Grind is My Ninja Way

"Retreat~~~"

Hearing Kurokawa Ichiro's dying scream, the Iwa-nin Chunin and Genin on the field were stunned for a moment before they all started to retreat.

Seeing this scene, the surviving Konoha ninjas used various techniques, either blocking or pursuing.

For a time, the entire battlefield became even more chaotic than before.

However, because the initiative was in Konoha's hands, overall, the Iwa ninjas were more disarrayed, and their casualties were even greater.

In this last wave alone, at least thirty or forty Iwa ninjas died, and in the end, no more than a hundred could escape the pursuit and return to the Iwa main camp.

In other words, in this surprise attack, Iwa not only lost all their Jonin but also lost more than two-thirds of their troops.

Such a loss was undoubtedly significant.

However, Konoha also suffered considerable losses. Out of the original one hundred and fifty ninjas, there were probably no more than fifty survivors.

And this was still the result of Seimei killing many Iwa-nin Chunin and Genin earlier. If he hadn't eliminated dozens of them at the beginning, Konoha's losses would have been even greater.

After all, this time, Iwa was aiming to completely wipe out the Kogatani Village stronghold. Their preparations were quite thorough. The fact that so many people from Konoha survived in the end and even won was almost a miracle.

No, calling it a miracle wasn't accurate. It should be said that it was all thanks to Seimei's 'extraordinary' performance.

Without him annihilating the opponent's Jonin team, no matter how hard Konoha struggled, they would have ultimately ended in failure. There was no other possibility.

Although it was a costly victory now, it was still better than being completely wiped out, wasn't it?

Precisely because of this, after the battle, all the Konoha ninjas, whether Jonin, Chunin, or Genin, looked at Seimei with awe and gratitude.

Awe, because of his strength.

Gratitude, because he had saved everyone with that strength.

However, Seimei didn't take these people's gratitude and awe to heart. Everything he did was simply following his own will.

If one day someone angered him, he wouldn't mind killing them on the spot. As for their identity, he wouldn't care at all.

A mere Konohagakure couldn't truly bind him.

Moreover, as his strength continued to increase, this bond would become weaker and weaker.

Again, his goal was the vast starry sky.

The ninja world...

In his eyes, it was ultimately just a tiny place. The ninja civilization could develop only because an alien planted a tree here.

Seimei sat on the rooftop, looking up at the starry sky, his thoughts gradually drifting into the distance.

After an unknown amount of time, a figure suddenly appeared beside him.

It was none other than one of the dozens of surviving Konoha ninjas from that day, and moreover, a Tokubetsu Jonin.

He came to Seimei's side, saw him looking up at the night sky, and didn't interrupt. He just stood there quietly.

A long time later, when Seimei came back to his senses, he stepped forward and said, "Captain, this is today's battle report."

As he spoke, he handed a document to Seimei.

Seimei took the document, scanned it briefly, confirmed there were no problems, and then signed his name.

Then, he handed the document back to the Konoha Jonin in front of him and said, "There are no problems. Submit it like this."

"Yes, Captain!"

The Konoha Jonin responded and was about to leave.

Just then, Seimei suddenly stopped him.

"Wait!"

The Konoha Jonin stopped, turned around, and said, "Captain, is there anything else?"

Seimei thought for a moment and said directly, "When you submit the battle report, tell them that the Kogatani Village stronghold can't be held any longer and request immediate evacuation."

Hearing this, the Konoha Jonin's expression froze. After hesitating for a while, he said, "Captain, should I really say that?"

"Yes."

Seimei nodded and said, "Tell them it's my decision."

Hearing this, the Konoha Jonin fell silent for a moment and then said, "Understood, Captain!"

With that, he used the Body Flicker Technique and left.

Seimei certainly knew that saying this would definitely lower the Konoha higher-ups' evaluation of him, but...

Not to mention that he didn't care about this at all, even if the evaluation was lower, it didn't matter. Just his identity as a member of the Uchiha clan determined that he wouldn't have any good development under the current Konoha leadership.

Since that was the case, it was better to be a bit more unrestrained.

Seimei didn't want to end up being the only one defending the Kogatani Village stronghold.

Well...

That was a bit of an exaggeration, but the meaning was the same.

If those guys saw his outstanding strength and exploited him to the fullest, it wouldn't be good.

Although that might lead to a rapid improvement in his 'Swordsmanship,' compared to the time and energy he would waste, it wasn't worth it.

Therefore, it was better to lay out the ugly truth beforehand.

He believed that they would understand his intentions after hearing his words.

...

In a flash, another day passed.

Seimei received a reply from Omura Yuino, or rather, an order. He hoped that Seimei could hold on for another week.

The letter vaguely mentioned that Kaze no Sato seemed to be preparing an operation and needed some time.

For this reason, Omura Yuino sent another hundred ninjas to support him.

Seimei thought about it and felt that after suffering such a crushing defeat, the Iwa ninjas shouldn't launch another attack in the short term.

After all, Jonin weren't leeks that could be harvested repeatedly.

Tokubetsu Jonin with only one specialty were one thing, but among so many Chunin, there were bound to be some outstanding talents who could be selected.

However, well-rounded Jonin weren't so easy to replenish.

And with the strength he had currently displayed, if Iwagakure wanted to capture the Kogatani Village stronghold, apart from using the lives of a large number of Chunin and Genin to overwhelm them, they could only mobilize more Jonin.

For the former, Seimei could also request reinforcements.

Ultimately, a small conflict might escalate into a large-scale battle, which didn't align with Iwagakure's overall strategic decision to disperse their forces and attack the strongholds around Kaze no Sato.

So, they probably wouldn't adopt that approach.

Then, the only option left was to match strength with strength.

And to deal with Seimei, they would need to mobilize at least four or more Iwa-nin Jonin. Coupled with the other Konoha Jonin in Kogatani Village, Iwagakure would need at least seven or eight Jonin to capture this place.

Gathering so many Jonin wasn't something that could be done in a short time.

At least not within a week.

In this way, the task of holding on for a week wasn't that dangerous.

Therefore, Seimei decided to accept the mission.

Of course, if during this week, the Iwa ninjas showed any abnormalities, such as trying to kill him at all costs, Seimei wouldn't stubbornly defend the stronghold.

Compared to his life, what was a Kogatani Village stronghold? Even if he faced criticism because of it, it didn't matter.

However, he was curious about what kind of operation Kaze no Sato was preparing.

"Could it be another beheading operation?"

Seimei muttered softly.

(End of this chapter)