Almost the instant Seimei appeared, he brought his hands together in front of his chest, forming seals for a defensive ninjutsu resembling 'Earth Style: Hardening Technique'.
With a ripping sound, Seimei's hand slashed across the back of his opponent's neck, tearing through the black cloak but failing to injure him at all.
Not only that, but the Iwagakure ANBU member seized the opportunity to leap forward, creating distance from Seimei. At the same time, he twisted ninety degrees and threw the kunai in his hand towards Seimei.
Swish~
The kunai instantly crossed the two or three meters, passing straight through Seimei's body.
That's right, it passed through him.
In the alleyway, Seimei's figure rapidly faded, eventually becoming an afterimage that vanished completely. The Iwagakure ANBU's pupils contracted slightly as he witnessed this.
Clearly, Seimei's speed was so immense that it left a residual image on his retinas.
Just now, if someone with incredibly fast reflexes had been present, they would have immediately noticed that Seimei had already disappeared from his original spot.
As for where he was now?
"Not good!"
Feeling a familiar presence behind him, the face beneath the black snake mask changed drastically. He immediately raised his hands to form seals, activating that defensive ninjutsu once more.
However, just then, a soft chuckle came from behind him.
"Heh~"
The laugh carried a hint of disdain.
Black Snake wasn't affected by it. After casting the defensive jutsu, he prepared to counterattack.
But before he could make a move, a sound like a thousand birds chirping noisily erupted from behind him, incredibly piercing to the ears.
Accompanying the sound was a blinding light that shone from behind, illuminating the entire alleyway and chasing away the gloom.
"What ninjutsu is this?"
Shocked, Black Snake leaned forward, intending to dodge.
But he had already lost the initiative.
So, just as he lifted one foot to move, a piercing pain shot through his back.
"Impossible!"
Discovering his defense was instantly shattered, Black Snake mentally screamed in disbelief.
At the same time, gritting his teeth against the pain, he tried to move away from Seimei.
But the next moment, a numbing, tingling sensation spread through his body, freezing the resistant movements he was about to make.
And in that instant of stiffness, Seimei seized the chance. He activated the 'Chakra Scalpel' technique again, instantly severing the man's spinal nerves.
With that, the Iwagakure ANBU member was rendered completely paralyzed.
Letting the man's body fall to the ground, Seimei calmly walked over, pulled the mask from his face, and looked into his eyes, casting 'Genjutsu: Sharingan'.
Instantly, the Iwagakure ANBU member plunged into an illusion.
Only then did Seimei finally relax.
Everything that had just happened seemed lengthy when described, but in reality, it occurred in a split second.
While it appeared the Iwagakure ANBU had no power to resist and was easily taken down, suggesting he wasn't very strong, that wasn't actually the case.
Based on Seimei's observation, this ANBU member was at least a Special Jōnin.
The reason he couldn't mount any decent resistance was simply because Seimei was stronger and had caught him completely by surprise.
Otherwise, with his Special Jōnin abilities, he could have at least put up a struggle.
Of course, escaping or defeating Seimei would have been impossible.
As for the fight itself...
There wasn't much to elaborate on.
His initial surprise attack failed, so he immediately pushed his 'Body Flicker Technique' to its limit, shadowing his opponent's movements and positioning himself behind the ANBU once again.
Then, just as the ANBU counterattacked by throwing the kunai, Seimei launched his second assault.
As expected, the Iwagakure ANBU couldn't dodge in time and could only resort to his previous tactic, casting that defensive ninjutsu.
Regarding the opponent's defensive jutsu...
Seimei had already gotten a good look at it the first time it was used, confirming it was an Earth Style ninjutsu similar to the 'Earth Style: Hardening Technique'.
With mastery over all seven elemental affinities, Seimei naturally knew how to counter it.
And as everyone knows, Lightning Style is the ultimate counter to Earth Style.
Therefore, without hesitation, Seimei immediately unleashed the 'Lightning Style: Raikiri', a technique he had mastered not long ago.
This jutsu excelled at piercing defenses, possessing incredible penetration power.
Seimei wasn't worried about the jutsu failing or lacking power. After more than five days of practice, he had already ground it to Lv5, achieving its first qualitative transformation.
Thus, with the elemental advantage, breaking through the opponent's defense was more than easy.
And reality proved his judgment correct.
In an instant, his 'Lightning Style: Raikiri' broke through the Iwagakure ANBU's Earth Style defense, sending dense electrical currents into the opponent's body, causing his movements to freeze for a moment.
What happened next goes without saying. Possessing the Mangekyō Sharingan, Seimei would never miss such an opportunity.
So, in that fraction of a second, he used the 'Chakra Scalpel' to sever the man's spinal nerves, robbing him of his ability to resist.
Looking at the Iwagakure ANBU trapped in the genjutsu before him, Seimei didn't waste time. He immediately activated the 'Ninja Art: Mind Reading Jutsu' and began reading the man's memories.
Time ticked by.
Soon, Seimei opened his eyes.
A smile then spread across his face.
Just as he suspected, this wasn't a false alarm; Rōshi had indeed appeared here.
However, while his own subordinates were monitoring Rōshi, they were discovered by the Iwagakure ANBU secretly guarding him nearby.
This led to the subsequent chain of events.
As for Rōshi's current whereabouts?
Seimei found that in Black Snake's memories too.
As soon as they realized they were being tailed, Black Snake's ANBU squad revealed themselves and informed Rōshi of the situation's severity.
Although Rōshi was somewhat unwilling and found the situation baffling, he ultimately followed their advice and began heading back to the village.
Yes, Rōshi was currently being escorted back by the other three Iwagakure ANBU members.
Based on the timing, they should have just left the city not long ago.
With this thought, Seimei acted without hesitation. He grabbed the neck of the paralyzed ANBU on the ground and squeezed hard.
Crack~
With the sound of breaking bone, the Iwagakure ANBU member breathed his last.
Next, Seimei walked over to the rogue ninja who had been knocked out by Black Snake, reached out, and ended his life as well.
Since this subordinate had been exposed, Seimei couldn't possibly leave him alive; it would be leaving a clue for Iwagakure to follow.
It wasn't just him; the others in this small city, and everyone else involved in his network in other cities, he would erase the corresponding traces afterward.
Ninjas, like this man, would be killed directly. For ordinary people, he just needed to remove the 'Transcription Seal' and Flying Thunder God markings on them.
This wasn't him being soft-hearted and letting these people go; there was simply no need to silence them.
Since the intelligence hadn't been fully leaked yet, without a specific target, Iwagakure wouldn't be able to track down these ordinary civilians.
Even if, hypothetically, they were tracked down, it would be meaningless, as these people wouldn't even know they had briefly served as Seimei's pawns.
Of course, all this couldn't be rushed. He had to find opportunities to do it gradually, ensuring Iwagakure couldn't find any trace of him.
As for what to do about the Five-Tails after these pawns disappeared...
Regarding that, Seimei could only say: let nature take its course.
Han wasn't like Rōshi, parading around conspicuously. Without a fixed cover identity, even if Han briefly left Iwagakure, he wouldn't likely be spotted by these ordinary people.
Therefore, keeping them around served no purpose.
Having made his decision, Seimei wasted no more time.
He raised his hands, formed seals, and used the 'Shadow Clone Jutsu', creating one shadow clone.
He tasked it with staying behind to destroy the bodies, erase all traces, and handle any other loose ends within the city. He himself, using the information from Black Snake's memories, left the city, pursuing the direction Rōshi had taken.
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