A quarter of an hour later.
Once the valley returned to silence, all the ninjas from the Hidden Mist Village were dead.
*Swish~*
A figure appeared beside Seii.
The newcor was none other than Sano Nobuhisa.
He looked at Seii and, without wasting words, directly said, "The Mist Ninjas were heading towards the stronghold earlier. I need you to follow them and monitor their actions."
"Just monitor them?"
Seii turned his head slightly, asking in a calm tone.
Sano Nobuhisa paused briefly, then continued, "No. If they reach the stronghold before us and launch an attack, you must delay them as much as possible."
Hearing this request, Seii frowned and said, "Just
alone might not be enough."
This situation was different from the Hidden Mist ambush two days ago. The number of enemies and their overall strength were much greater.
If he recklessly tried to harass them, he might suffer quite a bit.
Although he wasn't worried about his safety due to the existence of *Heaven's Protection*, he still didn't want to take that risk.
Seeing Seii's hesitation, Sano Nobuhisa quickly said, "Of course, you won't be alone. When they left, I already dispatched two squads."
"They're currently trailing the Mist Ninjas. If necessary, you can command them to act with you."
"Additionally, I'll organize a group here to pursue them as quickly as possible. All you need to do is buy us so ti."
"I see."
Hearing this, Seii thought for a mont and finally nodded.
Since Sano Nobuhisa had already explained things this clearly, it would be unreasonable to refuse.
Besides, with those extra people, the danger wouldn't be as great.
With that in mind, Seii stood up, flicked the blood off his blade, and sheathed it.
Then, looking at Sano Nobuhisa, he said, "Alright, I'll set off now!"
Without waiting for a response, he quickly raised his hands, ford seals, and used the *Wind Release: Wings of the Wind* technique.
With a "swish," a pair of light blue chakra wings appeared on his back.
Seii lightly flapped the wings and soared into the sky. After circling briefly, he flew off in the direction the Mist Ninjas had left.
Watching Seii's departure, Sano Nobuhisa breathed a small sigh of relief.
He then imdiately gathered his people and set out in pursuit of the Hidden Mist forces at the fastest speed possible.
...
As ti ticked by.
On the other side.
Although the Mist Ninjas were moving quickly, they couldn't match the speed of Seii's flight. With the general direction already clear, Seii soon located them.
But before he could get close, a familiar chakra force, accompanied by a ntal presence, suddenly entered his mind.
The next mont, the voice of Yamanaka Aoi echoed: "Seii Jonin, you're here."
Indeed, this chakra belonged to no one other than Yamanaka Aoi.
And right now, she was part of the group pursuing the Mist Ninjas.
Hearing her voice, Seii nodded and replied ntally, "Yes, where are you now?"
While speaking, he flew above the Hidden Mist group, activated his Sharingan, and scanned the area below to locate them.
Just then, a blinding light flashed into his eyes, causing him to squint involuntarily.
However, the light didn't last long and disappeared after briefly dazzling him.
Seii opened his eyes again, looking toward the direction of the light, and saw about thirty Leaf Ninjas.
These were clearly the two squads Sano Nobuhisa had ntioned.
The flash of light that had briefly blinded him was caused by sunlight reflecting off a small object, like a mirror.
The intent was clear: to catch his attention.
It had to be said, though this thod wasn't particularly clever, it was certainly effective and discreet.
Apart from Seii, no one else seed to notice the unusual flash, not even the Mist Ninjas below.
Seii shifted his gaze away from them and spoke to Yamanaka Aoi ntally, "Continue tracking them. I'll scout ahead."
"Understood, Seii Jonin. Be careful!"
After a slight pause, Yamanaka Aoi responded.
"Mm."
Seii acknowledged her, then dispersed the ntal and chakra connection.
Lowering his altitude slightly, he began to approach the Hidden Mist group.
Down below, the Mist Ninjas noticed so commotion as he drew near.
But Seii only made a brief feint before pulling back and gaining altitude again.
After repeating this two or three tis, the Mist Ninjas' pace noticeably slowed.
However, with a command from Yasuda Akiku, the Mist Ninjas regained their composure and resud marching at their original pace, ignoring Seii's harassnt.
Seeing that his efforts to disrupt them were futile, Seii decided not to take further risks. He flapped his wings and gained height again.
Circling above them a few more tis, Seii felt a bit bored.
After so thought, he ford seals and used the *ntal Link Technique* to give a few instructions to Yamanaka Aoi before flying toward the Blackstone Stronghold.
He intended to check if the other Mist Ninja squad from Flying Fish Town had arrived.
Though based on the timing, they likely hadn't arrived yet, Seii still wanted to see for himself.
Since nothing significant seed to be happening on this end for the mont, and it wouldn't take him long to fly back and forth, Seii felt it wouldn't hurt to make the trip.
Thus, he didn't strictly follow Sano Nobuhisa's orders to keep watching the Mist Ninjas.
Below.
Seeing him fly away, Yasuda Akiku's expression didn't lighten; in fact, it grew darker.
He had been considering launching a surprise attack on the Blackstone Stronghold.
But now, that idea seed almost impossible.
With the speed Seii had shown, he would surely reach the stronghold before them and relay the information.
Without the elent of surprise, if they insisted on attacking the stronghold, they could end up being caught in a pincer attack.
At that point, escaping would be difficult.
He couldn't take that risk.
"Sigh, what a sha!"
Yasuda Akiku sighed inwardly and thought to himself, "It seems the only option is to rendezvous with Captain Ozawa as planned."
However, this ant he would have no achievents to show for his efforts.
Worse yet, he would have to atone for the losses of the Mist Ninjas who had sacrificed their lives.
Just thinking about it darkened Yasuda Akiku's mood.
anwhile, after more than ten minutes of flight, Seii finally arrived at the Blackstone Stronghold.
(End of Chapter)
Reviews
All reviews (0)