Ahead.
In the sky.
Using his Byakugan, Seimei's shadow clone observed the movements of the four Konoha Anbu. A slight smirk tugged at his lips.
Just as he'd predicted, even though they noticed something off about him, they didn't confront him. Instead, they chose to stick to the mission.
That being the case, he didn't need to keep tabs on them anymore.
Shifting his gaze, Seimei turned his attention to the fleeing group of Iwa-nin.
He could see that after escaping the battlefield, they didn't immediately scatter. Instead, every so often, a small squad would break off.
In the end, they split up completely, fleeing in different directions toward the Land of Fire's border.
This scattered escape tactic made it impossible for Seimei to chase them down with his Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.
After all, unlike his real body, his shadow clones didn't have the chakra reserves stored in the interdimensional space between his brows. After just a few uses, his clones would become frail and useless.
At that point, forget sustaining Fuuton: Wings of Wind or his Chakra Cloak to pursue them—even if he managed to catch up, he'd likely be taken out with ease.
And that was exactly the Iwa-nin's goal.
Realizing this, Seimei couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "As expected of elites. Even their escape tactics are this polished!"
Still, he hadn't planned on wiping them all out to begin with, so he didn't dwell on it.
Locking onto the Iwa-nin who'd been barking orders earlier—likely their leader—Seimei flapped his wings and gave chase.
And so, the pursuit continued, with both sides gradually moving farther from the heart of the Land of Fire.
---
Meanwhile.
In the Land of Fire.
On an island in the southern seas.
Seimei had already stripped off Tsukiko Imamura's gear and begun inspecting the secrets her body held.
A pseudo-Jinchuriki. This was his first time encountering one, and he needed to dig deeper.
If pseudo-Jinchuriki could be mass-produced, he had two Tailed Beasts in his possession. He could potentially create a whole batch of Jinchuriki.
And if their chakra could recover quickly, he'd have a stockpile of "chakra batteries" at his disposal.
That would massively boost the amount of chakra he could use daily.
Sure, after acquiring the Four-Tails, he wasn't exactly strapped for chakra. But when it came to chakra, more was always better, right?
With that thought, Seimei raised his hands, formed seals, and muttered, "Kai!"—releasing the Senro Bansho Fuin that had been sealing Tsukiko Imamura.
The next moment, the Four-Tails' chakra surged, enveloping Tsukiko's body once more and forming a Tailed Beast cloak.
Seeing this, Seimei froze for a second before a grin spread across his face.
He'd been worried her seal might be like Old Purple's—impossible to undo.
But it turned out she'd already undone her seal back in the Thunder Prison to protect herself. Though his Senro Bansho Fuin had suppressed it afterward, the seal hadn't been reapplied.
That saved him a ton of effort.
"Hmph~"
Suddenly, a pained grunt escaped Tsukiko's lips, tinged with faint agony.
And it was no wonder.
As the Four-Tails' chakra surged, her previously unconscious mind began to stir, her face twisting with pain.
Seeing this, Seimei didn't hesitate. He quickly formed seals and unleashed a ninjutsu—Chakra Kyuin Jutsu!
Pressing both palms toward her, a terrifying suction force erupted.
In an instant, a flood of crimson chakra poured from her like swallows returning to their nest. It was drawn into his palms, channeled through his chakra pathways, and converted into his own chakra.
One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.
Suddenly, the chakra from her body seemed to encounter a predator. It stopped flowing out and tried to retreat back into Tsukiko's body.
But Seimei wasn't having it. He ramped up the suction.
Immediately, even more Tailed Beast chakra gushed from Tsukiko, flowing into his palms and becoming his.
Time ticked by.
As the process continued, the Tailed Beast cloak around Tsukiko's body began to thin at a visible rate. After about ten seconds, it vanished completely.
Sensing that the Tailed Beast chakra had stopped flowing, Seimei frowned slightly.
With a thought, he sent his mental energy probing into the seal space in her abdomen.
There, he saw only a faint red clump of chakra.
When it sensed his mental intrusion, it wriggled slightly but never took on the form of the Four-Tails.
"This…"
Seimei was at a loss for words.
At the same time, his hopes of mass-producing pseudo-Jinchuriki crumbled.
Judging by Tsukiko's performance, the effort simply wasn't worth it.
He waited a bit longer, but there was still no sign of the Tailed Beast chakra in her body recovering significantly.
He checked the chakra he'd just absorbed.
Less than 20,000 points.
Now, Seimei was completely done with the idea.
It was clear as day—fake was fake. Compared to real Jinchuriki, pseudo-Jinchuriki not only provided far less chakra, but their recovery rate was nowhere close.
In that case, recklessly creating a bunch of pseudo-Jinchuriki would just be a waste of his energy with no real payoff.
"Sigh, forget it. I'll just treat this as tying up loose ends."
After mulling it over, Seimei let out a soft sigh, letting go of the matter.
This mission hadn't yielded any extra rewards. It had even cost him some time and left minor suspicions lingering in both Iwagakure and Konoha. But overall, it was still acceptable.
Compared to the risk of Iwagakure sneaking up on him and causing bigger problems, this small price was nothing.
Next, he just needed to focus on wrapping up the mission with Konoha.
As for everything else… no need to sweat it!
With that decided, Seimei stopped wasting time. He raised his hand, formed a Chakra Scalpel, and with a swift "slash," cut across Tsukiko's throat.
A wave of suffocation hit her. Spurred by the shock, Tsukiko's barely stirring consciousness snapped awake.
Her eyes shot open.
But all that greeted her was endless pain.
"Kh… kh… kh…"
A string of meaningless sounds spilled from her mouth.
She turned her head toward Seimei, her gaze filled with pleading.
But Seimei remained unmoved.
They were enemies. There was nothing more to say.
I kill you, you kill me—it's all the same.
As if sensing his resolve, Tsukiko's pleading eyes turned to resentment.
Seimei raised his hand again, slicing through her heart.
Her heart stopped beating, and soon, Tsukiko's life faded away, sparing her further suffering.
Boom!
Seimei formed seals once more, unleashing Katon: Suyaki no Jutsu. A burst of flames appeared out of nowhere, instantly engulfing Tsukiko's body.
Watching the roaring fire, Seimei's eyes flickered.
Truth be told, he'd had another option just now—keep Tsukiko alive as a pseudo-Jinchuriki to supply him with chakra daily.
That way, he could've gained roughly 10,000 to 20,000 chakra points a day.
It wasn't a ton, but it wasn't nothing either.
But after weighing his options, he'd scrapped the idea.
The reason? He was worried Iwagakure might track her down through some unknown means.
Compared to a measly 10,000 or 20,000 chakra points, he valued an undisturbed environment for his training far more.
(Chapter End)