Grind is My Ninja Way

Time flies like a fleeting horse.

In the blink of an eye, a whole day had passed.

The lively atmosphere in the Hidden Leaf Village continued.

Within the Uchiha clan's compound, inside an ordinary house, Seimei slowly opened his eyes.

His gaze was filled with confusion, his entire being groggy and disoriented, his consciousness still unclear.

Nearly twenty hours of sleep hadn't washed away his exhaustion. Instead, it seemed to have flipped a switch, releasing the fatigue he had accumulated over the past two years all at once, leaving him feeling weak.

Seimei lay dazed on the bed, staring at the sunset through the window's crack, unmoving.

Time ticked by, second after second.

At some point, the sound of his stomach growling broke the silence.

Seimei reached out and gently touched his stomach, the pangs of hunger overwhelming him.

From the time he returned to the village in the morning until now, over ten hours had passed without him eating a single thing. It was no wonder he was starving!

Struggling to sit up, Seimei initially planned to eat a few military ration pills to stave off his hunger.

But as he reached for his ninja pouch, he suddenly stopped.

Now that he was back in the village, eating ration pills felt like shortchanging himself.

His nose twitched as he caught the faint aroma of food wafting in from outside. After some thought, he decided to head out and treat himself to something good.

"Alright!"

With a shout, Seimei flipped out of bed in one swift motion, landing on the floor.

*Crack, crack, crack~*

He stretched mightily, his joints crackling audibly.

After summoning a bit of energy, he stepped into the washroom and splashed cold water on his face.

Instantly, he felt a bit more refreshed.

Returning to the bedroom, Seimei grabbed his ninja pouch, inspected its contents, and, after confirming everything was in order, tied it securely around his waist.

While the Hidden Leaf Village was generally safe, years of battlefield experience had ingrained in him the habit of carrying enough tools and supplies to handle a potential battle.

Locking the door behind him, Seimei left the Uchiha compound and headed straight for the busiest part of the village.

This bustling area, directly facing the Hokage Tower, was lined with shops, restaurants, and street vendors.

Before finding a place that suited his tastes, Seimei had already purchased an assortment of snacks from the roadside stalls.

As he strolled leisurely through the lively streets, he was reminded of his past life, wandering through street food markets.

Every now and then, he spotted other ninjas passing by.

Some, like him, carried their ninja pouches, fully armed, remaining vigilant even while out and about.

Others had completely relaxed, shedding their burdens as they strolled with family, dressed in casual attire.

Some gathered in small groups, seemingly celebrating.

In short, everyone's state of mind varied.

Seimei's gaze swept across these individuals as he made his way toward a barbecue restaurant ahead.

Even from a distance, the enticing aroma wafting from within reached him. Today, he was determined to eat to his heart's content.

Just as he was about to enter the restaurant, an unusual sensation washed over him, like someone was watching him.

In an instant, Seimei's alertness shot to its peak. The relaxed and carefree demeanor he'd been carrying vanished, replaced by a sharp and focused calm.

He didn't immediately search for the source of the gaze. Instead, he entered the restaurant as usual.

Once inside, he called over a server and began ordering food, just like everyone else.

It wasn't until he had placed his order and was waiting for the food that he discreetly scanned his surroundings.

The restaurant was filled with ninjas, but none seemed to be paying him any particular attention. Even those who glanced his way only did so briefly.

A few gazes lingered a bit longer, but it was only due to the Uchiha clan symbol on his attire. There was no discernible malice.

In short, Seimei didn't notice anything unusual inside.

If it wasn't someone inside, then it had to be someone outside.

"Who could it be? A spy from another village? A bounty hunter after the black-market reward? Someone from the Anbu? Or perhaps one of Danzo's people?"

Seimei's eyes shifted toward the street outside as his mind raced, considering all possibilities.

Unfortunately, the gaze from earlier had been fleeting. Though it carried a hint of malice, it hadn't lingered long enough to reveal much.

So, he hadn't pinpointed the location of the person operating in the shadows.

However, from Seimei's perspective, the most likely suspect was still someone under Danzo's command.

Why? Within Konoha Village, neither spies nor bounty hunters dared to act too recklessly. Only Danzo's Root ninjas were notorious for their audacity.

Moreover, in the village, no one harbored a greater grudge against him than Danzo.

He was looking for a chance to get rid of Danzo, and it was likely that Danzo felt the same way about him.

Under such circumstances, it was only natural for him to be targeted.

Seimei had mentally prepared himself for this possibility.

But the fact that they acted on his very first day back was still irritating.

At this moment, the fleeting thought of taking a few days to relax vanished from Seimei's mind, replaced by a vague sense of urgency.

Whether the one targeting him this time was from Root or not, Seimei decided to deal with the trouble Danzo represented as soon as possible.

As the saying goes, the longer the night, the more dreams it brings. Seimei didn't want to delay any longer.

Of course, there was another reason he made this choice: with the passage of time, most of his ninjutsu techniques were nearing perfection.

Next, apart from studying the unique secret techniques of the Uchiha clan, the only techniques that caught his eye were the precious ones recorded in Konoha's Scroll of Seals.

However, the Scroll of Seals wasn't something he could access at will—it required the Hokage's approval.

Given the strained relationship between the village and the Uchiha clan, no matter how cordial Hiruzen Sarutobi pretended to be, it was unlikely he would allow Seimei to read the scroll.

Even if he reluctantly agreed, he wouldn't let him learn too many techniques.

This was clearly insufficient for Seimei's needs.

Thus, he had to come up with another solution.

And it was obvious that Danzo was a promising avenue.

Danzo had always coveted the position of Hokage.

To train his own people, he often exploited his relationship with Hiruzen Sarutobi to transcribe various techniques from the Scroll of Seals.

With this, coupled with the resources accumulated by Root, if Seimei could seize it all, his needs would undoubtedly be met.

As for stealing the Scroll of Seals outright?

That was nearly impossible!

Don't be fooled by the fact that Naruto, still in ninja school, managed to steal it. That was most likely Hiruzen Sarutobi's doing.

Even the Scroll of Seals Naruto took was likely a fake, with only the "Multi-Shadow Clone Technique" recorded on it.

Otherwise, with Naruto's abysmal foundational knowledge, it would be too much of a coincidence for him to have learned the technique that suited him best.

Let's not forget, Hiruzen Sarutobi was known as the "Professor of Ninjutsu." With his abilities, selecting a technique tailored for Naruto would be a trivial task.

As for anyone else attempting to steal the scroll, it would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.

While Seimei was lost in thought, the waiter brought over the grill and the meat.

Seimei lit the charcoal and watched as the meat sizzled on the fire. His mind, however, was preoccupied with what to do once he left.

If the person watching him truly was sent by Danzo, they wouldn't simply retreat after this.

In that case, if he didn't deal with them, it would make training or tracking Danzo's movements inconvenient.

But if he dealt with them, it might alert the enemy.

For a moment, Seimei couldn't make up his mind.

Fortunately, he still had time to think.