Yuki Seisui's voice rang out loudly. Anyone could hear the resentment, fury, and killing intent within it.
"We've been discovered." Chinzu's expression changed instantly. He pulled out a kunai from the ninja pouch on his back.
"Everyone, attack together!"
As he spoke, he hurled the kunai in his hand. At the same time, he retreated backward—only to crash into someone behind him. The two of them tumbled to the ground together.
"What are you doing?!"
Only then did Chinzu realize that, aside from his wife, none of the people around him had made a move at all. He immediately barked at them in reprimand.
While scolding his companions, his eyes remained locked tightly onto Yuki Seisui and the other two.
"Ghost of the Konoha!"
"We won't be going back alive!" One of the companions dropped to his knees, crying uncontrollably.
"What?!" Chinzu was horrified, staring at the three before him in disbelief.
Bainai wore nearly the same expression, looking at Yuki Seisui as if he couldn't believe his eyes.
Up in the tree, Yuki Seisui watched as Chinzu's and Bainai's kunai flew toward him. He let out a cold snort. A white radiance surfaced around his body; his hair rapidly turned red, and dark markings appeared around his eyes.
He didn't dodge at all.
The two kunai struck his body and produced a crisp clang like metal colliding with steel, before being bounced away.
Yuki Seisui's golden eyes looked down at the people below. From his half-crouched position on the tree branch, he slowly stood up.
"My morning temper," he said calmly, "is very bad."
His expression was emotionless, yet within his golden pupils, an intricate pattern emerged.
A flash of gold-red brilliance swept out.
The people below froze completely, no longer able to move at all.
"Sink into the world of genjutsu."
Although Yuki Seisui was furious, he still understood priorities.
These people were clearly here to do something bad.
Controlling them with genjutsu and then handing them over to Jiraiya was the best option.
But the two who threw kunai at me… must die.
As the thought crossed his mind, Chinzu and Bainai—already stiff under the genjutsu—collapsed straight to the ground.
"Seisui, you've really grown up." Minato, watching from the side, gave Yuki Seisui a thumbs-up.
"You actually only killed two!"
Yuki Seisui glanced at him. "What do you mean, 'I've grown up'?"
"You wouldn't have done this before."
As Minato spoke, he imitated Yuki Seisui's posture, looking downward with a stiff face and an indifferent tone:
"You have already earned death. Such crimes deserve execution."
While speaking, Minato made a few swift slashing gestures with the kunai in his hand toward the ground, then returned to his normal self.
"Something like that."
"The old you wouldn't have left anyone alive."
Aside from silence, he had nothing to say.
Nearby, Uchiha Haru watched the two of them, the wariness in her eyes deepening even further.
Minato… your understanding of Seisui is deeper than mine.
But I won't let you succeed.
As she thought this, a red glint flashed through Uchiha Haru's eyes, appearing especially eerie in the night.
Anyone who tries to take Seisui away from me will pay the price.
The red glow in Uchiha Haru's eyes went unnoticed by both Yuki Seisui and Minato.
The two of them were looking down at the remaining Sunagakure ninja who were still alive. Yuki Seisui exited Sage Mode, though his Mangekyo did not close.
"You can sleep," Yuki Seisui said. "I'll go find Jiraiya-sensei."
"Alright." Minato nodded and directly slipped into his own large tent.
Seeing this, Yuki Seisui couldn't help but say, "You don't need to rush. That tent only has you living in it anyway."
From inside the tent, Minato suddenly stuck his head out and looked at Yuki Seisui.
"You're actually quite nice—when you don't talk."
With that, he pulled his head back in.
Yuki Seisui shook his head helplessly, then looked at Uchiha Haru.
"You should go back and sleep too."
"I can handle things here."
Hearing this, Uchiha Haru shook her head. "I can't sleep anymore. I'll go with you."
"Sure." Yuki Seisui nodded.
He wasn't sleepy either—otherwise, he could've just left this trivial matter to Minato.
"Then let's go find Jiraiya-sensei."
As he spoke, Yuki Seisui jumped down from the tree and headed toward Jiraiya's location.
Uchiha Haru followed, landing beside him.
Behind the two of them trailed six or seven Sunagakure ninja, all moving stiffly like puppets.
The Konoha ninja who were on patrol noticed figures approaching the main camp and immediately called out in alert, their voices carrying far into the distance and reaching Yuki Seisui's ears.
"It's me."
Yuki Seisui used Body Flicker and appeared instantly in front of them.
Looking at the Konoha ninja who had been startled by his sudden appearance—yet still maintained their guard despite knowing he was far stronger—Yuki Seisui nodded in satisfaction.
He had just emerged from the small forest with his captives, and these Konoha ninja had immediately noticed and gone on alert.
Even after he appeared right in front of them, they didn't relax their vigilance.
That level of alertness was commendable.
Once they recognized Yuki Seisui, the Konoha ninja finally let out sighs of relief.
Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't have known him—after all, he hadn't appeared in front of them before.
But thanks to Asami Cloud, they had all seen portraits of Yuki Seisui, so there was no issue of not recognizing him.
The ninja leading the team respectfully asked, "Seisui-sama, it's very late. May we ask what's going on?"
"Mm."
Yuki Seisui nodded. "Someone tried to launch a sneak attack just now. I dealt with them—killed two, captured several others. I'm taking them to the commander."
As he spoke, Uchiha Haru arrived as well, bringing over the Sunagakure ninja who were still under genjutsu control.
"Continue your patrols. I'll report to the him myself."
Yuki Seisui did not directly call Jiraiya by name in front of them, nor did he call him sensei. Instead, he used his official title.
When outside, one must address people by their positions—this was a principle he understood well.
Which also meant that old man Jiraiya couldn't go around calling him "brat" or "little punk" either.
He should properly address him as jonin Yuki.
Looking at Uchiha Haru's expressionless face, then at the puppet-like Sunagakure ninja behind her, the leading Konoha ninja swallowed hard and led his team away.
After they had gone some distance, one of the team members finally spoke with a trembling voice:
"Just now… Seisui-sama's eyes scared me to death."
"Just looking at them felt cold and terrifying."
"That must be the legendary Mangekyo Sharingan," the leader said, his own voice tinged with fear.
"To think we actually made eye contact with those legendary eyes… and survived."
As he spoke, the leader patted his chest proudly. "I can brag about this when I get back!"
"Not only did we see Seisui-sama with our own eyes, we even saw the legendary Mangekyo Sharingan—and lived to tell the tale!"
"Yeah, yeah! I'll say the same!"
"Me too!"
"What a great idea!"
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Completed version available on Patreon P@treon(.)com/Veltoria