Everything went smoothly. After leaving the Hokage building, Seimei piloted Ama no Mikoto and returned home stealthily.
Nothing unexpected happened along the way.
As soon as he got home, he immediately swapped places with his shadow clone.
Seimei knew very well that what he had done was far from flawless.
But still, as long as there was no solid evidence, even if he was suspected, the village couldn't do anything to him.
After all, he wasn't some powerless, low-ranking shinobi without background who could be easily manipulated by the village.
Whether it was his formidable strength or his status as a member of the prestigious Uchiha clan, either one was enough to make the village think twice before acting against him.
And with the testimony of the four ANBU members outside, he wasn't afraid of having to reason with them.
So, Seimei wasn't too worried about his current situation.
Now it was all up to whether Orochimaru could escape or not.
And Seimei thought the chances were actually pretty good.
Why? Because when he saw Minato Namikaze and Hiruzen Sarutobi appear together in the secret archive room on the third floor, he immediately realized that Minato had been stalled in the Hokage building just as he had predicted.
Without Minato—a Kage-level powerhouse—personally on the battlefield, there was no way the other Konoha ninja could stop Orochimaru.
So, there was a high probability Orochimaru would get away.
Standing on his rooftop, Seimei looked toward the eastern forest and calmly observed the increasingly chaotic chakra waves coming from that direction.
Time ticked by.
Then suddenly, in the distance, a massive sealing barrier lit up the sky.
Clearly, the sealing squad had made a move, trying to cut off Orochimaru's escape route.
Unfortunately, the barrier only lasted a few minutes before it abruptly vanished.
Soon after, the sound of battle moved further and further away, heading toward the Konoha wall.
As they reached the village perimeter, Orochimaru summoned a massive purple serpent—tens of meters long.
It was none other than Manda, his summoning beast from Ryūchi Cave.
The moment Manda appeared, it effortlessly smashed through the village wall and broke past the surrounding Konoha forces.
Then, with Orochimaru on its back, it vanished into the distant sky.
Of course, Seimei didn't witness this personally. It was all from the memory relayed to him by his shadow clone upon its return.
That's right—his clone had followed the entire battle from start to finish.
As for raiding Orochimaru's lab…
Unfortunately, Minato's arrangements were far more meticulous than expected.
Almost immediately after Orochimaru's escape, two squads of ANBU had stormed the lab and locked it down.
That lab was both the evidence of Orochimaru's crimes and the village's major gain from this incident. There was no way they'd let anyone tamper with it or take anything away.
Following Seimei's strict orders to avoid exposure, the clone didn't force its way in and instead chose to shadow Orochimaru and monitor the battlefield.
That's how Seimei knew so much.
As for not getting the research data he wanted, he wasn't too disappointed. After all, this was just a backup plan—if it succeeded, great. If not, no big deal.
His real objective for the night had already been accomplished. He had obtained the Soul Separation Technique. Everything else could wait.
Calming his mind, Seimei stopped overthinking and went straight to bed.
---
Knock, knock, knock—
The next morning.
Seimei was jolted awake by a knock at the door.
His eyes snapped open as he sat up in bed.
At the same time, his Byakugan instinctively activated between his brows.
Through the layers of obstruction, Seimei saw what was happening outside.
Two ANBU operatives stood quietly at his door.
Clearly, they were the ones knocking.
This made Seimei's heart tighten. He thought, "Don't tell me last night's infiltration of the secret archive room got exposed?"
He quickly replayed everything he did the night before in his mind, confirming there were no obvious mistakes. That helped him calm down.
He got out of bed, didn't bother washing up, quickly dressed, and walked out into the courtyard to open the door.
Creak—
The door opened from the inside.
"ANBU?"
Seimei looked at the two men, allowing a touch of confusion to show on his face. He asked, "Is there something you need?"
"Mm."
One of them nodded and said, "Seimei Jōnin, the Fourth Hokage has asked you to come to his office."
"The Hokage's office? Did he say what it was about?"
Seimei asked again.
Both ANBU shook their heads, playing the part of ignorant messengers.
Seeing this, Seimei shrugged. "Alright, let me freshen up a bit."
"Go ahead."
They nodded in response.
Seimei didn't bother closing the door. He went straight back inside, washed up quickly, and came back out.
He locked the door behind him.
Then he looked at the two ANBU and said, "Okay, let's go."
Without a word, the ANBU turned and led the way.
Walking through the village, Seimei could clearly feel how eerily quiet it was today. The air itself seemed to carry a heavy tension.
Usually, even this early in the morning, people would be out and about.
But today, aside from the occasional patrol unit, there wasn't a single civilian in sight.
Clearly, last night's battle had shaken everyone. Nobody wanted to stick their neck out during such uncertain times.
Not that Seimei cared. He was more interested in why Minato had summoned him.
One thing was certain—the incident involving the intrusion into the Hokage's secret archive last night had indeed made Minato suspicious of him.
Otherwise, there wouldn't be two ANBU sent as messengers.
And the fact that they didn't leave after delivering the message, but waited to escort him back, clearly carried a hint of surveillance.
At the same time, that meant he hadn't been exposed. If he had, this wouldn't be surveillance—it would be an arrest.
So, this visit wasn't just about suspicion. Minato must have something else in mind too.
What could it be? Seimei wondered.
While he was lost in thought, they arrived at the Hokage building.
Seimei adjusted his expression, acting calm and collected. Under the ANBU's guidance, he went up to the second floor and stopped outside the Hokage's office.
Knock, knock—
One of the ANBU stepped forward and knocked on the door.
"Come in."
A gentle, slightly tired voice responded from within.
It was Minato's voice. Clearly, he hadn't slept all night.
Creak—
One ANBU pushed the door open.
He then stepped aside and gestured for Seimei to enter.
Without hesitation, Seimei walked in confidently.
Seeing him enter, Minato forced a smile despite his fatigue and said, "Seimei, you're here."
"Yeah."
Seimei nodded. "Lord Hokage, you wanted to see me?"