As a few individuals ran, they kept glancing back, their faces full of fear as they heard the wails coming from the sea of flames. At the same time, they felt relieved that they weren't the target.
If they had been, they too would have been consumed by the inferno after those two rounds of attacks.
However, they were celebrating too soon.
After killing the few who were injured by his shuriken, Seimei immediately set his sights on them.
His Sharingan spun slightly, locking onto two of them. Seimei quickly formed hand seals and performed the ninjutsu: Wind Release: Blade of Wind!
*Whoosh~*
A transparent wind blade flew through the air.
Outside the battlefield, two Mist Shinobi who were fleeing suddenly froze. A thin line of blood appeared on their necks.
In the next moment, their heads flew off.
Their bodies continued running for another five or six meters before finally stopping.
*Splurt~*
Two fountains of blood sprayed from their carotid arteries, instantly soaking the ground around them.
It wasn't until they saw this scene that they realized they were already dead.
Their faces twisted in agony.
But it was too late.
Because all that remained of them were their heads.
*Thud~ Thud~*
Their heads hit the ground, losing consciousness completely.
Seeing this, Seimei withdrew his gaze and looked toward the others, pulling out a few more shuriken, preparing to repeat the technique.
However, at that moment, a loud shout came from the crowd below.
"Everyone, fight back immediately!"
Hearing this, the Chunin and Genin from the Mist Village immediately targeted Seimei, throwing kunai, shuriken, or performing ninjutsu.
In short, they all attacked Seimei together.
Yet, Seimei remained unfazed by these attacks. He put away his shuriken and began forming hand seals.
In an instant, he completed the ninjutsu "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough."
Taking a deep breath, he forcefully exhaled.
In a flash, the sky changed.
A violent wind gushed from his mouth, like a natural disaster, blowing toward the crowd below.
All the weapons shot toward him—whether kunai, shuriken, or other strange flying objects—were blown back by the wind.
Additionally, any ninjutsu sent his way was also crushed by the fierce wind.
This was Seimei's way of dealing with the attack—overwhelming force.
No matter how much variety you bring, I'll break it all with one move.
Below, the Mist Shinobi saw the approaching storm and scattered in panic.
There was no other choice—those fierce winds carried many of their own weapons, some even laced with explosive tags.
If they got caught in it, even if they didn't die, they'd be severely injured.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
One explosion after another echoed.
Several explosive tags detonated, and the flames they produced were spread by the wind, quickly expanding everywhere.
In an instant, the battlefield below turned into a sea of fire.
In this situation, although Seimei intentionally avoided the areas where the Leaf Shinobi were present, some accidental damage was unavoidable.
Seimei couldn't help it; he could only hope they were lucky enough to survive.
Refocusing his thoughts, Seimei glanced at the fleeing Mist Shinobi, ending the "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough," and pulled out more shuriken.
In the next moment, the shuriken flew out.
This chaotic situation was perfect for him to utilize his Sharingan.
Therefore, most of those who had been targeted by him didn't evade the attack.
However, as they were all ninja, their sense of danger far exceeded that of ordinary people.
When the shuriken were about to hit, they all managed to dodge, except for one unlucky person who was struck fatally. The others were only injured.
Seimei didn't follow up with another attack.
Why? Because the Leaf Shinobi who had been besieged earlier had now engaged the enemy, so there was no need for him to waste effort on finishing them off.
His job was to focus on the bigger picture, weakening the Mist's forces as much as possible. The smaller details could be handled by others.
With this thought, Seimei turned his gaze toward other enemies. After selecting a target, he quickly formed hand seals again, performing the ninjutsu "Wind Release: Blade of Wind!"
*Whoosh~*
A transparent wind blade shot out, killing one and severing another's arm.
"Aaahhhh!"
The agonized screams echoed from their mouths.
Seimei paid no mind, continuing to search for his next target, repeatedly using ninjutsu to attack.
In just a few seconds, amidst the chaos, he used multiple jutsu, killing or injuring over a dozen Mist Shinobi.
However, the number of enemies killed wasn't the most important thing.
The key was that his actions had struck fear into the hearts of the Mist Shinobi below. He not only disrupted their formations but also drew much of their attention, making them hesitant to act freely.
This, in turn, gave the dozens of Leaf Shinobi a much-needed breathing space.
And that was enough.
Seimei glanced at Terumi Mei and the others who were rapidly approaching from not far away. His wings flapped slightly as he flew to another part of the battlefield.
Seeing this, Terumi Mei cursed, "Damn it!"
She had no choice but to chase after him.
This time, they had miscalculated.
Indeed, they knew Seimei was stationed here, aware of his formidable strength, so they had made special preparations for it.
However, they had never anticipated that Seimei had mastered a flying ninjutsu—something that hadn't been mentioned in the intelligence reports.
If it had been any other jutsu, they might have managed to hold him off, even if it meant heavy casualties.
But the problem was that this was a flying jutsu.
In the entire ninja world, there were only a handful of people who had mastered flight.
Thus, they had never considered such a scenario and hadn't made any plans to counter it.
Naturally, they were now at a disadvantage in every aspect.
Earlier, they could communicate through a Jonin in their ranks who had mastered the Mind Arts, laying traps to ambush Seimei.
But now, having fallen for a trap once, Seimei would never fall for it a second time.
What's more, from the earlier events, it was clear that even if they managed to pin him down again, with their current abilities, they wouldn't be able to defeat him.
This was frustrating.
Right now, they had no way of dealing with Seimei.
At this point, all they could do was trail behind him, eating his dust.
Fortunately, the village hadn't required them to take this stronghold.
Their mission this time was to keep Seimei occupied, preventing him from supporting other battlefronts.
As for the stronghold, taking it would be a bonus. If they couldn't, it wouldn't be a big deal.
Luckily for them, that was the order, or else they really wouldn't know what to do.
(Chapter End)