In the blink of an eye, several hours had passed.
The time had shifted from early morning to mid-morning.
By now, the battle was still raging, and if anything, it had intensified.
The defensive line built by Konoha had long been breached, and as the fight progressed, the battlefield had expanded to cover several kilometers.
Basically, from the east of the Blackstone outpost to a couple of kilometers deep into the ocean, everything was a war zone.
Ninjas from both sides fought on this land, either teaming up, going solo, setting up ambushes, or clashing head-on. Everyone was trying to kill their opponent by any means necessary.
Blood had stained this land, and the sounds of wailing and clashing echoed throughout. Anyone who set foot here would be shaken by the sight.
And yet, this was just a glimpse of the wider war in the ninja world.
In fact, even along Konoha's defensive line, this was not the only place where battles were raging.
At the same time that the Mist Ninjas launched their attack on Flying Fish Town, three other outposts previously captured by Kirigakure were also attacked simultaneously.
In no time, Konoha's eastern border—its northern, central, and southern defensive lines—were all on high alert. Resources and manpower were constantly being moved to resist Kirigakure's assaults.
However, even with these efforts, the situation remained precarious.
The reason for this was simple. Konoha was currently locked in a decisive battle with Sunagakure and was also being restrained by Iwagakure.
As a result, despite nearly a week passing, they had not been able to muster enough reinforcements.
In this scenario, facing Kirigakure's sudden onslaught, the lack of available troops made defending even more challenging.
This, of course, presented an opportunity for Kirigakure, who increased their efforts.
Now, not only were they expanding outwards from their four outposts, using them as footholds, but they were also organizing forces to attack other outposts along Konoha's borders. The goal was to tie up more of Konoha's forces, preventing them from effectively supporting their defenses.
There was no denying that fighting on home turf had its advantages, such as easier logistics and supply.
But it also had its downsides.
Like now, for example—Nara Keiko, the commander-in-chief, didn't dare pull large numbers of troops from other outposts along the defensive line. Even though he knew the Mist Ninjas attacking those outposts were only trying to distract them, he couldn't take the risk.
If he left those outposts under-defended and Kirigakure caught wind of it, they might establish another foothold. So he couldn't afford to gamble.
As for trying to fool Kirigakure with something like an empty fortress strategy? That wasn't even on Nara Keiko's radar.
It wasn't that he hadn't thought of it, but the situation simply wouldn't allow it.
Last time, when Kirigakure managed to capture four of their outposts, it was clear they had the advantage of precise intelligence.
To this day, the Anbu still hadn't figured out how the information had been leaked.
So Nara Keiko didn't dare to take that chance.
What he could do—the safest option—was to rely on sheer strength to fight Kirigakure.
As long as he avoided any underhanded tricks, Kirigakure wouldn't be able to exploit any weaknesses. This was the confidence that came with being part of the high-intelligence Nara clan.
In terms of pure strength... it was true that, even with the ninjas near the four outposts and the reinforcements on the way, they weren't quite a match for Kirigakure.
But when it came to elite combat power, Konoha far outclassed Kirigakure.
Over the past week, Nara Keiko hadn't wasted any time. Aside from managing troop movements and preparing supplies, most of his time had been spent requesting assistance from the village's top combat forces.
And the village... had agreed.
As long as they could hold out for a while, reinforcements would arrive soon.
With those reinforcements, even if they couldn't win outright, they could wear down Kirigakure.
After all, the distance from here to Kirigakure wasn't close, and as long as they could block Kirigakure's supply lines by sea, Kirigakure would eventually run out of resources and halt their offensive.
And once they got through this period and the battle with Sunagakure was settled, more troops could be sent to help.
By then, they could push Kirigakure back.
This was Nara Keiko's plan: to delay until the situation changed.
But as for what Nara Keiko was planning, Seimei didn't know—and he didn't care much, either. He was busy 'going through the motions' on the battlefield.
Of course, saying he was "going through the motions" was a bit of an understatement. Given his strength and reputation, even if he didn't provoke Kirigakure, they wouldn't ignore him.
Right now, Seimei was being surrounded by two Jonin and three Special Jonin from Kirigakure.
*Clang, clang, clang...*
With his long sword in hand and his Sharingan activated to its full potential, Seimei observed his opponents' movements, predicting their next moves.
He swung his sword to block their attacks.
The clashing of swords and kunai produced a series of crisp metallic sounds, sparks flying—a beautiful yet dangerous scene.
*Whoosh!*
Suddenly, the faint sound of something cutting through the air came from behind.
Seimei's ear twitched, and he quickly tilted his head to the left.
A shuriken whizzed past, grazing his earlobe and leaving a thin scratch.
But in the next moment, the scratch disappeared.
For injuries like this, Seimei could simply gather chakra to trigger his body's self-healing ability. No need for medical ninjutsu.
However, this was just the beginning.
In the next instant, the two Mist Ninjas who had been entangled with him suddenly retreated, putting some distance between themselves and Seimei.
Seeing this, Seimei raised his foot to pursue them.
But at that moment, the sound of something cutting through the air grew louder.
Seimei turned his head to see a dozen shuriken and kunai flying toward him, aimed at his vital points.
In a flash, Seimei activated his Sharingan to its limit, the three tomoe in his eyes spinning rapidly. In an instant, he locked onto all the incoming kunai and shuriken.
Then, he swung his sword repeatedly, producing a series of "clang, clang, clang" sounds as he knocked each projectile away.
"Huff…"
Just as he was about to catch his breath, the two Mist Jonin who had retreated suddenly launched their next attack.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
"Water Style: Water Fang Bullet!"
In an instant, two jutsu came hurtling toward him—one from above, the other from behind. The coordination between the two was impeccable.
Not only that, but their timing was also perfect, attacking just as Seimei had finished defending himself, leaving him momentarily off balance.
Even if Seimei managed to dodge this round of attacks, he would likely lose the upper hand and be forced into a defensive position.
The two Mist Jonin seemed to foresee Seimei's impending defeat, a sense of relief visible on their faces.
However, Seimei remained calm in the face of this crisis.
Earlier, he had held back against his five opponents because he didn't want to attract too much attention and disrupt his leisurely 'going through the motions.'
But now that he was in danger, there was no point in holding back.
With that thought, Seimei sheathed his sword and began weaving hand signs. In the blink of an eye, he unleashed his jutsu—**Water Style: Great Shark Bullet Technique!**
A massive shark-shaped missile quickly formed in front of him and surged toward the vortex of water ahead.
This was the **Water Fang Bullet**, a technique that condensed a stream of water and fired it at high speed, sending water projectiles toward the target.
In all honesty, it was a decent jutsu.
But against the **Great Shark Bullet**, which was designed to absorb other ninjutsu, it stood no chance.
As soon as the water projectiles hit the shark missile, they were swallowed up and became nourishment for its growth.
The shark missile grew larger and larger as it advanced, exuding an overwhelming sense of pressure.
Not far away, the Mist Jonin facing this behemoth finally couldn't hold out and immediately canceled his jutsu, leaping to the side.
Meanwhile, on the other side, after launching the **Great Shark Bullet**, Seimei no longer paid any attention to the attacks in front of him.
He simply dodged backward, avoiding the **Water Dragon Jutsu** coming from above.
*Boom!*
The enormous water dragon crashed into the ground with a thunderous roar, sending up a cloud of dust.