In the blink of an eye, Panda Wu found himself in a desolate space, carefully setting down the Jashin statue he had been holding. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief, patting his own body as if to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
"Where… is this?"
"My Kekkei Genkai," Seisui explained casually, then turned to the statue on the ground.
"Stay put and behave!"
With that, Seisui led Panda Wu out.
The Red Space was a manifestation of his ultimate ability—a space infinitely large, existing within nothingness. Leaving the strange statue there was the safest option.
The Nine-Tails was sealed in the same space as well. But due to the unique properties of the Red Space, the two were so far apart that it was like the sun and the earth—occupying the same space, yet at a distance beyond comprehension. Light from the sun still takes eight minutes to reach the earth.
So Seisui had no concern that the Jashin statue could affect the Nine-Tails. If it could, the so-called "god" would have already broken its seal.
Back in reality, Panda Wu scratched his head, slightly confused by Seisui's actions, but it didn't stop him from helping.
"Seisui, anything else to do?"
"Not for now. I'm going to keep experimenting with clay."
"I've got some ideas!" Panda Wu grew increasingly excited.
"I'll make Explosive Clay legendary!"
"I want to become a Sage too!"
"I won't be bullied by the boss anymore!"
"I'll climb to the very top, step by step!"
Listening to Panda Wu, Seisui remained silent. He should never have started telling them stories back in the Panda Clan—he had done it to bond with them.
As Panda Wu dissipated into white smoke, Seisui looked around the cave, saw nothing else of interest, and clapped his hands. Instantly, several small clay pandas appeared on the ground, bouncing around.
"Explosion is art!"
"Chain detonation clay!"
At his command, the number of clay pandas doubled, then quadrupled, multiplying exponentially as they scattered across the cave walls and corners.
Seisui quickly ran out of the cave.
Outside, Minato watched the group emerge, but Seisui was nowhere in sight. A hint of worry crossed his face.
"What happened to the person who just went in to save you?"
Kamizuki Ichiko glanced at Minato's chunin vest and then at Uzumaki Kushina and Uchiha Haru behind him. Especially Kushina—she remembered Seisui's red hair when he entered the cave.
"The master told us to come out first. He went deeper into the cave," Asami Kumo explained.
He didn't know Seisui's name, but he understood that these three must be his teammates.
"Deeper in?" Minato frowned.
"Yes. After being captured, I heard the cultists say that's where the altar is," Kumo replied.
"I'll go check it out," Uchiha Haru said, taking up his Gunbai Uchiwa and heading toward the cave. He turned to Minato and Kushina. "You two stay here and watch them."
Remembering Haru's Mangekyo Sharingan, Minato nodded.
"Be careful, you and Seisui."
"Understood," Haru replied.
At that moment, Seisui suddenly dashed out at incredible speed. The group froze briefly before reacting, ready to defend themselves.
"It's fine!" Seisui quickly reassured them. "I'm just in a hurry to destroy something."
"There's no danger inside."
He stopped in front of Haru, exhaling deeply. By then, the small clay pandas had already started appearing at the cave entrance.
Feeling his chakra drain, Seisui thought for a moment, then spoke.
"Everyone, move away. Things are about to get loud."
"Understood!" Minato immediately took Kushina's hand, leading the rescued ninjas away.
Seisui and Haru followed behind.
After putting some distance between themselves and the cave, the ground began to tremble beneath their feet. They instinctively looked back—and saw a massive mushroom cloud rising behind them.
"What… what is that?"
"Is this… too terrifying?"
All eyes turned to Seisui. Their fear of his power was clear, but so was a sense of admiration.
Ichiko stared, dumbfounded. She was a Konoha ninja—how had she never heard of such a strong ninja? The strongest she knew was the Hokage—but even he couldn't produce such a blast. How many detonating seals would that take?
The three lower-rank ninjas behind her were similarly stunned.
