*Chapter 429: Temporary Retreat*

At the same time, high up in the sky.

Seimei noticed the Mist Ninja rushing to provide support.

He focused his gaze and quickly confirmed that these were the same Mist Ninjas who had been fighting against him and the Konoha ninjas earlier.

Now, there were fewer than seventy of them left, all heading towards him at high speed.

Looking farther into the distance, Seimei saw five Konoha Jonin and about a hundred surviving Konoha Chunin and Genin chasing after the Mist Ninjas.

It was obvious to Seimei that they had noticed the disturbance and had rushed over.

However, now wasn’t the right time for a full-blown confrontation.

Earlier, the battle between him and the Mist Ninja below had seemed intense, but in reality, it was mainly the Mist Ninjas attacking while he dodged, with only limited opportunities to counterattack.

As a result, the Mist Ninjas had suffered very few casualties.

If the two groups of Mist Ninjas managed to regroup, their fighting strength would rise dramatically.

In contrast, Konoha’s side, still awaiting the reinforcements promised by Sanosuke Nobuhisa, would not stand a chance against the Mist Ninjas with fewer than a hundred survivors—unless Seimei went all out!

However, to block Seimei and his group from approaching and to test their abilities, Seimei had already taken significant risks.

He was even injured.

While the injuries weren’t life-threatening, Seimei wasn’t willing to keep fighting while hurt.

After some careful thought, Seimei used the Communication Technique to order the Konoha ninjas who had come to support to retreat for the time being.

Although the Konoha Jonin were a bit puzzled by the command, they followed orders and led their troops away.

Seimei had designated a location about 1.5 kilometers from the southern gate of the Black Stone stronghold as the final battlefield.

At that moment, the Mist Ninjas were unaware of Konoha’s movements. Seimei and his group were still discussing their next move.

Of course, the reason they hadn’t noticed Konoha’s retreat was primarily because too little time had passed, and Seimei was still circling above them, drawing most of their attention.

In other words, Seimei was bluffing.

But such tricks wouldn’t fool them for long.

When Seimei activated his Byakugan once more to observe his surroundings, he quickly realized something was wrong—their forces had already regrouped, yet the Konoha ninjas they spoke of hadn’t shown up.

In fact, there wasn’t a trace of them within a kilometer.

This raised suspicion in Seimei’s mind.

He ordered his team to stay alert to Seimei overhead while sending some ninjas to scout in the direction of the Black Stone stronghold.

From above, Seimei saw several Mist Chunin break away from the group, immediately realizing that his ruse was falling apart.

Without wasting more time, he flapped his wings and launched one final assault on the Mist Ninjas below.

This time, without getting too close, he unleashed a Wind Release: Great Breakthrough jutsu from a distance!

A familiar, violent storm swept through, and the Mist Ninjas’ expressions changed dramatically as they hurriedly used their own techniques to fend off the gusting winds.

In no time, the Mist Ninjas were thrown into chaos.

The howling winds made it nearly impossible for them to keep their eyes open, let alone mount any defense.

Only a few Mist Jonin, along with about ten capable Chunin, managed to form a defensive formation using their ninjutsu, stabilizing their ranks.

Seeing this, Seimei shifted his hand signs, lowered his altitude, and performed a technique that the Mist Ninjas were all too familiar with.

Water Release: Hidden Mist Jutsu!

In an instant, thick white mist rose from all around.

In the blink of an eye, the dense fog covered an area of several hundred meters.

Using the chakra dispersed within the mist, Seimei locked onto the spot where the Mist Ninjas were gathering.

Without hesitation, he unleashed Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu in rapid succession.

Fireballs rained down like shooting stars, wreaking havoc among the Mist Ninja, causing significant casualties and chaos.

Seeing Seimei acting so brazenly, some of the Mist Jonin and Chunin began their counterattack.

The best way to disperse the mist was with Wind Release.

However, their Wind Release techniques were not powerful enough to dispel Seimei’s chakra-infused Hidden Mist Jutsu.

After some probing, they opted to fight fire with fire.

They too used Water Release: Hidden Mist Jutsu, thickening the fog even more and diluting Seimei’s chakra within it.

As a result, it became much harder for him to sense the movements of the Mist Ninjas using chakra.

Furthermore, the Mist Ninjas, who had long adapted to living in thick fog, possessed keener senses in this environment, even without specific training in the Silent Killing Technique.

Moreover, in the dense mist, Seimei’s Byakugan, though slightly hampered by the dispersed chakra, could still see more clearly than Seimei’s Sharingan.

With his command, the damage caused by Seimei’s attacks began to decrease sharply.

Conversely, the risks Seimei faced increased dramatically.

At one point, he carelessly took two poisoned kunai to his body.

If not for his quick reaction, he might have been caught by the steel wires shot out by several Mist Chunin.

Given the situation, Seimei finally gave up on attacking the Mist Ninjas further and instead flew away, heading toward the retreating Konoha forces.

Moments later, just as he was about to reach his destination, he spotted a Mist Chunin hiding below.

Focusing his gaze, Seimei recognized him as one of the scouts Seimei had sent out to track Konoha’s movements earlier.

“Well, this is an unexpected bonus,” Seimei muttered, diving toward the ninja.

At first, the Mist Chunin didn’t notice anything, but when Seimei got close, he finally sensed something was off.

Instinctively, he looked up.

The next moment, he spotted Seimei and immediately panicked, ready to throw his kunai.

Unfortunately for him, the moment their eyes met, Seimei cast Genjutsu: Sharingan.

In an instant, the Mist Chunin froze in place, his pupils losing focus as his mind was trapped in the illusion.

Seimei wasn’t surprised by the outcome.

With his current abilities, taking down a lone Chunin, especially by ambush, was practically foolproof.

Shh~

Seimei landed in front of the ninja.

He quickly formed hand signs and performed Chakra Absorption Technique, grabbing the Chunin by the neck and draining his chakra.

A few seconds later.

Seimei released his grip, letting the lifeless body drop to the ground. Satisfied with the new chakra flowing inside him, he nodded in approval.

Without lingering any longer, he oriented himself and used Body Flicker Technique to approach the Konoha ninja.

(End of Chapter)