Seimei looked expressionlessly at Ao, who had fallen into an illusion, carefully guiding him to recall the information he wanted. As for what Ao was about to say earlier, Seimei didn't care at all.
Time ticked by second by second.
After a while, Seimei paused his illusion guidance, frowning slightly. It wasn't that he couldn't find what he wanted, but that even if he did, he realized he couldn't immediately take the Byakugan from Ao.
From Ao's memories, Seimei learned that the so-called "Protection Seal Talisman" was actually a talisman created by a sealing technique called the "Guardian Seal."
To break this talisman, one must learn the "Guardian Seal." Otherwise, it's impossible to undo.
Since his arrival in this world, Seimei hadn't learned any sealing techniques yet, and he wasn't sure how much his proficiency panel could help.
He couldn't keep Ao for long—not with the Mist Village's search for him, and the pressure from the Hyuga clan alone was enough to give him a headache.
After all, the Byakugan was a treasured asset of the Hyuga clan, protected fiercely with the "Caged Bird" seal.
Well, even though this reasoning seemed a bit far-fetched, that was the official stance.
And after taking one Byakugan, Ao had been placed on Konoha's most wanted list, with the Hyuga clan's influence behind it.
So, no matter what they might think privately, the Hyuga clan outwardly treated the Byakugan as incredibly important.
With that in mind, how could they allow anyone else to covet it? And unfortunately, Ao had been taken away by him in full view of the public, leaving him no chance to hide it.
Therefore, Seimei needed to get his hands on the Byakugan before the Hyuga clan learned of this and applied pressure.
As for what would happen after... all he had to do was kill Ao and destroy both the Byakugan and Ao's body, leaving no evidence. Problem solved.
The Hyuga clan wasn't likely to risk open conflict with him. As long as things looked proper on the surface, they probably wouldn't investigate too deeply.
With that thought, Seimei crossed his hands and formed the "Water" hand seal, casting the Shadow Clone Technique.
*Boom!*
With a puff of chakra smoke, a figure appeared on the scene.
Seimei glanced at his clone and said directly, "I'll leave the battlefield to you."
"Alright," the shadow clone responded briefly, then said no more. It used "Wind Release: Wings of Wind" and flew toward the battlefield.
Indeed, Seimei planned to have his shadow clone replace him in battle.
This way, he could focus all his time and energy on learning the "Guardian Seal."
Watching the clone leave swiftly, Seimei turned his attention back to Ao, dispelling the illusion and knocking him out.
He then moved aside and began carefully recalling the knowledge about the "Guardian Seal" he had gained through his Sharingan-based illusion.
After a long time, he started practicing.
While gathering chakra within his body, he formed the hand seals slowly and awkwardly. It took nearly a full minute to complete the process.
As expected, nothing happened—he failed completely.
However, to Seimei's surprise, after just one attempt, his proficiency panel updated with new information: Guardian Seal: Lv0 (1/100)!
"Do I have a natural talent for learning sealing techniques?" Seimei couldn't help but think.
But he quickly dismissed the thought.
No, if he truly had such talent, his proficiency wouldn't be stuck at Lv0 (1/100). This was clearly the result of the proficiency panel forcing progress.
"So, what's the real reason?"
After pondering for a while, Seimei arrived at a vague conclusion.
Compared to ninjutsu and genjutsu, sealing techniques relied more on knowledge accumulation. As long as one had the necessary knowledge, it was easier to get started.
Additionally, his high-level "Chakra Control" allowed him to manipulate his chakra with great precision, which helped him imprint the technique on his proficiency panel after just one try.
"Yes, that's probably it," Seimei nodded and stopped overthinking it.
Now that the technique was on his panel, the rest would be easy. He just needed to grind it out.
With that thought, Seimei raised his hands and began forming seals again, attempting to cast the "Guardian Seal."
After a few dozen seconds, he completed another attempt—again without success.
Still, with a +1 to his proficiency, Seimei felt a faint sense of progress.
Without hesitation, he followed that feeling and adjusted the chakra flow in his body, trying again.
It failed once more, but Seimei wasn't discouraged.
He could see clear improvement with each attempt, so he kept practicing.
...
More than half an hour later.
Seimei stopped practicing and checked his proficiency panel. The "Guardian Seal" was now at Lv0 (99/100).
The speed of his progress was due to the reduced time it took to cast the technique as his proficiency increased.
At first, it took him nearly a minute to complete a single attempt, gaining one point of proficiency each time.
Now, it only took a little over ten seconds.
As a result, it had taken him less than forty minutes to reach the threshold for leveling up to Lv1.
Seimei took a deep breath, adjusted his mindset, and began practicing once more.
Ten seconds later, he completed another attempt.
In the next moment, his proficiency panel updated: Guardian Seal: Lv0 (100/100). A flash later, it changed to Lv1 (1/200).
Immediately, a new understanding of the technique surfaced in his mind.
Without hesitation, Seimei formed the seals once more, circulating his chakra and casting the "Guardian Seal."
This time, everything felt natural. He succeeded in casting the technique the moment he finished.
"Phew..." Seimei exhaled slowly, murmuring to himself, "Finally, I've mastered the basics."
Although his current proficiency wasn't enough to create the "Protection Seal Talisman" like the one on Ao, it was more than enough to break it.
After all, making a lock is much harder than making a key.
Thus, Seimei didn't need to level up his "Guardian Seal" any further before taking action.
With that thought, Seimei approached Ao and carefully examined the "Protection Seal Talisman" for a moment before beginning the process of breaking it.
In fact, he had already learned the method to break it from Ao's memories, but to be safe, he decided to double-check it himself.
The result confirmed that Ao hadn't played any tricks—the method was correct.
*Whoosh, whoosh!*
Two flames appeared on the sealing talismans hanging from Ao's earlobes, quickly burning them away.
Startled by the sensation, Ao awoke from unconsciousness. Feeling the "Guardian Seal" over his right eye disappear, his face paled, and he immediately tried to destroy the eye.
However, in the next moment, his consciousness was swallowed by an illusion once again.
(End of Chapter)