When it came to picking someone for the "eye position," just as Seimei had mentioned earlier, he'd already made up his mind.
It didn't take long for him to reach the area near Minato Namikaze's house.
Pausing his steps, Seimei didn't rashly activate his Byakugan. Instead, he relied on his own sensory abilities to scope out the surroundings.
It was around one or two in the afternoon, and Minato was still working at the Hokage's office, so only Kushina Uzumaki was home.
But outside her house, there was another figure keeping watch in the shadows.
The person wore a black cloak and a mask—clearly an ANBU ninja.
To most people, this guy might've been a mystery, but that distinctive silver hair gave him away.
Yup, it was none other than Kakashi Hatake.
And he was exactly who Seimei had in mind for the "eye position."
After all, Kakashi was handpicked by Minato himself to guard Kushina ever since she got pregnant. He'd been by her side the whole time, knowing her every move like the back of his hand.
In a situation like this, Kakashi was hands-down the best choice for the role.
As for how to take him down quietly? Well, Seimei could only say that even among elite ninjas, there's a gap in skill.
Kakashi's strength hadn't yet reached the level of an elite Jōnin like he would years later. But even if it had, he wouldn't be a match for Seimei now.
Because Seimei's power had long surpassed that of a Jōnin—heck, even a Kage.
Sure, in a covert operation like this, he couldn't go all out, but even a fraction of his strength was more than enough to handle Kakashi.
As Seimei was mulling this over, Kakashi, in the distance, seemed to sense his gaze and suddenly turned his head.
But he saw nothing.
Under his mask, Kakashi's brow furrowed slightly.
Just to be safe, he lifted the Leaf headband covering his left eye, activating his Sharingan to carefully scan the area.
Still, nothing.
"Am I just on edge, imagining things?" Kakashi wondered to himself.
You couldn't blame him for thinking that. These past few days, he'd been under a lot of pressure.
It was pretty much confirmed that someone was targeting the Nine-Tails. Just a few days ago, that person had even infiltrated the village and briefly clashed with other ANBU members.
The pressure on Kakashi was no joke.
He'd asked Minato before if they should beef up security to protect Kushina, but Minato had shot the idea down.
According to Minato, he had full confidence in Kakashi's abilities.
Kakashi didn't really buy it.
He knew his limits and understood that Minato's words were partly out of trust.
But more likely, the higher-ups in the village were using him as bait to lure out the enemy.
After all, there's no such thing as guarding against a thief forever—better to catch them in the act.
The whole village was racking their brains on how to nab this guy, and Kakashi was the perfect lure.
He carried the special kunai Minato had given him. One activation, and his sensei would come running.
If the enemy came for him, the village was confident they could take them down.
But so far, that enemy hadn't shown up.
Kakashi was a little disappointed, to be honest.
Seimei had no clue what was going through Kakashi's head. If he did, he'd probably scoff. In this situation, expecting Obito Uchiha to confront Kakashi was a pipe dream.
As someone who'd watched Rin Nohara die by Kakashi's hand, it was impossible for Obito to feel no resentment toward him.
But at the same time, he couldn't let go of their old friendship.
That left Obito with some seriously mixed feelings, so naturally, he avoided Kakashi altogether.
Unless it was absolutely necessary, Obito wasn't going to face him.
You had to hand it to Minato—making Kakashi Kushina's guard was a genius move. It indirectly made her a lot safer.
If it had been anyone else, Seimei figured Obito would've already taken control of them, turning them into his pawn.
But this setup worked out perfectly for Seimei.
If there'd been others around, he might've had trouble making a move. But with just Kakashi? He was confident he could plant something on him without a hitch.
With that thought, Seimei activated his Ama no Go ability and closed in.
Before Kakashi could pull his headband back down to cover his left eye, Seimei appeared right in front of him, disguised as Obito Uchiha.
Kakashi's expression shifted instantly. His first instinct was to close his eyes to avoid eye contact.
From past encounters, the Leaf had learned a thing or two.
At the very least, they knew Obito had a Mangekyō Sharingan with some seriously powerful genjutsu.
So, they'd specifically instructed ANBU to be extra cautious when facing him.
Kakashi reacted by trying to close his eyes.
But while he was fast, he wasn't fast enough.
The moment their eyes met, Seimei used genjutsu to pull Kakashi's consciousness into an illusion.
Everything Kakashi did after that—every reaction—was just part of the illusion.
Looking at Kakashi, who was barely moving, Seimei formed hand signs and cast Transcription Seal, embedding a Flying Thunder God mark into Kakashi's body.
Once the Transcription Seal activated, the mark would vanish on its own.
The condition for activation was simple: either Kushina was moved, or it became clear she was about to give birth.
When that mark disappeared, Seimei would know it was go-time.
Why not use something more extreme, like the Heart-Sealing Soul Lock: Contract Instant Teleportation Seal he'd used on others?
Well, for one, they were both Leaf ninjas, and Seimei didn't have any beef with Kakashi. Plus, he actually kinda liked the guy, so he didn't want to go too hard.
And there was the secrecy angle.
After this whole thing went down, the Leaf would definitely investigate everything tied to it. If Seimei left too obvious a trace, someone might catch on.
That was the last thing he wanted.
So, he went with a subtler approach.
With just the Flying Thunder God mark and the Transcription Seal, both would disappear quickly once activated.
Even if Kakashi realized he'd been tampered with later, he wouldn't be able to figure out what happened.
That reduced the risk big time.
All these thoughts flashed through Seimei's mind as he used his Mangekyō Sharingan's genjutsu again, erasing the last ten seconds or so of Kakashi's memory.
Then, he activated Ama no Go and vanished.
A few moments later, Kakashi snapped out of it. The time was so short, and the genjutsu's influence so subtle, that he didn't notice anything off.
From a distance, Seimei watched as Kakashi continued where he'd left off, pulling his headband down to cover his left eye.
Then, he went right back to his guard duties, focused as ever.
Seeing this, Seimei nodded, satisfied.
Good thing Kakashi hadn't mastered the Mangekyō Sharingan yet, or this wouldn't have been so easy.