Unknowingly, time had already slipped into the latter part of the night.
In the night sky, the moon had moved from its peak to the western side.
Yet, the Mist Ninjas had still not breached any of the three defensive lines.
This made the commanders from the Village Hidden in the Mist very angry.
On the coast.
On a Mist Village warship, a Jonin from the Mist looked at the battle report in his hand, his expression shifting repeatedly.
Finally, with a sharp slap, he threw the reports onto the table, cursing under his breath, "Useless! All of them are useless!"
Just a moment ago, news had come from the frontlines. The area previously captured by them on the eastern front had been reclaimed by the Konoha ninjas.
Moreover, judging by their momentum, they seemed poised to continue advancing.
Likewise, on both the southern and southeastern fronts, Konoha's ninjas were also gaining ground, gradually reclaiming lost territory.
One could say that on all three fronts, the Village Hidden in the Mist was suffering defeat.
How could this not enrage Chiyu Ryu?
As for the main culprit behind all of this, the one known as the "Demon Blade," Uchiha Seimei—Chiyu Ryu hated him to the core.
But then again, how was it possible that even a mere twelve or thirteen-year-old brat could still hold his ground? It was practically shaming the Village Hidden in the Mist.
If not for Seimei's record of having previously taken down Zabuza Momochi and Kurosuki Raiga…
Not long ago, he had even killed Kaguya Kotarō right under his nose. Otherwise, Chiyu Ryu would have assumed that Mei Terumi and the others were intentionally going easy on him.
Still, it was too unbelievable.
The Jonin of the Uchiha clan, although elite among Jonin, shouldn't be strong enough to hold off an assembly of seven or eight Jonin.
Not to mention that among those seven or eight were powerful figures like Mei Terumi, who possessed dual Kekkei Genkai, and Kuriarare Kushimaru, a wielder of one of the Seven Ninja Swords. They should have been able to take him down, right?
But in reality?
Seimei was like a cockroach that refused to die, surviving tenaciously and even injuring several of their own in counterattacks.
This left Chiyu Ryu utterly baffled.
But, failing to figure it out, he simply stopped trying.
As the saying goes, if you can't beat him, avoid him.
Thus, Chiyu Ryu tried to redeploy forces, leaving only one or two people to keep Seimei occupied.
However, Seimei's strength was simply too overwhelming, leaving an ordinary Jonin was practically like serving him lunch.
And if he left Mei Terumi and other strong ninjas, Seimei would evade battle, inserting himself into other Jonin skirmishes.
On one such occasion, with the cooperation of other Konoha Jonin, Seimei even managed to kill one of their Jonin, which made Chiyu Ryu heartbroken.
Left with no choice, Chiyu Ryu could only assemble more forces to besiege him.
Even after realizing that Seimei was deliberately stalling, Chiyu Ryu dared not reassign those attacking him.
One could say that Seimei, with his own strength, singlehandedly tied down nearly half of the Jonin forces from the Village Hidden in the Mist on the eastern front.
His contribution was undeniably significant!
This is the impact high-level combat power has in such large-scale battles.
It was precisely because of Seimei's delay tactics that Konoha's forces were able to counterattack.
Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy.
Suppressing his irritation, Chiyu Ryu turned to the dark corner beside him and asked, "How long until Konoha's reinforcements arrive?"
At his words, a ninja in a black cloak and mask stepped forward—another member of the Mist's Anbu.
"They've just received word from the Flying Fish Squad that Konoha's reinforcements have already reached the Red Coral Reef. At the fastest, they'll arrive here in about three hours."
"Three hours…"
Chiyu Ryu murmured to himself, sinking into a prolonged silence.
His index finger tapped rhythmically on the table, producing a series of dull thuds. After about ten minutes, he abruptly straightened, picked up the battle reports on the table, and examined them carefully.
After a moment, he let out a soft sigh and said, "Ah… fine, relay my order: retreat!"
After saying this, he seemed drained, slumping into his chair and remaining speechless for a long time.
Chiyu Ryu knew that after this, any chance of rising again was slim.
As a Jonin of average combat ability with no special background, his command skills were his only asset.
Had this battle gone well, he might have had a chance to enter the Village's power structure.
Now… he shouldn't even think about it.
The village had been silent for so long, all to ensure a well-prepared, decisive blow.
And now, they had lost both men and resources, failing to achieve any strategic objectives.
Originally, the village's plan was to capture Konoha's forward base in the Land of Waves first, then use it as a launching point to attack the Fire Country, ultimately pushing the battle line into the Fire Country's heartland.
But unfortunately, they hadn't even managed to take the forward base, let alone make further plans.
Thus, he would be fortunate enough to avoid blame, let alone expect any accolades.
Of course, he could still continue to fight, but given the current circumstances, their chances of failure were as high as eighty or ninety percent.
In this situation, continuing the fight would be gambling with their lives.
Chiyu Ryu, ultimately with some conscience, did not want to send his subordinates to their deaths needlessly, so he chose to retreat.
Additionally, even if they won this gamble, they wouldn't be able to hold their position once Konoha's reinforcements arrived.
Therefore, he thought it better to preserve some strength for the village.
Upon hearing his order, the Mist Anbu beside him departed without hesitation.
Soon, the Mist ninjas on all three fronts began to retreat in an orderly manner.
The Konoha forces naturally noticed their movement, but after some consideration, the leading Uchiha Jonin decided against pursuing them.
It wasn't that he didn't want to; the situation simply didn't allow it.
Although they had successfully blocked the Mist Village's assault, they had suffered significant losses, and the surviving Konoha ninjas were all injured.
Moreover, after several hours of continuous fighting, everyone was exhausted, lacking the strength and chakra to pursue.
Chasing them could even give the Mist Village an opening.
Thus, the Uchiha Jonin chose to hold his position. After all, their mission had already been more than accomplished—there was no need to risk further.
Similarly, Seimei watched the Mist Jonin who had been surrounding him retreat, yet he also chose not to pursue.
Although he was still in fairly good shape, he had already stood out enough in this battle. Chasing down a few more Mist ninjas was unnecessary.
Doing so might even attract more unwanted attention.
Seimei hadn't forgotten why he had been reassigned to this front. Having already caught the interest of the Root organization, he had no desire to invite more trouble.
Although it was unlikely he could avoid notice entirely, minimizing the risk was still preferable.
As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Seimei flicked the blood from his blade and, with a crisp "clang," sheathed his sword.
After scanning his surroundings and confirming the Mist Village had truly left, he turned and made his way back to the base.
Yet, before he could rest, a Chunin appeared in front of him.
Without waiting for him to speak, Seimei opened his eyes, fixed his gaze on him, and frowned, "What is it?"
Swallowing nervously, the Konoha Chunin spoke carefully, "Well… Seimei Jonin, the medical team is a bit short-handed at the moment, so…"
Seimei fell silent.
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