Chapter 199: Interception

"What?"

Not far away, the Iwagakure boy, although shaken by the series of blows, still had decent skills.

Almost at the exact moment that Seimei made his move, the boy sensed something was wrong. He gasped in surprise, quickly closed his eyes, and retreated.

Due to the distance between them, plus the boy retreating even further, Seimei was unable to hypnotize him.

However, this was enough.

Seeing his opponent close his eyes, Seimei didn't hesitate. He pulled out several shuriken and rapidly hurled them toward the boy.

Shuriken are small, fast, and make little noise as they cut through the air.

In the absence of visual cues, it's hard for most people to detect them.

Just like now, the Iwagakure boy only noticed the danger as the shuriken were about to strike.

In a split second, he used the Substitution Jutsu, his speed increasing as he left a rock in his place as a decoy.

*Clang, clang, clang!*

The shuriken hit the rock, producing crisp collision sounds and leaving behind white marks and scratches.

Once again, Seimei's attack had failed to hit its mark.

But he wasn't discouraged.

His Sharingan remained locked on the boy, and as soon as the Substitution Jutsu was used, Seimei began forming hand seals.

By the time the boy had dodged the shuriken and hidden, Seimei had completed his hand seals.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

The next moment, countless fireballs, like seeds from a Phoenix Sage Flower, shot from Seimei's mouth, fanning out toward a large tree in the distance.

Behind that tree was where the Iwagakure boy was hiding.

"So fast!"

Aikawa Kai saw the fireballs closing in from both sides. Barely catching his breath, he rolled forward to avoid them.

*Boom, boom, boom!*

The fireballs struck the tree trunk, leaving behind fist-sized blackened pits.

Seeing this, Aikawa Kai felt a chill run down his spine. He quickly got up and used the Body Flicker Technique, dashing even further away.

Although he hadn't fought Seimei personally before, he had seen how Iwagama Yōjin and Fukui Ichirō were both suppressed by him.

He knew he couldn't risk engaging Seimei in close combat.

Since Seimei hadn't stopped advancing from the beginning, Aikawa Kai had to keep creating distance to avoid being caught.

As for counterattacking, that could wait until he was safe!

But there was no way Seimei, who had worked so hard to create this opportunity, would let his opponent escape so easily.

After Aikawa Kai used the Body Flicker Technique, his speed increased, but it still wasn't enough to escape Seimei's fully-evolved Three Tomoe Sharingan.

*Whoosh!*

A shuriken flew out, precisely cutting off Aikawa Kai's path forward.

Aikawa Kai dodged hurriedly.

But the next moment, another shuriken came at him. He dodged again. Seimei threw another, and he dodged once more. Seimei continued to throw, and Aikawa Kai kept dodging.

In a matter of moments, Seimei had thrown six shuriken, completely cutting off Aikawa Kai's escape route.

Aikawa Kai, face grim, stopped and faced Seimei, who was quickly closing in, leaving him no choice but to fight.

He rapidly formed hand seals, and then a beam of light appeared between his palms.

A blinding white light shot out, forcing Seimei to shut his eyes.

Not only that, but his consciousness also fell into brief disarray.

This was clearly a type of genjutsu, but unlike the auditory-based Thunder Release: Thunderclap, this one was triggered by visual cues.

Normally, Seimei would be more resistant to visual genjutsu due to his Sharingan, but the Thunder Release: Thunder Light Pillar had a suppressive effect on the Sharingan.

As a result, Seimei's disorientation lasted longer than expected.

But only slightly longer.

This brief window only gave Aikawa Kai enough time to throw a few shuriken.

So, just as Seimei shook off the genjutsu and opened his eyes, he saw several shuriken flying toward him.

The tomoe in his Sharingan spun rapidly, and with just one glance, he tracked the trajectory of each shuriken.

With a few quick steps, he dodged every attack.

Not only did he evade them, but he also formed hand seals as he moved.

In the blink of an eye, Seimei came to a stop and unleashed the signature Uchiha technique: Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.

A fireball, the size of a fist, shot out from his mouth, rapidly growing and expanding until it reached a diameter of three meters in mere moments.

By then, the fireball had already reached Aikawa Kai.

Feeling the searing heat from the fireball, Aikawa Kai didn't hesitate. He swiftly dodged to the side.

*Boom!*

The fireball missed him and slammed into a large tree behind him, exploding upon impact.

In an instant, the tree was obliterated, and the flames scattered the splintered wood like a shower of sparks.

Aikawa Kai, being so close, could only keep dodging.

And in that brief moment, Seimei had already closed the distance between them.

*Shing!*

The sound of a blade being drawn echoed.

Seimei unsheathed the short sword from his waist and lunged toward Aikawa Kai.

At this point, Aikawa Kai had no way to retreat. He pulled out a kunai and engaged Seimei in close combat.

But it quickly became clear that Aikawa Kai's close combat skills were lacking. After just a dozen exchanges, Seimei left a wound on his opponent.

In theory, Aikawa Kai, despite being poor at close combat, was still a jōnin. He shouldn't have shown signs of defeat so quickly.

The main reason for this was that Seimei's swordsmanship had reached level 6, far surpassing his opponent.

Feeling the pain in his forearm, Aikawasuke's senses heightened to their peak.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he opened up his awareness, alert to the slightest disturbance in his surroundings.

*Whoosh* 

Another sword strike came from a blind spot in his vision.

Aikawasuke reacted quickly, immediately swinging his kunai to block.

*Clang* 

The kunai and short sword collided, separating instantly, as Seimei once again vanished into the blind spot of Aikawa's vision.

Throughout the exchange, Aikawa only caught a glimpse of Seimei's cloak.

At this moment, Aikawa finally understood why Seimei was called the "Demon Sword."

Seimei moved like a ghost—just a shadow, never fully seen. Any slip-up, and it could mean death.

This really felt like fighting a ghost. 

'No wonder the village allows lower-ranking ninja to retreat when they encounter him. Who could withstand this kind of battle?'

These thoughts flashed through his mind, but Aikawa quickly pushed them aside. Now wasn't the time for distractions.

The most important thing right now was to stay alive in Seimei's onslaught and wait for his teammates' support.

Everything had happened too fast, too suddenly. None of the other elite ninjas had noticed the situation yet. Or maybe they had, but couldn't intervene just yet.

Still, as long as he could hold out a bit longer, he believed help would arrive.

So, for now, survival was the priority.

With this in mind, Aikawasuke focused entirely on defense, determined to buy time.

(End of Chapter)