"Lord Jiraiya!"
As soon as Uchiha Shisui appeared, he gave a slight bow to Jiraiya in respect.
Jiraiya nodded back, clearly familiar with the young prodigy of the Uchiha clan, despite spending much of his time away from the village.
But his attention quickly shifted back to Seimei. "Can you tell me who you are?" he asked. "From the way you fought those guys earlier, it doesn't seem like you have a grudge against Konoha. So, what's your goal?"
Seimei was quietly surprised by Jiraiya's words.
The legendary Sannin wasn't as confrontational as he'd expected.
Then again, it made sense. Jiraiya might come off as a bit foolish at times, but he had a knack for seeing through things—a kind of intuitive wisdom. Once he set his mind to something, no matter how tough the road, he'd stick to it.
And his instincts were scarily sharp.
Coupled with his vast combat experience, it wasn't surprising that he'd picked up on some clues about Seimei's identity.
It wasn't just Jiraiya, either. Shisui likely had his own suspicions about Seimei's identity.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have stayed on the sidelines during the earlier fight.
Given the tense relationship between the Uchiha clan and the village, exposing Seimei's identity in front of everyone could've sparked immediate conflict.
And when the Nine-Tails went berserk, with the Sharingan reflected in its pupils, the Uchiha clan would've been in deep trouble, unable to clear their name.
Luckily, Seimei had acted swiftly, suppressing the Nine-Tails before anyone else could react, leaving no room for others to intervene.
If he hadn't, things wouldn't have gone so smoothly.
These thoughts raced through Seimei's mind as he shifted his gaze from Shisui back to Jiraiya.
With a chuckle, he replied, "Haha, Lord Jiraiya, you've got a sharp eye. I don't have any beef with Konoha. As for my goal? Well, you saw it—it's the Nine-Tails."
Jiraiya's expression didn't change much at Seimei's words. He pressed on, "That power you used to suppress the Nine-Tails—was that Wood Release? And where'd you learn your Sage Mode?"
At that, Orochimaru licked his lips, his gaze on Seimei growing even more intense.
Shisui's eyes flickered slightly as well.
Clearly, they'd both noticed something odd about Seimei's power, though they hadn't connected it to Sage Mode.
Well, Orochimaru might've simply not made the connection, while Shisui likely didn't know what Sage Mode looked like in action.
After all, aside from Orochimaru, Jiraiya's old teammate, only a handful of enemies had ever seen Jiraiya use Sage Mode. It was no surprise Shisui was in the dark.
Ignoring their reactions, Seimei thought to himself, As expected, he noticed.
Once he'd realized [/confirmed that one of the hidden figures was Jiraiya, he'd figured his half-baked Sage Mode wouldn't stay hidden.
For someone like Jiraiya, who also wielded Sage Mode, the unique blend of chakra and natural energy was too distinct to miss.
But explanations could wait.
Seimei glanced subtly at the group of Konoha ninja approaching in the distance and said with a grin, "Self-taught, of course."
With that, he thrust both arms forward.
In an instant, his arms transformed into dozens of emerald-green vines, snapping toward the trio like venomous snakes.
But these three were no ordinary Jonin. The moment Seimei moved, they reacted.
Shisui drew his short sword with a sharp clang, channeling Wind Release chakra into the blade, making it glow with a faint green light. With a dancer's grace, he wove through the vines, slicing them into pieces with deadly precision.
Orochimaru, meanwhile, unleashed a B-rank ninjutsu—Hidden Shadow Snake Hands. Several serpents slithered from his arms, coiling around the incoming vines.
As for Jiraiya, his approach was straightforward. He quickly formed hand signs, took a deep breath, and unleashed Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique. A roaring fire dragon spiraled toward the vines, incinerating them.
One against three, Seimei's vines, even powered by Sage chakra, were no match without additional ninjutsu.
But that wasn't his goal.
He wasn't trying to defeat them—just escape the situation.
Taking advantage of their focus on the vines, Seimei channeled chakra to his legs, enhancing his muscles, and used the Body Flicker Technique to bolt toward the village's outskirts at breakneck speed.
Seeing this, Jiraiya cut off his ninjutsu and prepared to give chase.
While Seimei's actions didn't seem malicious, the Nine-Tails was Konoha's property and a strategic weapon. There was no way Jiraiya could let it fall into outsider hands.
But as he moved, he sensed danger.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several snakes lunged at him from the side.
Jiraiya dodged with a quick leap backward, his face darkening as he turned to Orochimaru. "Why, Orochimaru? Aren't you afraid of the village catching you?"
"Ha ha ha!" Orochimaru let out his signature eerie laugh, shrugging. "Let's talk about that when you actually catch me!"
As he spoke, his arms shot forward again, summoning more snakes to strike at Jiraiya.
Shisui, seeing this, put some distance between himself and Orochimaru. "I'll go after him," he called to Jiraiya before speeding off in Seimei's direction.
His speed was just a bit faster than Seimei's.
Jiraiya let out a small sigh of relief, then focused entirely on Orochimaru.
As for Orochimaru, he didn't try to stop Shisui's pursuit.
In fact, a strange glint flickered in his eyes as he watched Shisui go, as if anticipating something.
What exactly he was expecting, no one knew.
Just like no one knew why he'd chosen to help Seimei by holding Jiraiya back.
Not even Seimei himself understood.
He'd expected all three to chase him, even prepared to risk exposing more of his abilities by using the Flying Thunder God Technique to escape.
But to his surprise, only Shisui was in pursuit.
"Well, this works out," Seimei thought. "Maybe I can use this chance to finish my incomplete plans."
With a quick hand sign, he performed the Wood Clone Technique.
Two wooden clones split off from him, and using the cover of a large tree, each took a different direction, speeding away.
Seeing Seimei split into three, Shisui didn't hesitate. He used the Shadow Clone Technique, creating two clones of his own to chase after Seimei and his clones.