Grind is My Ninja Way

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Over here, Seimei had just finished a day of training according to his adjusted plan. By the evening of the second day, the shadow clone he left behind in the village sent him a message.

The Land of Fire.

The northeastern region.

Deep in that primal forest.

Seimei, who was in the middle of using the "Heart Reflection Technique" to evolve his Sharingan, suddenly froze.

A flicker of confusion passed through his eyes.

Then, he glanced around the surrounding jungle, as if trying to figure out which of his shadow clones had messed up and collapsed, sending its memories back to him.

But soon, he pulled his gaze back.

No need to search—the memories flooding his mind made it clear who they belonged to.

It wasn't one of the nearby shadow clones training in the forest. Instead, it was a message deliberately sent by the shadow clone he'd left stationed in the village.

Once he confirmed the source, Seimei seemed to realize something. He quickly closed his eyes, focusing all his attention to carefully sift through the memories.

Time ticked by, minute by minute.

After several minutes, Seimei finally opened his eyes again.

"It's finally starting, huh?" he murmured under his breath.

A faint sense of relief crossed his face, like the weight of waiting had finally lifted.

That's right—based on the shadow clone's message, it was highly likely that Uzumaki Kushina was about to give birth.

Just moments ago, the Flying Thunder God seal he'd placed on Kakashi had vanished.

At the same time, there was unusual activity among the Anbu ninjas under Hiruzen Sarutobi's command.

All these signs pointed to one thing: the event he'd been waiting for was about to unfold.

And it was time for him to head back.

With that thought, Seimei dispelled his "Multiple Shadow Clone Technique."

In an instant, every shadow clone in the nearby forest dissolved and vanished.

A flood of memories rushed into his mind.

Suppressing the discomfort, Seimei quickly sifted through the memories, absorbing and processing the training experiences they contained.

About ten minutes later, he'd fully digested the memories of his shadow clones.

After organizing his gear, he used the "Flying Thunder God Technique" to teleport directly to a dense forest just outside the Hidden Leaf Village.

"Byakugan!" he muttered silently.

As usual, Seimei activated his Byakugan to scan the surroundings.

Once he confirmed there were no abnormalities, he approached the village.

But the moment he got close, he noticed something off.

Up ahead, on the walls of the Hidden Leaf, the number of ninjas on guard and patrol duty had clearly increased.

Through his Byakugan, Seimei studied their expressions.

Their faces showed obvious tension, and they were on high alert.

Of course, this didn't mean they knew anything specific.

As the village's top secret, even if these ninjas were tasked with heightened security, the higher-ups wouldn't share the full truth with them.

Their unease likely stemmed from the village's recent string of unusual activities, combined with the sudden increase in personnel today. They'd probably guessed something big was about to happen tonight.

That's why they seemed so on edge.

It was the survival instinct of the rank-and-file.

As for why the village was showing such an obvious vulnerability?

Seimei could only chalk it up to the difference in circumstances.

In another timeline, the Hidden Leaf had kept things low-key, maintaining a loose exterior while staying tight on the inside, quietly waiting for Kushina's delivery. That was because they didn't know someone was targeting the Nine-Tails.

But now, since they were aware of the threat, it made sense to leverage their home-field advantage.

Locking down the village was a natural choice.

At the very least, it could deter smaller threats and keep the situation from spiraling completely out of control.

Of course, there was another reason for the village's approach: confidence in their own strength.

Without that, they wouldn't dare be so bold.

These thoughts flashed through Seimei's mind, but he quickly reined them in. Activating his "Ama no Miya" technique, he slipped through the village walls and the sensory barrier, entering the Hidden Leaf.

From there, he made his way straight home.

The moment he stepped inside, he used the "Spirit Transformation Technique" to enhance his sensory abilities, reaching out to locate the Nine-Tails from a distance.

Thanks to his familiarity with tailed beast chakra and the chakra of a jinchuriki, he quickly locked onto his target.

"Huh, there of all places?" Seimei muttered, opening his eyes.

Then, with a hint of amazement, he added, "They've got some guts, I'll give them that!"

That's right—the Nine-Tails' location wasn't some hidden hideout. It was right in Hiruzen Sarutobi's residence, a place Seimei had visited not long ago.

He hadn't expected the Hidden Leaf to pull such a bold move, hiding her in plain sight.

After all, the former Hokage's residence wasn't exactly a secret. Anyone determined enough could find it without much trouble.

Placing the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki there? No wonder Seimei thought they were being daring.

But then—

Mid-thought, Seimei suddenly remembered something from his shadow clone's memories: Hiruzen's Anbu weren't at the residence.

He closed his eyes again, sensing their locations.

Soon, using the Flying Thunder God seals, he confirmed their positions. They weren't at Hiruzen's estate but in another hidden underground location.

"Building a decoy to hide the real move?" Seimei thought, catching on immediately.

The more he considered it, the more likely it seemed.

After all, if the enemy couldn't pinpoint Kushina's exact location, the heavily guarded underground hideout would seem like the obvious choice.

If an enemy showed up, that's probably where they'd go first.

And who's to say the Hidden Leaf hadn't set traps there, waiting for someone to walk right into them?

Taking it a step further, the village might have prepared more than just these two locations. There could be a third, maybe even a fourth backup spot.

That way, even if both places were compromised, Minato Namikaze could use his Flying Thunder God Technique to whisk Kushina away in an instant.

"Should I look into it?" Seimei wondered briefly.

But he quickly dismissed the idea.

In a situation like this, any move he made—successful or not—would draw the attention of the village's higher-ups.

This time, he planned to play the oriole, not the cicada. He wasn't about to clear the path for Obito Uchiha.

Let Obito test whatever traps the Hidden Leaf had in store.

With that, Seimei refocused and closed his eyes again, sensing the Nine-Tails' state.

Since he knew Kushina's seal would weaken during childbirth, all he had to do was keep tabs on the Nine-Tails' movements to gauge how things were progressing.

After being sealed for so long, there was no way the Nine-Tails would stay quiet when it sensed an opportunity. It was bound to cause some trouble the moment the seal loosened.

By monitoring the Nine-Tails' activity, Seimei could easily figure out how far things had progressed and decide whether to act.

He was mentally patting himself on the back for his clever plan when things took an unexpected turn.

As he was sensing the Nine-Tails, the beast—capable of detecting malice and hostility—picked up on his presence through some faint connection.

In the next moment, a malicious roar erupted in his ears, nearly bursting his eardrums.

At the same time, the overwhelming pressure unique to the Nine-Tails slammed into his mind.

Instinctively, Seimei dropped the enhanced sensory state of the Spirit Transformation Technique.

"Damn it, I messed up!" he cursed under his breath, quickly dispelling the technique entirely.

He'd been so focused on monitoring the Nine-Tails that he hadn't considered the beast could trace the connection back to him.

It caught him completely off guard.

If that was all, it wouldn't be a big deal.

The real problem was that the Nine-Tails' outburst was bound to draw attention.

Even if no one else noticed, Kushina, as the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki, would definitely sense something was wrong.

Seimei could practically picture the chaos unfolding at Hiruzen's residence right now.

And sure enough, just as he'd feared, a commotion had already erupted at the former Hokage's estate.