Seeing Zetsu fall silent, Uchiha Obito didn't say another word.
He turned and approached the group of Konoha ninja he'd killed earlier, using the power of Kamui to send their bodies into his alternate dimension.
It was clear he understood that the bodies couldn't be kept completely secret.
So, he figured he might as well go all in and take them all away.
This way, Konoha would have no chance of gathering intel about him through the corpses.
At the same time, it showed he'd decided to give up on staking out Seimei here.
Zetsu caught the hint immediately.
Good. He didn't want to keep tangling with Seimei either.
So, after Obito finished collecting all the bodies, Zetsu followed him, and they left together.
---
Meanwhile, in the Land of Fire, on an island in the southern seas…
Seimei's tightly shut eyes snapped open.
Just moments ago, another chunk of memories from his Kage Bunshin flooded into his mind—the one that had just clashed with Uchiha Obito and Zetsu.
Recalling every detail and carefully analyzing Obito and Kuro Zetsu's reactions, Seimei let out a small sigh of relief.
From their responses, it seemed his strategy had worked. He'd successfully convinced Obito and Kuro Zetsu that his goal was to become the Jūbi's Jinchūriki.
And that didn't fundamentally conflict with their ultimate plans.
So, he didn't have to worry about them exposing his capture of the Four-Tails and Seven-Tails.
Well… at least not for the short term.
It wasn't that the two were easy to fool. Seimei's age and background were just too deceptive.
After all, who would've thought a thirteen-year-old kid with a clean record like Seimei would know so many of the ninja world's secrets?
The information gap, combined with Seimei's deliberate misdirection, made it easy for them to come up with a seemingly reasonable explanation.
This bought Seimei plenty of time to grow stronger.
But before diving back into his intense training, he had one issue to deal with: explaining to the village why the Konoha ninja who'd returned with him had all died.
This wasn't just one or two ninja—it was two full squads, over thirty people. Most were Chūnin and Genin, but that was still a significant number.
The village would definitely investigate the deaths of so many ninja thoroughly.
He couldn't just brush it off.
Sitting cross-legged on a giant boulder, Seimei pondered for a long time before muttering, "Looks like I'll have to reveal a few things this time."
With that, he quickly stood up, packed his things, and used the Flying Thunder God Technique to return to the forest near the battlefield.
Just like his Kage Bunshin earlier, he cast Fūton: Wings of Wind, donned his Chakra Cloak, and used Doton: Light-Weight Rock Technique.
Then, activating his Sharingan to heighten his reflexes, he flapped his wings and flew to the battlefield at his maximum speed of 600 meters per second.
Circling high above, Seimei switched to his Byakugan to scan the area below.
No surprise—there was no sign of Uchiha Obito or Kuro Zetsu.
Of course, based on his earlier Kage Bunshin's probing, if Obito was hiding in his Kamui dimension, Seimei's Byakugan wouldn't be able to spot him.
Well… not at his current level, at least.
In the future? That was another story.
After all, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's Byakugan, combined with her other abilities, could see through dimensions.
With the Flying Thunder God Technique and Ama no O as his foundation, Seimei was confident he could elevate his Byakugan to Kaguya's level and achieve the same.
Heck, if he took it a step further and evolved his Byakugan into the Tenseigan, it'd be even easier to reach that goal.
Shaking his head, Seimei pushed those thoughts aside and focused, searching for traces of Zetsu.
Obito might be hiding in his Kamui dimension, out of sight, but Zetsu couldn't block the Byakugan's ability to detect chakra.
So, Seimei could use Zetsu's movements to figure out if the two had really left.
Soon, he'd scanned a one-kilometer radius and found no sign of Zetsu hiding.
In other words, the two had most likely left for real.
As for the chance that Zetsu was also hiding in Obito's Kamui dimension? Unlikely.
Neither Obito nor Kuro Zetsu fully trusted the other.
In that case, why would Obito let Zetsu into his Kamui dimension? And why would Zetsu dare to enter?
Even if, by some one-in-a-million chance, they set aside their doubts and teamed up to ambush him here, Seimei wasn't afraid.
Both the Flying Thunder God Technique and Ama no O would let him escape the battlefield in an instant. He held all the cards.
So, he had nothing to worry about.
After roughly confirming they were gone, Seimei descended to the ground.
By now, all the Konoha ninja bodies were gone. Only some lingering bloodstains proved a battle had taken place.
Looking at the scene, which didn't quite match his own strength, Seimei considered using ninjutsu to fake some evidence.
But after a moment's thought, he gave up on the idea.
Why? He specialized in combat, not covering tracks. If he tried to forge the scene, he'd likely slip up, and that'd make him look guilty.
Besides, he was already planning to leak some of Obito's abilities.
He could just say the fight happened in the Kamui dimension.
That would explain why there were no traces of his battle with the enemy.
With that decided, Seimei didn't linger in the forest.
He raised his hands, formed seals, and cast Fūton: Wings of Wind, Chakra Cloak, and Doton: Light-Weight Rock Technique again, flying back to Konoha at top speed.
The moment he reached the village, he headed straight for the Hokage Building.
Tap, tap, tap~
Seimei's footsteps were quick as he reached the Hokage's office door.
He raised his hand and knocked lightly.
Knock, knock, knock~
"Come in!"
A gentle yet slightly weary voice answered promptly.
Seimei recognized it as Minato Namikaze's voice.
He pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Inside the office, Minato sat behind his desk. The moment he saw it was Seimei, his expression shifted.
Why? Based on the timeline, Seimei shouldn't be back yet.
Minato straightened up, his tone serious. "Seimei, what happened?"
Sure, during the mission to chase the infiltrating Iwa ninja, Seimei's actions had raised a few questions. But overall, Minato still trusted him.
After all, Seimei had racked up plenty of merits along the way. Even if there were issues, they were minor. Minato wasn't some rigid stickler.
So, his attitude toward Seimei wasn't much different from before.
But Seimei wasn't about to let Minato's demeanor lower his guard. He steadied himself, mentally rehearsing his prepared story, then said, "Not long ago, I was ambushed."
Minato's heart skipped a beat. His first thought was of Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other former Konoha higher-ups.
Why? Just a few days ago, they'd pressured him to recall Seimei from the front lines.
Now, Seimei had barely set out when he was attacked. It was hard not to connect the dots.
Wait—
"What about the others?" A bad feeling crept into Minato's heart as he asked, "Where are Squads 14 and 17 that were with you?"
Seimei's expression darkened. After a brief pause, he answered, "The enemy was strong and their methods were strange. I got tied up. The two squads with me… there were no survivors. Even their bodies…"
Hearing Seimei's response, Minato fell silent for a long time.
He stared at Seimei unblinkingly, as if trying to read something from his face.
Standing before the desk, Seimei could faintly feel the pressure radiating from Minato, along with a suppressed anger.
Time ticked by.
The office was dead quiet.
Finally, Minato let out a long breath. Forcing down his anger, he said coldly, "Tell me everything that happened. Every detail. Don't leave anything out."
"Yes, Fourth-sama!" Seimei replied.
Then, he began recounting the entire battle.
Well… his carefully edited version of it.
(Chapter End)