Grind is My Ninja Way

Swish~

Just as Terumi Mei was cautiously surveying her surroundings, a Kiri-nin, who appeared to be around thirty years old, suddenly appeared beside her.

He said with uncertainty, "What was that just now...?"

The speaker had gray-blue hair, his right eye covered by a black cloth, and each earlobe adorned with a sealing talisman.

It was none other than Ao, the Kirigakure elite Jonin who had stolen a Byakugan from the Hyuga main family on the battlefield a few months ago.

At this moment, beneath the black cloth covering his right eye was the Hyuga clan's Byakugan, possessing the abilities of X-ray vision, telescopic vision, and insight.

The watchtower where Seimei's shadow clone was stationed was discovered by him using the Byakugan.

It could be said that he was the catalyst for this battle.

Hearing his words, Terumi Mei said with a serious expression, "Yes, it's exactly what you're thinking. The one who just fought with me was just a shadow clone of that Ghost Sword Seimei."

She paused, glanced around, and then continued, "Ao, you came just in time. Quickly use your Byakugan to see where his main body is hiding."

Hearing this, Ao also knew the urgency of the situation. Without wasting any words, he immediately concentrated, channeled his Chakra, and activated the Byakugan beneath the black cloth.

Instantly, everything around him was reflected in his mind.

This feeling of seeing through everything made him deeply intoxicated.

However, he remembered the important matter and quickly searched for Seimei's traces.

However, after a full two minutes, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, but he still couldn't find any trace of Seimei.

When he told Terumi Mei this result, she shook her head decisively and said, "Impossible. He was right under my nose the whole time. Even if he briefly detached to create a shadow clone, he couldn't have gone too far, unless..."

"Unless what?"

Ao asked from the side.

"Unless he was just a shadow clone from the very beginning."

Terumi Mei replied hesitantly.

"What? How is that possible?"

Hearing this answer, Ao was initially disbelieving, but he quickly realized that there seemed to be no other possibility besides this.

He didn't believe that the opponent's hiding method could evade the Byakugan's detection.

As his most prized trophy, Ao's trust in the Byakugan surpassed that of many Hyuga clan ninjas.

He didn't believe, and didn't want to believe, that Seimei could avoid the Byakugan's detection.

So, Seimei was a shadow clone from the start?!

But the question remained, where was his main body? Was there some kind of conspiracy?

While the two were pondering, some commotion arose on Konoha's side.

As the captain of everyone and bearing the name "Ghost Sword," Seimei was highly regarded by many, and they secretly paid attention to his every move.

Originally, when Seimei couldn't restrict Terumi Mei, many people were disappointed, feeling that he didn't live up to his reputation.

After he was suppressed by Terumi Mei, this distrust became even more apparent.

It wasn't until he was killed by Terumi Mei that the agitation among the crowd reached its peak.

However, when they discovered that the one who died was just a shadow clone of Seimei, hope was rekindled, and their fallen morale recovered somewhat.

But as Seimei's main body didn't appear for a long time, their hearts started to become anxious again.

Ninjas were also human. Losing their backbone, they would also feel fear and panic.

Therefore, gradually, unrest appeared within the Konoha team.

Terumi Mei keenly noticed this, so she stopped paying attention to Seimei, who hadn't appeared for a long time, and instead turned to attack these Konoha ninjas.

Her idea was simple: to take advantage of Konoha's unstable morale and crush this troop in one fell swoop.

This way, even if Seimei had any schemes, she could calmly deal with them.

And with her joining the fight, Konoha indeed started to struggle to hold on.

It was only because these two squads that Seimei brought from the forward base were elites that, although their morale was somewhat low, they didn't completely collapse.

Of course, Uchiha Tekka, a loyal follower of Seimei, also played a part in this.

He shouted loudly: "Everyone, hold on! The captain will come to support us soon!"

Hearing this, the others were puzzled, but seeing his Uchiha clan identity, they thought he knew some inside information and regained some spirit.

However, while others were reassured, Uchiha Tekka's situation wasn't good.

Ao had been searching for Seimei's traces, and now, suddenly hearing his shout, he immediately rushed over, seemingly intending to capture him and figure out Seimei's plan.

Obviously, he also believed that Seimei had some kind of scheme.

Unfortunately, no one knew that from the beginning to the end, the one who appeared in front of them was really just a shadow clone of Seimei.

As for Seimei's main body, he was indeed on his way back.

······

A few minutes later.

Seimei arrived at the battlefield.

At this time, this area of the sea was already in chaos. Both sides were fiercely engaged in battle, and it seemed like the decisive moment was approaching.

The situation could be said to be very critical.

However, despite this, Seimei still didn't rush to act. He instantly activated his Sharingan and started quietly observing the situation on the field.

A moment later, he retracted his gaze, took a deep breath, then plunged into the water and swam towards Terumi Mei at an extremely fast speed.

As the saying goes, capture the thief first, capture the king!

Through his observations just now, combined with the memory images sent back by his shadow clone earlier, he could basically conclude that Terumi Mei was the leader of these Kiri-nin.

Thus, just like how Terumi Mei directly targeted him earlier, he also planned to capture her to dampen the Kiri-nin's morale.

However, the course of events was always full of surprises.

Just as he was about to approach Terumi Mei, a figure suddenly fell from afar, crashing through the sea surface and passing right by him.

With the Sharingan's powerful insight, he immediately recognized the person's identity as Uchiha Tekka.

At this moment, Tekka was vomiting blood, his body seemingly struck by something, and he was falling heavily towards the seabed.

Seimei looked up and saw Ao's figure following closely, arriving above him.

His Byakugan instantly activated, and Ao was about to search for Uchiha Tekka's traces.

However, the next moment, his expression changed drastically, and he rapidly retreated backward.

Bang~

Water splashed everywhere.

A figure suddenly emerged from the water.

Shing~

The sound of a blade being unsheathed rang out.

A cold glint flashed.

A long katana sliced across Ao's chest.

The sharp Wind Release Chakra carried on it directly tore his clothes, leaving a shallow bloodstain on his chest.

It was only because he reacted quickly and retreated immediately that it didn't result in more than just a wound.

"It's you?"

Ao retreated several steps, clutching his chest, looked at Seimei, and exclaimed in surprise.

That's right, the one who attacked was none other than Seimei.

The moment the opponent activated his Byakugan, he knew he couldn't hide anymore, so he simply took the initiative and launched a sneak attack.

Unfortunately, the opponent had the Byakugan and was on guard, so he managed to dodge.

(End of Chapter)