*Tap, tap, tap…*
The heavy footsteps echoed in Kozo Onogame's ears. Dragging his injured right leg, he struggled to look up in the direction of the sound. There, he saw Seimei approaching, step by step.
A wave of fear washed over him, and Kozo Onogame instinctively tried to back away, gripping a kunai tightly in his right hand as if it could offer him some sense of security.
Seimei noticed the small, defensive gesture but had no intention of wasting time on a mere pawn. In a flash, he appeared before him.
Before Onogame could launch a desperate last attack with his kunai, Seimei locked eyes with him, casting the Genjutsu: Sharingan to seize control of his mind.
With a swift kick, Seimei knocked the kunai from his hand, then activated the genjutsu to draw out the information he needed from Onogame's memories.
Moments later, Seimei's brow furrowed.
After a brief pause, he formed a hand seal, using the Chakra Absorption Technique to drain every ounce of chakra from his captive. Once Onogame was lifeless, he moved on to another Mist ninja, this time a chūnin, and used the Sharingan technique once again to probe his memories.
It turned out that Kozo Onogame wasn't the only one left behind as a pawn by the Mist. In the recent battle, Seimei had either incapacitated or critically injured several other Mist ninjas.
After the retreat order from Tanabe Tomohiko, only a few were taken away by their comrades, while the rest were abandoned on the battlefield.
This left Seimei with a wealth of potential sources for intelligence—and for chakra replenishment.
In terms of intelligence, since these ninjas were all part of the same squad, the information each held was mostly consistent.
However, there was an abundance of chakra, more than his body alone could absorb. He had to split into a few shadow clones to not only keep watch on the periphery but also practice some low-profile skills to use up the excess chakra.
After Seimei had drained the chakra from all surviving Mist ninjas, he began piecing together the information he had gathered.
At first, he'd thought the Mist ninjas were on a routine mission and had only encountered his team by coincidence.
But from Onogame's memories, he realized this was no accident—or at least, not a simple one.
One of the purposes of their presence here was specifically to intercept the Leaf's incoming reinforcements.
The Mist had somehow caught wind of their reinforcement plans.
According to Onogame's memories, earlier that day, he had received orders from his superiors to accompany Tanabe Tomohiko and several other jōnin to set up an ambush here.
Several other squads received similar orders but were stationed at different ambush points.
This all pointed to the fact that there was definitely a spy from the Mist Village within the Leaf's front-line encampment.
The only silver lining was that their precise route hadn't been compromised.
In other words, encountering Seimei and Uchiha Shisui was a stroke of chance.
This confirmed Seimei's earlier assumption: the ambush hadn't specifically targeted him and Shisui; otherwise, the Mist would have sent a much larger force.
And so, they were able to turn the tables.
"As expected, strength is always the most important factor!" Seimei muttered, setting aside further thoughts and waiting for Shisui.
From Onogame and the others' memories, Seimei knew the Mist squad's overall strength.
Based on this knowledge and his understanding of Shisui's capabilities, he figured that while Shisui might not be as swift and clean as he was, he would face no real danger, only a bit more trouble.
There was no need for Seimei to assist; he could wait patiently.
Sure enough, about ten minutes later, Shisui returned.
Seimei saw that Shisui's breathing was steady, with no visible injuries, indicating he had won without much difficulty. In contrast, Seimei's uniform was torn in several places from his initial use of Earth Release: Hardening Technique to block attacks, giving him a slightly worn-out appearance.
Fortunately, there was no blood.
Seeing this, Shisui breathed a small sigh of relief.
"Seimei, did you discover anything new?" he asked.
He asked about new discoveries because he, too, had used the Genjutsu: Sharingan.
When the Sharingan's genjutsu mastery reaches level 4, it allows for precise control, guiding targets into specific memories for memory-reading effects.
With Shisui's talent, even without proficiency aids, he could easily exceed level 4 in using the Genjutsu: Sharingan.
In other words, Shisui was also able to extract relevant intelligence from the minds of the Mist ninjas.
However, since Seimei's Sharingan skills were more advanced, with a stronger ocular power, he could access even more detailed information.
Seimei had no intention of hiding anything. He shared the intel he had gathered and some of his speculations.
After hearing Seimei's account, Shisui's expression turned grim.
He, too, understood that it didn't matter whether the Mist ninjas had come specifically for them.
What mattered was that they were here at all.
This alone was enough to illustrate the dire state of the current situation.
Seeing Shisui still deep in thought, Seimei said, "All right, let's not dwell on it. Let's go!"
With that, he released his Shadow Clones, quickly absorbing the experiences and memories they had accumulated.
Shisui glanced at the abruptly disappearing clones and, without further thought, acknowledged with a nod. Together, they continued toward the rendezvous point.
Having just been ambushed, they remained vigilant on their journey.
Although their combined strength made it unlikely that the Mist ninjas could pose a serious threat, they didn't dare to let their guard down.
After all, the Mist chūnin and genin level enemies knew limited information. Who knew if the Mist Village had planted a smokescreen and was planning a more calculated attack?
When it comes to survival, you can never be too cautious.
Thankfully, the worst didn't happen.
The remainder of their journey went smoothly, without any threats.
Time passed.
About an hour later.
The two left the forest.
Shortly afterward, they encountered a Leaf patrol team.
After verifying their identities, they entered the Leaf's defense zone.
Following a series of additional checks, they finally arrived at the rendezvous point, the forward camp on the southern defensive line.
Beyond this camp lay the battlefield.
Standing within the camp, Seimei could faintly sense the tumult of the battlefield beyond.
Clearly, things ahead were anything but peaceful.
*End of Chapter*