Taking a deep breath, Uchiha Obito suppressed the restlessness in his heart and asked, "Did you capture Yonbi?"
As he spoke, his lone right eye fixed on 'Seimei,' trying to gauge the truth of his words by watching his expression.
But 'Seimei's' reaction caught him off guard.
Without a moment's hesitation, 'Seimei' replied, "That's right, it was me!"
Seeing 'Seimei' admit it so readily, Obito froze for a moment before pressing further, "And Nanabi? Did you take that one too?"
'Seimei' nodded again, not hiding a thing.
Now, Obito was genuinely baffled by Seimei.
He had expected Seimei to deny it, or at least admit to capturing Yonbi first, then use that to better cover up Nanabi's trail. After all, the idea that Seimei took Nanabi was just a hunch he and Zetsu shared—no solid proof.
Sure, with their current hostile relationship, proof wasn't exactly necessary, but without it, there was always that nagging doubt, a lack of certainty in their suspicions.
Yet here was Seimei, owning up to it so cleanly that it confirmed their suspicions beyond a doubt.
This only fueled the killing intent in both Obito and Black Zetsu's hearts.
Still, to figure out Seimei's motives and goals, Obito forcibly restrained his urge to kill and continued, "Why did you capture those two Tailed Beasts?"
At this, 'Seimei's' eyes lit up, and he thought to himself, Here it comes!
Why had he returned to this battlefield even after his Kage Bunshin was compromised? Simple: to keep Uchiha Obito and Black Zetsu in check.
Seimei knew full well that since these two had tracked him down, they'd likely already confirmed Yonbi and Nanabi's whereabouts. And given their obsession with the Tailed Beasts, there was no way they'd stop pursuing them.
But by the same token, he wasn't about to give up Yonbi and Nanabi either.
So what could he do?
If these two were just ordinary ninja—or even top-tier Kage-level ninja—he could have killed them outright and eliminated the threat. But the problem was, neither of them was ordinary.
Uchiha Obito, with his Mangekyō Sharingan and Mokuton, and Black Zetsu, a manifestation of Kaguya's will, weren't the kind of enemies you could easily kill.
So, taking them out wasn't an option.
On the flip side, with his 'Ama no Miya' and 'Hiraishin no Jutsu,' Seimei wasn't afraid of facing them head-on or worried about being trapped. His ability to stay alive was top-notch, meaning they couldn't easily kill him either.
This created a stalemate.
In this situation, Seimei figured these two might try to expose his capture of Yonbi and Nanabi, using Konoha, Iwa, and other public forces to pressure him, isolating him and turning him into a lone target. Then, they'd hunt him relentlessly.
If Seimei wanted to avoid that fate, he needed a way to hold these two at bay, to make them temporarily okay with leaving the two Tailed Beasts in his hands—maybe even tacitly allow him to go after the others.
No doubt, finding such a way wouldn't be easy.
But thanks to the intelligence advantage of his 'foresight,' Seimei had come up with an excuse.
"Heh, gathering all nine Tailed Beasts to fuse them into the ultimate Juubi—that secret isn't just yours. You're after the Tailed Beasts for the same reason I am."
As he said this, 'Seimei' shot a provocative glance at Zetsu, who had reappeared in the distance, sporting his pitcher-plant form.
Hearing his words, both Obito and Black Zetsu were momentarily stunned.
But they quickly regained their composure.
Obito was the first to speak, his tone deliberately hostile. "How do you know about the Juubi—and our goals?"
"Heh," 'Seimei' chuckled again.
With a slightly smug tone, he said, "That's none of your business. The Juubi, huh? One Tailed Beast is already so strong—can you imagine how powerful all nine combined would be? Once I become the Juubi's Jinchūriki, you guys… heh."
"Courting death!"
Suddenly, a sharp shout rang out from the distance.
Zetsu stomped the ground.
The next moment, countless vines erupted from the earth, slithering like venomous snakes, aiming to bind Seimei's limbs and waist.
But 'Seimei' dodged with agile twists and turns, evading the first wave of attacks.
Then, with a quick 'Katon: Sosaku no Jutsu,' he set the vines ablaze.
The battle erupted in an instant.
Having just escaped the fiery vines, 'Seimei' was immediately targeted by Obito's next attack.
Obito's figure vanished silently, only to reappear just as quietly behind Seimei, reaching for the back of his neck.
Sensing the danger, 'Seimei' didn't hesitate. He spun around, thrusting his kunai backward.
But even though Obito was right there, the kunai passed through nothing, as if stabbing thin air.
Kamui!
In an instant, 'Seimei' realized what was happening.
Without hesitation, he leaped back, trying to put distance between them.
But at that moment, a white bulge sprouted from his neck. Then a second, and a third.
In the blink of an eye, two-thirds of his body was encased in white substance, and his chakra was draining like a flood through an open gate.
It was almost enough to destabilize this Kage Bunshin.
Feeling his body on the verge of collapse and seeing the white substance about to take human form, 'Seimei' knew this was White Zetsu's 'Spore Technique.'
But… when?
Though this was just a shadow clone with limited sensory abilities, it shouldn't have been so easily parasitized.
Yet, from the looks of it, these spores had been on him for a while.
'Seimei' glanced at Zetsu in the distance, a flicker of wariness rising in his heart.
Good thing this is just a Kage Bunshin. If it was my real body, I might've taken a real hit.
Taking note of the lesson, 'Seimei' stopped resisting.
Ignoring the spores, he looked straight at Obito and Zetsu and said, "You guys are strong, but I won't show up in front of you again. As for the Tailed Beasts, let's see who gets them. You won't find me."
With that, he didn't care about their reactions and immediately released his 'Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.'
Poof!
With a puff of chakra smoke, 'Seimei's' figure vanished.
After he was gone, Zetsu walked over and looked at Obito. "Do you believe what he said?"
Obito was silent for a moment before countering, "Besides that reason, what else could it be?"
Now it was Zetsu's turn to fall silent.
For him, the shinobi world held few secrets. His long lifespan gave him the luxury of time to scheme. Even Uchiha Madara, standing behind Obito, was just a pawn in his game—let alone some wet-behind-the-ears kid like Seimei.
Rationally, he didn't believe Seimei could know anything truly hidden.
But deep down, he had a gut feeling that Seimei did know something.
For one, how was he so sure the Tailed Beasts were their target? Neither he, Obito, nor Nagato had openly moved against the Tailed Beasts yet.
Clearly, this was a massive red flag.
That's why he felt a twinge of unease.
But to keep clashing with Seimei? He wasn't too keen on that.
Not only was Seimei powerful and hard to kill, but Zetsu's goal was simply to gather the nine Tailed Beasts. Who gathered them didn't matter.
So, there was no need to go all-in against Seimei.
And it wasn't just him—Obito felt the same.
Their plans only required the Juubi. How it came to be wasn't the priority.
Worst case, they could just steal it at the end.
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