"Tch, what a letdown, all bark and no bite!"
Late at night.
In the Leaf Village.
At the Uchiha clan's compound.
At home.
Seimei slowly opened his eyes, letting out a mocking scoff.
That's right—after over half an hour of flying, he had returned home and synced with the memories of the shadow clone he'd left in the village.
From those memories, he pieced everything together.
Things hadn't gone down as he'd first speculated. The Leaf's higher-ups had been incredibly discreet, and Obito Uchiha had no clue he was being targeted.
So, just a few days ago, when Obito sneaked into the village again to scout, the Leaf caught him red-handed.
The reason Seimei hadn't gotten wind of this sooner was a mix of his second and third theories stacking up.
For some reason—maybe because Seimei had mentioned in his report that Obito might be a missing Uchiha ninja—the Leaf's leaders, perhaps Minato Namikaze or others, had grown wary of his identity. They'd chosen to keep him out of the loop on this plan.
In short, when the battle broke out, Seimei wasn't notified right away.
That left him without a direct source of info.
But he had plenty of tricks up his sleeve. The Leaf couldn't keep him in the dark completely—not even with just a shadow clone left in the village.
The moment the fight started, his shadow clone sensed the commotion, rushed to the scene, and played spectator.
The battle itself wasn't all that intense. Obito was caught off guard, sure, but his Kamui was just too overpowered. Plus, he didn't want to reveal too much of his strength.
So, after a brief clash, he seized an opening and slipped away.
The Leaf's sensory barrier could quickly detect and lock onto an intruder like Obito, but it couldn't seal off space itself.
So, it couldn't stop him.
And that's why the whole thing felt like a big buildup with a weak payoff.
Because of that, his shadow clone didn't think it was urgent enough to contact him immediately.
So, only now did Seimei get the full story.
Sorting through the memories in his head, Seimei shook his head quietly, brushing it off.
To him, this was just a bit of entertainment.
No matter how the two sides schemed, it all came down to the Nine-Tails.
Before, he might've worried that Obito would make a move on the Nine-Tails—on Kushina Uzumaki—earlier than expected due to some butterfly effect. But after these recent events, Minato was sure to be extra vigilant about that.
That meant Obito had no chance of succeeding.
After all, the Flying Thunder God technique was no joke.
As long as Minato left a seal on Kushina, he could teleport to her side in an instant if anything went wrong.
From now on, Obito would probably have to wonder if a lone Kushina was just bait to lure him in.
Taking all factors into account, Seimei was almost certain the next clash between them would be when Kushina went into labor.
In other words, as long as he timed things right with Naruto's birth, he wouldn't miss a single thing he wanted to do.
"Phew~"
Letting out a soft breath, Seimei stopped overthinking. He took off his gear and headed to the bathroom.
Ten minutes later, he finished washing up.
Without wasting a second, he went straight to his bedroom to rest.
As for eating—well, that morning, to test the effects of Body Extreme, he'd used the two hours he'd set aside for his Byakugan's evolution.
By the time he finished his daily training plan, it was already late.
Returning to the Leaf made it even later.
At this hour, there was no food to be found outside.
So, he had to suppress his hunger for now and save the feast for tomorrow.
…
The next day.
Seimei slept until he naturally woke up.
When he opened his eyes again, it was already mid-morning.
The one-point boost to his Physique stat was noticeable. Now that his body could keep up with his mental energy, his sleep schedule was finally back to normal.
After this rest, the exhaustion from ten days of intense training was completely gone. He felt refreshed and energized.
"Mmm~"
Seimei stretched hard, hopped out of bed, and went to the bathroom. He took his time washing up.
After that, he threw on some casual clothes and headed out to find food.
It was the same food street as always.
Sure, he'd eaten there plenty of times, but every visit was a treat.
Training wasn't just talk—it took a toll.
Not to mention the mental drain; just chugging down piles of soldier pills was enough to make him miserable.
In that state, even the decent food on this street tasted like a gourmet feast.
Slurp~
Seimei wiped his mouth, not wasting any time, and walked into a nearby diner.
It wasn't quite mealtime, but as a regular, he got some special treatment—the owner didn't hesitate to whip up a meal for him on the spot.
Of course, that came with a catch: he had to pay up.
The owner wasn't running a charity, after all.
But money was the least of Seimei's worries.
He was a single guy with no family to feed.
As an elite jonin, the missions he took were high-difficulty.
Naturally, the pay was just as good.
Satisfying his appetite was no issue at all.
With those thoughts flickering through his mind, Seimei focused on the food in front of him.
Without hesitation, he dove in, eating like there was no tomorrow.
Fifteen minutes later, he polished off everything on the table and left the diner.
But he didn't leave the food street. He hit up a second place, then a third.
With his Physique stat boosted, his stomach's digestion was on another level. If he pushed it with chakra, it was even crazier.
So, Seimei went to over a dozen shops, satisfying his cravings to the fullest before finally leaving the food street.
But not long after, a strange feeling crept up on him—like someone was watching him from behind.
He stopped in his tracks and turned to look.
On the street, everyone seemed normal. No one stood out.
Even the few obvious ninjas, when they met his gaze, just looked confused, as if they didn't get why he'd suddenly turned around.
His eyes scanned the crowd, a thought crossing his mind.
An illusion?
But he dismissed it instantly.
With his Spirit stat boosted and his training in the Spiritualization Technique, his senses were sharper than ever.
That feeling of being watched? No way it was just his imagination.
Seimei scanned the crowd again.
Then, he turned back and started walking in a different direction.
If he couldn't spot the target, he'd see how bold they were.
The street was too crowded for him to make a move. But in a quieter spot, he didn't believe he wouldn't find them.
Of course, that depended on whether they were brave enough to follow.
But since they dared to spy on him, they probably weren't easily scared off.
Seimei was seventy percent sure they'd trail him.
Now, it was just a matter of whose skills were sharper.