"Hm?"
In just a breath, Seimei noticed Inoue Ryu and his team approaching, which made him frown. He muttered to himself, "So, there really are people coming after me?"
Judging from their direction, they were obviously tracking him.
Focusing his attention, Seimei observed them closely.
In an instant, it was as if they were standing right in front of him, and he could see them clearly.
In the past, using his Sharingan to observe others only allowed him to see vague chakra clusters. He would then estimate his enemies' strength based on that.
But now, with just one glance, he could clearly see the flow of chakra in their bodies and the chakra points along their chakra network.
"As expected, the Byakugan is still stronger in this regard!" A thought flashed through his mind as he assessed their strength.
From their chakra levels, there appeared to be one special jonin and two chunin, plus... a dog.
Seimei's gaze landed on the dog, and he noticed it had chakra as well.
Clearly, this was a ninja dog. In terms of strength, it was at most at the level of a chunin.
Although chakra levels alone can't precisely determine a person or a ninja dog's strength, there's no doubt that the amount of chakra largely determines one's potential.
Some individuals can break through their limits through mastery of techniques like ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu. But most people lack that talent, making this a generally reliable way to gauge enemy strength.
And even if some opponents can break past their limitations, did that mean Seimei was ordinary?
After all, many of his skills were at the perfect level.
As long as Seimei confirmed that his enemies' strength didn't exceed a certain threshold, he didn't need to worry about whether they were geniuses.
And there was no doubt that these three people and their dog did not surpass that threshold.
Since that was the case, he had no reason to hold back.
Even though his chakra was a bit low right now, taking out these few was well within his capability.
Most importantly, he already had the advantage.
Under these conditions, he didn't mind using them to replenish his nearly depleted chakra.
However, he had to act quickly.
Otherwise, he could easily end up surrounded.
Seimei hadn't forgotten that he was in Mist territory, and if he lingered too long, he would surely draw the attention of other Mist ninja squads.
If that happened, things could get tricky.
Thinking this, he deactivated his Byakugan.
He didn't rush to reapply the "Protective Seal" since he might still need it after the fight. For now, this was good enough.
He pressed lightly on his Leaf forehead protector until his eyes felt more comfortable, then quickly made hand signs and activated the Shadow Clone Technique.
*Poof*
With a burst of chakra smoke, a figure appeared in front of him.
Seimei took off his jacket and handed it to the clone. "Take this and keep moving forward."
Without a word, the clone took the jacket and dashed off.
Meanwhile, Seimei suppressed his aura and concealed himself in the treetops.
As soon as he saw the ninja dog, he knew how they were tracking him, so he was now turning the tables on them.
---
Time ticked by, second by second.
After about two minutes, the three people and their dog appeared beneath the tree.
Suddenly, the dog leading the group, Hapi, stopped in its tracks.
Seeing this, Inoue Ryu and the others also stopped.
"What's wrong, Hapi?"
Inoue Ryu asked, looking at the dog.
Hapi scrunched its face, sniffing left and right. "Something's off with the scent here. It seems like the target paused here briefly, then the scent split in two directions: one goes ahead, and the other…"
The dog suddenly looked up.
But all it saw was a flash of a cold white blade.
Sensing death, Hapi immediately tried to break the summoning contract.
But in the next instant, a pair of crimson, blood-red eyes appeared in its vision, causing its mind to go blank. *No!*
As soon as it saw the Sharingan, Hapi knew something was wrong and desperately tried to break free from the genjutsu's influence, but it couldn't.
*Crack*
The sound of bones snapping echoed.
Seimei's blade slashed across Hapi's neck.
The blade first cut through flesh, then halted slightly upon hitting bone before slicing all the way through, severing its neck.
A dog's head flew up, rolling a few times before coming to a stop. Its final expression was one of disbelief.
As a summoned beast, Hapi could have escaped easily by canceling the summoning technique. Usually, even if their contracted ninja died, summoned beasts wouldn't die along with them.
But that didn't mean they couldn't die. If the timing was right, they could be killed before they could unsummon themselves.
Just like Hapi: once Seimei used genjutsu to trap it, its fate was sealed.
"Hapi?"
Looking at Hapi's body on the ground, Inoue Ryu's eyes turned red with rage.
The bond between Hapi and him was much more than just a typical ninja-summoned beast relationship.
He had contracted Hapi since he was young. Hapi had taught him much of what he knew about being a ninja, and along the way, it had saved him countless times.
Their relationship was closer than family.
But now, it was dead.
How could Inoue Ryu not be furious?
*Swish swish swish*
A flurry of kunai shot from Inoue Ryu's hand, aimed directly at Seimei's vital spots.
But Seimei remained calm in the face of this attack.
As the kunai closed in, he activated his Mangekyo Sharingan, using his left eye's ability—**Heavenly Transfer**.
Indeed, Seimei hadn't intended to get entangled with these enemies. After killing Hapi and ensuring the information wouldn't leak, he activated his strongest ability.
In an instant, Seimei disappeared.
This left Inoue Ryu, who had already attacked, and the two Mist chunin, who had just prepared to fight, dumbfounded.
They quickly scanned the surroundings, searching for any sign of Seimei.
But how could mere human eyes detect the powers of the Heavenly Transfer?
Like he was in another dimension, Seimei watched their reactions and, in a flash, appeared behind Inoue Ryu.
The next moment, he released his ability.
As he reappeared, Inoue Ryu sensed him immediately. His face changed as he tried to dodge the incoming attack.
But he was too slow.
With a sharp sound, Seimei's blade pierced his back, its tip emerging from his abdomen.
A mouthful of blood spurted from Inoue Ryu's mouth.
He glanced back, catching a glimpse of eyes that looked like black suns.
"You…"
He wanted to say something, but before he could, Seimei knocked him unconscious with a swift strike.
Not bothering to absorb his chakra yet, Seimei withdrew his blade and faced the remaining two Mist chunin, reactivating his Heavenly Transfer.
Once again, he disappeared without a trace.
The pressure on the two remaining chunin intensified.
Standing back to back, they scanned their surroundings with tense expressions, on guard for Seimei's sudden reappearance.
But such precautions were useless against the Heavenly Transfer.
In a flash, Seimei appeared between the two and, with a quick punch and kick, sent both flying.
As they separated, he followed one with another use of the Heavenly Transfer.
This one was even weaker than Inoue Ryu; Seimei knocked him out almost instantly upon reappearing.
As for the third one…
Seimei didn't bother to waste chakra activating the Heavenly Transfer again. In just two moves, he created an opening and trapped him with the **Genjutsu: Sharingan**.
With that, the three men and their dog were completely annihilated.
(End of Chapter)