, and quickly completed the hand seals, using the iconic Ninjutsu of Hidden Rock Village—Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears.
Seeing the dense spikes emerging from the ground, Seimei did not hesitate at all. He immediately retreated with Ryosuke and Mizutani Shizuko, narrowly avoiding this wave of attacks.
Before Ishi Ichiro could launch a second wave of attacks, Seimei released Ryosuke and Mizutani Shizuko.
Then, with a quick motion, he grasped three Kunai in his palm and casually threw them, precisely aiming for Ishi Ichiro's throat, heart, and lower abdomen.
Seeing the Kunai rapidly flying toward him, Ishi Ichiro's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly dodged to the side.
During their previous battle, the Kunai thrown by Seimei had left a deep impression on him, so he naturally did not dare to be careless this time.
If it weren't for the fact that Seimei's eyes showed no abnormalities, he would have thought that the other party had already awakened the Sharingan.
Indeed, Ishi Ichiro had long recognized Seimei as an Uchiha Clan Ninja from the Uchiha emblem on him.
In his mind, only an Uchiha Ninja who had activated their eyes could use Kunai with such smoothness at such a young age.
Unfortunately, Seimei was cautious and had never revealed the existence of his Sharingan from beginning to end.
***
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