A few breaths later, Seimei's figure appeared silently on the lakeshore.
He watched the group of Mist Anbu heading off into the distance, his eyes flickering slightly. After a brief pause, he activated the "Heavenly Control" ability again.
Just like that, Seimei stayed hidden in the shadows, quietly trailing behind the Mist Anbu as they pursued the Iwa ninja.
As he'd expected, anyone bold enough to sneak into the Mist Village at a time like this had to have some serious skills. He'd already tested the guy's combat ability head-on. While he didn't know much about their ninjutsu or genjutsu skills yet, their taijutsu alone was solid—definitely not weak among elite jonin.
At the very least, without using his Sharingan, Seimei couldn't take them down quickly. And this was coming from someone who'd mastered several sword techniques to perfection. That alone said a lot.
As for ninjutsu and genjutsu? Well, he'd find out soon enough.
Through his Byakugan, he could see the Iwa Anbu hiding underwater. The ninja raised his hands, first casting "Shadow Clone Jutsu" to create a clone. Then, the clone formed seals and unleashed a water-style ninjutsu.
Splash!
A huge surge of water gathered, forming a massive ring-shaped wave on the lake's surface that crashed toward the nearby Mist Anbu.
"Watch out!"
One of the Mist Anbu spotted the anomaly first and shouted a warning.
Most of them quickly retreated beyond the jutsu's range, but a few stayed put. They each cast a defensive water-style ninjutsu, blocking the wave's impact. Then, in unison, they turned their eyes to the center of the wave, like they were waiting for something.
Sure enough, just as they'd hoped, once the wave passed, an Iwa Anbu burst out of the water and bolted into the distance.
The few who'd stayed behind didn't hesitate—they took off after him. At the same time, about half of the outer Mist Anbu followed suit.
Why only half? Simple. These battle-hardened Mist Anbu were wary of falling for a diversion tactic. So, they left some behind to keep searching the lake.
And they were right to be cautious. The one who'd just fled was only a shadow clone. The real Iwa Anbu was still underwater.
After about two minutes—once he figured his clone had gotten far enough—he quietly swam to the surface. But even with the mist as cover, the Mist Anbu spotted him instantly. No surprise there—they had a sensory ninja in their ranks.
The moment the sensory ninja pinpointed him, the rest of the Mist Anbu swarmed in his direction.
Seeing this, the Iwa Anbu backpedaled while forming seals. Just before they could fully surround him, he unleashed a ninjutsu: "Water Release: Mist Hiding Technique!"
Watching the thick white fog spread around, Seimei muttered to himself, "Just as I thought!"
This guy had come to the Mist Village on a mission, and sure enough, he'd brought a ninjutsu perfectly suited for the job. In an environment like this, that technique was a game-changer. Once cast, it didn't just block vision—it messed with perception too.
Even Seimei's Byakugan was slightly disrupted by the chakra-heavy mist. Still, thanks to the Flying Thunder God mark, he could lock onto the guy's position crystal clear.
Seimei circled around, stepping boldly right behind the outermost Mist Anbu. Then he dropped "Heavenly Control," revealing himself.
Feeling someone suddenly appear behind him, the Mist Anbu jolted in surprise. Almost on instinct, he stepped forward and stabbed backward with a kunai, aiming straight for Seimei's carotid artery.
But Seimei flashed to the side, dodging the attack effortlessly. Before the ninja could strike again, Seimei cut in, "It's me!"
He was still disguised as a Mist Anbu, so when the guy heard his voice and caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of his eye, his next attack faltered for a split second. And when he tried to get a better look, a pair of blood-red Sharingan eyes stared back at him.
"Crap!"
In an instant, the Mist Anbu realized something was off.
He tried to resist, but it was too late. In a flash, Seimei dragged his consciousness into a genjutsu.
Seimei didn't stop there. He raised a hand, planting a Flying Thunder God mark on the ninja. Then he cast "Transcription Seal," embedding a genjutsu that would "activate the Flying Thunder God mark" into the guy's body.
The trigger? Simple: when he finds the Three-Tails.
That way, if this Anbu got assigned that mission and tracked down the Three-Tails, the genjutsu would kick in, forcing him to activate the mark. Seimei would sense it immediately and could decide whether to teleport over on the spot.
But he wasn't done. To make sure his identity stayed hidden after the seal triggered, he hit the guy with a second "Transcription Seal." This time, he planted the "Heart Lock Seal," set to activate right after the Flying Thunder God mark.
What did it seal? Everything about Seimei.
With that, he wouldn't have to worry about his cover being blown.
Sensing the two "Transcription Seals" in the ninja's body and confirming they were working fine, Seimei let out a quiet breath of relief. He'd been a little worried about whether someone could handle two seals at once. Now he had his answer: yes, at least as long as they didn't clash.
More testing might be needed for other scenarios, but that'd have to wait—assuming he still felt like bothering with it later.
Pulling his thoughts together, Seimei stopped overthinking. He activated his Mangekyo Sharingan one last time, using its genjutsu to wipe the past dozen seconds from the ninja's memory.
Yep, just a dozen seconds. The whole thing sounded long, but it all went down in that tiny window. Most of that time was spent on the "Heart Lock Seal" since he'd only just learned it and needed a moment to pull it off. Otherwise, it would've been even faster.
A mere dozen seconds of memory? With a little nudge, he could make the guy brush it off entirely.
Snap!
Seimei snapped his fingers, then triggered "Heavenly Control" again, vanishing from the scene.
Three seconds later, the Mist Anbu jolted awake like he'd been shocked, coming to his senses.
To an outsider, it might've looked odd. But the guy himself didn't notice a thing. He scanned the area and smoothly picked up his search like nothing had happened—like Seimei had never even been there.
And truth be told, he had forgotten Seimei entirely.
That's what Seimei called fishing in murky waters!