Grind is My Ninja Way

In no time, an hour had passed.

Seimei, having eaten and rested sufficiently, waited a bit to digest before settling the bill and leaving the barbecue restaurant.

His expression remained calm as he scanned his surroundings, then stepped onto the street.

However, after taking only a couple of steps, his movements suddenly paused, and his gaze turned cold.

Just now, he felt that familiar, unsettling sensation—someone was watching him again.

Clearly, whoever was observing him in secret hadn't left.

With this realization, Seimei didn't hesitate. He turned immediately and headed toward a training ground on the outskirts of the village.

If the person in hiding knew him well enough, they'd understand that he was a training enthusiast.

In such a situation, his decision to head to the training ground would seem perfectly normal.

As long as his pursuer dared to follow, Seimei was determined to capture them swiftly and uncover their identity.

If it turned out they were indeed one of Danzo's men, he wouldn't hesitate to eliminate them.

Even if this meant alerting Danzo prematurely, it didn't matter. After all, Seimei was already planning to confront him. Rather than waste time searching for an opportunity, he might as well force Danzo's hand.

This way, he could quickly resolve the problem.

With these thoughts in mind, Seimei made his way toward his destination.

Time passed slowly. The crowds thinned out, and the sky gradually darkened.

By the time Seimei reached the training ground, the area was already dim, with barely a soul in sight.

At a certain point, Seimei stopped walking.

He turned to face the forest behind him and spoke: "You've been following me for a while now. Come out!"

But there was no response.

The forest was silent, save for the occasional chirping of insects.

"Heh."

Seimei chuckled softly.

Then, he raised his hand, formed a seal, and murmured, "Release!"

Without a sound, the protective seal on his forehead vanished.

At the same time, his Byakugan revealed itself.

Focusing his energy, Seimei activated his Byakugan.

In an instant, his vision pierced through the obstacles around him, scanning everything within a kilometer.

It didn't take long for him to locate his hidden observer.

Seimei turned sharply, his gaze locking onto the figure's hiding place.

The individual was perched on a tree branch, their body mostly concealed by the leaves, with only their eyes visible.

Yet, even with such concealment, Seimei could clearly see their black cloak and mask—a typical outfit of the ANBU.

This confirmation further solidified Seimei's suspicions.

Without hesitation, Seimei activated his Sharingan.

In an instant, three pitch-black tomoe swirled in his eyes.

The tomoe elongated and merged, eventually forming a black sun pattern.

That's right—Seimei had directly activated his Mangekyō Sharingan.

However, the hidden figure seemed to anticipate this and, without any visible reaction, immediately closed their eyes.

Then, without hesitation, they turned and fled into the forest.

But Seimei, having made up his mind, wasn't about to let them escape so easily.

With a thought, he activated the dojutsu in his left eye—Heavenly Step.

In an instant, Seimei's figure vanished.

Not far away, the fleeing observer had just leaped across two branches when a figure suddenly materialized in front of them.

It was none other than Seimei.

Thanks to the Sharingan's advancement (30000/50000), Seimei could now maintain Heavenly Step for over forty seconds.

At his current speed, forty seconds was more than enough to traverse hundreds of km.

Thus, it was effortless for him to intercept his pursuer.

This time, the observer couldn't avoid Seimei's gaze.

The moment their eyes met, he used the "Genjutsu: Sharingan", dragging the other's consciousness into an illusionary realm.

With the power of his Mangekyō Sharingan, his genjutsu was practically unbeatable for the average person.

Seimei walked straight up to the man, grabbed his shoulder, and vanished from the spot with him.

Indeed, with his Byakugan, he confirmed that there was no one else within a kilometer radius.

However, to be cautious, he didn't linger there.

Before long, the two arrived at a secluded corner in the forest.

Seimei put the man down, then formed hand seals and used the "Chakra Absorption Jutsu".

Pressing both palms onto the man's body, it only took seconds for Seimei to drain the man's chakra, along with most of his mental and physical energy.

But that wasn't the end of it.

Seimei raised his hand again and activated the "Chakra Scalpel", swiftly severing the man's major nerves and muscles with a few precise strikes.

Now, even if the man regained consciousness, he would have no chance to escape.

After completing these actions, Seimei carefully began to search through the man's memories.

Seeing the familiar blank spots in the man's memory, Seimei immediately realized his guess was correct—the man was indeed one of Danzo's subordinates.

Only Root ninjas would have this many memory seals placed on them.

He had encountered similar seals on Aburame Ryoma and others before.

Fortunately, Seimei's method of extracting memories was unique. By constructing an illusionary realm, he guided his target to reveal the relevant memories.

Thus, for memories with less stringent seals, he could still access them.

Moreover, Root operatives didn't seal their memories during missions; they only applied seals after completing them.

Because of this, Seimei easily uncovered the man's mission details.

As suspected, the man had been sent by Danzo to monitor him.

After about fifteen minutes, Seimei ceased the genjutsu.

Almost immediately, the Root ninja regained consciousness.

Seeing Seimei before him, the man instinctively attempted to drag him into mutual destruction.

Unfortunately, Seimei gave him no such opportunity.

Zzzap—

The sound of crackling electricity echoed.

From Seimei's palm, an arc of lightning shot out, striking the Root ninja squarely in the chest.

As the smell of charred flesh filled the air, Seimei's thoughts wandered to the grilled meat he had eaten earlier, causing him to frown slightly.

Then, he retracted his hand.

By now, the Root ninja before him had already lost his life.

Raising his hand once more, Seimei performed the fire-style ninjutsu—**"Fire Release: Incineration Technique"**.

Boom—

A burst of flames erupted.

In no time, the Root ninja's body was reduced to ashes.

Seimei waved his hand again, unleashing a gust of wind from his chakra that scattered the ashes throughout the forest.

After finishing everything, Seimei didn't linger. He quickly vanished with a flash.

Without stopping, he headed straight for the Uchiha clan compound.

Once back at his residence, Seimei poured himself a glass of water. While sipping it, he reflected on the intel he had just obtained.

Apart from the man's mission details, there wasn't much valuable information.

However, knowing that the man worked for Danzo was enough.

Seimei didn't believe Danzo would remain indifferent after the man's "disappearance."

Given Danzo's character, he would undoubtedly escalate his actions.

Next, Seimei simply needed to act before Danzo could make a move and eliminate him, avoiding all potential trouble.

After sitting for a while, Seimei finalized a rough plan in his mind. He wasted no more time.

Draining the glass of warm water, he headed to his training room and began his night's training session.

Techniques like "Wind Release: Rasenshuriken," "Water Release: Great Shark Bullet Technique," and "Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu" created significant disturbances during practice.

Moreover, the sensory barrier in the Hidden Leaf Village would detect them.

For this reason, Seimei decided not to practice those techniques tonight.

Instead, he planned to train with them tomorrow after leaving the village.

At the same time, this was also part of his trap for Danzo—it all depended on whether Danzo dared to take the bait.

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