anwhile, high in the sky.
Seii spotted the Mist ninja rushing to provide backup. Narrowing his eyes, he quickly confird these were the sa Mist ninja who'd been fighting the Leaf ninja—and him—earlier. Now, their numbers had dwindled to fewer than seventy, and they were speeding toward his location.
Looking further, Seii saw five Leaf Jonin hot on their trail, accompanied by roughly a hundred surviving Leaf Chunin and Genin. It didn't take a genius to figure out they'd been drawn by the commotion here.
But now wasn't the ti for an all-out clash.
The earlier skirmish with the Mist ninja below had looked intense, but in truth, it was mostly them attacking while Seii dodged. He'd had little chance to counter, so the Mist's casualties were minimal. If the two Mist squads joined forces, their strength would spike dramatically.
On the Leaf's side, however, the reinforcents promised by Nobuhisa Sano hadn't arrived. The hundred or so Leaf ninja left were no match for the Mist—unless Seii went all out.
But that was risky. To keep Ao and the others at bay and test their trump cards while draining their stamina, he'd already taken a gamble. He was even injured now. Though the wounds weren't life-threatening, he wasn't keen on fighting while hurt.
After so thought, Seii used the *Tōshin no Jutsu* (Mind Transmission Technique) to order the approaching Leaf ninja to fall back for now. The Leaf Jonin, though puzzled, followed his command and led their forces in a retreat.
Seii directed them to a spot about one and a half kiloters south of the Blackstone Stronghold's gate. That would be the stage for the decisive battle.
For now, the Mist ninja hadn't noticed the Leaf's subtle withdrawal. Ao and his group were still debating their next move. The main reason they hadn't caught on was the short ti fra—and Seii circling overhead, drawing most of their attention.
In other words, he was bluffing.
But such a trick wouldn't fool them for long.
When Ao activated his *Byakugan* for a routine scan of the surroundings, he noticed sothing off. Their forces had already regrouped, but the Leaf ninja they'd been talking about were nowhere to be seen—not even within a kiloter.
Doubt crept into Ao's mind. While ordering his team to stay wary of Seii above, he sent a few ninja to scout toward the Blackstone Stronghold.
Up in the sky, Seii saw a handful of Mist Chunin break off from the group and realized his ruse was up. Wasting no ti, he flapped his wings and dove toward the Mist ninja one last ti.
This ti, he didn't get too close. From a distance, he unleashed a ninjutsu—*Fūton: Daitoppa!* (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough). A familiar, ferocious storm roared to life, and the Mist ninja below paled, scrambling to counter the gale with their own techniques.
For a mont, their formation was thrown into chaos. The howling winds made it impossible to even open their eyes, let alone defend properly. Only a few Mist Jonin, along with a dozen capable Chunin, managed to cast defensive ninjutsu, barely holding their ground.
Seeing this, Seii shifted his hand signs, descending slightly as he unleashed a technique the Mist knew all too well—*Suiton: Kirigakure no Jutsu!* (Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique).
In an instant, thick white fog rose, blanketing an area hundreds of ters wide. Using the chakra dispersed in the mist, Seii pinpointed the Mist ninja's position. Without hesitation, he followed up with *Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!* (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique).
Fireballs rained down like teors, crashing into the Mist's ranks and causing significant casualties and chaos. Outraged by Seii's brazen assault, the Mist Jonin and so Chunin launched a counterattack.
The best way to clear the fog was *Fūton* (Wind Release). But their wind techniques couldn't dispel the *Kirigakure no Jutsu* Seii had poured so much chakra into. After so probing, they opted for a different tactic—fighting fire with fire.
They cast their own *Suiton: Kirigakure no Jutsu*, thickening the fog while diluting Seii's chakra within it. This made it harder for him to track their movents using the mist's chakra.
Plus, the Mist ninja, accustod to living in fog, had sharper senses in this environnt, even without mastering the *Mūon Satsujin Jutsu* (Silent Killing Technique). anwhile, Ao's *Byakugan*, though affected by the chakra in the fog, still saw clearer than Seii's *Sharingan*.
Under Ao's guidance, Seii's ninjutsu beca less effective, while the risks he faced skyrocketed. Sure enough, a mont of carelessness cost him—two poison-laced kunai struck him. If he hadn't reacted quickly, he'd have been ensnared by steel wires shot by a few Mist Chunin.
Given the situation, Seii abandoned his attack and pulled back, flying toward the direction the Leaf ninja had retreated.
A few breaths later, as he neared his destination, he spotted a lone Mist Chunin skulking below—one of the scouts Ao had sent to track the Leaf's movents.
"Well, look at that. A bonus," Seii muttered, swooping down.
At first, the Chunin didn't notice anything. But when Seii was right above him, he sensed sothing and looked up. The mont he saw Seii, his face twisted in panic, and he reached for a kunai.
Too late. As their eyes t, Seii activated *Genjutsu: Sharingan*. The Chunin froze, his pupils losing focus as his mind was dragged into an illusion.
Seii wasn't surprised. With his current skill, taking down a lone Chunin with a sneak attack was a sure thing.
*Swish.* Seii landed in front of him. Forming hand signs, he used *Chakura Kyūshū Jutsu* (Chakra Absorption Technique), grabbing the Chunin's neck and draining his chakra.
Seconds later, Seii released his grip, letting the body collapse. Feeling the fresh chakra in his system, he nodded in satisfaction. Without lingering, he confird his bearings and used *Shunshin no Jutsu* (Body Flicker Technique) to catch up with the Leaf ninja.
(fix!)
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