Being stared at by Seimei's intense gaze made Danzō feel a chill down his spine, and he instinctively increased the intensity of his attacks.
However… it was completely useless.
Indeed, now that he had been turned into an Edo Tensei body, his chakra was virtually unlimited—but limited by the strength he had in life, the amount of chakra he could draw at any one time was still constrained.
In simple terms, it was like having unlimited fuel but a weak engine—his output power was capped.
Under such conditions, no matter how much chakra he had, it wasn't enough to pose a threat to Seimei.
In fact, he was performing worse than he did when he was alive.
At least when he was alive, he still had his Root shinobi to support him.
Now? He was completely alone.
While being in Edo Tensei form gave him massive boosts in chakra reserves and survivability, that improvement was nowhere near enough to close the gap with Seimei—who had grown tremendously over the past eight to nine months.
And let's not forget, even when he was alive, Danzō wasn't Seimei's match.
So the gap between them now… was even wider.
Still, in order to avoid tipping his hand too early, Seimei deliberately held back his power, keeping the battle in a relatively balanced state.
This way, Danzō wouldn't think of running away. He would instead patiently waste time and chakra until he was eventually worn down and finished off.
And that was exactly what Seimei wanted.
Time continued ticking by, second by second.
Seimei had expected the fight to drag on for a while—but unexpectedly, only three minutes later, something changed.
Right in the middle of their battle, a familiar chakra signature entered Seimei's sensory range.
It was someone Seimei knew very well—Namikaze Minato.
Seimei's expression shifted slightly. Then, without hesitation, he accelerated his assault, opting for aggressive chakra expenditure in exchange for overwhelming Danzō and forcing him on the defensive.
Danzō, unaware of Seimei's motive, didn't retaliate right away.
He chose to observe for the moment and then decide how to respond.
After all, from Danzō's perspective, time was on his side—there was no need to rush.
In fact, he welcomed Seimei's sudden outburst.
The more Seimei attacked like this, the faster he'd burn through his chakra.
But that very line of thinking cost him any chance of escape.
Moments later, a figure darted out from the forest and appeared on the edge of the battlefield.
Just as Seimei had sensed, the newcomer was none other than Namikaze Minato.
The instant he saw Danzō, a flicker of surprise flashed in Minato's eyes.
Likewise, Danzō's eyes lit up when he spotted Minato.
Unfortunately, he was fully occupied fending off Seimei's relentless assault and had no time to speak.
Seimei wasn't about to give him that chance either. Looking at the "fashionably late" Minato, he called out directly, "Yondaime-sama, Orochimaru just left—he went that way."
As he spoke, he pointed toward the direction Orochimaru had fled.
Minato paused slightly, gave Seimei and the visibly cracked Danzō a deep glance, then nodded silently and turned to pursue Orochimaru.
He came quickly, and he left just as fast.
During that brief window, Danzō remained completely suppressed and never got the chance to say a word.
By the time he caught his breath, Minato was already long gone.
Watching Minato's figure disappear into the distance, Danzō opened his mouth to speak, but it was too late.
Only now did he begin to realize why Seimei had suddenly ramped up his attacks—it was clearly to stop him from speaking.
And yes, that was absolutely Seimei's plan.
No matter how you looked at it, Danzō was someone Seimei had killed. Without solid evidence, that wouldn't matter much—but if Danzō had the chance to report it to Minato directly, things could get messy.
Sure, there was a high chance Minato would pretend not to hear anything—but what if he didn't?
What if he chose to uphold the dignity of Konoha and the Hokage position and launched an investigation?
That would bring all sorts of trouble Seimei didn't need.
So, to avoid complications—and to keep Minato out of a tough spot—Seimei used a few tricks to ensure Danzō never got the chance to speak.
That way, no more problems.
Realizing all this, Danzō's gaze toward Seimei was now not just filled with killing intent—but also tinged with deep caution.
Eventually, that caution turned into even greater murderous intent.
Unconsciously, his ninjutsu attacks became more frequent and fierce.
But now that Minato was gone, Seimei had no reason to hold back. He stopped dodging and began actively looking for a chance to capture Danzō.
After sidestepping several chakra missiles, Seimei suddenly sheathed his sword, seized an opening, and activated his Chakra Cloak.
In an instant, a faint bluish cloak enveloped his body, forming a protective layer.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
More chakra missiles came flying in rapid succession.
But this time, Seimei didn't dodge.
The missiles struck his chakra cloak, creating ripples across the surface—but none of them hurt him at all.
Taking this chance, Seimei stared straight at Danzō, activated his Mangekyō Sharingan, and used Genjutsu: Sharingan.
Though his genjutsu wasn't strong enough to free someone from the Edo Tensei's control—like Kotoamatsukami could—it was still enough to temporarily immobilize the target.
Sure enough, Danzō froze, his body trembling slightly as his mind was thrown into confusion.
Shing—
In a flash, Seimei closed the distance and swung his blade, slicing Danzō into several pieces.
But this kind of damage wasn't enough to stop him.
Danzō's body began regenerating almost immediately.
Worse yet, as the one controlling Edo Tensei, Orochimaru seemed to notice the anomaly and used his connection to help Danzō break free from the genjutsu.
As Danzō regained his composure, the killing intent in his eyes surged even stronger.
But Seimei merely smiled calmly at him.
The next moment, he tossed out a scroll.
As it unfurled in midair, the scroll revealed densely packed fūinjutsu seals.
"Seal!"
Danzō cried out in alarm and immediately tried to dodge.
Unfortunately for him, Seimei had anticipated that he might face Edo Tensei summons while confirming whether Orochimaru had truly mastered the technique.
So he had prepared this sealing scroll in advance—inscribed with his own high-level sealing technique: Shinra Banshō: Fūjin (Omnipresent Sealing Extinguishment).
Although he hadn't yet studied Edo Tensei in detail, based on his recent observations and memories from his past life, he was confident this S-rank jutsu could suppress the Edo Tensei body.
…At the very least, it could cut off its connection to Orochimaru.
Having secured this rare chance, there was no way he would let it slip.
Seimei's hands blurred through a rapid series of seals. With a deep shout, he declared, "Seal!"
In the next instant, eight sealing chains burst out from the scroll, forming a net that enveloped Danzō and wrapped around his limbs, neck, and torso.
Danzō immediately felt as if he were being crushed by immense weight. The endless chakra within him was suddenly sealed away and silenced.
"Damn you, brat! How dare you treat me like this—"
Seimei wasn't interested in hearing his complaints, and to prevent any further trouble, he immediately triggered the seal, pulling Danzō into the scroll.
Fwoosh—
Danzō vanished on the spot.
At the same time, the center of the scroll lit up with a single kanji: 封 (Seal).
Confirming that Danzō had been successfully sealed, Seimei finally let out a long breath of relief.
Though the whole process had seemed simple, it was only because he had already analyzed Danzō's weaknesses thoroughly.
Had he gone in blind, trying to bait Danzō, then suddenly launched a surprise attack without preparation, he likely wouldn't have succeeded so quickly.
But now that Danzō had been captured, all his efforts had paid off.
Not only would this help him further refine the Seal of Soul-Binding: Instant Shunshin Pact, it might also give him a new source of chakra.
Of course, whether that last goal could be realized… remained to be seen.
After all, an Edo Tensei's chakra source was the Pure Land—and the Pure Land was ruled by the Sage of the Six Paths. If he tried stealing chakra from there, who knew what kind of consequences might follow?
So he'd have to tread very carefully.