Chapter 43: Targeted

After killing the two Iwa-nin Chunin, Seimei took a brief rest and was about to assist Ryosuke and Mizutani Shizuko in the same manner, eliminating the remaining Iwa-nin.

But at that moment, a faint whistling sound suddenly came from the side. Seimei instinctively retreated and saw a kunai swiftly fly past his eyes.

Seimei abruptly turned his head and looked in the direction the kunai had come from.

He saw an Iwa-nin Jonin suddenly break away from the fight encircling the Konoha Jonin and slowly walk towards him.

Seimei's expression froze, and he cursed inwardly, "Damn it, no fair play! You send the big guys after taking down the small fries?!"

Previously, after killing a few Genin, it was acceptable for Chunin to come after him, as there was no qualitative difference between Genin and Chunin.

But now, sending a Jonin to target him seemed a bit excessive, didn't it?

Seimei looked at Furukawa with a pleading gaze.

However, Furukawa only briefly glanced in his direction, discreetly making a hand gesture to signal him to stall for time, and then ignored him.

Seeing this, Seimei immediately gave up hope.

'It's better to rely on myself!'

Seimei's thoughts raced, and he forced himself to calm down, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of both sides.

First, he still had enough chakra for the time being.

In the previous battles, he hadn't used many ninjutsu and had consumed a limited amount of chakra. He currently had about 1500 points left.

This was already the amount of chakra many Chunin had at full strength, enough to sustain a battle.

Second, his Sharingan hadn't been exposed yet.

If used well, it could change the tide of the battle at a critical moment.

This was like having a safety net, allowing him to face the enemy with more composure.

Finally, and most importantly, the opponent was definitely not a true Jonin; otherwise, Furukawa wouldn't have asked him to stall for time.

Because neither the strength he usually displayed nor the combat power he爆发ed when killing enemies consecutively was enough to confront a true Jonin.

But since Furukawa asked him to stall for time, it meant he had the ability to do so.

And with the strength he had currently shown, the limit he could handle was a Tokubetsu Jonin.

In other words, the opponent was most likely just a Tokubetsu Jonin.

Thinking of this, Seimei felt more confident, and the tension he felt from suddenly facing a Jonin dissipated significantly.

He wasn't sure if he could handle fighting an experienced and well-rounded Jonin, but if the enemy was just a Tokubetsu Jonin with a specialized skill, he was willing to give it a try.

However, before that, it was better to leave this battlefield first.

That way, when he was forced to use his Sharingan, he could minimize the risk of exposure.

With this in mind, Seimei suddenly used the Body Flicker Technique and swiftly rushed towards the outer edge of the battlefield at the rear.

Seeing this, Shiraishi Kurama let out a sneer and immediately chased after him.

As the two chased and fled, they left the battlefield.

...

A few minutes later.

Somewhere in the forest.

Seimei was sprinting.

Suddenly, several kunais flew from behind. Seimei dodged sideways, and the kunais embedded themselves in the tree trunk ahead, making a "sizzling" sound.

Seimei looked closely and saw an explosive tag tied to one of the kunais, its flame flickering, about to explode.

Seimei cursed inwardly and quickly retreated.

Boom!

A violent explosion rang out.

Crimson flames engulfed an area of several meters.

The shockwave generated by the explosive tag's detonation spread outwards at a visible speed, causing the trees in the forest to creak.

A moment later, a coughing sound was heard.

In the smoke, a figure could vaguely be seen struggling to get up.

The next moment, a kunai shot out, pinning the figure down.

"Ah!"

The figure seemed to be severely injured and let out a scream.

On a tree branch, Shiraishi Kurama retracted his arm, expressionlessly watching the scene.

Suddenly, several shuriken flew out from the smoke, aiming directly at Shiraishi Kurama's face.

"Hmph! Child's play."

Shiraishi Kurama snorted coldly, and the short sword at his waist was swiftly drawn. Then, a series of clanging sounds were heard as all the shuriken flying towards him were struck down in one blow.

The smoke cleared, and Seimei walked out from behind the tree, with the afterimage of a clone dissipating beside him.

This kind of illusion created by the 'Clone Technique' could only have a slight effect in situations with poor visibility.

In a head-on fight?

Forget about it!

Looking away from the clone, Shiraishi Kurama looked at Seimei with interest and said, "Kid, finally decided to come out?"

Seimei remained silent.

The smile on Shiraishi Kurama's face faded, and he slightly raised the short blade in his hand, saying, "Kid, are you ready to embrace death?"

As he spoke, he released a strong killing intent.

Those with weak willpower, facing this killing intent directly, might even give up resisting.

But who was Seimei?

He had long aspired to transcend in this world. His ambition was far beyond the confines of a single village or country. How could he be easily influenced by this? It would take someone like Orochimaru to have any effect on him.

Seeing that Seimei's expression remained unchanged, Shiraishi Kurama finally put away his contempt and regarded Seimei as an opponent worthy of serious attention.

The wind continued to rustle through the leaves.

One stood on a tree branch, the other beside the tree trunk, not far apart. But neither of them spoke nor made a move, just staring at each other as if they intended to continue until dawn.

Suddenly, a leaf fell, blocking Seimei's vision for a moment.

In the next instant, a fierce gust of wind attacked from the side. Seimei instinctively crouched down.

The short blade sliced through the air above Seimei's head. Shiraishi Kurama missed his attack and immediately swung downwards, slashing diagonally at the right side of Seimei's neck.

The sharp aura emanating from the short blade made Seimei's cheek ache.

At the critical moment, Seimei raised his right arm and blocked Shiraishi Kurama's short blade with the kunai in his hand.

But at this moment, Shiraishi Kurama revealed a triumphant smirk.

Seeing this, Seimei's heart inexplicably tightened, and he immediately tried to create distance.

But it was too late.

The sizzling sound of electricity filled the air.

A flash of lightning appeared, and a blinding blue bolt erupted from Shiraishi Kurama's palm, traveling along the short blade and onto the kunai.

Seimei's right hand went numb, and the kunai clattered to the ground.

Shiraishi Kurama seized the opportunity and swung his short blade. Even though Seimei desperately leaned back to dodge, the blade still grazed his chest.

The intense pain made Seimei let out a muffled groan.

Then, the smell of burnt flesh reached his nose.

Without looking, Seimei knew that the wound on his chest had been scorched by the Lightning Style chakra coating Shiraishi Kurama's short blade.

The only consolation was that he didn't have to worry about bleeding to death in the short term.

Was this Shiraishi Kurama's kindness?

The answer was obviously no.

The Lightning Style chakra attached to the short blade had indeed stopped his bleeding, but it also caused his body to enter a temporary state of paralysis.

At this moment, Seimei didn't care about hiding anymore. With a thought, he activated his Sharingan.

In an instant, his pupils turned from black to blood red, and a pitch-black tomoe spun frantically within them.

Without time to form hand seals, Seimei directly used the Sharingan's hypnotic ability.

The moment their eyes met, Shiraishi Kurama's gaze shifted from disbelief to confusion.

Seimei knew this control was unstable.

So, he kicked off the ground with both feet, quickly retreating backward. At the same time, he flipped his palm and took out several shuriken from his ninja tool pouch, throwing them with force.

(End of chapter)