In the blink of an eye, it was already the afternoon of the next day.
Over here, Seimei was still training.
Suddenly, a fragment of memory surfaced in his mind.
Immediately, Seimei halted his training.
The lightning chakra flickering around him dissipated, and with a few swift flashes, he returned to the massive boulder at the center of the island.
Sitting cross-legged, Seimei began sifting through these memories.
As expected, the memories came from the Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone) he'd sent to pursue the Iwa-nin (Hidden Stone shinobi).
From these memories, Seimei learned that shortly after the Iwa-nin fled, the Konoha (Hidden Leaf) support team arrived in waves.
After that, the two groups worked together to hunt down the Iwa-nin.
Through a day and night of relentless pursuit and ambushes, most of the scattered Iwa-nin had either been captured or killed.
In the end, only a few managed to slip through the net, their whereabouts unknown.
But that wasn't Seimei's problem anymore.
His mission was officially complete.
Afterward, the Kage Bunshin returned to the frontline camp.
Just moments ago, it had dispelled the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique) at the camp, transmitting all its memories back to him.
After reviewing the clone's memories, Seimei fell into deep thought.
On the surface, this mission was over.
But he knew it wasn't that simple.
Once those four Konoha Anbu returned to the village, or if the captured Iwa-nin started talking, the village would eventually notice the inconsistencies surrounding him.
When that happened, trouble would come knocking.
Still, as long as there was no hard evidence, he'd be fine.
So for now, he could focus on his training.
Of course, before that, he needed to send another Kage Bunshin to hold down the fort at the frontline.
With that thought, Seimei drew a portion of chakra from the interdimensional space in his forehead, refilling his depleted reserves and bringing himself back to peak condition.
Then, he raised his hands, fingers crossing to form the 'Nin' seal, and activated the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.
Poof!
With a puff of chakra smoke, a Kage Bunshin containing half of Seimei's chakra appeared.
Seimei gave it a nod, and without wasting words, the clone locked onto the marker in the frontline camp's tent and activated Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique).
Whoosh!
Silently, the clone vanished.
A few seconds later, Seimei sensed a new Hiraishin marker appear, confirming the clone had arrived safely.
With that settled, he wasted no time. Leaping off the boulder, he left the island's center and reactivated Raiton Chakra Mode (Lightning Release Chakra Mode), enhancing his body once more.
However, while Seimei was at ease, someone else was growing anxious.
---
That night.
The moon shone brightly, stars dotting the sky.
The Land of Earth.
Iwagakure (Hidden Stone Village).
In a narrow alley, three Iwa Anbu lay sprawled on the ground, their fates unknown. A fourth was held aloft by the throat, pinned in midair.
Yet, even in this dire situation, the Iwa Anbu didn't cry out for help or struggle unnecessarily.
Clearly, something was off.
But it made sense when you considered the Sharingan—specifically, the Mangekyō Sharingan.
That's right. The one holding this Iwa Anbu was none other than Uchiha Obito, wielder of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
At this moment, the Iwa Anbu was under Obito's genjutsu, completely subdued.
It was no surprise he wasn't resisting.
As for why Uchiha Obito was here?
Simple. He'd caught wind of the mysterious attack on Iwagakure's Four-Tails Jinchūriki, Lao Zi, who had since gone missing.
This wasn't something he could ignore.
Whether it was the 'Eye of the Moon' plan entrusted to him by Uchiha Madara or his true goal of 'creating a perfect world where Rin still exists,' both required all nine Tailed Beasts.
Now, with rumors of someone secretly targeting the Tailed Beasts, how could he sit still?
It wasn't just him, either. Even Black Zetsu was alarmed.
After all, his plan to save his mother on the moon also hinged on the nine Tailed Beasts.
So, the moment they got the news, the two rushed to Iwagakure to figure out what was going on.
Looking at the motionless Iwa Anbu, Obito didn't waste time. He activated his Mangekyō Sharingan, manipulating the man's mind and delving into his memories.
Time ticked by, second by second.
A moment later, Obito withdrew his gaze, muttering under his breath, "Konoha… Hiraishin no Jutsu… Sensei Minato…"
That's right. From the Iwa Anbu's mind, he'd extracted the intelligence Iwagakure had gathered recently. It wasn't exhaustive, but it was close enough.
What he hadn't expected was that Iwagakure's prime suspect was none other than the teacher he once admired.
"How is that possible?" Obito murmured.
Though he harbored resentment toward Namikaze Minato for failing to save Rin, he didn't believe Minato would do something like this.
It wasn't about personal feelings—it was just his gut instinct about the situation.
Wait a second…
Suddenly, Obito realized something. Iwagakure suspected Minato because he wielded the Hiraishin no Jutsu.
But Obito knew that, besides Minato, there was someone else in Konoha who likely mastered the same technique.
In fact, Iwagakure's other theory was that someone in Konoha had secretly learned the Hiraishin and was responsible for this.
And that possibility seemed far more likely than Minato being the culprit.
"Uchiha Seimei," Obito growled through gritted teeth.
That's right. The person Obito was thinking of was Uchiha Seimei.
Back during their battle at the graveyard, Seimei had effortlessly seen through his Kamui, costing Obito an arm.
Though Seimei hadn't used the Hiraishin then, Obito's later analysis and targeted investigations had all but confirmed that Seimei possessed a space-time ninjutsu.
Only someone with a space-time technique could detect the spatial fluctuations when he activated Kamui.
And in Konoha, what space-time ninjutsu was more famous than the Hiraishin no Jutsu?
Obito had long suspected Seimei had mastered it.
That suspicion was why, after losing an arm, he hadn't gone after Seimei again.
Now, combining Iwagakure's findings, he was 80% certain that the one who abducted the Four-Tails Jinchūriki was Uchiha Seimei.
'But why is he capturing Tailed Beasts?' Obito wondered.
If it was just for power, that was manageable. Once his preparations were complete, he could easily take Seimei down. But if Seimei had other motives, that could spell big trouble.
Though he had no fondness for Seimei, Obito respected his strength.
An opponent like that, constantly working against them, was far from ideal.
For a moment, Obito couldn't help but feel a twinge of worry.