With a plan in mind, Seimei immediately stowed away his containment scroll and began preparing his gear. Once he was fully equipped, he stepped outside his quarters.
Not rushing to leave, he first headed to the dining hall to fill up, and only then used the "Wind Release: Wings of the Wind" technique to soar into the sky, flying toward the open sea.
Some patrolling Konoha ninjas spotted him but didn't question it. The reason was simple: lately, whenever he had spare time, Seimei would often head to the outer sea or other locations to train. This wasn't widely known, but it wasn't a secret either, so no one stopped him for an inquiry.
With ease, he moved out of sight of the others.
After a ten-minute flight, he arrived over the deep sea. By now, he was quite some distance from the Black Stone stronghold. Confirming that there was no one around, he immediately flew toward the Land of Sea.
The Land of Sea was fortunate—it was situated between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water, yet unlike the Land of Waves, it wasn't located on a crucial trade route. Because of this, it hadn't been heavily impacted by the wars between the two great nations.
When Seimei arrived around noon, he found a peaceful scene. However, using the powerful insight of his Sharingan, he detected traces of Mist Ninja activity. Clearly, even though the Hidden Mist Village was focused on fighting Konoha, they hadn't neglected defending their homeland. They still had forces stationed along this less important route.
Shaking his head, Seimei avoided their positions and quietly headed in the direction of Demon World Island.
Perhaps due to concerns about being discovered, Orochimaru's secret base was not located near the main islands of the Land of Sea. In fact, it was quite distant—almost outside the Land of Sea's territory. Here, there were hardly any Mist Ninja, or even regular people.
This saved Seimei the trouble of hiding his tracks.
Reaching the skies above Demon World Island, he scanned the area. After ensuring there were no issues, he landed.
Dispelling the "Wind Release: Wings of the Wind," Seimei walked through the intricate forest, extending his senses to try and locate the entrance to the underground base.
However, after nearly an hour of searching, he found nothing. This left Seimei somewhat frustrated.
Demon World Island wasn't huge, but it wasn't small either. Without any clues or guidance, finding an entrance to an underground base was extremely challenging. His memories from his past life? Useless here.
"Seems I was right to consider incorporating the Byakugan as a scouting tool."
With a Byakugan's x-ray vision, he would've seen through the underground layout in no time. Instead of wandering around like a headless fly, he could have pinpointed the entrance. "Too bad I haven't transplanted a Byakugan yet," he muttered, pausing in his search.
He then concentrated and unleashed all his chakra at once. A terrifying aura radiated outward, centered on him. In an instant, all sounds of insects and birds on the island fell silent. Even mosquitoes, affected by the aura, forgot to fly and dropped to the ground.
This wasn't limited to insects. Any ninja standing before him would have felt an involuntary shudder, a primal fear, regardless of their willpower. Even those ninjas farther away who sensed this aura would feel a sense of discomfort.
This way, if there were any ninjas stationed in the underground base, they'd surely come out to investigate. He knew it was a bold move that might expose him, but at this point, he didn't want to waste another hour or more searching for them.
As time ticked by, his strategy paid off: before long, someone approached him. But when he saw who it was, he was slightly taken aback.
In the woods ahead, two figures clad in black robes and wearing masks emerged before him. "Anbu?" he murmured in surprise.
Hearing his question, the two responded in a cold tone: "Uchiha Seimei? What are you doing here?"
Studying their energy carefully, Seimei quickly realized these weren't Anbu but members of Danzo's Root division. Their aura was unmistakable; it matched that of other Root ninjas he'd encountered before.
Knowing this, he felt no hesitation. If they were Anbu, he might have paused for a moment, but Root ninjas? He felt no such restraint. Danzo and his Root division were obstacles he planned to eliminate in the future anyway.
With that thought, Seimei unsheathed his longsword with a sharp "clang" and prepared to use his "Flash Blade Technique" to strike.
Just then, several shurikens whizzed toward him—thrown by the two Root ninjas, who seemed to sense his killing intent and attacked first. With the enhanced insight of his Sharingan, Seimei quickly noted the shurikens' unusual color and the faint metallic smell in the air, indicating they were coated in poison.
Root ninjas—swift to react and as ruthless as ever.
"Still, against absolute power, no amount of trickery will work."
Focusing, Seimei activated his Flash Blade Technique. In a blur of blue light, he dodged the shuriken and swiftly closed the distance to one of the Root ninjas. Sensing his approach, the ninja threw a kunai with a sizzling explosive tag attached.
"Risking an explosive tag at this range? Reckless," he muttered, veering away to gain some distance.
A thunderous blast followed, with fire and a shockwave spreading outward, shaking the nearby trees. Using this opportunity, Seimei silently closed in on the ninja who had thrown the kunai. Though the Root ninja managed to dodge in time, he was still affected by the shockwave.
As he steadied himself and lowered his arm, a glint of Seimei's sword was already coming toward him. Despite the danger, the Root ninja showed no panic, pulling back to buy himself time. Meanwhile, the other Root ninja began forming hand signs, seemingly preparing a jutsu.
(End of Chapter)