[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-grind-is-my-ninja-way":3,"chapter-grind-is-my-ninja-way-grind-is-my-ninja-way-chapter-838":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Grind is My Ninja Way",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1481809,1929,"Chapter 838 - 835: Aftermath","grind-is-my-ninja-way-chapter-838",838,"\u003Cp>On one side, Seimei had just whisked Imamura Tsukiko away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the other, the Stone ninja quickly caught on to something fishy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn't that they saw her get nabbed by the real Seimei—they just noticed he'd zeroed in on her with pinpoint accuracy and got worried about her safety.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every Stone ninja present, whether they knew Tsukiko's full deal or not, understood one thing: they'd only tracked this far thanks to her unique sensory skills.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Seimei killed her, their mission would grind to a halt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, the village had paid a steep price to sneak them into the Land of Fire. Coming back empty-handed? That'd be a tough sell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, the moment the Thunder Prison faded, they lunged forward to save her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Seimei wasn't about to let them get close.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With no sign of Tsukiko's body among the three charred corpses left in the field, he had to cover up the fact that his real self had taken her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sure, the Stone ninja might spot holes in the story later, but it was better than them knowing for sure he'd captured her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that in mind, the shadow clone Seimei left behind didn't skip a beat. The instant the Thunder Prison vanished, it unleashed another terrain-altering jutsu—Water Release: Great Explosive Water Collision!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a flash, an uncountable torrent of water surged into existence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within moments, it flooded a kilometer-wide radius, turning the forest into a sprawling lake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Trees toppled under the deluge—some sank, others floated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finding Tsukiko's \"body\" in this mess? Good luck with that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Better yet, the massive lake dragged everyone out into the open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In just that short span, five or six Stone ninja had died, with about as many wounded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They'd started with two squads—over thirty in total.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, after losing more than a dozen, only about twenty were still fit to fight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sure, they still outnumbered Seimei and the four Leaf Anbu by a wide margin, but Seimei's raw power gave them serious pause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it came to a real slugfest, they weren't confident they could take him and his team down completely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Plus, they were deep in Fire Country territory. Since the Leaf Anbu had already clocked them, more Leaf ninja were probably converging on their position as they spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Drag this out too long, and they'd be surrounded on all sides.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their numbers advantage would mean squat then.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Worse, they risked getting wiped out entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And another thing—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Stone ninja leader scanned the area. No sign of Tsukiko. Given Seimei's moves and that Lightning Release jutsu, her odds of surviving seemed slim.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without her as their link to track the Four-Tails' chakra traces, they couldn't keep chasing anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After weighing it all, the leader decided fighting on wasn't worth it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a quick order, he split the team: one group stayed to hold off Seimei and the four Leaf Anbu, while the other took the wounded and bolted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seimei saw their play but didn't rush to chase. After a moment's thought, he teamed up with the Leaf Anbu squad to tackle the Stone ninja left blocking their path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why? Simple. His goal was already in the bag—the Stone ninja wouldn't be tracking him anymore. The messier the situation got, the better.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chaos was the perfect smokescreen for what he'd pulled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Letting some of these Stone ninja escape was the best way to muddy the waters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if the Leaf hunted them down later, a few would slip through the net.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That'd leave Tsukiko's fate a big question mark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Leaf might assume she'd fled Fire Country, while the Hidden Stone would figure she died in the fight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as neither side fully trusted the other enough to compare notes, it'd stay a tangled mess.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sure, someone might suspect him after a debrief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But like he'd figured—no one catches him red-handed, no hard proof, no problem. Neither friend nor foe could touch him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More likely, the Hidden Stone would have their doubts, while the Leaf wouldn't even clock Tsukiko's oddity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That'd make things even easier to smooth over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thoughts buzzing, the shadow clone Seimei had left behind sent the other clones on a token chase before focusing entirely on the Stone ninja holding them back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The enemy had numbers and solid skills, but as a shadow clone, he couldn't take heavy hits. It tied his hands in the fight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even with four Leaf Anbu backing him up, they couldn't break through the blockade right away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time ticked by.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once the Stone ninja figured they'd stalled enough, they pulled back on their own. Only then did Seimei and the Anbu shake free.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whoosh!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A Leaf Anbu with a short sword and a mask stepped up to Seimei. Through the mask's eyeholes, Seimei could see the guy's gaze—he clearly wanted to say something but couldn't find the words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That look told Seimei his performance had raised some eyebrows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fair enough—his strength had swung wildly from start to finish, almost like he'd let those Stone ninja slip away on purpose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Didn't matter, though.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This mess was on them, when you got down to it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seimei's orders were to team up with the four Anbu, track the Stone ninja, and wait for backup to encircle them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But reality? He'd shown up to find the fight already kicked off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they hadn't jumped the gun and exposed themselves, none of this would've spiraled out of control.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, yeah, their screw-up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He'd cook up a decent excuse later and call it a day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And that excuse?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He'd already hashed it out: before this emergency gig, he'd burned through too much chakra training. All bark, no bite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had to bluff his way through and scare the Stone ninja off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether the village bought it or not, he was sold on it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, he'd put on a good show first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that in mind, Seimei ignored the Anbu captain's hesitant vibe. \"I'll tail them and check it out,\" he said, then cast Wind Release: Wings of Wind and his Chakra Cloak, soaring off toward where the Stone ninja had fled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing him go, the other three Anbu—nursing injuries of varying degrees—approached their captain. \"Captain…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before they could finish, he waved them off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don't say a word,\" he said. \"Let's just finish the mission.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, Captain!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three nodded, then took off together, tracking the Stone ninja's trail on foot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like that, the mission seemed to loop back to square one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only this time, the Stone ninja weren't pressing deeper into Fire Country—they were hightailing it toward the border.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1098,"2026-06-06T03:31:01.824Z",1,"novelbin.me","0db70a0d18d7ef09aa1517605d645c6d79c59f7aa2955fe30410583b08e9672f","grind-is-my-ninja-way-chapter-839","grind-is-my-ninja-way-chapter-837",1097,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fgrind-is-my-ninja-way-cover.jpg"]