Deep in the forest:
A group of over twenty Stone ninja dashed through the trees.
Suddenly, the leader raised his right arm, halting in his tracks.
The others followed suit, stopping abruptly.
They scanned their surroundings, alert and tense.
A gentle breeze rustled the leaves, and the constant hum of insects and birds filled the air—nothing seemed out of place.
One of them, growing impatient, was about to ask the leader why he'd signaled the stop when a drop of rain landed on his face.
At first, he didn't think much of it.
But as the droplet slid down his cheek, he realized something was off.
This rain… it felt unusually thick!
Glancing downward with his peripheral vision, he spotted a black streak stretching from his nose to his chin. His heart jolted as he cursed inwardly, "Oh, crap!"
Just as he opened his mouth to warn the others, more black rain poured from the sky. The rest of the group noticed it too.
The leader barked, "Heads up, everyone! This is an Earth Release technique!"
As he spoke, he flew through hand signs and unleashed a torrent of flames toward the dark rain overhead.
The blaze scorched the droplets, altering the earth chakra within them. What fell back down were nothing more than ordinary pebbles.
Underground, Seimei watched the scene unfold and muttered, "Not bad. These Hidden Stone elites sure react fast!"
With that, he cut off his Earth Release: Black Earth Rain.
Yep, that black rain was his doing—meant to catch them off guard. Too bad it didn't fully kick in before they countered it.
Still, Seimei wasn't too ticked off.
Why? Because their response to the black rain gave him a deeper grasp of the Earth Release: Black Earth Rain technique.
Sure, he'd already maxed it out through sheer grind, and casting it was second nature to him now.
But ninjutsu isn't just about hand signs and execution—it takes a ton of real-world practice to bring out its full potential.
It's like theory versus hands-on experience—you need both.
Over the past while, he'd maxed out several techniques but hadn't had a chance to test them in action. His understanding of them was stuck at "theoretically perfect."
Now, with this rare opportunity, he wasn't about to let it slip. Time to get some practice in.
With that in mind, Seimei didn't hesitate. He formed seals again and recast Earth Release: Black Earth Rain!
Right as the leader's fire jutsu faded, a fresh wave of black rain surged back, crashing down on the group.
This time, it wasn't subtle like before. The drops came fast and heavy, like a raging storm, leaving no room to dodge.
Thick, black mud—like something out of a rotting swamp—rained down. Even though the Stone ninja were mentally prepared, the chaos threw them into a scramble.
Hidden underground with his Earth Release: Earth Vein Dragon, Seimei peeked through his Byakugan and nodded in approval.
"Yep, I was right. Black Earth Rain shouldn't mimic those quiet, trickling Water Release moves. With my chakra reserves, overwhelming them with sheer volume is the way to go."
While Seimei mulled over his findings, something shifted.
A female Stone ninja snapped her eyes open, locked onto his hiding spot, and hurled a kunai. "The enemy's right below us!" she shouted.
Her words triggered an instant reaction. Several ninja, as if they'd been waiting for it, zeroed in on the kunai's landing spot and flung their own—each rigged with explosive tags.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Deafening blasts ripped through the air one after another.
The ground above Seimei's position peeled back like a torn sheet.
But they weren't done. A few more Stone ninja leaped forward, crouching low as they formed seals and unleashed Earth Release: Fissure Palm Strike!
The earth split apart, a violent tremor rumbling up from below. The spot where Seimei hid was flipped inside out.
Seeing this, the ninja casting the jutsu smirked.
But then, the perceptive female ninja yelled, "Watch out!"
Too late—a thumb-thick beam of red light sliced through the air like a laser, slashing diagonally through two of the crouching ninja mid-jutsu.
The others abandoned their techniques, rolling aside and diving behind trees for cover.
"Heh."
A short distance away, Seimei let out a cold chuckle. He raised his hand, blazing through hand signs before extending his right arm, palm down. His fingers folded in, leaving only his index finger aimed at the Stone ninja.
A soft murmur escaped his lips.
"Fire Release: Focused Flame Strike."
Silently, another red beam shot from his fingertip, piercing through a tree with pinpoint accuracy and burning straight through the heart of the ninja hiding behind it.
Time seemed to freeze. The ninja didn't even register what hit him before his heart was charred by the ultra-condensed flame.
Pain hit a split second later. He looked down, dazed, at the scorched hole in his chest and let out a guttural, unwilling roar: "No—!"
That snapped the others out of their shock.
Some rushed to check the fallen ninja's wounds, others formed a defensive line against Seimei's next move, and a few charged straight at him.
Seimei didn't flinch. Dodging a flurry of kunai and shuriken, he whipped through another set of seals and cast Fire Release: Crimson Lotus Hellfire!
In an instant, a dazzling three-layered fire lotus bloomed around him, shielding him at its core.
The enemy's jutsu slammed into it, shattering a few fiery petals and triggering a small explosion—but nothing got through to him.
Seimei wanted to test the Crimson Lotus Hellfire's defensive limits, so he held off on striking back. Instead, he formed more seals and layered on his Chakra Cloak.
True, he'd maxed out Crimson Lotus Hellfire, but it had a flaw: if the final layer broke, the resulting blast could hurt him too.
The Chakra Cloak was his safety net.
Not that he really needed it—with his current strength and reflexes, he could cancel the jutsu or block the leftover attacks before the lotus fully collapsed.
In a real fight, doubling up on defenses would just waste chakra.
But this was a test, so better safe than sorry.
While Seimei pondered, the Stone ninja charging him closed in, their attacks raining down.