*Slash!*
Yōjin barely dodged a deadly blow from Seii, but was still grazed, leaving a wound on his waist.
Nearby, Fukui Ichiro noticed this and rushed in to assist, engaging Seii.
Seii, however, stuck to his strategy. After quickly shaking off Ichiro, he once again set his sights on Yōjin.
Initially, the two Iwa ninjas working together could sowhat hold back Seii, but with each strike targeting Yōjin, his condition worsened.
Gradually, Yōjin's efforts beca less effective, turning into a burden that hindered Ichiro's performance as well.
It was clear that if this continued, both would inevitably fall to Seii.
Ichiro was the first to realize this and thought to himself, "This won't do, we need to find a chance to pull back."
With that, Ichiro subtly gestured to Yōjin, signaling him to retreat when he found an opportunity.
anwhile, Ichiro intensified his attacks, attempting to draw Seii's attention.
Seii noticed this shift but could guess their intentions.
No way would he let them have their way!
He quickly tightened his grip on Yōjin, keeping him locked in battle.
As for Ichiro's attacks? He dodged them when possible, and even when he couldn't, he quickly broke free, leaving Yōjin with no chance to escape the fight.
Ti ticked away as the three exchanged blows. Despite their efforts, Ichiro and Yōjin couldn't break free.
When Yōjin had a chance to flee, Ichiro found himself in danger. Yōjin couldn't just abandon him to face Seii alone.
So the fight dragged on for several more minutes, with neither able to escape at the sa ti.
As Yōjin's condition worsened and both of their situations beca increasingly dire, a new figure appeared: an Iwagakure Jonin.
As soon as he arrived, he unleashed a *Lightning Release: Thunder Roar* at Seii.
*Boom!* The sound was deafening, and Seii's consciousness briefly slipped into an illusion, where he saw countless lightning snakes dancing in the sky.
It was a rare form of Lightning Release Genjutsu, triggered through sound.
The mont Seii heard the thunder, he was already under the spell.
However, with his Sharingan's natural resistance to illusions and his high ntal fortitude, he easily broke free.
As soon as his mind cleared, the first thing he saw was Yōjin charging at him, aiming a kunai at his throat.
Not only that, but to his left, Ichiro was also swinging his kunai straight for his neck.
In the blink of an eye, Seii activated his Sharingan to its fullest, boosting his reflexes to their peak. First, he cast a genjutsu on Yōjin, freezing him in place.
Then, he swiftly dodged Ichiro's attack, grabbed Yōjin's kunai, and counterattacked.
*Stab!* The sound of a blade piercing flesh echoed.
With his left hand, Seii plunged the kunai into Ichiro's chest, straight into his heart.
Though it all sounds slow in detail, it happened in an instant, Seii's speed nearly leaving afterimages.
Ichiro looked down at the kunai buried in his chest and the hand gripping it, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"You..."
He wanted to say sothing but couldn't.
He had considered the possibility of Seii dodging his attack and even a counterattack, but he never imagined Seii would strike back so quickly, so decisively.
Even the newly arrived Jonin in the distance hadn't anticipated this outco.
He had just been admiring the seamless teamwork between Yōjin and Ichiro, only for Seii to shake off the genjutsu and kill one of them in the next instant.
Everything happened so fast that his brain couldn't fully process it.
But Seii didn't care what he thought.
After killing Ichiro, he wasted no ti. His sword thrust upward, piercing Yōjin's abdon.
The severe wound jolted Yōjin out of the genjutsu, but all he felt was intense pain.
Yet, despite the pain, seeing Seii so close, Yōjin ignored the agony and instantly swung his kunai at Seii's throat.
To his shock, he realized the kunai was gone. It had disappeared at so point, leaving him swiping at nothing but air.
A glance to his right confird it: Seii was holding a familiar kunai, the one he had taken from Yōjin, now embedded in Ichiro's heart.
"That's... my kunai..."
Yōjin's mind struggled to process the situation. It felt like he'd missed a century, as if reality was completely out of sync with what he rembered.
*Slash!*
Seii suddenly yanked the kunai from Ichiro's chest and swiftly slashed Yōjin's throat.
At that mont, Yōjin finally pieced everything together, realizing what had happened.
But it was too late.
*Thud! Thud!*
Two bodies hit the ground, Yōjin and Ichiro lying lifeless, their eyes still wide open in death.
Ignoring the corpses, Seii turned to the young Jonin who had cast the genjutsu on him.
Indeed, his first impression of the Jonin was that he was young.
Judging by his appearance, the kid couldn't have been more than fifteen or sixteen, and to have already beco a Jonin at such a young age ant he was a prodigy in Iwagakure.
Yet this so-called prodigy took an involuntary step back as Seii's gaze fell upon him.
Seeing this, Seii narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Thanks for your help. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to kill those two so quickly."
He glanced at the two bodies on the ground.
It was true. Without the kid's interference, it wouldn't have been easy to take them down. Sure, Seii had the upper hand, but turning that advantage into victory and killing them both wasn't a simple task.
There were plenty of other Iwa ninjas nearby who could have co to their aid, and even if not, the two could have sacrificed one to save the other.
So theoretically, killing both would've been extrely difficult.
But the new arrival had unwittingly thrown a wrench into things.
With his genjutsu, Yōjin and Ichiro thought they had a chance to kill Seii, and in their overconfidence, they disregarded their own safety.
But Seii had woken up too quickly, turning the tables before they could react.
Yet, implying that the young Jonin had intentionally helped Seii was unfair.
Yōjin and Ichiro had been under pressure for too long. The mont the tension lifted, they relaxed too much, leading to their downfall.
So why did Seii say that?
Simple: to ss with the kid's head.
If the boy flinched just from his gaze, his resolve wasn't strong enough, at least not right now.
Since that was the case, Seii would naturally take advantage.
With that in mind, Seii continued, "By the way, do you have a grudge against them?"
The mont the words left his mouth, Seii saw the young Jonin's face turn red with anger. "Nonsense! Who's helping you? I—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Seii activated his Sharingan and cast a genjutsu.
(End of Chapter)
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