Chapter 35: Retreat

Swish~

A Kunai was thrown from behind.

Seimei seemed to have eyes in the back of his head; he slightly leaned to the side and dodged the ambush.

Turning to look in the direction of the Kunai, he saw a Hidden Rock Chunin abandon the two Konoha Genin he had been pressuring and charge straight toward him.

Not only him, but another Rock Ninja also abandoned his opponent and approached from that direction.

It was clear that the two intended to work together against him.

Seimei had anticipated this.

When the middle-aged Rock Ninja had launched his sneak attack, he knew he had entered the sights of these Rock Ninjas, and it was only a matter of time before he became their target.

Since he couldn't evade, he would take the initiative to strike.

That's why Seimei chose to swiftly eliminate Ishi Ichiro.

The goal was to disrupt the rhythm of these opponents.

Just like now, with Ishi Ichiro dead, the two in front of him would have to abandon their current target and focus their energy on him.

On the surface, it seemed that Seimei had become a shield for the remaining Konoha Genin, but upon deeper consideration, it was clear that the risk he was taking had not actually increased.

In fact, overall, it was even smaller.

Because following their rhythm, these two would likely have teamed up with Ishi Ichiro to attack him after eliminating their target.

Now, with Ishi Ichiro dead, the number of attackers against him had reduced from three to two, significantly lowering the danger.

At the same time, the surviving Konoha Genin, whether they liked it or not, would attract the attention of other nearby Rock Ninjas, thereby reducing the potential number of opponents he faced.

This way, as long as he maintained control over the rhythm, he wouldn't have to confront more enemies in a short period.

Thoughts flashed through Seimei's mind as he no longer wasted time. He immediately took out a Kunai and charged towards the two Rock Ninjas across from him.

Seeing Seimei rush straight at them, the two Rock Ninjas exchanged glances and also charged towards him, clearly planning to engage in close combat.

In general, unless one is a genius-level Ninja, the Chakra within their body is quite limited.

Thus, during battles, they usually refrain from frequently using Ninjutsu, especially in chaotic battlefields like this one.

No one knows if an enemy might appear and take the opportunity to kill them once their Chakra runs out.

Therefore, every Ninja is careful with their resources.

Indeed, while Seimei showcased impressive close-combat abilities during his fight with Ishi Ichiro, that was ultimately a one-on-one situation.

Now, with the two Rock Ninjas teaming up, they did not believe Seimei would still be a match for them.

So, upon seeing Seimei close the distance and prepare for melee, they chose to face him head-on instead of retreating.

In fact, they felt a bit relieved.

After all, the process of Seimei using Ninjutsu to attack Ishi Ichiro was still fresh in their minds. Although they didn't say it out loud, they were still somewhat wary.

Now that Seimei chose to engage in close combat, it played right into their hands.

They didn't believe that Seimei could take on two of them at once.

As it turned out, their assumptions were correct.

Even though Seimei had perfected his 'Basic Taijutsu' to level 3 and mastered all the techniques, and gained some practical experience from his fight with Ishi Ichiro, he still couldn't take on two opponents at once.

As a result, in just a short time, several wounds appeared on his body.

Fortunately, they were only superficial injuries and didn't affect his combat effectiveness for the time being.

Clang~ Clang~

Seimei swung the Kunai in his hand, blocking the attacks from the two Rock Ninjas in succession. Then, he took a step back, briefly creating some distance.

The two Rock Ninjas did not immediately pursue him; instead, they split to the left and right, slowly closing in from both sides.

In the meantime, they didn't forget to use psychological tactics to undermine Seimei's fighting spirit.

"Kid, don't struggle; there's no way you can win against us. If you put down your weapons and surrender now, we might spare your life," one of them said.

"Yeah, kid, do you see anyone around who can help you? Surrender now to avoid unnecessary suffering," the other one echoed.

Hearing this, Seimei glanced around the battlefield with his peripheral vision.

Indeed, everyone nearby was engaged in combat, and there was no one who could assist him—not even Ryosuke and Mizutani Shizuko.

At that moment, they were fighting against a young Rock Ninja, assisted by another Konoha Genin.

Though the three-to-one situation wasn't very optimistic, there wasn't any immediate danger to their lives.

Confirming this, Seimei quietly let out a sigh of relief.

He then refocused his attention on the two opponents in front of him.

In fact, taking on two people at once without activating the Sharingan, relying solely on his close combat skills, he was not a match for them.

However, similarly, it wouldn't be easy for the two of them to simply kill him.

Thus, the situation came to a stalemate.

This was exactly what Seimei needed.

As long as he could maintain this state, Seimei wouldn't feel rushed at all.

After all, time was on his side; once reinforcements arrived, the crisis would naturally be resolved, and there was no need for him to fight to the death against the two.

Thinking of this, Seimei's mindset became even steadier.

Seeing that Seimei was not affected by their words in the slightest, the two Rock Ninjas decided to stop wasting time and charged at him again.

Clang, clang!

The sharp sounds of metal clashing echoed continuously.

Seimei fully opened his senses; facing two opponents, he was just slightly at a disadvantage.

The battle continued for a minute or two.

Finally, one of the Rock Ninjas could no longer hold back. After signaling to his teammate, he suddenly created some distance, seemingly preparing to perform some Ninjutsu.

Seeing this, Seimei thought to himself, "Not good!"

Although he had long known that the two wouldn't just let him drag this out, their sudden change in tactics still caught him by surprise.

He had thought he could delay for a few minutes no matter what, but losing patience in such a short time still caught him off guard.

Just as Seimei was about to create some distance, the remaining Rock Ninja suddenly intensified the assault, making it impossible for him to disengage.

In this critical situation, Seimei thought, "Should I use the Sharingan?"

With an unexpected advantage, Seimei was confident he could kill the Rock Ninja in front of him in one blow, but he wasn't sure if he could keep the other Rock Ninja in the dark.

If the Sharingan were exposed, not to mention the trouble that would follow, there would probably be a whole bunch of Rock Ninjas coming over to surround him shortly after.

After all, every Uchiha Ninja who activated the Sharingan was a potential asset, and if they could be eliminated, the credit would be significant.

Moreover, the Sharingan didn't have the protection of the Caged Bird Seal, and Hidden Rock Village wouldn't hesitate to capture one for research.

Of course, even without using the Sharingan, Seimei might not necessarily be in trouble, but the feeling of losing control over the situation made him feel very insecure.

Just as Seimei was feeling conflicted, several piercing whistles of varying lengths suddenly echoed across the battlefield.

Upon hearing the whistles, the Rock Ninjas, who had been attacking furiously, abruptly halted their movements, their expressions changing dramatically as they quickly exchanged glances with the Rock Ninjas retreating to the back.

Then, the two of them formed hand seals together and executed some kind of Earth Release Ninjutsu, rushing toward the outskirts of the battlefield.

"Are they... retreating?!"

Seimei was both surprised and delighted; if the enemy was withdrawing, he wouldn't have to worry anymore.

***

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