"What?"
The face behind the mask of the Hidden Cloud ANBU suddenly changed when he saw Seimei vanish and then instantly reappear at his side.
Without a moment's hesitation, he unleashed all his chakra, transforming into a flash of lightning and darting away to the other side.
It was well-known that ninjas from the Hidden Cloud Village, due to their heritage and the harsh mountainous environment of their homeland, generally excelled in taijutsu. Their close-combat skills and reaction times were superior to those from other villages.
As an elite among elites, this ANBU was no exception.
With that burst of speed, he displayed reflexes no weaker—perhaps even stronger—than his earlier evasion of Seimei's kunai throw, despite having no line of sight.
Unfortunately, it was useless.
The moment Seimei appeared, he grabbed the kunai beside him and slashed forward.
Sensing danger, the ANBU was forced to slow down, twisting his body to dodge the kunai aimed directly at his throat.
During this brief exchange, their eyes inevitably met.
That was the opening Seimei needed.
In an instant, his Mangekyō Sharingan activated.
The black sun-like Sharingan filled his pupils, exuding a powerful sense of oppression.
Drops of fresh blood slid from beneath the ANBU's mask. Relying on sheer willpower and his sharp danger instincts, he bit his tongue, using the pain to break free from the hypnosis effect.
Yes, hypnosis.
Due to the short timeframe, Seimei couldn't use Genjutsu: Sharingan and instead relied on the eye's innate hypnotic effect.
But that was enough.
Even though the ANBU broke free almost immediately, it still gave Seimei the window he needed.
Silently, a faint blue chakra sphere formed in Seimei's left palm.
In a flash, he slammed it onto the ANBU's chest.
Crack—
A sharp sound of bones breaking echoed.
Seimei's Rasengan had long since reached perfection, and now, unleashed suddenly, its power was formidable.
He even held back slightly to keep the ANBU alive. Otherwise, this single blow would have been fatal.
Splurt—
A mouthful of blood sprayed out.
The ANBU's mask was instantly dyed red, and his body flew backward, crashing into a large tree behind him.
Bang—
Another heavy impact hit his back.
The ANBU could no longer hold onto his mask—it fell to the ground.
Seimei looked up to see a young ninja, likely in his early twenties.
Even while seriously injured, his face showed no fear—only determination and confusion.
"You..."
He tried to speak.
But Seimei didn't give him the chance. In a flash, he was in front of him.
The moment their eyes met again, Seimei unleashed his prepared Genjutsu: Sharingan.
Even though it was hastily cast, with the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan behind it, Seimei easily controlled the ANBU.
He then swiftly formed hand seals and activated the Chakra Absorption Technique.
In just a few breaths, he drained the ANBU's chakra, along with most of his mental and physical energy.
Once he confirmed the ANBU could no longer resist, Seimei began the final step—reading his memories.
Yes, everything up to this point had been to access the memories in his opponent's mind.
Through this, he could confirm whether the Konoha spy he was supposed to escort was still hiding in the mountains.
At the same time, he needed to verify whether the search operation was a trap meant for him or other rescue operatives.
If not for these concerns, Seimei could've simply used Heavenly Imperial to silently approach and assassinate the ANBU earlier.
Indeed, this ANBU was quite skilled—but only just skilled.
As a special jonin specializing in tracking, stealth, and assassination, his frontal combat strength was limited. Had Seimei launched a sneak attack, the fight would've ended in just a few moves.
Shaking off these unnecessary thoughts, Seimei focused his mind and activated his Byakugan to survey the area.
Things hadn't taken a turn for the worst yet.
Within a kilometer radius, other Hidden Cloud ninjas were present, but they were sticking to their search patterns without changing direction or converging on his location.
In other words, his earlier actions hadn't drawn attention.
This allowed Seimei to breathe a little easier.
Refocusing, he deactivated the Byakugan and quickly performed hand seals to activate a newly mastered jutsu: Ninja Art: Mind Reading Technique.
It had to be said—every technique had its specialty. The efficiency of this mind-reading method far surpassed guiding memories through Genjutsu: Sharingan.
Memories flashed before him like a movie reel.
However, this technique wasn't without flaws.
The biggest issue was its inability to read memories protected by seals.
For example, now—any sealed memories in the ANBU's mind remained inaccessible.
Had he used Genjutsu: Sharingan instead, he could've built an illusion to access some of the less tightly locked memories.
Still, this was enough.
He wasn't trying to uncover Hidden Cloud's secrets—his only goal was to complete his mission.
And the relevant memories were unsealed.
Before long, the memory reading finished, and Seimei opened his eyes again.
But his expression darkened.
It wasn't because the Konoha spy had been captured or had fled.
From the ANBU's memories, Seimei confirmed the spy was still hiding nearby.
Nor was this a trap aimed specifically at him or other rescuers.
The reason for his grim expression?
He realized he'd been played.
Byakugan—
Focusing his mind once more, Seimei reactivated his Byakugan.
This time, he immediately noticed something unusual.
At the edge of his visual range, Hidden Cloud squads were silently closing in from all directions.
They had clearly locked onto his position.
The teams searching the area earlier? Just a ruse to lull him into complacency.
The real goal had been to buy time and gather enough manpower to encircle and eliminate him.
Why had this realization hit him suddenly?
Simple. From the ANBU's memories, Seimei learned the mountain was under a hidden sensory barrier—any chakra fluctuation would be detected.
And yet, when the ANBU released his chakra earlier, nearby squads hadn't responded.
If that wasn't suspicious, what was?
Confirming his suspicions with the Byakugan sweep, Seimei sneered.
"Hmph—"
With a flick of his fingers, he formed a chakra scalpel and sliced through the ANBU's throat.
"Hrk—"
The intense suffocation snapped the ANBU out of the genjutsu. Clutching his throat, he stumbled forward, unwilling to die, but unable to resist.
Seimei ignored him, flashing away into the forest once more.
Initially, he had planned to use the ANBU's identity to blend into the search teams and locate the Konoha spy.
But now…
Since his cover was blown, why bother playing it safe?
He would simply disrupt the operation entirely.
He trusted the spy would be smart enough to seize the opportunity—either by making noise or leaving a signal.
That way, Seimei could rendezvous with him quickly.
After that, the rest would be easy.