Grind is My Ninja Way

Without hesitation, he pushed his three-tomoe Sharingan to its limit.

In an instant, everything in front of him slowed down.

Seimei raised his hands, swiftly forming hand seals, and performed the ninjutsu - Water Release: Water Wall!

A thick water wall abruptly rose from the sea wave, shielding Seimei in front.

Almost in the next moment, the corrosive liquid spat out by Terumi Mei sprayed onto it.

Sizzle~

A teeth-grinding sound suddenly rang out.

In the blink of an eye, the water wall was corroded and assimilated.

However, this also bought Seimei precious time.

Without any hesitation, the moment he finished performing the 'Water Release: Water Wall', he retreated.

However, how could Terumi Mei easily let him escape after finally seizing this opportunity?

As soon as he retreated, she pursued and completed hand seals mid-air, performing a Water Release ninjutsu that Seimei had never seen before.

A large amount of Water Release Chakra condensed, and she channeled it into the sea through her palms, transforming it into countless water arrows that shot straight towards Seimei.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~

Hearing the piercing sound of something cutting through the air, Seimei's expression remained unchanged.

His Sharingan was pushed to the limit, and the long katana in his hand danced like a windmill.

Accompanied by a series of clanging sounds, all the water arrows shot at him were blocked.

"Humph!"

Seeing this, Terumi Mei let out a cold snort, and without any pause, she raised her hands again to form seals and performed another Water Release ninjutsu.

Its manifestation was similar to the high-level ninjutsu developed by Tobirama Senju - Water Release: Water Severing Wave. It also involved spitting out a highly penetrating water stream from the mouth to attack the target.

However, unlike the 'Water Release: Water Severing Wave', it lacked continuity.

Because of this, Seimei easily dodged it with the powerful insight provided by his three-tomoe Sharingan.

However, before he could counterattack, Terumi Mei formed seals again and performed the 'Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique'.

Obviously, she intended to replicate the battle against his shadow clone, using large-scale and continuous attacks to force him to keep dodging, thus revealing an opening, and ultimately delivering a fatal blow.

But how could he, with the shadow clone's memories, fall for her plan?

Moreover, the reason why the shadow clone didn't dare to fight her head-on was, firstly, that the Chakra within the shadow clone was indeed somewhat insufficient and couldn't outlast her.

Secondly, even though his 'Shadow Clone Technique' had been promoted to lv4, greatly increasing its stability, it still couldn't withstand much damage.

That's why it was worn down and killed by her.

But he was different. Although his Chakra was also somewhat insufficient after the long journey, with the 'Chakra Absorption Technique' and so many Kiri-nin around, he wasn't afraid to engage in a battle of attrition with her.

Moreover, as the main body, he wasn't afraid of getting injured. Even the lv8 'Mystical Palm Technique' could allow him to ignore ordinary injuries to a certain extent.

With all these factors, her wanting to defeat him using the same method as she did with the shadow clone was simply a pipe dream, even if she used Lava Release and Boil Release.

Various thoughts flashed through his mind, and Seimei looked at the water dragon rushing towards him, no longer dodging.

Clang, the long katana was sheathed.

He raised his hands, instantly completed the hand seals, opened his mouth, and performed the ninjutsu - Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!

A stream of fire erupted from his mouth, then transformed into a fire dragon, carrying rolling heat waves, soaring into the air, and colliding with the oncoming water dragon.

Boom~

A muffled collision sound echoed.

The fire dragon and the water dragon collided and exploded, turning into countless flames and water streams that fell from the sky, scattering and shooting downwards.

An even match!

Everyone on the scene, whether Kiri-nin or Konoha ninja, couldn't help but have this thought upon seeing this scene.

Then, they were all startled.

Because in theory, Water Release Chakra had a restraining effect on Fire Release Chakra.

Thus, ninjutsu formed from these two types of Chakra should also have a restraining effect.

At this time, unless the one performing the Fire Release had a higher-level ninjutsu or condensed more Chakra, they would be at a disadvantage.

It was like how water could extinguish fire, and fire could also evaporate water. The accumulation of quantitative changes could sometimes lead to qualitative changes.

But the problem was that the 'Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique' Seimei performed wasn't higher level than the 'Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique' that Terumi Mei performed. It was even lower, and the Chakra they both used was about the same.

Logically speaking, the fire dragon released by Seimei should definitely be at a disadvantage.

But the reality was that both sides were evenly matched.

This was obviously not normal!

That's why everyone was shocked.

However, this was also easy to understand. The reason for this situation was only one: his mastery of the 'Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique' was too profound.

Perhaps Terumi Mei was a genius who could quickly master a ninjutsu, but as long as she hadn't reached a monstrous level, coupled with a bit of luck, it was impossible for her to practice this ninjutsu to perfection.

Seimei was different. With the existence of the proficiency panel, he might not be able to learn a ninjutsu in a few or even dozens of attempts, but as long as he was willing to invest time and effort, he could definitely grind it to the perfected state.

And whether a ninjutsu was perfected or not, the effect it could unleash was far from simply leveling up once on the skill panel.

It was a difference in the upper limit.

Not to mention anything else, just the casting speed alone, for ninjutsu he had grinded to the perfected state, C-rank and below could basically be cast instantly.

This allowed him to achieve a counterattack after the opponent made their move.

In addition, a ninjutsu grinded to the perfected state also meant that he had mastered all its techniques.

And the suppression in techniques would allow him to achieve something similar to using four ounces of strength to deflect a thousand pounds.

It was precisely because of all these factors that he was able to achieve an equal footing in the previous clash despite being at a disadvantage in terms of initiative.

These thoughts flashed through Seimei's mind in an instant.

And what he could think of, Terumi Mei could naturally think of as well.

Therefore, compared to the shock of the people around them, she understood the gap even better.

At the same time, her expression also became even more unsightly.

Originally, she thought Seimei's swordsmanship was already impressive enough.

After all, with the title of "Ghost Sword," she was somewhat mentally prepared.

But the problem was, what was going on with this proficient ninjutsu?

It was fine before, although Seimei had used ninjutsu a few times, it was only when he performed single-handed seals that she was a bit surprised.

But now, Seimei went all out, and she immediately saw his true depth.

"Should we retreat?"

Suddenly, this thought arose in Terumi Mei's mind.

However, they had prepared for a long time for this surprise attack on Konoha's forward base in the Land of Waves.

If they left now, in case Seimei and the others attacked their main force from the rear and performed well, they would be in big trouble.

For a moment, Terumi Mei was caught in a dilemma.

(End of Chapter)