Boom—!
Suddenly, a loud explosion echoed from the eastern side of the village.
Seizing the moment, Seimei activated his Mangekyō Sharingan and triggered the power of "Ame no Mi". With a few quick body flickers, he appeared atop a nearby building.
He looked toward the forest to the east.
From the distance, he saw a massive white-scaled serpent slithering through the trees—it had to be enormous, considering he could make out its shape so clearly even from this far.
The massive snake plowed through the forest like a bulldozer, wreaking havoc as it tore through the trees. Konoha shinobi were being flung about helplessly, struggling to contain the destruction.
Although Seimei couldn't make out the shinobi's details, he could see small black figures darting around under the moonlight like flies swarming the snake.
And a creature of that size? No doubt about it—it had to be one of Orochimaru's summons from Ryūchi Cave.
For Orochimaru to suddenly create this much commotion, it could only mean one of two things: either his experiment was complete, or it had failed.
In any case, there was no longer any need to stall.
With that thought, Seimei quickly activated the Telepathic Communication Technique, linking with the shadow clone he had stationed near Orochimaru.
As the mental link stabilized, Seimei asked, "What's the situation over there?"
The shadow clone responded promptly, "Orochimaru has left the lab. Not sure if the experiment succeeded."
"What's his goal now?"
"Judging by his actions, it looks like he's trying to break through and escape."
"I see…"
Seimei fell into thought before giving instructions, "Stay hidden. Don't get caught up in the fighting. But if the opportunity arises, raid Orochimaru's lab for any research materials."
Clearly, he wasn't ready to give up on Orochimaru's research just yet.
"Got it," the clone answered. "I'll improvise as needed."
"Good."
With that, Seimei cut the telepathic connection.
Although he had the chakra and mental strength to maintain it for longer, both he and the clone had their tasks ahead. Better to avoid unnecessary interference.
Refocusing, Seimei shifted his attention from the distant battlefield to the brightly lit Hokage Tower.
If his assumptions were correct, now was the perfect time to act.
Why? Simple. With Orochimaru causing such chaos, Minato Namikaze would have no choice but to send reinforcements.
As the number of personnel in the tower decreased, it would become easier for Seimei to make his move.
Time ticked by.
Just as expected, several teams departed from the Hokage Tower—some heading directly to the battlefield, others dispersing toward various parts of the village.
Judging by their movements, Minato was clearly mobilizing the clan forces.
But…
"Why isn't Minato moving personally?"
Seimei found this odd.
Given what he knew about Minato, once the Hokage decided to act, he wouldn't just sit back and observe. He understood well the difference in power between a Kage-level shinobi and the average ninja.
In this situation, it would make sense for Minato himself to intercept Orochimaru to minimize casualties.
And Minato wasn't someone who feared death.
Which meant…
"He has no choice but to stay put!"
Suddenly, Seimei thought of Hiruzen Sarutobi.
In another timeline, even when Orochimaru's experiments were fully exposed and things had gone too far, Hiruzen had still hesitated to act, ultimately letting Orochimaru go.
Could it be the same here? Was Hiruzen stopping Minato from stepping in?
The more Seimei thought about it, the more it seemed possible.
And not just Hiruzen—perhaps Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, the elder advisors, were also present in the tower.
That thought sparked the urge to activate his Byakugan to check the situation inside.
But after some hesitation, he gave up on the idea.
Last time he used the Byakugan to peer into Orochimaru's lab, he'd been detected. There was no reason to believe that Minato or Hiruzen—both Kage-level shinobi—wouldn't notice it too.
No need to alert them unnecessarily.
Still, this meant he'd have to be extra cautious once he made his move.
If he wasn't careful, he could end up facing two Hokage at once.
As for retreating?
Out of the question!
Even if Hiruzen and the others were all present, Seimei had both Flying Thunder God Technique and Ame no Mi at his disposal. He could come and go as he pleased—there was no reason to be overly cautious.
After waiting a little longer and confirming no further personnel were exiting the tower, Seimei stopped stalling.
He cast a Transformation Jutsu, taking on the appearance of Uchiha Obito, and then maintained his Ame no Mi state as he approached the building.
Using Obito's form served two purposes: first, it concealed his true identity in case he was seen. Second, since Obito also had a Mangekyō Sharingan, it wouldn't interfere with Seimei's ability to cast genjutsu.
Passing through the front gate, Seimei entered the first floor's mission hall.
It was late at night, and aside from a few stationed ANBU, the place was deserted.
He ignored the ANBU, heading straight for the second floor.
This floor had several conference rooms used for Hokage meetings, and reception rooms for important guests.
As Seimei walked down the corridor, he paused briefly in front of one of the conference rooms and turned toward it.
The soundproofing was excellent—despite his sharp senses, he couldn't hear a thing.
Still, that didn't stop him from sensing the powerful chakra signatures inside.
Among them were two he was very familiar with—Minato Namikaze and Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"So they are here…"
He murmured to himself, then continued up to the third floor.
What Seimei didn't know was that, at the moment he had stopped, Minato had also paused slightly, a flicker of suspicion in his eyes.
But his attention was quickly drawn back to the conversation with Hiruzen and the others.
Meanwhile, Seimei reached the third floor and walked past a series of archive rooms, heading for a room at the very end.
Over the past few days, while Seimei focused on training, his shadow clone had been working in secret to uncover the location of the Scroll of Seals.
After careful investigation, Seimei was almost certain it was stored in this particular room.
This room also housed many of Konoha's most valuable secret techniques.
Naturally, such a location would be heavily guarded.
Even with most of the ANBU reassigned, two ANBU still stood guard outside the room.
Additionally, there was a barrier seal inside the room. Anyone who entered without authorization would trigger an alarm, drawing the full force of Konoha's elites—including the Hokage himself.
In other words, this room was extremely dangerous.
For ordinary shinobi.
But for Seimei?
That barrier might as well not exist.
As long as he could take out the two guards, entry would be simple.
Without wasting another second, Seimei stepped forward, approaching the ANBU guards.
Instantly, the two guards sensed something amiss and pulled out kunai, scanning their surroundings with caution.
But they couldn't see a thing.
A moment later, Ame no Mi was lifted—and Seimei's form materialized.
The ANBU's eyes widened in shock. They opened their mouths to alert the others and prepare to strike.
But Seimei didn't give them the chance.
His hand shot forward like lightning, seizing one by the throat and cutting off his warning cry.
At the same time, intricate fūinjutsu patterns spread from Seimei's palm, quickly wrapping around the ANBU's body and freezing him in place.
This was Seimei's perfected technique—"Shinra Banshō Fūjin", an S-rank sealing jutsu.
It combined the strengths of multiple sealing techniques and had exceptional results upon activation.
The ANBU couldn't even make a sound before he was completely immobilized.
As for the second guard…
The moment he laid eyes on Seimei, he was pulled into a genjutsu, and froze like a wooden post.