Grind is My Ninja Way

Kurokawa Ichiro stopped about ten meters away from Seimei. He looked at the two corpses burning fiercely behind Seimei, his face quite unsightly.

He was aware of Oguri Gentobi's plan. He originally thought that even if they couldn't trap Uchiha Seimei, nothing major would happen.

Unexpectedly, Oguri lost his life in an instant.

And also...

'What was that 'flash' from him just now? Space-time ninjutsu?'

Kurokawa Ichiro was filled with doubts.

At the same time, his wariness towards Seimei deepened even further.

Neither side intended to waste any words. As Kurokawa Ichiro threw the kunai in his hand, the battle instantly erupted.

...

*Clang clang clang*

Because he had already killed two people earlier, the pressure on Seimei wasn't too great. The combined strength of the remaining four wasn't even comparable to Kamihara Nobunaga and the others.

Although he didn't plan to use his Mangekyo Sharingan this time, it didn't mean these four could last for too long.

Just a few minutes later, he seized an opportunity and pierced one of them in the abdomen with his sword, severely injuring him.

In exchange, he also received a cut on his body.

But this minor injury was nothing in Seimei's eyes.

Even the previous injury on his chest had already healed in just a few minutes, let alone such a small cut!

Seimei dodged Kurogane's powerful punch, formed hand seals, and instantly used the Mystical Palm Technique, channeling the condensed Yang Release chakra into the area near the wound.

Then, he faced the remaining Iwa-nin Jonin once again.

With the Iwa side losing another member, his Sharingan genjutsu had more room to play, and the pressure on Kurokawa Ichiro and the others increased dramatically.

Time passed by.

A few more minutes later, Seimei found another opportunity and sliced off half of the last Iwa-nin Tokubetsu Jonin's shoulder with one sword strike, greatly reducing his combat power.

At this point, the only ones on the Iwa side who still maintained their full strength were Kurokawa Ichiro and Kurogane, the two true Jonin.

No, their condition wasn't perfect either.

With a sweep of his gaze, Seimei noticed that their chakra was already less than one-third of its peak state.

In this condition, if they tried to outlast him, they would definitely be the ones to lose in the end.

With this thought, Seimei wasn't in a hurry anymore and started to stall for time with them.

Of course, the reason he could be so 'leisurely' was that on the other battlefields, with the participation of those Konoha Jonin, they had gradually turned the tide.

Although the number of Iwa ninjas on the field still held the advantage, in terms of morale, they had already fallen behind.

Especially on Seimei's side, after consecutively killing several Jonin, it put immense psychological pressure on many Iwa-nin Chunin and Genin.

In this situation, they could at most exert 60-70% of their full strength.

Thus, coupled with the focused attacks from the other Konoha Jonin, the stronger Iwa-nin Chunin didn't dare to step up and boost morale, making their situation even worse.

It was precisely because of this that Seimei could so 'leisurely' stall for time with Kurokawa Ichiro and the others.

Admittedly, he could use his Mangekyo Sharingan to quickly kill these two and then charge into the Iwa ninja ranks to relieve the pressure on the Konoha ninjas.

But why would he do that?

Not to mention that using the Mangekyo Sharingan would permanently damage his eyes, just the act of babysitting others wasn't his style.

Yes, he intended to let these Konoha ninjas under his command survive this Iwa surprise attack, but he would definitely not take on everything himself and do everything personally.

At most, he would give them hope. As for whether they could ultimately survive, it still depended on their own abilities.

This might result in more deaths, but Seimei had a clear conscience.

Collecting his thoughts, Seimei stopped thinking further and turned to 'wholeheartedly' deal with Kurokawa Ichiro, Kurogane, and the half-crippled Iwa-nin Tokubetsu Jonin.

This time, he rarely used other methods, mostly relying on 'Swordsmanship' to fight the enemy, only resorting to ninjutsu or genjutsu to break free when absolutely necessary.

As for the reason...

Naturally, it was to gain 'Swordsmanship' proficiency from them.

Although he was stalling for time, he couldn't waste chakra for nothing.

Coincidentally, his 'Swordsmanship' proficiency had already surpassed lv6 (6000/10000) and wasn't far from the perfected state of lv7.

Now that there was a good opportunity to gain proficiency, he naturally wouldn't miss it.

*Clang clang clang*

The battle continued.

Soon, Kurokawa Ichiro, Kurogane, and the others discovered the problem. After observing for a while, they understood Seimei's intentions.

Well, he was using them as sharpening stones.

This instantly angered Kurokawa Ichiro, Kurogane, and even the half-crippled Iwa-nin Tokubetsu Jonin. They all attacked Seimei regardless of the chakra cost.

For a time, the pressure on Seimei surged, but because of this, his 'Swordsmanship' proficiency increased rapidly.

Kurokawa Ichiro and the others would probably never have imagined that as long as they continued to pressure Seimei and fight him, they were helping him gain proficiency.

The closer they pushed Seimei to the limit of his swordsmanship, the better the effect.

Feeling the killing intent from these people, Seimei almost burst out laughing, but to avoid them noticing anything unusual, he forcefully held back his laughter.

And his expression of straining to resist gave Kurokawa Ichiro and the others a glimmer of hope, so they fought even harder.

Time passed by.

Under such immense pressure, Seimei's 'Swordsmanship' rapidly grew, and his proficiency accumulated at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Despite this, it was obviously unrealistic to accumulate four thousand proficiency points in a single battle.

Moreover, the outburst of Kurokawa Ichiro and the others also had its limits.

At a certain moment, Seimei suddenly felt the pressure on him ease.

He focused his gaze and saw Kurokawa Ichiro and the others with sweat on their foreheads and panting heavily, clearly showing signs of weakness after their outburst.

Seimei's Sharingan activated slightly, scanning their chests.

It could be seen that after this round of consumption, their chakra was basically less than a quarter of its peak state.

Then, looking at the Iwa-nin Chunin and Genin on the distant battlefield...

Their morale, which had just been stirred up by the outburst of Kurokawa Ichiro and the others, was now even lower after being suppressed by those Konoha Jonin.

Victory was assured!

'It's time to end this battle.'

Thinking this, Seimei no longer hesitated. His chakra burst forth, and with a Body Flicker Technique, he charged straight towards Kurokawa Ichiro and the others.

And after his full outburst, the first to suffer was the half-crippled Iwa-nin Tokubetsu Jonin.

Seimei found an opportunity, first controlling him with Genjutsu: Sharingan, then hitting his chest with a Rasengan, instantly severely injuring him and knocking him to the ground.

As for Kurokawa Ichiro and Kurogane, they didn't fare well either.

Overwhelmed by Seimei's aura, they still wanted to escape, but in the hands of a fully unleashed Seimei, they couldn't find any chance to flee.

Kurogane had half of his neck severed by Seimei's Wind Release: Wind Blade. Although he timely used that Earth Release technique, he still couldn't block the wind blade's attack.

Facts proved that Kurokawa Ichiro hadn't deliberately set a trap for him. Kurogane's Earth Release technique indeed couldn't defend against his wind blade attack.

After killing Kurogane, Kurokawa Ichiro was left alone and struggling.

In just a dozen exchanges, Seimei found an opportunity.

The moment their gazes met, Seimei used the Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique, instantly immobilizing him in place.

*Whoosh*

The short sword in his hand thrust out, instantly piercing through the opponent's heart.

And with that, Kurokawa Ichiro perished.

Perhaps the last meaningful thing he did was to give the order to retreat to the Iwa-nin Chunin and Genin on the field in his final moments.

(End of this chapter)