Late into the night.
Inside the wooden house.
Seimei was resting, fast asleep.
Suddenly, a surge of memories, along with a burst of chakra, flowed back into his body.
Seimei jolted awake.
In a flash, he sat up in bed, instinctively scanning his surroundings to ensure nothing was amiss. Only then did he let his consciousness sink into the sudden influx of memories.
Time ticked by, second by second.
It took a full half-hour before he opened his eyes again.
A sharp glint flickered in his gaze.
A smile spread across Seimei's face.
Why? Because just moments ago, the wooden clone he'd sent to infiltrate the Hidden Mist Village had dispelled itself, relaying a critical piece of information.
And the content of that message? It was about the Three-Tails.
According to the latest intel, that morning, the Hidden Mist Village had confirmed the Three-Tails had been resurrected and had narrowed down its general location.
Now, Yagura Karatachi, the Mizukage, had dispatched several Anbu teams to track down its exact position.
If Seimei wanted to avoid clashing with the Hidden Mist, he'd need to find the Three-Tails before they did and whisk it away.
Sitting on his bed, Seimei mulled it over for a moment before making up his mind—let's do this!
Wasting no time, he got up, gathered his gear, and cast the Flying Thunder God Technique, teleporting straight into the Land of Water.
Using the intel from his wooden clone, he honed in on the positions of the Anbu ninja searching for the Three-Tails.
His earlier preparations paid off. Among the ninja Yagura had sent, one of them carried Seimei's Sealed Heart, Bound Soul: Instant Teleportation Mark.
Through this mark, he easily pinpointed their locations.
To avoid tipping them off, though, he didn't teleport directly to the marked ninja. Instead, he cast Wind Release: Wings of Wind and took to the skies.
Under the cover of night, he slipped effortlessly into their search area.
The area was a vast lake, its depths unknown.
According to the Hidden Mist's initial findings, the resurrected Three-Tails was hiding somewhere in these waters.
Given the Three-Tails' giant turtle form, the environment here was actually pretty perfect for it.
Hovering high above, Seimei glanced down, his sharp senses instantly locking onto the positions of most of the Hidden Mist Anbu.
But the Three-Tails' exact location? That was still a mystery.
After a brief moment of thought, he picked an open spot and descended.
Without hesitation, he activated his Byakugan.
Instantly, everything within a two-kilometer radius came into view.
Focusing his attention on the underwater area, Seimei scanned carefully.
Thanks to the Byakugan's unparalleled vision, it didn't take long for him to locate the Three-Tails.
The Hidden Mist's intel was spot-on. The Three-Tails was indeed hiding at the bottom of the lake, fast asleep.
But it seemed his probing had stirred it. The beast was now awake, its massive single eye scanning the surroundings and the lake's surface.
Noticing this, Seimei withdrew his gaze.
Taking a deep breath, he dove straight into the lake.
Thanks to his past training, using the ocean's pressure to strengthen his body, he could now move underwater for extended periods without worrying about breathing.
With his current strength, there was no need for sneaky tactics. He could simply dive to the lakebed, find the Three-Tails, and capture it.
---
In the lake's depths.
Seimei moved with purpose, swimming directly toward the Three-Tails' hiding spot.
The beast, perhaps sensing danger from his earlier probing, was growing restless, its chakra leaking out slightly.
And since the Hidden Mist had sent teams to hunt the Three-Tails, they'd naturally included sensory ninja.
These ninja picked up on the Three-Tails' chakra and alerted the others. The entire group converged on its location.
Seimei noticed their movements.
But he wasn't too concerned.
Capturing the Three-Tails wouldn't require a fight.
So, no matter how fast they moved, they wouldn't beat him to it.
With that thought in mind, Seimei refocused. He was now less than 500 meters from the Three-Tails.
It was time to get serious.
Without hesitation, he activated his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and triggered Ama no Miya, cloaking himself in invisibility.
He swam forward, arriving right in front of the Three-Tails.
The beast was even more agitated now than before.
Visible strands of crimson chakra seeped from its body, exerting immense pressure on the surrounding waters.
Clearly, it no longer cared about staying hidden—it just wanted to find whatever was making it uneasy, namely Seimei.
But too bad for it—that wasn't going to happen.
With Ama no Miya active, even standing right in front of the Three-Tails, it couldn't see him.
Seimei observed the massive, armored, spike-covered beast for a moment before adjusting his position to its right side, just out of its line of sight.
Then, he silently deactivated Ama no Miya.
His presence immediately appeared in the area.
Sensing him, the Three-Tails whipped its head around.
This was the moment Seimei had been waiting for. The instant their eyes met, he activated his Mangekyō Sharingan, casting Genjutsu: Sharingan.
The overwhelming power of his eyes gave him unmatched control over genjutsu. The moment the Three-Tails realized something was wrong, it was already frozen in place.
Without wasting a second, Seimei flashed forward, landing on the Three-Tails' back.
Crouching down, he placed his right hand on its shell, channeling chakra to envelop the beast entirely.
"Let's go!"
With a soft shout, Seimei activated the Flying Thunder God Technique.
His chakra surged out like a floodgate opening. In an instant, he and the beast vanished, leaving only a rush of water collapsing into the void they'd left behind, forming a swirling vortex.
A few moments later, several figures fought through the vortex to reach the scene.
Dressed in black robes and wearing masks, they were the Hidden Mist Anbu who'd been searching the area.
"Where's the Three-Tails?" the leader demanded, staring at the empty lakebed.
One of the Anbu formed a hand sign, closed their eyes, and seemed to sense something.
After a moment, they opened their eyes and said coldly, "Captain, the Three-Tails was here just a moment ago, but it's gone now."
"Gone? What do you mean?" the Anbu captain pressed.
"Exactly what I said. It's like someone took it. There's a trace of an unfamiliar ninja's chakra here. It seems they unleashed a massive burst of chakra and vanished with the Three-Tails."
"Vanished together? Space-time ninjutsu?" the captain asked.
"Maybe," the sensory ninja replied, sounding uncertain.