The scenery shifted abruptly, and Seimei found himself back in Konoha.
However, he didn't teleport directly home. Instead, he appeared near the village's cemetery.
After his last battle with Uchiha Obito, he had deliberately left several chakra markers in this area, allowing him to bypass the village's sensory barriers.
As for whether this would cause trouble for Obito…
Well, they were already enemies. Why should Seimei care about his fate?
After glancing around and confirming there was nothing unusual, Seimei activated the Flying Thunder God Technique once more and reappeared at his home.
Looking at the familiar furniture around him, he let out a long breath of relief.
He opened the door and stepped out of his training room, just in time to see a Shadow Clone approaching. With a simple thought, he dispelled it.
Poof!
A small cloud of chakra smoke dissipated, and the clone vanished.
At the same time, a flood of memories surged into Seimei's mind.
In the past, it would have taken him some time to go through these memories one by one.
But now, after upgrading his Mangekyō Sharingan, his mental attributes had improved once again. This process had become much simpler.
With just a moment's pause, he swiftly skimmed through all the clone's experiences.
Though he hadn't fully absorbed every detail, the key points were clear.
This meant that from now on, whenever he recalled a long-term Shadow Clone, he wouldn't have to waste time sorting through the memories bit by bit. In mere moments, he could grasp all the crucial information.
What surprised him was that in the past ten days, nothing unexpected had happened.
He had assumed that Obito, in his attempt to uncover his identity, would have at least made some moves—even if not a large-scale operation, he should have taken some action.
However, according to the intelligence gathered by his clone, there were no noticeable disturbances in either the village or the Uchiha clan.
"Has he given up?"
"Impossible!"
The thought had barely surfaced before Seimei dismissed it outright.
Setting aside the fact that he had hinted at knowing Obito's identity, just the presence of another Mangekyō Sharingan user should have been enough to draw his attention.
So, there were only two possibilities:
Either Obito was tied up with something else and couldn't spare the effort to investigate, or he was operating in complete secrecy, and the clone simply hadn't detected anything.
Either way, there was no chance that Obito had simply let it go.
As these thoughts raced through his mind, Seimei shook his head and decided not to dwell on it.
As the saying goes—if an enemy comes, you fight; if water floods in, you build a dam.
With his current strength, he wasn't afraid of a direct confrontation.
No matter what Obito planned or how he executed it, Seimei simply needed to follow his own path—steadily increasing his power. And if it came down to it, raw strength would be his final answer.
After all, in the shinobi world, reasoning was just a facade.
In the end, everything boiled down to one question—whose fists were stronger?
Even Naruto, the master of "Talk no Jutsu," had to beat people down before convincing them.
So, there was no need to overthink things. He just had to stick to his own approach.
With that settled, Seimei headed to the bathroom, stripped down, and enjoyed a relaxing hot shower.
Then, feeling completely refreshed, he crawled into bed and drifted off to sleep.
---
The Next Day
Evening.
After spending the day outside, Seimei returned to his house.
That's when he saw a familiar figure waiting for him.
"Shisui?"
Approaching, Seimei frowned slightly. "Are you waiting for me? What's the matter?"
Shisui nodded and glanced around cautiously before speaking in a serious tone. "Can we talk inside?"
Hearing this, Seimei's brows furrowed even deeper.
He studied Shisui carefully.
Though he was wearing fresh, clean clothes and outwardly appeared no different than usual, there was an unmistakable weakness about him—one that only came from experiencing a fierce battle.
Given Shisui's strength, very few shinobi could push him to this state.
Recalling his suspicions from the previous night, a possibility flashed through Seimei's mind.
Without hesitation, he pulled out his key, unlocked the door, and said, "Alright, come in."
With that, he stepped into the courtyard.
Shisui followed closely behind.
They made their way to the living room, where Seimei casually poured two cups of tea and placed them on the table.
Taking a seat, he looked at Shisui and got straight to the point. "Alright, tell me what happened."
However, just as he finished speaking—
Shisui suddenly activated his Mangekyō Sharingan.
That's right. His Mangekyō Sharingan.
The surge of ocular power instinctively made Seimei want to counter with his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
But he quickly realized what was happening and instead activated only his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
An invisible pressure filled the room as their gazes clashed, creating a suffocating atmosphere.
Anyone who entered at that moment would have immediately felt overwhelmed—those with strong wills might barely endure, but the weak-willed would likely faint on the spot.
Seimei remained silent, calmly meeting Shisui's gaze. His expression was completely unchanged.
Drip… Drip…
From the nearby bathroom, a single drop of water fell from the faucet, echoing through the tense stillness.
Seconds ticked by.
Only after more than ten heartbeats did Shisui finally relent and deactivate his Mangekyō Sharingan.
He let out a pained grunt, clutching his eyes as his face twitched in agony.
Of course, that was to be expected.
Activating the Mangekyō Sharingan immediately after unlocking it—especially for such a prolonged time—was bound to be excruciating.
After a long moment, Shisui finally regained his composure.
Lowering his hands, he looked at Seimei once more.
Across from him, Seimei had already deactivated his Sharingan.
Meeting Shisui's scrutinizing gaze, Seimei simply said in a neutral tone, "Congratulations."
"Congratulations, huh…"
Shisui murmured, as if confirming something he had suspected.
But before he could ask anything, Seimei cut him off. "Now tell me—what happened?"
Hearing this, Shisui took a deep breath, his expression serious. "A few days ago, your Shadow Clone warned me to be careful—said someone might come after me."
Seimei nodded. "Go on."
"At first, I investigated thoroughly but found nothing unusual. But today, while leading a squad on a mission outside the village, we were suddenly ambushed by a mysterious figure."
He paused, his face darkening.
"He wore a spiral-patterned mask… and had one, maybe even two, Sharingan. His body could phase in and out of reality, and using that ability, he killed all of my squad members… leaving only me."
"Oh? So, that's when you awakened your Mangekyō?" Seimei asked.
"Yeah," Shisui nodded again, his voice tinged with regret. "Watching my comrades die one by one, I was furious… and blamed myself. I should have listened to you and avoided leaving the village."
"It was at that moment that I unlocked the Mangekyō Sharingan."
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