Since Seimei had nurtured his Byakugan earlier that morning, it was already late by the time he finished his training plan for the day.
After that, he traveled to three different villages, which took some time, and syncing the memories of the three shadow clones there took even more.
So, by the time he returned to the outskirts of the Hidden Leaf Village, it was already the next day.
To be precise, it was around 3 a.m.
No doubt, this was the latest he'd ever returned on one of his rest days.
Standing in the forest just outside the village, Seimei couldn't help but yawn.
Then, he activated the Heavenly Defense ability, slipping silently through the Leaf's sensory barrier and over the village wall, entering without a trace.
But the moment he stepped inside, he noticed something off.
In an instant, his mind snapped to full alertness.
Pausing, he scanned a nearby patrolling Leaf team. Compared to usual, their numbers were noticeably higher.
And then…
Seimei turned his head, looking at the watchtowers on the wall behind him.
Under the bright moonlight, he could clearly see that the number of lookouts and alert ninjas had doubled.
All signs pointed to one thing: the Leaf's security level had been heightened.
Seimei wasn't sure what had happened to prompt this, but he proceeded with extra caution from then on.
What he saw next only confirmed his suspicions.
It wasn't just the village outskirts—the security inside the village was even stricter. The number of night patrol teams had clearly increased.
Among them were even several Inuzuka clan ninjas, accompanied by their ninja dogs.
Watching a team pass by not far ahead, led by a black-backed hunting dog, Seimei's brow furrowed slightly.
At this point in time, the last thing he wanted was for the Leaf to fall into chaos.
As one of the village's "pillars," any turmoil would inevitably pile more missions on him.
That would definitely disrupt his training.
Seimei hadn't forgotten the issue with his body. For him right now, nothing was more important than restoring balance between his mind and physique.
He really didn't want to be distracted!
"So, what the heck happened in the village?" Seimei wondered.
He stood there, lost in thought for a while, but came up empty.
After a moment, he shook his head, deciding not to dwell on it.
He shifted his gaze from the patrol team and quickly headed home.
Instead of wasting time overthinking out here, he'd rather get home and sync with his shadow clone's memories.
The village's abnormality wouldn't have escaped his clone's notice.
And as expected, his shadow clone proved reliable.
Once home, Seimei dispelled the Shadow Clone Technique and synced with its memories, quickly piecing together what had happened.
Two days ago, an Anbu ninja was found dead in their own home.
Then, the village's barrier team discovered someone had been repeatedly entering and exiting the sensory barrier without authorization. But when the village launched a full investigation, they found nothing.
With no other choice, they raised the alert level.
Of course, this information was gathered by his shadow clone using Seimei's name and influence—ordinary people wouldn't have access to such details.
And the root of it all? The dead Anbu ninja's mission had been uncovered by the shadow clone as well.
That was why the clone hadn't reported it to him immediately.
The Anbu's mission was simple: protect Uzumaki Kushina.
To someone unaware of the full context, this might not seem like a big deal.
After all, Uzumaki Kushina, as the current Hokage's wife, being guarded by an Anbu was perfectly normal.
But let's not forget her other identity: the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
And not just any Jinchuriki—she was pregnant, and when she gave birth, the seal holding the Nine-Tails would inevitably weaken.
For those in the know, the death of this Anbu couldn't be brushed off as a simple assassination.
So, it made sense that the village had raised its alert level.
But compared to the tense Leaf higher-ups, Seimei's shadow clone, upon learning this, actually felt relieved.
Why? Because at this point in time, the only person who'd target the Nine-Tails was Uchiha Obito—Seimei couldn't think of anyone else.
His shadow clone, inheriting his memories, knew this too.
That's why it hadn't rushed to inform him when the incident occurred.
After all, both Seimei and his clone understood Obito's goal.
For now, it wouldn't affect him.
So, whether he found out sooner or later didn't matter much.
"Phew~"
After sorting it all out, Seimei let out a soft sigh, his tense mind finally relaxing.
Since the so-called anomaly was under control, there was no need to worry too much.
In fact, he even thought the village was overreacting a bit.
After all, during their last chance encounter, he'd reported some details about Uchiha Obito to Minato Namikaze.
With Minato's intellect and the traces Obito left behind, even if he couldn't pinpoint Obito's identity, he'd surely realize that simply raising the alert level wouldn't work against someone with such unique abilities.
"So why's he doing this?" Seimei mused.
He didn't believe Minato would overlook this or lose his cool just because it involved his wife. The man had to be planning something.
"What could it be?"
Seimei pondered.
Suddenly, a single word popped into his mind: misdirection!
Yes, misdirection.
Minato was likely doing this to lull Obito into a false sense of security, making him think the village hadn't uncovered any useful intel.
This would lower Obito's guard, setting the stage for a decisive strike.
Seimei was almost certain that Minato and the Leaf's higher-ups were secretly making targeted preparations to achieve this.
"Heh."
Seimei let out a soft chuckle.
Then, muttering to himself, he said, "Obito, Obito, let's see if you can escape this one."
He no longer cared about the plot. If it gave him something entertaining to watch, it'd add a bit of color to his monotonous training life.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Seimei stopped dwelling on it.
After ten days of intense training and a busy night, he was exhausted and desperately needed sleep.
The thought of sleep triggered another long yawn. Seimei stripped off his gear, didn't even bother washing his face, and headed straight to the bedroom to rest.
Within moments, faint snoring echoed from the room.
And just as Seimei had suspected, in a secret Leaf base, several barrier team ninjas were working with Minato, developing a special sensory and sealing barrier.
Its purpose? To counter Uchiha Obito, the intruder who'd repeatedly breached the village, likely with space-transfer abilities.
It was clear that a confrontation between the two sides was coming soon.
When that happened, Seimei might just get the show he was hoping for.
(End of Chapter)