"Leave? Where do you think you're going?"
As soon as this voice fell, a deafening crack of thunder resounded through the air.
Moments later, two massive wolves formed from lightning tore through the white mist and dense forest, racing at an incredible speed toward Seimei and the Konoha spy.
Seeing this, Seimei tightened his grip on his blade, parrying the kunai of the approaching Hidden Cloud Chūnin.
Then, without hesitation, he grabbed the Konoha spy's arm and leaped onto a nearby tree branch, narrowly avoiding the lightning wolves' attack.
On the Branch—
The Konoha spy shot Seimei a curious glance.
Given the circumstances, he could have easily evaded on his own without Seimei's assistance.
After all, while his direct combat abilities were inferior to Seimei's, he was still at the level of a Tokubetsu Jōnin. A jutsu cast with mere suppressive intent was hardly enough to harm him.
Though he had been momentarily caught off guard by the sudden betrayal of his three "allies," Seimei's timely intervention had given him a chance to recover.
Seimei, with his keen perception, noticed the spy's puzzled look but chose not to explain.
What could he even say?
Tell him, "Don't worry, just in case, I've marked you with the Flying Thunder God seal"?
That's right—when he had grabbed the spy's arm moments ago, he had discreetly placed a Flying Thunder God seal on him.
This allowed him to track the spy's position at all times and teleport to his location if necessary.
While this ensured the spy's safety, it also meant that his life was now in Seimei's hands.
Even if Seimei's mastery of the Flying Thunder God Technique wasn't a secret, the spy would never agree to such a thing.
After all, they weren't at a dead end yet, and no one in their right mind—especially a highly cautious spy—would willingly entrust their life to an outsider.
So, Seimei decided to keep it to himself. No need to add to the man's worries.
These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant before he refocused.
Using his Byakugan, he spotted a Hidden Cloud Jōnin rapidly approaching through the mist. Slightly tilting his head, he spoke to the Konoha spy beside him.
"Head west. That's where their numbers are thinnest."
"Understood!"
The Konoha spy wasn't the type to hesitate. The moment Seimei gave the order, he nodded and prepared to leave.
As for Seimei's slightly irrational actions earlier, he simply chalked them up to a lack of trust in his abilities and the urgency of the mission.
Seeing his compliance, Seimei quietly sighed in relief before giving one final instruction.
"Remember, head for the mountain. That's our escape route."
"Got it."
With that, the Konoha spy turned and sprinted westward.
Shuriken Whistle Through the Air—
Several shuriken shot toward them.
Seimei swung his blade, precisely intercepting each one.
Ignoring the two Hidden Cloud Chūnin below, he fixed his gaze on the direction from which the lightning wolves had come.
The next moment, a figure burst through the mist, appearing right before him.
It was none other than the Hidden Cloud Jōnin who had been closest to him earlier.
Seimei had estimated that the opponent would take another ten seconds to reach him.
However, the Jōnin had somehow enhanced his speed mid-approach, arriving much earlier than expected—leaving Seimei no time to teleport away with the Konoha spy.
With no other choice, he let the spy escape first.
An Explosive Clash—
Torii Ken, the Hidden Cloud Jōnin, wasted no time. The moment he reached Seimei, he unleashed a powerful roundhouse kick aimed straight at his head.
Seimei instinctively moved to block with his blade and counterattack, but Torii Ken was a seasoned warrior.
Though the kick seemed straightforward, it was perfectly timed to exploit the moment Seimei had just parried the shuriken from the two Hidden Cloud Chūnin.
At Torii Ken's speed, Seimei had no time to withdraw his blade to block the strike.
With no other option, he dodged instead.
This, however, gave his opponent the opening for a follow-up attack.
The moment Seimei evaded the kick, a straight punch came flying at his throat.
He retreated again.
The punch missed, but the sheer force of the wind it carried stung Seimei's cheek.
And it wasn't over yet—
"Hyaah!"
With a battle cry, Torii Ken's entire body crackled with lightning as his speed surged by at least thirty percent. He threw another punch, this time aimed directly at Seimei's face.
Seimei's expression remained unchanged.
One push gains momentum. A second push weakens. A third push fails.
Torii Ken's consecutive attacks had given him time to adjust.
While his reaction window was still short, it was now within his capabilities.
Seimei's three-tomoe Sharingan spun rapidly, locking onto his opponent's every movement and predicting his next strike.
Thanks to his 22-point Constitution and 23-point Mind attributes, his reaction speed was far beyond that of an average ninja.
With a simple tilt of his head, he dodged the lightning-fast punch.
At that moment, he caught a fleeting look of surprise in Torii Ken's eyes—his opponent hadn't expected him to evade so effortlessly.
"Heh."
Seimei smirked.
In the instant their eyes met, he activated the Sharingan's hypnosis, attempting to disrupt Torii Ken's mental state.
But Torii Ken was no ordinary foe.
Sensing the danger, he immediately shut his eyes and relied on instinct, swinging an arm toward Seimei's temple.
Seimei sighed inwardly. "So close."
Pushing off the tree branch, he leaped backward—dodging the attack while creating distance.
Torii Ken reopened his eyes, prepared to resume his assault.
But before he could move, several kunai flew from Seimei's palm, aimed at his vital points and surrounding escape routes.
His battle instincts kicked in, prompting him to dodge.
But the moment he moved, he sensed mortal danger.
Looking more closely, he realized that these kunai weren't just thrown at the same time—they varied in speed.
The faster ones were aimed at his body. The slower ones were strategically placed to cut off his escape options.
If he dodged the direct hits, he would step right into the trajectory of the slower kunai.
Getting struck wasn't the real issue—the kunai were rigged with explosive tags.
A single mistake would lead to certain death, even for someone as durable as he was.
This was an advanced combat technique that only a skilled Sharingan user could execute flawlessly.
Realizing the trap, Torii Ken shuddered and decisively retreated.
BOOM!
A series of violent explosions erupted, sending flames and shockwaves through the air.
Seimei stood his ground against the impact, watching Torii Ken retreat.
A flicker of disappointment crossed his eyes—his setup had failed.
His opponent's combat instincts and danger perception were too sharp.
No matter.
With Torii Ken forced back, he now had the chance to escape.
Forming the Ram seal, Seimei activated the Shadow Clone Technique.
Poof!
A clone appeared beside him.
Leaving the clone behind to stall the pursuing Hidden Cloud Jōnin, Seimei sprinted after the Konoha spy.
As for the two Hidden Cloud Chūnin—
They had already abandoned the fight, choosing instead to chase after the spy.
But judging by the shifting Flying Thunder God marks on the spy's body, it seemed they hadn't caught up yet.
Good. That saves me some trouble.