Hovering in the air, Seimei took a moment to get his bearings.
After locking onto the northwest direction toward the Land of Earth, he flapped his wings and sped off that way without hesitation.
The Land of Waterfalls, where Takigakure was located, was just a small country. Its territory wasn't all that big, and with Seimei flying high above, the dense forests, towering mountains, cliffs, and waterfalls below didn't slow him down one bit.
So, it didn't take him long to reach the border between the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Earth.
From up there, he could see it clearly: a boundary river stretched across the land. To the east lay the lush, thick jungles of the Land of Waterfalls, while to the west were the barren, rugged hills of the Land of Earth.
That one little river seemed to split the world into two completely different realms.
But none of that really mattered to him. What caught his eye were the patrol teams of ninja from both nations stationed along the riverbanks, along with the watchtowers they'd set up.
To avoid drawing their attention, Seimei descended to the ground well before getting too close.
From here on out, he'd travel by land.
Compared to the wide-open sky with no cover, the ground was way better for staying hidden.
But before he went any further, he needed to take care of something first—leaving a few Flying Thunder God seals around the area.
That way, the next time he wanted to come back, he wouldn't have to go through all this hassle again.
With that in mind, Seimei walked up to a big tree. Without a second thought, he slapped his palm against it, leaving a black sun-shaped mark on one of its branches.
Then, he repeated the process, placing similar seals on several other nearby trees.
Still, he wasn't totally convinced that trees alone would be secure enough.
After a moment's thought, he found a rock embedded in the side of a hill. On a less obvious spot, he left another Flying Thunder God seal.
He picked hidden spots not because he was worried someone would spot the seals or mess with them—once he placed them, he could make them vanish from sight whenever he wanted, so that wasn't an issue.
No, he was just playing it safe, making sure no one accidentally—or unluckily—destroyed the objects he'd marked. If that happened, he'd have no way to teleport back.
A few minutes later, Seimei finished up.
Without wasting another second, he took off toward the boundary river.
Thanks to the sharp senses of his Byakugan and Sharingan, he slipped past Takigakure's patrol zones and crossed the river into the Land of Earth without any trouble.
Originally, he'd planned to just keep moving and get out of there.
But along the way, his Byakugan picked up a hidden Iwa ninja outpost. After thinking it over, he activated his "Heavenly Guard" ability and crept closer.
It's not like he wanted to take the guy out or anything. His goal was simpler: he didn't have any informants in Iwagakure yet, so he figured he'd turn this ninja into a sleeper agent, like he'd done with those Mist ninja before.
While he was at it, he could skim through the guy's memories to get a better picture of what was going on in Iwagakure lately.
Sure, based on his judgment—and memories from his past life—he figured Old Man Onoki had probably already left Iwagakure by this point.
But that was just a guess. He didn't have the full story.
So, right now, he desperately needed some solid intel.
If this were any other village, he probably wouldn't bother targeting a random ninja. Stuff about tailed beasts and jinchuriki was top-secret, locked away tight.
But Iwagakure was different.
Unlike the other villages, they didn't keep their jinchuriki and tailed beasts under wraps. They'd thrown them straight into the battlefield ages ago.
Take Han, the Five-Tails jinchuriki, for example—he'd even earned himself the nickname "Steam Ninja."
So, compared to other villages, Iwa ninja were way more familiar with their jinchuriki. That meant they were more likely to know something useful.
And this hidden sentry in front of him? He was a Special Jonin, barely high-ranking enough to count as mid-tier in the village. That made him an even better target.
With that in mind, Seimei quietly closed in behind the guy.
In the next instant, he dropped his "Heavenly Guard."
The moment he did, his presence hit the Iwa ninja's senses like a brick.
"What the—?"
Feeling that sudden aura, the ninja—Chiiwa—jumped in his head. He was about to leap out of his hiding spot and shout a warning to the others.
But that was just wishful thinking.
In reality, before he could even twitch, Seimei hit him with the "Self-Karma Binding Seal." Chiiwa's body locked up right where he stood.
He couldn't move a muscle—or even open his mouth to yell.
Still, this guy hadn't made it to Special Jonin and gotten posted as a sentry for nothing—he had his tricks.
Realizing he was stuck, Chiiwa didn't give up. Keeping it cool, he held his breath, then flicked his eyes downward, catching a glimpse of his chest with his peripheral vision.
Under his clothes, something seemed to get the memo and started scurrying fast, crawling down his body.
Seeing that, Chiiwa screamed in his head, "Faster, come on, faster!"
Almost like it heard him, the thing picked up the pace.
Soon, a tiny shape slipped out from the edge of his shirt.
It was a lizard, about the length of a finger. At first, its color matched his skin perfectly, but once it hit the open air, it turned transparent.
Unless you were really looking for it, you'd never spot it.
On top of that, its aura was so faint it might as well have been any random bug crawling around.
This was Chiiwa's summoning beast—a super rare chameleon that could shift its color to blend perfectly with its surroundings in a split second.
And it wasn't just looks; it could mask its presence like a pro, too.
Chiiwa had relied on this little guy to pull off missions most ninja couldn't dream of. It'd saved his skin more times than he could count.
But this time, he hadn't woken it up to save himself. He wanted it to run off and alert the others.
With that thought, watching the chameleon slip out of his shirt, Chiiwa's heart leapt. "Yes, perfect!" he thought, ready to order it to head for the nearest patrol team.
But in the next second, his eyes widened, and a wave of despair crashed over him.
Right as the chameleon was about to hit the ground, a hand shot out from behind him and snatched it midair.
No prizes for guessing who that hand belonged to—it was Seimei, of course.
Sure, this summoning beast was pretty slick. Against most people, it might've slipped away without a trace.
But Seimei wasn't most people. With his Byakugan, he'd clocked that little critter hiding under Chiiwa's shirt from the get-go.
So, the second it showed itself, he nabbed it.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye, even if it sounds like a long story.
Holding the chameleon in one hand, Seimei stepped around to face Chiiwa. He didn't bother with small talk—just triggered his "Illusion: Sharingan" with a thought.
In an instant, Chiiwa's mind was dragged into a genjutsu.
Staring at the now-motionless ninja, Seimei was about to use his "Ninja Art: Mind Reading Technique" to dig into the guy's memories.
But then he paused, glancing down at the chameleon in his hand.
With a little chuckle, he said, "Heh, almost forgot about you, little guy."
As he spoke, he hit the lizard with "Illusion: Sharingan" too, pulling its mind into the same genjutsu.
Judging by how it'd acted, it probably wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed.
But Seimei wasn't the type to take chances—he liked to cover all his bases.
So, before he dealt with Chiiwa, putting the summoning beast under an illusion first was a smart move.
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