"This… is scary," the lone female ninja murmured, swallowing nervously. "If this were a battlefield… we'd all be dead."
Seisui ignored their thoughts. Such looks would only grow in the future.
At that moment, Minato approached, his expression serious.
"Seisui, we may not be able to stay in the Land of Hot Springs any longer."
"What's wrong?" Seisui asked, surprised. He had hoped to spend more time here with them.
"Jiraiya-sensei sent a letter," Minato said, handing it over. "It's from the Hokage."
Frowning, Seisui opened the letter, his expression darkening further.
After a long pause, he sighed.
"The ninja world war has begun."
"Too bad… I was planning to have some fun here for a while," he said, glancing at Haru.
"It's fine," Haru reassured him. "We can have fun later."
"Let's return quickly! The Hokage seems to have something to discuss."
"Understood!"
Seisui led the group back to Konoha. This time, their journey was fast-paced, taking only five days.
Looking at Konoha's gates, Seisui sighed.
Back again.
"You finally returned," Jiraiya said, leaning against the railing at the gates with his arms crossed. Behind him were several shinobi arranged by Sarutobi Hiruzen to handle the handover of ninjas from other villages.
"Jiraiya-sensei, why are Iwa and Kumo already preparing for war?" Seisui asked, curious.
He no longer feared war. With the Mangekyo, and soon Uchiha Sasuke's Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan on hand, he feared nothing—not to mention the other abilities he possessed.
Jiraiya shook his head.
"Come. The old man is waiting in the Hokage office."
Seisui nodded, following Minato and Haru behind Jiraiya. Kushina, being an Uzumaki, had no obligation to join this mission and was persuaded to wait back.
In the Hokage office, opening the steel doors, Seisui was surprised to see three others inside: Konoha's F4 was complete.
Seeing Jiraiya bring in Seisui and the others, Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled.
"This mission was well accomplished."
On the way back, Seisui had informed Hiruzen via Minato and the summoning toads about the cult's affairs and his estimated arrival time. That's why Jiraiya was waiting at the gates.
"This was a C-rank investigation mission assigned because a ninja team went missing," Jiraiya explained.
"But from your report, the mission involved four jonin and other villages' shinobi. Therefore, the mission rank is upgraded to S, though the reward remains C-rank."
Seisui nodded, acknowledging it. Minato, however, was visibly excited—an S-rank mission accomplished, even if the pay was C-rank, was news to celebrate.
Minato then realized one striking fact: it seemed Seisui had completed the mission almost entirely alone. Minato had basically just tagged along. He fell silent, deep in thought.
After Hiruzen finished speaking with Seisui, Danzo interjected.
"Iwa and Kumo are about to clash. Sunagakure and Kirigakure are stirring as well. Konoha should strike first. We can't always wait to be attacked!"
Koharu objected.
"This is strange. We can't start a war lightly. Send someone to mediate. We can't just go to war for no reason."
Mitokado agreed.
"Koharu is right. If we can avoid war, we should."
"Hmph! You're just scared!" Danzo scoffed. "Konoha is the strongest village. Strike first!"
Hiruzen rubbed his head, troubled by their bickering. Seisui and Minato exchanged glances, saying nothing. Jiraiya simply watched silently.
"Enough!" Hiruzen interrupted, exasperated. "First, inform the other villages about the cult. Retrieve the people. The question of war can wait a few days."
"Hmph!" Danzo snorted, sensing Hiruzen's reluctance. "You'll regret this, Hiruzen!"
"That's enough, Danzo!" Hiruzen snapped. "I am the Hokage! This matter will be handled later!"
Danzo coldly snorted again, pausing briefly in front of Seisui and Minato before leaving. He hated Uchiha the most—and besides him, these two brats: Seisui and Minato. With Uchiha Haru, his least favorite trio was complete.
"Born evil brats!"
With a final glare, Danzo exited. The heavy door slammed behind him, and the Hokage office fell silent.
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