Swish~
Swish~
Somewhere deep in the forest, two figures dashed through the dense trees at breakneck speed.
They constantly glanced over their shoulders, their faces visibly tense. These two were none other than the one-armed Chūnin and the Chūnin who had been unable to participate in the battle between Seimei and the five elite Jōnin.
Their current state was decent.
Well, at least their speed in fleeing was impressive.
In just a short time, they had sprinted a couple of hundred meters away.
Unfortunately, that was far from enough to escape Seimei's pursuit.
Indeed, Seimei's first targets were these two.
It was only natural—after all, they were together.
Not wanting to waste too much time, Seimei locked onto them with his Byakugan. Then, he activated the Body Flicker Technique, closing the distance in mere breaths.
As the two continued their frantic escape, a figure suddenly appeared in their path.
Before they could react, Seimei stomped the ground, propelling himself forward like a cannonball. His knee struck the chest of the Chūnin who had been spectating earlier.
Crack~
The sound of bones breaking echoed through the forest.
The Chūnin spat out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying backward.
Before he could hit the ground, Seimei was already there, waiting.
Quickly forming hand seals, Seimei activated the Chakra Absorption Technique. He grabbed the Chūnin by the back of his neck, and in the next instant, the man felt his chakra drain away like a flood.
In a blink, the Chūnin's reserves were completely depleted.
Already gravely injured from Seimei's earlier strike, the man had no strength left to resist.
Seimei held him up, absorbing both his spiritual and physical energy, as he walked toward the one-armed Chūnin.
The one-armed man, clutching a kunai in his trembling left hand, was paralyzed with fear. He wanted to run, but his body wouldn't move.
Seimei's overwhelming killing intent hung over him, a suffocating weight that screamed, Run and die.
The blood-red Sharingan eyes bore into him, adding immense mental pressure.
Under such duress, the one-armed Chūnin lost control of his body.
Step~ Step~ Step~
Seimei closed the distance, and by the time he reached the man, the Chūnin in his grasp had already been drained of all life force.
Seimei tossed the lifeless body aside and reached for the one-armed man.
Seeing Seimei's hand getting closer, the one-armed Chūnin somehow found the courage to resist. Breaking free from the mental and spiritual suppression, he swung his kunai at Seimei's throat.
But he was too slow.
With a snort, Seimei flicked the kunai away and clamped his hand around the man's neck.
Chakra Absorption Technique activated once again.
The one-armed Chūnin struggled for only a few seconds before his chakra was drained, followed shortly by his life force.
Finally, the man went limp, lifeless.
Seimei glanced at the two corpses on the ground, then formed hand seals.
Fire Release: Incineration Technique!
Boom~ Boom~
Two bursts of flame erupted, consuming the bodies.
Seimei shook his head and shifted his focus back to his Byakugan, quickly locating his next target.
Though the enemies had scattered, they were all fleeing from the Black Stone base. Pursuing these two wasn't a complete waste of time.
Forming more seals, Seimei activated Wind Release: Wings of the Gale.
Swish~
Chakra wings unfurled, propelling him into the sky as he sped toward the last remaining Chūnin—a man he had previously wounded in the abdomen. Despite quick treatment and some recovery time during Seimei's battle with the elite Jōnin, the Chūnin was still in poor shape.
He had teamed up with a Mist Village Special Jōnin whose injuries were less severe.
Seimei didn't know their relationship, but the Special Jōnin's willingness to protect the Chūnin suggested a possible weakness to exploit.
Two minutes later.
Seimei stood over the mutilated corpse of the Mist Chūnin, his face dark.
Protecting a comrade?
What nonsense.
The Special Jōnin had used the Chūnin as bait. He'd employed a cursed seal technique to turn his companion into a human bomb.
When Seimei subdued the Chūnin and began absorbing his chakra, the seal triggered, causing an explosion. If not for his quick reaction, Seimei might have been severely injured.
He turned his gaze to the snarling Special Jōnin, whose hands repeatedly tried to form seals but failed.
Not everyone was Orochimaru, capable of breaking free from the Demonic Illusion: Shackles of Despair.
Indeed, the Special Jōnin had been caught in Seimei's genjutsu. While his mind remained lucid, his body was paralyzed.
Seimei briefly considered speaking but ultimately dismissed the thought. He raised his hand and activated Chakra Absorption Technique.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
Even for a Special Jōnin, it took Seimei seven full seconds to drain him completely, netting about 14,000 chakra points.
Pity about the Chūnin—he'd lost several thousand points there.
Thud~
The corpse collapsed.
Seimei repeated the process, using Fire Release: Incineration Technique to destroy both bodies.
Taking to the skies once more, he located the remaining four targets with his Byakugan.
They had spread further apart during their escape.
After some thought, Seimei crossed his fingers into the Ram seal and performed Shadow Clone Technique.
Poof~
With a puff of chakra smoke, his body split into four.
Nodding to his clones, Seimei sent them after three of the targets, while he pursued the strongest—Hozuki Muzuki.