Whoosh—
A gust of night wind swept by.
Under the hazy moonlight, the once-calm lake surface suddenly rippled in circles.
At the lake's edge, the Iwa Hidden Anbu facing off against Seimei couldn't bear the tension any longer and made the first move.
Swish~
A flash of swordlight streaked through the air.
In an instant, the Anbu darted forward, closing in on Seimei. The short sword in their hand thrust straight toward his throat.
But an attack like that? Even without activating his Sharingan, it wasn't enough to touch Seimei.
With a single step back, he dodged the strike effortlessly, his movements light and fluid.
And that wasn't all. With a flick of his wrist, Seimei swung his long blade upward, perfectly intercepting the Anbu's follow-up attack before it could even begin.
Clang~
A sharp metallic clash rang out.
The long blade met the short sword, sparks flying from the impact.
Seimei hadn't held back with that strike. The Iwa Anbu felt their hand go numb, instinctively pulling the short sword back.
But Seimei wasn't about to let up. He stepped forward, slashing horizontally with his blade, aiming right for the Anbu's chest and abdomen.
Feeling the razor-sharp intent radiating from the blade, the Iwa Anbu didn't dare take it lightly. They retreated half a step, narrowly avoiding Seimei's attack.
Then, before Seimei could adjust his stance, the Anbu lashed out with their short sword, lightning-fast, aiming once again for his throat.
In close-quarters combat with cold weapons, it's all about the adage: "A longer weapon gives strength; a shorter one brings danger."
Just moments ago, the Anbu had only retreated half a step from Seimei's attack.
So now, the distance between them was still close—perfect for the short sword to shine.
With a strike like that coming at him, Seimei couldn't easily block it.
Of course, that was only because he hadn't activated his Sharingan.
If he had, its incredible perception would've let him read the Anbu's next move from the tiniest hints—the twitch of a muscle, the shift of a stance. With his lightning-fast reflexes, he could've stopped his own motion mid-swing and blocked in time.
But right now? Blocking wasn't an option.
Not that it mattered.
Killing the Anbu wasn't his goal anyway.
With that thought, Seimei decisively stepped back, handing the initiative over to his opponent.
The Iwa Anbu, clearly a seasoned fighter, seized the chance without hesitation and launched a fierce onslaught.
Clang, clang, clang~
The rapid sound of metal striking metal filled the air.
The Anbu pressed forward with their short sword, attacking relentlessly.
But too bad for them—despite holding the upper hand, they couldn't land a single hit on Seimei.
Gripping his long blade, Seimei's defense was airtight. The Anbu couldn't find even the smallest opening.
Better yet, as the Anbu's stamina began to wane, Seimei spotted his chance. In an instant, he shifted his stance, turning defense into offense and taking control once again.
Unlike his opponent, though, Seimei didn't go for a quick finish after gaining the advantage. Instead, he played it steady, methodically cornering the Anbu step by step.
This slow, simmering approach—like boiling a frog in warm water—didn't register with the Anbu at first. But as the fight dragged on, they started to feel the strain.
Finally, after dozens of exchanges, the Anbu caught on to Seimei's plan.
They weren't one to hesitate either. Realizing that dragging this out would only lead to their defeat, they made a bold move. Taking a shallow cut to the left arm from Seimei's blade, they broke free of his pressure for a split second.
Then, with a few quick dashes, they put some distance between themselves and Seimei.
Before Seimei could close in again, the Anbu flipped their hand, pulling several shuriken from their pouch and hurling them at him with a sharp swish, swish, swish.
Without his Sharingan active, Seimei didn't dare chase head-on.
Not that the shuriken could actually hurt him.
He locked his eyes on the incoming projectiles, timing it perfectly. With two swift swings of his blade—clang, clang—he knocked away the pair flying straight at him.
Then, with a quick sidestep, he dodged the rest.
Sure, he came out unscathed, but his pursuit was undeniably stalled.
And that was exactly what the Iwa Anbu wanted.
Seeing Seimei pause, they didn't waste a second. They turned and bolted into the distance.
Clearly, they were trying to shake Seimei off and find a way to escape.
Too bad for them—Seimei wasn't about to let them ruin his plans that easily.
With a flicker of thought, he activated his Byakugan.
Instantly, everything within a kilometer came into view.
Once he confirmed that the three Kiri squads assigned to back "him" up had been alerted by his earlier signal, Seimei didn't hesitate. He used the Body Flicker Technique and gave chase.
Thanks to his top-notch physical conditioning, he caught up in no time.
Ahead, the Iwa Anbu spotted Seimei closing in again. They spun around and, just like before, flung several kunai at him.
A sliver of moonlight broke through the clouds, glinting off one of the kunai.
Seimei caught the faint purple-black sheen on its surface.
No doubt about it—those kunai were coated with deadly poison.
Without a second thought, he dodged, shifting out of their path.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~
The kunai sailed past his afterimage, embedding into the ground behind him.
Ignoring them, Seimei used the Body Flicker Technique again, racing after the fleeing Anbu.
Over the next few exchanges, the Anbu tried multiple times to escape with jutsu, but Seimei interrupted every attempt.
And so, the chase went on—one fleeing, one pursuing. Two minutes later, Seimei activated his Byakugan again.
Once he confirmed the three Kiri squads had closed within a hundred meters, he made his move.
Right on cue, the Iwa Anbu ahead turned back, launching another attack.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~
More kunai flew toward him, aimed at his vitals and cutting off his path forward.
But this time, Seimei didn't dodge. Instead, he charged straight into the barrage.
"What?!"
The Iwa Anbu, who'd just turned to flee again, froze mid-motion, their eyes wide with disbelief.
They couldn't wrap their head around it—why would the Kiri Anbu chasing them do something like that?
From everything they'd seen so far, charging head-on like that might not leave him completely unable to dodge, but getting hit was almost guaranteed.
"Was he holding back before?" the Anbu wondered.
But in the next moment, their masked face paled, pupils shrinking to pinpricks from a mix of fear and shock.
What caused such a reaction?
Simple. The Kiri Anbu chasing them had, at some point, activated a pair of three-tomoe Sharingan.
That's right—Seimei had revealed his Sharingan right in front of them.
Not that he was done hiding his identity. He still had to keep it under wraps. It's just that there was no point in hiding it from this Iwa Anbu anymore.
Because soon, no one would believe a word they said.
And he needed these eyes to pull off the final step of his plan.
Facing the incoming kunai, Seimei flickered through a series of movements, dodging them with ease. He didn't even slow down in the process.
Watching his fluid, practiced motions, the Iwa Anbu realized the truth: the one chasing them wasn't some Kiri ninja with a transplanted Sharingan—this was a genuine Uchiha.
That answered a few lingering questions in their mind.