Two and a half hours later—
Seimei had successfully completed the nurturing process for his Byakugan.
By now, night had completely fallen.
Just as Seimei was about to get some rest, a sudden surge of memory surfaced in his mind.
This unexpected change jolted him upright in bed.
At this point in time, he only had three shadow clones active in the outside world—stationed in Kirigakure, Iwagakure, and Konohagakure respectively.
Each one was handling an extremely important task, and unless it was absolutely critical, none of them would dispel the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu on their own.
So if one had been dispelled, it meant something serious was going on—something urgent enough to require direct contact.
Seimei's expression turned serious. He immediately closed his eyes and began carefully reviewing the memories.
He quickly confirmed that the memory came from the shadow clone stationed in Konoha.
Even before he finished reviewing the memories, he had a good guess about what the message was.
After all, aside from the growing tension between Namikaze Minato and Orochimaru, he couldn't think of anything else that would warrant such urgency.
And by his calculations, it was just about time for Namikaze Minato to make a move.
With this in mind, Seimei continued going through the clone's memories.
As expected, just a short while ago, the clone back at home had detected unusual movement in the village—as if a battle had broken out somewhere.
The fight hadn't spread widely yet and hadn't affected many people, but with his Byakugan, the clone had spotted signs pointing to Namikaze Minato taking action.
So, he'd immediately passed the message along.
After processing the memory, Seimei opened his eyes. He thought for a moment and decided not to rest.
Quickly and efficiently, he gathered his gear and got fully dressed. Then he locked onto a Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique) marker placed in a forest outside Konoha.
With a single thought—
Swish!
His figure vanished instantly.
---
At that same moment…
Outside Konoha Village – Dense Forest
A figure appeared soundlessly.
It was none other than Seimei.
Activating his Byakugan, he scanned the surroundings. After confirming that no one was nearby, he began moving toward Konoha's sensory barrier in a practiced manner.
But as he got closer, he noticed something strange.
Normally, while this area did have Konoha shinobi patrols, they were relatively sparse.
Now, however, the patrol density had more than tripled. On top of that, the number of watchtower sentries had increased from two to four.
Clearly, Konoha had significantly tightened its security.
An average person would have trouble getting through unnoticed.
But Seimei wasn't just anyone.
Using his Byakugan, he observed two patrol squads crossing paths ahead of him. Without hesitation, he activated his Mangekyō Sharingan.
Then, he triggered the ability of Ame no Yume (Heavenly Dream).
In the next instant, he vanished from view.
From there, Seimei moved like a ghost, boldly walking straight into Konoha. Even as patrol units passed nearby, none of them noticed him.
Just like that, he slipped through Konoha's sensory barrier and made his way back home.
Interestingly, he noticed that the ANBU watching his house hadn't been pulled back. In fact, their number had increased—from two to four—forming a full ANBU squad.
It was clear that Minato didn't want any surprises right now.
Seimei wasn't sure if Minato had discovered something or was simply acting on sharp instinct.
But either way—it didn't matter.
At this stage, with Seimei's chakra reserves, it was nearly impossible for most detection techniques to distinguish between him and his shadow clones.
Whether his chakra was 300,000 points or 600,000—it would still appear as a massive presence that few could accurately interpret.
Besides, chakra levels could be disguised.
Just like now, with a single thought, Seimei formed a hand seal and cast Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, creating a clone.
The clone gave him a nod, then quickly formed more seals and activated Shinra Banshō Fūjin (All Creation Seal Suppression).
Immediately, a dimensional space formed within its body.
Unlike the original, who had compressed this space into his brow, the clone's version extended throughout its entire body, even overlapping with his main chakra pathways.
For Seimei, who had mastered the technique to level 10 (0/0), this kind of complex control was nothing.
Once the setup was complete, Seimei stepped forward and placed his hand on the clone.
In the next moment, a torrent of chakra flowed from the dimensional space in his brow into the clone.
Or more accurately—into the clone's own dimensional space.
Within minutes, over 1,000,000 chakra points had been transferred from Seimei's body to the clone.
At one point, the clone spoke up: "Alright, that's enough."
Seimei stopped immediately and pulled back his hand.
The clone then tested releasing chakra through the newly formed network across his body, blending it seamlessly with his own.
Together, the total chakra within the clone now matched that of the original.
The chakra circulated and shifted constantly—just like it would in a real body. From the outside, there were no signs of anything unusual.
Even if someone were observing with a Byakugan, unless they looked very closely, they wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
And if they did look too closely?
Well, the clone wasn't a corpse—if someone tried to pry into him that blatantly, he'd have every right to strike back.
So there was no risk of exposure.
With that concern handled, Seimei wasted no more time. Activating Ame no Yume, he silently left the house.
Glancing briefly at the two ANBU in the open and the two hiding in the shadows, he quietly moved away.
Following the traces of the battle, he made his way to a forest on Konoha's eastern outskirts.
There, two groups were locked in fierce combat.
One group consisted of Konoha ANBU, patrol squads, and members of the Police Force.
Yes—the Uchiha Clan's Police Force.
They were working together, forcing their way toward an underground tunnel entrance.
Opposing them was another group of Konoha shinobi.
However, based on their chakra and fighting style, it was clear they had undergone various degrees of body modification.
Seimei could tell—they were Orochimaru's subordinates.
Whether they had agreed to the modifications or had been turned into test subjects was unclear.
But with their enhanced bodies and battle experience, they were barely holding off Konoha's forces.
Clang! Clang!
The sounds of weapons clashing and voices shouting echoed through the woods.
Perched atop a tall tree, Seimei observed for a while. He could tell that Konoha's side wouldn't be breaking through anytime soon.
So he activated his Byakugan and looked toward the underground tunnel.
His vision pierced through the earth and barriers—
And what he saw was a massive underground laboratory, full of grotesque experimental subjects—and…
Orochimaru.
Yes, Orochimaru himself!
(End of Chapter)