Two hours refining chakra, two more nurturing the Byakugan, plus time spent eating and traveling—Seimei had already gotten a late start today. By now, it was well past noon.
Glancing up at the blazing sun, he decided to stop overthinking for a bit. Sensing a Flying Thunder God mark he'd left on the way here, he activated the "Flying Thunder God Technique" with a thought. Silently, his figure vanished from the spot.
When he reappeared, he was perched on a large tree. Since today was supposed to be about rest and relaxation, Seimei wasn't about to push himself too hard. So, for now? Time for a nap.
With that in mind, he scanned the area to make sure no one was around, popped a few soldier pills into his mouth, and sprawled out on a tree branch. Staring up at the sunlight filtering through the canopy, he let out a yawn. A wave of drowsiness washed over him. Relaxing completely, his unfocused eyes drifted to the sky, and as time ticked by, his consciousness faded. After a little back-and-forth between his eyelids, they finally closed.
Chirp, chirp, chirp…
He wasn't sure how long he'd been out when a bird suddenly flew overhead, jolting him awake. An invisible aura rippled out from him, startling the bird mid-flight. It dropped like a stone. And it wasn't just the bird—every bug and critter in the surrounding woods shut up too. In an instant, the forest went dead quiet.
Seimei's gaze swept around. Nothing seemed off. "Just my imagination?" he muttered to himself. But he quickly shook his head. No way.
Sure, he'd been half-asleep, but his senses were still sharp. Right before he woke up, he'd felt it—a faint, creeping sensation of being watched. And even now, it lingered. This wasn't some trick of the mind.
Without hesitation, he focused his mind and subtly loosened the seal at his brow. Keeping it low-key, he activated his Byakugan. Instantly, his vision cut through his Leaf headband and the surrounding trees, taking in everything within a kilometer. Still, nothing.
"Not the Byakugan, then?" he murmured.
Yeah, his first guess when he felt that prying sensation was that someone was scoping him out with their own Byakugan. Made sense for two reasons: one, it's perfect for long-range spying; two, the feeling was eerily similar to being stared at by one. But since that wasn't it, who—or what—in the Leaf Village could pull off something like this?
His mind raced. Then, a name popped up: Sarutobi Hiruzen. Yep, the Third Hokage himself.
Seimei remembered that the old man had a technique called the "Telescope Technique." He could keep tabs on every corner of the Leaf Village without even leaving his office. And from what Seimei knew, it worked a lot like the Byakugan—using chakra as a medium for long-distance surveillance. That would explain why it felt so familiar. If he was right, the chakra in the air around him should be acting a little off.
With that thought, he pulled his focus back and turned his Byakugan to the nearby air, zooming in on every tiny detail as much as he could. Thanks to his Byakugan evolving once, he was sharper at picking up subtle stuff now. Sure enough, he spotted it fast.
The chakra floating around him carried faint traces of someone else's mental energy. Someone was definitely using it as a conduit to watch him.
No second-guessing—Seimei shut off his Byakugan and snapped his head up to the sky. For a split second, it felt like his eyes locked onto someone's, startling them. A moment later, that watched feeling vanished.
"Heh," Seimei let out a cold chuckle, then looked away.
He wasn't sure if Sarutobi Hiruzen had meant to spy on him or if it was just a coincidence, but either way, his little display just now should've been enough to make the old man think twice about peeking again. Still, this was a wake-up call. He'd need to watch his step in the village from now on.
Glancing at the time, he realized over an hour had passed. No point wasting more of it. He picked up where he'd left off that morning, mulling over how to allocate the chakra he'd saved up now that skills like the "Transcription Seal" were maxed out.
---
Meanwhile, deep in the Leaf Village, inside a large compound, Sarutobi Hiruzen sat in his study. His gaze shifted away from a crystal ball. After a moment of silence, he muttered under his breath, "The young ones these days are something else."
Seimei had nailed it. It was Hiruzen spying on him, using the "Telescope Technique." And it wasn't an accident—he'd done it on purpose. Why? Because he couldn't let go of Danzo's death.
Things weren't like they'd be in the future. Right now, Danzo had done plenty of shady stuff, but it was mostly aimed at outsiders, not the village itself. Forcing clans to send their kids to Root for training, targeting the Uchiha clan hardcore, nabbing village ninja for Orochimaru's experiments—none of that had happened yet. So, in Hiruzen's eyes, Danzo's actions were justifiable. One of them walked in the light, the other in the shadows—that's just how it was. After decades as old buddies, Danzo's death still gnawed at him.
And as the prime suspect, Seimei naturally landed on his radar.
It wasn't the first time Hiruzen had spied on him, either. Problem was, ever since killing Danzo, Seimei had been training like a maniac and barely stuck around the village. Most of the time, it was just a shadow clone holding down the fort. To keep the clone going long-term, Seimei didn't let it train, and the "Telescope Technique" couldn't peek beyond the village borders. So, Hiruzen had come up empty-handed—until today. He'd finally caught Seimei's real body, only to get busted in the act.
The moment their eyes "met" through the crystal ball, Hiruzen had jumped. That's what prompted his "young ones these days" comment. Still, giving up entirely? Not happening.
Back in the study, Hiruzen tapped his fingers lightly on the desk, eyes narrowing as he stared ahead, lost in thought.