Grind is My Ninja Way

Two hours later.

The night deepened.

Seimei had finally completed most of his ninjutsu training. For today's training plan, only the practice of the "Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu" and the time-intensive "Palm Immortal Jutsu" and "Reflective Heart Jutsu" remained unfinished.

However, it was already dark, and if he delayed any longer, the gates of Konoha would close.

He wasn't an Anbu ninja, so he wasn't familiar with the coded techniques for passing through the village's sensory barrier. Sneaking in recklessly could very likely alert the village.

That would inevitably cause unnecessary trouble.

So, it was better to return as soon as possible.

With this thought in mind, Seimei didn't linger any longer.

He extinguished the campfire in front of him, packed his belongings, and activated "Wind Release: Wings of Wind" and "Chakra Cloak."

In an instant, he turned into a streak of green light and soared into the sky, heading toward Konoha at full speed.

---

More than half an hour later, Seimei arrived outside Konoha.

By then, there were hardly any people around.

Under the watchful eyes of two gatekeeping ninjas, Seimei entered the village.

However, before he had gone far, he sensed a familiar presence—the same person who had been tracking him earlier that morning.

Seimei didn't pretend to be unaware. Instead, he followed this sense and looked toward a high spot in front of him.

What came into view was a ninja dressed in a black robe and wearing a mask.

The two locked eyes but said nothing.

Seimei's expression was cold as he stared at the masked figure with his Three Tomoe Sharingan.

Time ticked by. Passersby noticed something unusual about Seimei but dared not interfere. He remained motionless, simply staring at the Root ninja.

In the end, it was the masked figure who didn't want to reveal his position. He disappeared from Seimei's line of sight.

Seeing him leave, Seimei finally looked away.

As if nothing had happened, he calmly walked toward the busiest street in the village.

---

Another half an hour passed.

After dinner, Seimei returned to his residence.

Wasting no time, he focused his mind and began training in the "Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu."

Soon, the house and courtyard were filled with his shadow clones.

Fortunately, the home his parents had left him was in a secluded area, so Seimei didn't have to worry about disturbing others.

He trained for about an hour, completing the planned number of repetitions.

Seimei opened his skill interface to confirm that his proficiency had increased as expected. With a casual glance at a specific spot outside the courtyard, he entered his training room.

Next, he planned to continue practicing the "Palm Immortal Jutsu" and "Reflective Heart Jutsu" to strengthen his body and further evolve his Sharingan.

---

Time continued to pass.

Near midnight, Seimei finally completed his training plan for the day.

At this point, both his body and mind were utterly exhausted.

He headed to the washroom, quickly freshened up, and cleared his head.

Returning to his bedroom, he prepared to rest.

However, before lying down, he released the "Guardian Seal" on his forehead and activated his Byakugan to observe the individuals monitoring him outside.

Unlike the previous night, there were only two people this time.

It seemed Danzo had realized that Seimei wouldn't act here, so he reduced the number of monitors.

Seimei wasn't bothered by this in the slightest.

Whether there were many people or few, it didn't affect his ability to sleep.

After all, if he wouldn't make a move here, would Danzo dare to?

Their past confrontations had already proven Seimei's strength.

In this situation, Danzo wouldn't act rashly unless he was absolutely confident of success.

Thus, Seimei wasn't worried about being assassinated in his sleep.

---

Taking a step back, even if an assassination attempt were to occur, the habits he had cultivated over more than two years on the battlefield would allow him to awaken instantly.

At that moment, with the activation of "Heavenly Guard," no matter what methods the enemy employed, they wouldn't be able to harm him.

Because of this, Seimei was entirely unconcerned.

...

In the blink of an eye, it was the next day.

Morning.

Inside the bedroom.

Seimei opened his eyes.

He first sensed his surroundings and, as expected, there were no surprises. Those two individuals were still present, even in the exact same positions as before.

What could he say?

As expected of Root ninjas!

Their serious attitude toward missions was something that ordinary ninjas simply couldn't compare to.

Sighing internally, Seimei sat up in bed, stretched a bit, then got out of bed and walked into the bathroom.

Within a few minutes, he had freshened up.

Afterward, without any delay, he grabbed his ninja tool pouch and headed out the door.

Seimei was planning to get something to eat.

However, before he had walked far, someone called out to him.

"Seimei, wait a moment!"

Hearing this, Seimei turned his head and saw a familiar face.

Well, maybe not that familiar.

It was none other than the Jonin Uchiha Chihito, the man who had delivered his compensation when he had just arrived in this world!

Chihito was fortunate to have survived the recent Shinobi World War.

"Chihito?"

Looking at the other party, Seimei asked with a hint of confusion, "Do you need something from me?"

Although Uchiha Chihito was more than a decade older than Seimei, they were technically from the same generation.

Before Seimei had been promoted to Jonin, he had treated Chihito with respect.

But now, he too was a Jonin.

So his tone naturally became less formal.

Uchiha Chihito noticed the shift in Seimei's tone but didn't mind it. He simply said, "Where were you yesterday?"

"Where I was?"

Seimei frowned slightly at the question but quickly relaxed and replied honestly, "I went outside the village to train. Why?"

After all, everyone knew he was a training enthusiast.

There was no need to hide it, so he spoke frankly.

What he cared about was why Chihito was looking for him.

The war had just ended, and everyone was recuperating.

At this time, the clan summoning all the Jonin for a meeting was somewhat unusual.

Seimei pondered in his heart.

Across from him, Uchiha Chihito seemed unsurprised by his answer, his expression showing that it was just as he had expected.

Then, Chihito answered Seimei's question.

"Yesterday, the clan discussed the upcoming Hokage election and wanted to gather everyone's opinions."

Hearing this, Seimei suddenly understood. He immediately asked, "What's the clan's stance now?"

"Most people agree to support Minato Jonin, so the clan has already decided to back him fully in the election for the Fourth Hokage," Chihito replied.

Seimei nodded and said, "I have no objections."

"Alright, I'll relay your opinion to the clan leader," Chihito said.

After that, the two exchanged a few more words before parting ways.

It was clear that Chihito had likely been waiting here specifically for Seimei, perhaps to probe his stance.

From Chihito's tone and demeanor when discussing Namikaze Minato, Seimei could tell that Chihito was a supporter of Minato.

If Seimei had given a different answer earlier, Chihito might have tried to persuade him.

At this thought, Seimei mused, "As expected, Namikaze Minato is more popular!"

Even within the Uchiha clan, so many people supported him. Regardless of their motives, it spoke volumes.

While reflecting on this, Seimei continued walking.

Just like the day before, he found a breakfast stall, filled his stomach, and then left the village.

...

In the sky.

Seimei activated his Byakugan, observing the forest below.

As expected, he saw numerous hidden figures along the way.

These individuals weren't anyone else—they were Root ninjas.

At this moment, they were following him closely, doing their best to keep up.

Seeing this, Seimei thought, "They took the bait!"

With that, he sped up and flew toward the training spot from the previous day as fast as he could.

Soon, the Root ninjas lost sight of him.

Seimei didn't slow down or leave any obvious traces just because the enemy had fallen for his trap.

Doing so would only make Danzo suspicious and serve no purpose.

As the saying goes, "What you can't have is always the most desirable."

Only when they struggled to achieve their goal would they let down their guard to the greatest extent.

In the meantime, all Seimei needed to do was play the role of an arrogant young man.

In other words, he needed to act as though he was aware of someone targeting him but was dismissive of them due to his aerial superiority.