Grind is My Ninja Way

Taking advantage of the Sharingan's convenience, Seimei immediately noticed the hesitation in Terumi Mei's eyes, but he didn't care about that.

At this moment, he had returned to the sea surface, at the same height as her.

Without any hesitation, he rapidly moved forward, forming hand seals while running, and instantly performed the ninjutsu - Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!

In the next moment, fireballs resembling phoenix flower seeds shot out from his mouth, like meteors, smashing towards Terumi Mei.

Not only that, but to enhance the lethality of this technique, he also took the opportunity to throw several shuriken, mixing them among the fireballs, and attacking Terumi Mei.

The fireballs danced, and the shuriken were hidden within. Just as they were about to hit Terumi Mei, a water wall suddenly rose, blocking their path.

It turned out that the moment he made his move, Terumi Mei reacted and quickly retreated.

At the same time, she swiftly formed hand seals and finally, before the fireballs reached her, performed the ninjutsu - Water Release: Water Wall!

This not only blocked the ninjutsu attack but also stopped the shuriken that were mixed in, acting as physical attacks.

Seimei didn't mind this too much because his purpose in performing this technique was to restrain her and create an opportunity to get close.

And now, his goal had been achieved.

Clang~

The long katana was unsheathed.

Seimei arrived in front of Terumi Mei and swung his katana again. The blade gleamed coldly, causing Terumi Mei's gaze to waver slightly.

"Not good!"

Suddenly, Terumi Mei snapped out of it and quickly focused, no longer paying attention to Seimei's long katana, but relying on her senses to dodge and block.

In an instant, the two were entangled in combat again.

Seeing that the situation was about to become passive again, Terumi Mei gritted her teeth and, at the cost of injuring her left arm, abruptly created distance from Seimei.

The next moment, at the fastest speed she could muster, she completed the hand seals and performed the Kekkei Genkai ninjutsu - Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique!

Pfft~

A large amount of pungent, viscous liquid sprayed towards Seimei's face.

Seimei didn't dare to take it head-on and quickly dodged to the side, avoiding the fate of being corroded and melted.

'Instantaneous Sword Technique~'

Almost the moment he dodged the attack, he mobilized Wind Release Chakra, performed this sword technique, and swiftly closed in on Terumi Mei.

However, Terumi Mei was no pushover either. She flipped her hands, seemingly pulling out several kunai from nowhere, and threw them towards his vital points like scattering flower petals.

Seeing this, Seimei's Sharingan spun rapidly, instantly judging the flight paths and trajectories of all the kunai.

Then, a green light flashed on his body, and he repeatedly used the 'Instantaneous Sword Technique' to avoid these attacks.

However, although he dodged her attacks, this also bought Terumi Mei time to create distance between them again.

Then, without saying a word, she used the 'Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique' on Seimei again.

Seimei still didn't dare to face it head-on and could only dodge.

Thus, the battle turned into a game of kiting and being kited.

······

Time passed by.

Gradually, Terumi Mei couldn't hold on anymore.

Compared to Seimei, who mostly relied on 'Swordsmanship' to fight, occasionally supplemented with ninjutsu and genjutsu, Terumi Mei, in order to play to her strengths and avoid her weaknesses, mainly used ninjutsu in combat.

In this way, the Chakra consumption of both sides was not on the same level at all.

Coupled with the different pressures they faced, the outcome was obvious.

Huff~ Huff~

Terumi Mei, covered in wounds, stood on the sea, gasping for air, looking at Seimei in the distance with unwillingness in her eyes.

It could be seen that compared to the beginning, Seimei, apart from some torn clothes, hadn't changed much. There wasn't a single wound visible on his body.

This wasn't to say that he hadn't been injured, but the injuries he received had been healed during the battle by his improved 'Mystical Palm Technique'.

Under such circumstances, the contrast between the two was stark.

At the same time, this also reflected the difference in their states.

And this was the reason for Terumi Mei's unwillingness.

However, no matter how unwilling she was, this was the reality.

If she had been hesitant before, now there was no need to struggle anymore because retreating was the only option.

Terumi Mei glanced at the outskirts of the battlefield. More than ten minutes had passed, and the advantage she had gained earlier when Seimei's main body hadn't appeared was now gone.

If this continued, not only would she die here, but others would also face the same fate.

With this thought, Terumi Mei immediately made up her mind. With a few flashes, she retreated to the edge of the battlefield, near Ao, and signaled a retreat to him.

At this time, although Ao's condition was still poor, the wound on his chest had been temporarily treated to stop the bleeding, and his combat power had recovered somewhat.

Seeing Terumi Mei's signal, he didn't hesitate at all and immediately took out a whistle and blew it.

Instantly, a sharp whistle sounded on the battlefield.

All the Kiri-nin had been paying attention to this side. Now, hearing the retreat order, they naturally reacted immediately.

Seeing their retreat, Uchiha Tekka and Kanda Otsuru immediately came to Seimei's side and asked: "Captain, should we pursue?"

Seimei looked in the direction Terumi Mei and the others were fleeing, which was the direction the Kirigakure warships had left and also the location of Konoha's forward base in the Land of Waves.

Obviously, Terumi Mei and the others planned to rendezvous with the main Kirigakure force.

It made sense. On the vast sea, besides rendezvousing with the main force, they had nowhere else to go. Only those four warships could ensure their safe return.

And coincidentally, their mission was also to launch a surprise attack from Kirigakure's rear.

Well...

This plan was basically impossible to succeed now, but they still had to go to the main battlefield.

In that case, they could pursue while heading there.

However, before that, Seimei glanced around the battlefield. At this time, only twenty-one Konoha ninjas had survived, and all of them were injured.

In this situation, they naturally couldn't directly launch a pursuit.

In this state, even if they caught up, they might not be able to stop the enemy. If they encountered the enemy's reinforcements, the trouble would be even greater.

Therefore, after some thought, Seimei decided to rest for a while before leading the team in pursuit.

And when he announced this decision, both Uchiha Tekka and Kanda Otsuru couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Obviously, they didn't want to chase after them like this either.

Seeing their subtle expressions, Seimei instructed: "Immediately assess the casualties of each squad and check everyone's injuries. Those who are too seriously injured can be brought to me first."

"Yes, Captain!"

Uchiha Tekka and Kanda Otsuru responded and left respectively.

Looking at their backs, Seimei stopped thinking further and, with a few flashes, arrived at the reef watchtower.

Then, ignoring the blood and corpses on the ground, he found a relatively clean spot and began to rest with his eyes closed.

The continuous journey and battles had exhausted him, and he needed to rest as soon as possible.

And this was also one of the reasons why he didn't rashly lead the pursuit.

(End of Chapter)