In the next moment, a shadowy figure emerged from underground, silently appearing behind Seimei's shadow clone.
The newcomer wore a black cloak and a mask, with no markings of any ninja village—an unmistakable look for an Anbu ninja.
Seimei turned around, gazing at the figure before speaking in a deep voice, "You're late."
At this, the Iwagakure Anbu replied, "No, I arrived just on time."
The atmosphere suddenly tensed.
The night breeze blew softly as Seimei and the Iwagakure Anbu stood barely two meters apart, staring each other down.
Seconds passed.
After about ten breaths' time, it was the Iwagakure Anbu who lost patience first. He finally spoke, "Dokuya, where's the intel?"
Dokuya?
Seimei was slightly taken aback before quickly realizing that this must be the codename of the Iwagakure spy he was impersonating.
Since the other person used this name, it meant he wasn't an imposter—his identity was genuine.
So, Seimei decided not to dwell on small details about their meeting time. Instead, he reached into his ninja tool pouch, pulled out a scroll, and tossed it a meter away toward the Iwagakure Anbu.
However, the Anbu hesitated.
Through the small eye holes in his mask, Seimei clearly saw a flicker of doubt mixed with wariness in his gaze.
Something's off.
Seimei immediately realized he had made a mistake—something had tipped the other guy off.
With that in mind, he didn't hesitate any longer. He struck first.
Boom!
The ground beneath him exploded as he lunged forward.
In a flash, he was right in front of the Iwagakure Anbu, his right hand forming a blade, wrapped in chakra, slicing straight for his throat.
This was Chakra Scalpel, an A-rank assassination jutsu!
A normal person would've had no time to react.
But this was no ordinary ninja—this was an elite Anbu operative.
The moment Seimei made his move, the Iwagakure Anbu instinctively leaned back, dodging the attack.
He quickly leapt backward several times, putting distance between them.
Not only that, but a thin steel wire shot from his right wrist, wrapping around the scroll mid-air and pulling it back into his grasp.
Even though Seimei had revealed suspicious behavior, the Anbu refused to abandon the scroll.
The reason was simple—he recognized the unique seal on it.
This was a Locking Heart Seal, a secret technique known only to Iwagakure spies. The memories related to this seal were themselves locked, making it impossible for outsiders to steal the technique.
Because of that, he believed there was a chance the scroll contained real intelligence.
And that's also why he became suspicious when Seimei handed it over too easily.
Iwagakure had a strict verification process when exchanging intel—both sides were required to confirm each other's codenames or specific passwords, all of which were sealed with the Locking Heart Seal.
When the Anbu called out Dokuya, it only proved his own identity was correct.
By procedure, Seimei was supposed to reply with his codename for verification.
But because of the seal's effect, Seimei had no memory of that detail—and he slipped up.
Fortunately, he never planned to perfectly impersonate the spy in the first place. His only real concern was Kirigakure's opinion of the mission.
As long as Iwagakure didn't suspect his true identity and trace this back to Kirigakure's Anbu, nothing else mattered.
With that in mind, Seimei charged forward again, aiming to kill.
Seeing this, the Iwagakure Anbu quickly stashed the scroll and tried to retreat using a jutsu.
But before he could finish his hand seals—
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
A sharp sound cut through the air.
The Anbu's instincts screamed at him. He immediately leapt sideways, dodging the incoming attack.
A second later, multiple shuriken whizzed past, slicing through the air right where he had been standing.
If his reaction had been any slower, he would've been wounded.
But this small distraction gave Seimei the chance to close the distance.
Swish!
Another Chakra Scalpel strike slashed toward him.
Sensing the razor-sharp energy from Seimei's palm, the Iwagakure Anbu twisted his body, narrowly dodging.
But Seimei was relentless—after missing one strike, he immediately followed up with another, forcing his opponent into a desperate struggle.
At this point, the Anbu abandoned his escape plan—he had no choice but to fight.
Clang!
The sound of a blade being drawn echoed through the night.
The Iwagakure Anbu, after evading another attack, unsheathed a short sword from his back and thrust it straight at Seimei's heart.
A fatal strike.
But instead of dodging, Seimei continued attacking, his Chakra Scalpel slicing directly at the enemy's throat.
"Something's wrong!"
The Anbu's mind screamed a warning.
Realizing Seimei wasn't even trying to defend, he immediately withdrew his half-thrust sword and twisted his body to dodge while counterattacking.
In a flash, he swung his blade at Seimei's right arm.
Seimei's gaze sharpened.
He had been too aggressive to keep the Anbu from escaping, and now, he couldn't pull his arm back in time.
Rather than endure a pointless injury, he made a decisive choice—
He released the Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Poof!
With a puff of chakra-infused smoke, Seimei vanished.
His attack had missed.
The Iwagakure Anbu frowned in confusion. "A shadow clone?"
He couldn't understand—if the spy was already exposed, why would Kirigakure send a clone instead of the real person? Wouldn't that be riskier?
No matter how he thought about it, he didn't realize there was a third party at play.
Step. Step. Step.
Footsteps echoed.
By the lakeside, the Iwagakure Anbu tensed at the approaching sound and turned toward it.
From the misty forest, a new figure emerged.
Swish!
The sharp ring of a blade being drawn cut through the silence.
A long sword flashed under the moonlight, pointed straight at the Iwagakure Anbu.
The new arrival was none other than Seimei's real body—disguised as a Kirigakure Anbu.