Grind is My Ninja Way

Holding a person in his hand, Seimei hovered mid-air, his gaze falling on the wary group of Mist Ninja below. After some thought, he raised his right hand, focused his chakra, and performed the Shadow Clone Jutsu. 

For him, this was no challenge. 

Performing the Shadow Clone Jutsu didn't require any specific hand seals. 

In the past, crossing his hands to form the "Ram" seal was merely out of habit. 

In truth, as long as one had sufficient chakra control, the jutsu could be performed without any seals. 

This time, since he needed a shadow clone with "wings," he symbolically formed a single-hand seal. 

*Poof!* 

Amid a puff of chakra smoke, a shadow clone appeared on the scene. 

Seimei glanced at the clone, then motioned with his chin toward the group of Mist Ninja below. "Go keep them busy." 

"Heh heh heh~" 

The shadow clone chuckled coldly at the command. 

Without hesitation, it dived toward the Mist Ninja and began using various jutsu to engage them. 

After observing for a moment and confirming the shadow clone wouldn't face significant danger as long as it remained airborne, Seimei carried the captured Aburame ninja in his hand and left the area. 

Seeing the original Seimei fly away, leaving only a shadow clone behind, the Mist Ninja below felt both insulted and relieved. 

To be fair, they genuinely had no effective means of dealing with Seimei. 

Now that he was gone, their burden lightened significantly. 

As for the shadow clone before them, while troublesome, it was ultimately just a clone with its inherent limitations. If they were willing to pay a price, defeating it wasn't impossible. 

It was far easier to handle than the real Seimei. 

---

Meanwhile, Seimei paid no attention to the fight between his shadow clone and the Mist Ninja. After habitually linking it with the Mind Transmission Jutsu, he left at high speed. 

Traveling at over 100 meters per second, he flew for about five minutes, covering a distance of more than 30 kilometers from the battlefield before halting. 

Scanning the area with his Byakugan's vision, he located an unoccupied forest and descended. 

*Thud!* 

He roughly tossed the Aburame ninja to the ground. 

One second, two seconds, three seconds... 

After a full minute, Seimei suddenly spoke. "Alright, stop pretending. I know you're awake!" 

The Aburame ninja on the ground remained motionless, his breathing even and steady, as if still unconscious. 

Seeing this, Seimei shook his head and spoke again. "If you don't act now, you'll lose your chance." 

Before he finished speaking this time, the Aburame ninja's breathing abruptly changed. In an instant, he sprang to his feet like a cannonball, launching himself at Seimei with a kunai in hand aimed directly at Seimei's heart. 

Notably, he kept his eyes shut, clearly to guard against Seimei's Sharingan illusions. 

Impressive. 

As expected of a tool trained by the Root Division, his combat instincts remained sharp even in this situation, truly commendable. 

Unfortunately, in the face of absolute power, no amount of cunning matters. 

Long before this, Seimei had detected the acceleration of the ninja's chakra flow with his Byakugan—a clear sign of awakening—and had prepared accordingly. 

Even without such forewarning, the opponent's attack would still fail. 

As the Aburame ninja closed in, Seimei activated his Mangekyō Sharingan with just a thought. 

A single streak of blood-red tear slid down his left cheek as he activated *Amatsukami*. 

In an instant, Seimei and the rest of the world seemed to exist in separate dimensions, completely isolated. 

To the outside world, Seimei's body appeared to vanish suddenly, along with his presence. 

Realizing this, the Aburame ninja opened his eyes and scanned his surroundings, his expression filled with uncertainty and confusion. 

As he prepared to release his insects to conduct a wider search, Seimei's figure reappeared—standing right in front of him. 

The Aburame ninja's pupils contracted sharply, and he immediately tried to close his eyes. 

Too late. 

The moment their eyes met, Seimei cast *Genjutsu: Sharingan*, dragging the ninja's consciousness into an illusion. 

Seimei didn't let his guard down, though. In a flash, he reached out and grabbed a burning explosive tag hidden in the ninja's left palm. 

Clearly, the ninja's plan had been to self-destruct the moment his assassination attempt failed, even resorting to luring Seimei into proximity to ensure his success. 

Unfortunately... 

If Seimei had only a Three Tomoe Sharingan, he might have been caught. 

But with the Mangekyō Sharingan's heightened perception and Byakugan's support, there was no chance. 

"Hmph!" 

With a cold snort, Seimei tossed the explosive tag aside. 

*Boom!* 

A deafening explosion erupted, sending shockwaves rippling outward. 

Unmoved, Seimei stood his ground, letting the blast settle. 

When calm returned, he began interrogating the Root ninja. 

That's right. He was now certain that this man belonged to Danzo's Root Division. 

No other faction would produce ninjas so utterly devoid of reason. 

Continuing to exert his *Genjutsu: Sharingan*, Seimei delved into the ninja's memories for information on the mission, skillfully bypassing those protected by sealing techniques and targeting only the unguarded ones. 

This approach greatly reduced the time needed. 

After about fifteen minutes, Seimei ended the genjutsu and began organizing the information he had gleaned. 

First, this man was indeed an Aburame ninja named Aburame Muying, also known by his Root code name—Shadow Bug. 

Through his memories, Seimei learned that Muying had further developed the Aburame clan's *Destruction Bugs* into *Mimicry Bugs*. 

As the name suggested, these insects could help their host hide and alter their aura. 

While seemingly minor, the technique caught Danzo's attention, leading him to recruit Muying through Aburame Ryo. 

After professional training and mastering a forbidden jutsu capable of replicating an enemy's height, build, and appearance, Muying became a flawless spy. 

This wasn't his real appearance but rather a replication of a Mist Ninja named Nishikawa Sei. 

Using this disguise, he had infiltrated the Mist Ninja squad. 

As for his true face... 

Forget it. Without another target, this was his permanent appearance. 

This transformation jutsu was precisely why it was considered forbidden; no one wanted to lose their identity permanently, not even ANBU members. 

Only Root operatives under Danzo could endure such practices. 

But Seimei didn't care about that. 

What he cared about was this mission's true goal and whether there were accomplices. 

With that in mind, Seimei closed his eyes again to sift through the ninja's memories for relevant intelligence. 

Moments later, he opened them, a sharp killing intent flashing within. 

*(End of Chapter)*