A long blade sliced through the air, grazing Mei Terumi's shoulder. The wind chakra enveloping the blade tore through her clothes, leaving a shallow wound on her shoulder.
A soft sound of surprise echoed from within the mist.
In the next moment, the blade, which had been slashing downward, changed direction and cut horizontally toward Mei Terumi's neck.
Feeling the sharp intent to kill, Mei Terumi reacted without thinking, performing a quick roll to avoid the strike.
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Once again, the attack missed its mark.
Yes, the one launching these attacks was none other than Seimei.
Taking advantage of the steam generated by the clash between the fire and water dragons, Seimei had cast the "Water Style: Hidden Mist Jutsu," cloaking everyone's vision in the thick fog.
He then dispelled the "Wind Style: Wings of Wind," targeting Mei Terumi directly and launching a surprise attack.
For the past while, he had been using his aerial advantage to maintain distance, but now he had suddenly engaged in close combat, catching her off guard.
Unfortunately, her reactions were quick enough, and both attacks failed to land.
But Seimei wasn't one to give up easily.
A flash of blue light appeared as he used the "Instant Sword Technique."
In an instant, he was beside Mei Terumi's right side.
The next moment, the long blade swung again, aimed directly at her neck.
Sensing the danger, Mei Terumi's expression shifted slightly. She raised the kunai in her hand, blocking the strike to her side.
A spark flashed within the mist.
The long blade clashed against the kunai, producing a crisp metallic sound.
A strong force traveled through the kunai, causing Mei Terumi to lose her balance and slide backward.
Seimei, gripping his sword with both hands, pressed forward, forcing her to slide back further.
He then retracted the blade and slashed again.
Mei Terumi, moving instinctively, ducked and avoided the attack.
The long blade whizzed over her head, slicing off a few strands of her reddish-brown hair.
Seimei attacked again, and Mei Terumi blocked once more.
For a time, the sound of "clang, clang" echoed continuously.
Having lost the initiative, Mei Terumi could only block and evade Seimei's relentless attacks.
However, Seimei's strikes were like a violent storm—fast, unyielding, and continuous.
At first, Mei Terumi managed to keep up.
But as time went on, she found it increasingly difficult to defend against the attacks.
In a short amount of time, several wounds appeared on her body.
Although none were too serious, it was clear that if things continued this way, she would eventually fall to Seimei's blade.
Realizing this, Mei Terumi naturally wanted to break free from the predicament.
However, Seimei gave her no opportunity.
At that moment, Seimei's movements were like a phantom, weaving around her. Each of his strikes targeted her vital points.
Any slight mistake could give him the opening to take her life.
Because of this, Mei Terumi didn't dare make any rash moves.
Just as Mei Terumi was about to reach her limit, faint sounds of kunai slicing through the air approached.
Seimei's thoughts shifted, and he paused briefly, redirecting his blade to block the incoming kunai.
A series of "clink, clink" sounds rang out as he deflected all the kunai.
Seimei looked toward the direction the kunai had come from and, through the mist, vaguely saw a few figures.
Additionally, sensing the chakra scattered in the mist, he realized that several Mist Ninjas were converging on his location.
"Well, it's been long enough. Even with the cover of the mist, they were bound to find me sooner or later," Seimei thought to himself.
He glanced at Mei Terumi, who had taken advantage of the situation to create some distance, and shook his head in disappointment, muttering, "What a pity."
With that, he sheathed his sword, formed hand signs, and once again cast the jutsu—Wind Style: Wings of Wind!
In the next moment, a pair of pale blue chakra wings unfurled behind him.
With a gentle flap, he rose into the sky.
As for Mei Terumi... she was temporarily left behind.
Indeed, he had wanted to kill her just moments ago, but her strength was commendable. Despite being caught off guard and forced into a passive position, she had managed to hold her ground.
Given that, it wasn't worth the risk of being surrounded to continue the fight.
Compared to her, the larger battle was more important.
He could use the time while she regrouped to head to the other battlefields and relieve some of the pressure on the Konoha ninjas there.
This battle had them outnumbered three to one.
Moreover, with the Mist Village's successful ambush catching them off guard, they wouldn't be able to hold their ground without some assistance.
So, the bigger picture took priority.
Seimei's wings flapped.
In the blink of an eye, he had flown out of the range of the "Water Style: Hidden Mist Jutsu."
He scanned the battlefield below and quickly locked onto a nearby skirmish.
There, dozens of Konoha ninjas were under siege by over a hundred Mist Ninjas.
"Perfect. This will do."
With that thought, Seimei manipulated the chakra wings on his back, and soon, he was hovering above the battlefield.
The next moment, he pulled out several shuriken, his Sharingan locking onto a few of the Mist Ninjas.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~
The shuriken flew through the air, homing in on the targets.
However, due to his earlier aerial assaults, the Mist Ninjas were already wary of the sky.
So, even with the cover of darkness, someone noticed his presence.
At once, someone shouted a warning.
Hearing this, everyone looked toward the sky, and they saw Seimei throwing the shuriken.
Immediately, the targeted ninjas attempted to dodge.
However, despite their efforts, half of them were still hit.
Grunts of pain escaped from their mouths, causing their movements to falter.
Seeing this, Seimei quickly formed hand signs and, within moments, unleashed the Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!
A small fireball was expelled from his mouth, rapidly expanding into a massive five-to-six-meter-wide inferno, crashing down toward the group.
Feeling the intense heat above them and witnessing the fireball's descent like a falling meteor, the Mist Ninjas panicked and desperately tried to evade.
Unfortunately, having just been wounded by the shuriken, they were a split second too slow. Despite their best efforts, they couldn't completely avoid the fireball's impact.
But it didn't really matter.
Because as soon as the fireball hit the ground, it exploded with a deafening "boom."
Those closest to the impact were instantly consumed by the flames, while even those who had fled earlier were caught in the explosion's shockwave.
The ones on the outskirts of the blast were thrown to the ground, coughing up blood.
But they had no time to rest; without even wiping the blood from their mouths, they scrambled to escape further away.
In the next instant, a wave of fire swept over, engulfing the area where they had just fallen.