Grind is My Ninja Wa Chapter 453: Killing and the Situation

*Screech~*

The sound of a blade slicing through flesh echoed.

Seii slashed out with his blade, leaving a deep wound on his opponent's chest, cutting down to the bone.

"Ah!"

The Mist Shinobi Jōnin let out a cry of pain, pulling back the kunai he had thrust forward and quickly retreated.

Seii glanced down at the wound on his shoulder, caused by the kunai.

Then, with one step forward, he prepared to finish off his opponent.

However, just at that mont, the Mist Jōnin, whom he had forced back earlier with his "Genjutsu: Sharingan," suddenly stepped forward again, blocking his path.

*Whoosh~*

A kunai ca flying straight at him.

Seii paused slightly, raised his long blade, and blocked it in front of him.

*Clang~*

The blade and the kunai clashed, producing a crisp tallic sound.

Neither Seii nor his opponent backed down. They both exerted force, causing the blade and kunai to grind against each other, producing a harsh screeching noise.

Sparks flew between them, forcing both to squint their eyes.

After a mont of deadlock, both simultaneously retreated, putting so distance between them.

In the next mont, they charged at each other again, colliding once more.

*Clang~*

The crisp sound of tal clashing rang out again.

This ti, however, they didn't remain in a stalemate. The mont they made contact, they broke apart, only to engage again imdiately.

*Clang, clang, clang~*

A series of rapid tal clashes followed.

Seii swung his long blade, launching continuous attacks. The Mist Jōnin before him struggled to keep up, managing only to defend despite his best efforts.

This left him in a very passive position.

Seii glanced at the wounded Mist Jōnin in the distance, who had already retreated. He sighed inwardly, thinking it was a missed opportunity.

Focusing again, Seii directed his attention to the Mist Jōnin before him.

Earlier, neither of the two had been his match. Now, with only one left, Seii found it much easier to handle.

Within minutes, Seii had gained the upper hand and left several wounds on his opponent.

As for Seii himself, not only had he avoided further injury, but even the wound on his shoulder from the earlier fight was rapidly healing.

This was why he dared to use himself as bait to create opportunities.

Now, it seed he could use the sa tactic again.

With that thought in mind, Seii continued to fight with full force, but at the sa ti, he deliberately left openings, trying to lure his opponent into making a move.

However, whether out of caution, recognizing Seii's strategy, or for so other reason, the Mist Jōnin didn't fall for it, no matter how Seii tried to bait him.

This left Seii feeling sowhat helpless.

Fortunately, the strength gap between them was evident. Even if his opponent didn't take risks, he still wasn't Seii's equal.

The battle dragged on for a few more minutes.

Under Seii's relentless assault, the Mist Jōnin was on the verge of collapse.

Drawing closer, Seii could even hear his opponent's labored breathing.

Severe exhaustion was causing the Jōnin's movents to beco increasingly sluggish.

Finally, Seii saw an opening.

Without hesitation, he unleashed his chakra, pushing off the ground with both feet and instantly increasing his speed to the maximum. He appeared in front of his opponent in a flash.

Shimizu Kenta, montarily stunned by Seii's sudden appearance, thrust his kunai towards Seii's throat.

However, despite the speed of the attack, it was no match for Seii's Sharingan, which made it appear slow and predictable.

Furthermore, since Seii had initiated this attack, he had already anticipated his opponent's reaction, easily dodging the strike.

On the other hand, Shimizu Kenta wasn't as fortunate. Seii's sudden burst of speed caught him completely off guard.

Although he managed to thrust his kunai, it was ultimately too slow.

On the battlefield, sotis victory or defeat is decided in an instant.

Sidestepping the kunai, Seii slashed out with his long blade.

The blade was enveloped in a pale blue wind-like current, giving off a sharp aura as it flowed.

This wasn't so other power, but the result of Wind Release chakra gathering and flowing along the blade.

*Whoosh~*

The long blade swept across Shimizu Kenta's neck.

Shimizu Kenta leaned back with all his strength, narrowly avoiding a direct hit from the blade.

However, the Wind Release chakra surrounding the blade still managed to slice through his neck.

In the next mont, blood gushed out.

Stumbling back two steps, Shimizu Kenta reached up to clutch his throat, as if trying to stop the blood loss.

But it was futile.

Seii's strike, aided by his Sharingan's precision, had not only severed Kenta's carotid artery but also cut his windpipe.

As a result, Kenta faced both massive blood loss and the agony of suffocation.

In such circumstances, without the imdiate intervention of a high-level dical ninja like Tsunade, survival was impossible.

And clearly, there was no such ninja on the battlefield.

While Seii's abilities in certain areas might rival Tsunade's, saving his opponent was beyond him.

So Kenta could only await death in despair.

Seii shifted his gaze away from his dying opponent, no longer paying him any attention.

He glanced at a Konoha Jōnin who had nearly defeated Itō Shōhei and was heading toward another part of the battlefield. With a leap, Seii jumped onto a tree.

After several more leaps, he reached the treetop.

Standing at the highest point, Seii surveyed the surroundings.

The entire valley had beco a battlefield. The Mist Shinobi's defensive line on the mountainside had long since collapsed.

Now, both sides were engaged in a chaotic battle.

However, due to prior preparations, Konoha was generally holding the upper hand.

At the sa ti, though, the Mist Shinobi hadn't been completely overwheld.

If things continued like this, it was clear that even if Konoha eventually won, it would take a long ti.

And if that happened, they would fall into Yasuda Akiyuki's trap.

What Yasuda likely wanted most was to delay, waiting for the other Mist forces to overrun the Blackstone Stronghold and join up with them, leading to Konoha's complete annihilation.

This was not an impossible scenario.

In fact, it was the most likely outco.

Although Sano Nobuhisa had set up forces at sea to disrupt the Mist forces, it would be impossible to stop them from reaching Blackstone Stronghold.

Once they got close, the current defenses of the stronghold would likely be insufficient to hold them off.

At that point, with a two-pronged attack, the results would be disastrous.

Thus, this battle couldn't be allowed to drag on.

And that was precisely the reason for Seii's presence.

With that thought, Seii wasted no ti. He leaped down from the treetop and rushed toward another Mist Jōnin who was fighting a Konoha Jōnin.

Thanks to Sano Nobuhisa having pulled most of the Jōnin from the stronghold, there were no "free" Mist Jōnin on the battlefield at the mont.

In other words, Seii could act freely without worrying about being surrounded.

As a result, his strength could be fully unleashed.

And that was Sano Nobuhisa's true advantage.

(End of Chapter)