"Did it succeed?"
One of the special Jonin of the Hidden Mist asked, looking ahead at the smoke.
Hearing this, the other four remained silent, cautiously watching the spot where Seimei last stood.
By all logic, the final attack of the Water Dragon should have hit Seimei, or at least severely wounded him, if not killed him. However, a sense of unease warned them that it wasn't over yet.
*Whoosh!*
Suddenly, a wind blade about a meter long shot out from the smoke, slicing toward the waist of the Hidden Mist Jonin who had spoken first, intending to cut him in half.
"Watch out!"
A fellow Jonin nearby was the first to notice the danger and quickly warned him.
Fortunately, the special Jonin of the Hidden Mist had remained alert. As soon as he heard the warning, he dodged to the side.
In the end, the wind blade only passed through his afterimage, leaving a narrow cut on the ground behind him, missing him completely.
At the same time, the other three Hidden Mist ninjas threw their kunai in the direction the wind blade had come from.
*Clang, clang, clang!*
From within the smoke, three clear metallic sounds echoed.
It seemed as if the kunai were deflected by something, flying back and stabbing into the ground.
*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!*
The five Mist ninjas spread out, watching the smoke warily.
Soon, the smoke cleared, revealing a figure.
It was none other than Seimei.
At this moment, his appearance was slightly disheveled; his clothes were torn in several places by rubble, and his skin bore some bloody scratches.
However, overall, he was unharmed.
Clearly, he had managed to evade the Water Dragon's direct hit.
Seeing this, the Mist ninjas' pupils contracted. Without hesitation, they prepared to launch another attack.
However, after the recent confrontation, Seimei had already decided to show some of his true strength. After all, he was a member of the Leaf Village, and slacking off too much wouldn't be right.
With this in mind, before the Mist ninjas could act, he launched an attack of his own.
A flash of blue light appeared, and Seimei's figure disappeared from where he stood.
*Instant Sword Technique!*
"Not good!"
Seeing this, Morishita Shichisei was shocked. A powerful sense of danger gripped his heart. Instinctively, he turned and raised his kunai to block at his side.
*Clang!*
The next moment, the kunai collided with a long sword, producing a crisp metallic sound.
"Huh?"
Seimei was surprised as his strike was blocked.
Over the course of their battle, he had realized that Morishita Shichisei was the weakest of the five Mist Jonin.
That's why he had targeted him with both the earlier *Wind Blade* and this sudden attack.
Unexpectedly, Morishita had reacted in time on both occasions.
"Indeed, even a special Jonin is much stronger than an average Chunin."
This strike of his would have overwhelmed 90% of Chunins, leaving them defeated in one blow.
Shaking his head, Seimei stopped thinking about it.
He dodged the shuriken attacks from the other four Mist ninjas and used the *Instant Sword Technique* again, moving to Morishita Shichisei's other side.
A cold flash of light appeared as Seimei slashed his sword toward Morishita's neck.
Sensing the danger, Morishita quickly ducked, narrowly avoiding the attack.
Seeing this, Seimei wasted no time. He twisted his wrist, and the sword's direction shifted from a horizontal slash to a downward strike.
Wrapped in Wind Release chakra, the blade slashed down at an angle. Before it even reached Morishita, he could already feel a sharp pain.
Glancing at his shoulder, he saw that his clothes near the blade had been torn open by the Wind Release chakra, and blood was flowing.
Clearly, he was already injured.
Despite the pain and terror, Morishita quickly formed hand seals, casting a jutsu at his fastest speed—*Water Substitution Technique!*
*Splash!*
Seimei's sword struck Morishita, but his body turned into a puddle of water.
Without pausing, Seimei looked to a spot not far away, where Morishita had just stopped after his escape.
"An opportunity!"
Seimei's eyes gleamed. Without hesitation, he raised his left hand and rapidly completed hand seals, casting the *Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique*.
A moment later, a massive fireball shot out, heading straight for Morishita's body.
"Ahhh!"
A scream of pain echoed.
Morishita was hit by the fireball and instantly became a human torch, wailing in agony.
"Shichisei!"
Seeing this, one of the special Jonin from the Hidden Mist cried out in panic.
As she shouted, she quickly formed hand seals, casting a Water Release jutsu to douse the flames engulfing Morishita.
Meanwhile, the other three Mist Jonin seized the moment when Seimei was casting his jutsu and launched an attack on him.
One of them retrieved a kunai with an explosive tag from their pouch and threw it at Seimei.
The other two simultaneously completed hand seals, each casting a Water Release and a Lightning Release jutsu, combining them into a joint attack aimed at Seimei.
Seimei's Sharingan spun rapidly. He instantly spotted the explosive tag on the kunai and immediately abandoned the thought of blocking. Instead, he sheathed his sword and dodged to the side.
However, just as he landed, a water column wrapped in lightning came rushing toward him—part of the joint jutsu.
Forced to react, Seimei used the *Instant Movement Technique* once more, retreating to a farther distance.
But in the brief moment he had taken to kill Morishita, he had lost some time.
Although he dodged the kunai, he couldn't avoid the follow-up attack from the two Mist Jonin.
The water column struck the ground and quickly spread into a thin film of water, rapidly expanding outward.
Despite his swift movements, Seimei couldn't outrun the spread of the water jutsu.
Looking at the water underfoot, Seimei knew this was bad. He prepared to jump out of the water's reach.
But it was too late.
The moment his feet touched the water, lightning followed the flow of the water.
*Crackle!*
The sound of electricity filled the air.
Seimei felt his legs go numb, his body freezing in place.
Seeing this, the Jonin who had thrown the kunai earlier noticed the perfect opportunity.
Without hesitation, he retrieved three shuriken from his pouch and hurled them at Seimei.
*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!*
The three shuriken flew rapidly, aiming for Seimei's throat, heart, and abdomen.
Seimei's Sharingan rotated quickly, locking onto the incoming shuriken. After confirming there were no hidden traps, he dismissed the idea of using a powerful move.
He twisted his body slightly, dodging the vital strikes.
The shuriken aimed at his throat missed entirely.
The one aimed at his heart only grazed his left arm, leaving a deep cut.
As for the one aimed at his abdomen...
Though it hit him, it didn't strike any vital organs.
It wasn't a major issue.
However, staying in one spot as a target would lead to serious problems.
"I need to get out of here, fast!"
With that thought, Seimei endured the pain and quickly formed hand seals, casting *Wind Release: Wind Wings*.
(End of Chapter)