Time passed, minute by minute.
Soon, more than half an hour had gone by.
The sun in the sky tilted further west, and its rays filtered through the gaps in the forest canopy, casting dappled light across a large area of the woodland.
Two figures stood there, facing each other. Neither spoke, nor did they move. The entire scene seemed frozen in time, making it impossible to decipher what was happening.
These two were none other than Seimei and Mizutani Yuichi.
For more than half an hour, Seimei had been reading Mizutani Yuichi's memories, attempting to extract as much information as possible. Even now, he had yet to stop.
Fortunately, his mental strength was formidable, and his mastery of the Illusion Technique: Sharingan was beyond imagination, allowing him to persist.
Another ten minutes passed before Seimei finally opened his eyes.
For a brief moment, a hint of confusion flashed across his pupils—an effect of absorbing too many memories in a short period.
However, this state did not last long. Within seconds, he had regained clarity.
Seimei carefully sensed Mizutani Yuichi's aura, examined his appearance and clothing, and then raised his hands to form hand seals, casting the Transformation Technique.
Poof!
A cloud of chakra-infused smoke burst forth.
When the smoke cleared, an identical replica of Mizutani Yuichi stood in the clearing.
This was Seimei's disguise!
This time, his Transformation Technique was not performed casually. Even under close scrutiny, unless someone was extremely familiar with Mizutani Yuichi, they wouldn't easily notice any discrepancies.
After adjusting his disguise several times and confirming that there were no flaws, Seimei raised his hand in a blade-like gesture, channeling chakra into his Chakra Scalpel, and slashed directly at Mizutani Yuichi's throat.
A powerful suffocating sensation struck Mizutani Yuichi as he finally broke free from the illusion.
However, the moment he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a familiar face.
"Isn't that me?"
The thought flashed through Mizutani Yuichi's mind.
But he quickly realized the truth—Seimei had disguised himself as him.
At that moment, something seemed to dawn on him, and his emotions surged.
His pupils dilated, his mouth opened slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but no words came out. He could only cough up blood in desperation.
Seimei watched him coldly.
A few moments later, Mizutani Yuichi was dead, his life force completely extinguished.
Seimei stripped the Takigakure headband and ninja pouch from his body, then raised his hands to form hand seals, casting the Fire Release: Basic Cremation Technique.
Poof!
A burst of flames erupted, instantly consuming Mizutani Yuichi's corpse.
In no time, all that remained was a pile of ashes.
A sudden gust of wind swept through the area.
The ashes were carried away, scattering into the dense forest.
With everything settled, Seimei tied the Takigakure headband around his forehead, secured the ninja pouch, and hurried toward the location where the three genin were still unconscious.
At this moment, the three were still fast asleep.
Arriving at the mountain path, Seimei formed hand seals and infused a small amount of chakra into their bodies, releasing them from the illusion.
"Hmm..."
One by one, the three genin stirred awake. They rubbed their eyes and sat up, looking around in confusion, still unclear about what had just happened.
When they saw Seimei's icy expression, they finally reacted.
Without hesitation, each drew a kunai and assumed a triangular formation, standing back-to-back while scanning their surroundings with vigilance.
This demonstrated that the three of them had some skill. The moment they sensed something was wrong, they immediately adopted a defensive formation.
After all, if they lacked any real ability, they wouldn't have been assigned a jōnin as their instructor.
Seimei took note of their reactions. Once they were in position, he imitated Mizutani Yuichi's tone and said, "The enemy has fled. No need to be so tense."
Upon hearing this, the three relaxed slightly and lowered their weapons. However, their gazes remained cautious, still unsettled by the unexpected ambush.
Seimei ignored their unease. He glanced at the sky for effect and then said, "It's getting late. We need to pick up the pace and return to the village as soon as possible."
As for the enemy, he didn't mention a word.
The three genin dared not ask questions. They simply responded, "Understood."
Seeing this, Seimei gave a faint nod and took the lead, heading forward.
The three genin exchanged glances before quickly falling into formation—one in front and two behind—as they followed closely.
Why Not Kill Them?
Why didn't he just eliminate these three and return to the village alone?
The answer was simple—it would cause more trouble.
After all, Mizutani Yuichi's mission was merely a D-rank task to eliminate bandits, not a confrontation between ninjas.
For such a low-level mission, the presence of a jōnin should have been more than enough to ensure success. If all three genin had died under his watch, it would raise too many suspicions.
That would inevitably attract an investigation by Takigakure's Anbu.
And soon, Seimei would need to investigate information about the Seven-Tails within Takigakure. If he ended up being monitored by the Anbu, things could get complicated.
So rather than inviting unnecessary scrutiny by killing these three, he decided to take a calculated risk.
Additionally, keeping them alive could serve as an early warning system.
Since these three were relatively familiar with Mizutani Yuichi, if he could successfully deceive them, it meant he likely wouldn't be exposed by anyone else.
If he failed to fool them, however, he would have to be extra careful.
Fortunately, his disguise was convincing enough. By minimizing communication, he managed to avoid detection by the three genin.
This boosted Seimei's confidence in infiltrating Takigakure.
After several hours of travel, Seimei and his group finally arrived at Takigakure just before nightfall.
The village was concealed behind a massive waterfall.
Seimei and the three Takigakure genin braved the cascading water, stepping through into the hidden interior.
Inside was a vast cavern, guarded by several Takigakure shinobi.
After exchanging a few words with the guards, Seimei proceeded toward the center of the cavern.
There, a large underground lake awaited them.
Their next step was to dive in.
Beneath the surface lay an underwater tunnel—only by swimming through it could they enter the true Takigakure.
Luckily, everything went smoothly.
Seimei and the three genin passed through several checkpoints before finally reaching the village's interior.
Once inside, Seimei dismissed the three genin and proceeded alone to the mission center to complete the task handover.
Although it was his first time here, Mizutani Yuichi's memories had provided him with all the necessary information, so his behavior did not appear unnatural.
Moreover, since this was merely a D-rank mission, the mission center did not conduct any rigorous checks.
The process was swift, and the handover was completed without issue.
Afterward, Seimei returned to his assigned residence and rested.
As for His Investigation... Not Yet!
Although he was fairly certain that no one was watching him, it was better to be cautious.
For now, he would wait.
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