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Creak~
The door to the archive room swung open.
Seimei slipped out in a flash.
At that moment, his two shadow clones were still locked in combat with four Hidden Stone Anbu.
The moment the four Anbu spotted Seimei, they tried to abandon the shadow clones and intercept him, the real target.
However, the two shadow clones Seimei had summoned were limited—they couldn't use any distinctive techniques, especially ones that could be traced back to him, to keep his identity hidden. This meant they couldn't fight at full strength.
Still, the four Hidden Stone Anbu weren't exactly top-tier either.
As a result, they couldn't break past the shadow clones' interference to block Seimei's path.
With a quick glance across the scene, Seimei locked eyes with his shadow clones and gave them a slight nod.
The clones, connected to his mind, instantly understood his intent.
The next moment, the two shadow clones threw caution to the wind, launching a frenzied assault on the four Anbu.
In an instant, the Anbu were completely overwhelmed, unable to spare anyone to chase Seimei.
Seizing the opportunity, Seimei used the Body Flicker Technique, bypassing the battlefield and sprinting full-speed toward the lower floors.
Truth be told, his first instinct was to leap out of the corridor and jump straight down from the third floor of the Tsuchikage's building.
With his current physical condition, even though the Tsuchikage's building was taller than most, a jump like that wouldn't be a big deal.
But then he considered Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage, who was likely watching from the skies. If Onoki caught him mid-air, unable to maneuver, and hit him with a heavy attack, things could get messy.
So, he scrapped the idea of taking the shortcut.
Reaching the second floor, Seimei saw several Hidden Stone Anbu charging toward him. His hands flew through seals, and he unleashed a ninjutsu—Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
A fist-sized, crimson fireball formed in front of him, rapidly expanding before spinning forward, crashing toward the group of Stone ninja.
"Watch out!"
One of the Anbu shouted.
The next moment, two of them formed seals simultaneously, casting a Water Release ninjutsu that perfectly countered Seimei's attack.
The flames and water clashed, producing a sizzling hiss.
A massive cloud of steam billowed out, blanketing the area in a white haze.
Uh…
"Something's off!"
One of the Anbu realized something was wrong the moment he saw it.
A ninjutsu clash of that level shouldn't have produced such thick steam.
Hidden Mist Technique?
The name of a well-known ninjutsu flashed through his mind.
Without hesitation, he shouted, "Careful, it's the Hidden Mist Technique!"
But before he could finish, a scream rang out.
The sound was so close—practically right by his ear.
A sharp sense of danger hit him.
On instinct, he raised his kunai.
Clang~
A crisp metallic sound echoed as Seimei's kunai clashed with the Stone jonin's, sparks flying.
In the mist, the Byakugan at Seimei's forehead gleamed faintly beneath his mask.
Seimei had tracked the jonin's movements. He was confident that, if he pressed the attack, he could overpower the guy in just a few exchanges.
But that wasn't the point.
His goal was to slip out of the Hidden Stone Village without raising suspicion, not to get caught up in a brawl.
Abandoning the idea of continuing the fight, Seimei swiftly withdrew his kunai, sidestepping a shuriken thrown from behind.
With another deft movement, he slipped past the Anbu in front of him, reaching the other end of the corridor.
Glancing back, Seimei saw one of the Anbu finish forming seals and cast a Wind Release ninjutsu, dispersing the surrounding mist.
Right after, someone spotted him and shouted, "The enemy's over here!"
The newly arrived Anbu team immediately turned and chased after him.
But they were too slow. Seimei gave them a quick glance, then ignored them, continuing his sprint forward.
Rounding a corner, he dashed down to the first floor with a series of quick steps.
By now, several Stone ninja teams had gathered to intercept him.
This time, though, there were no elite Anbu—just patrol teams.
Looking at them, Seimei paused briefly but charged forward without fear the next moment.
Even if he couldn't use his full strength right now, he was confident he could take these guys down.
No need to hesitate.
Seeing him charge alone, the two leading Stone jonin exchanged a glance, then raised their hands to form seals, each casting a ninjutsu—one Earth Release, the other Fire Release.
The Earth Release was a signature Hidden Stone technique—Earth Release: Earth Spear!
The jonin slammed his hands on the ground, channeling a surge of Earth chakra to create a flurry of stone spikes that shot toward Seimei from multiple angles.
The other jonin spat out a stream of flames, like a fiery serpent, aimed straight at Seimei's face.
Their teamwork was solid, sealing off Seimei's escape routes and forcing him to confront the attacks head-on.
That was exactly their plan.
If they could stop Seimei and disrupt his rhythm, their numbers would let them pin him down.
Once more reinforcements arrived, they could team up and, no matter how strong the enemy was, they were confident they could wear him down to death.
As the largest ninja village, the Hidden Stone was well-versed in this strategy.
Back in the day, the Third Raikage had been worn down to death like this.
That battle had been outside the village.
This time, fighting inside the village gave them the home-field advantage, and they were sure they could do even better.
The two leading jonin were already thinking about how to coordinate their team to keep Seimei trapped.
But then, Seimei's counterattack came.
As they'd hoped, he chose to face their attacks head-on.
What they didn't expect was that their techniques failed to stop him.
In fact, their attempt to lock him down was easily broken.
During the whole thing, Seimei didn't even slow his steps.
Their plan to stall him had failed.
But right now, the two jonin weren't even focused on that. Their attention was entirely on the technique Seimei had just used.
Vines burst from Seimei's hands, like countless green pythons, smashing through the stone spears erupting from the ground.
At the same time, they blocked the incoming fire serpent.
And that wasn't all—the vines kept growing, surging toward the jonin like a green tide, forcing them to retreat repeatedly.
Wood Release?!
"How is this possible?"
The two "well-informed" Stone jonin recognized Seimei's technique, their expressions shifting as their minds reeled.
Taking advantage of their shock, Seimei bolted out of the Tsuchikage's building.
Without looking back, he made a beeline for the outskirts of the Hidden Stone Village.