Snapping out of his thoughts, Seimei didn't dwell any longer.
He turned and left the area, casting the Transformation Technique to disguise himself as an ordinary civilian. Then, he made his way straight to the residence of the former Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
That's right—relying solely on Kakashi as a single "point of observation" wasn't enough for him to feel secure.
In his memories from another timeline, the person tasked with assisting Uzumaki Kushina during her childbirth was Sarutobi Hiruzen's wife, Sarutobi Biwako. The security detail, meanwhile, consisted of Anbu directly under Hiruzen's command.
Seimei had no intention of targeting Biwako. But those Anbu ninjas? He planned to leave a few subtle contingencies on them.
This way, whether they were killed by Uchiha Obito or noticed anything unusual, Seimei would know immediately and could react accordingly. Plus, by tracking their movements, he could pinpoint Kushina's location.
Not that the latter was all that critical. With his "Mental" attribute at 29 points—soon to hit 30—and his perception enhanced by the Spiritualization Technique, Seimei could easily lock onto Kushina's position given even a little leeway. He wasn't worried about losing track of her.
As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Seimei arrived near his destination.
Standing at a distance, he activated the "Will of Heaven" and observed Hiruzen's mansion, carefully studying the surrounding guards.
Unlike Minato Namikaze, who came from a commoner background, Hiruzen hailed from the Sarutobi clan—one of the prominent families in Konoha. His mansion was far grander and more luxurious than Minato's modern apartment, and naturally, it was much more heavily guarded.
In just a short while, Seimei spotted over a dozen guards, both out in the open and hidden in the shadows.
After some thought, he decided to hold off for now. While the "Will of Heaven" was great for concealing his presence, taking action against so many people at once risked exposing himself.
Seimei didn't want any slip-ups, so he figured it'd be better to come back at night.
With that in mind, he turned and left.
He made his way back home, and with nothing urgent on his plate, Seimei plopped down on a recliner in his courtyard. Gazing up at the clear blue sky, he let himself relax.
Time slipped by like a fleeting shadow, and before he knew it, the afternoon was gone.
Night fell.
After grabbing dinner at the "Food Street," Seimei wandered around for a bit. When the time felt right, he headed back to Hiruzen's mansion.
He waited outside a little longer until the night grew pitch-black. Then, he made his move.
The operation itself was a breeze—given his current strength and skills, failure was out of the question. In less than half an hour, he'd planted four contingencies.
Most of that time was spent waiting for the perfect moment. The actual execution? Often less than a minute per target.
Just like with Kakashi, he didn't use the "Heart-Sealing Soul Contract Instant Teleportation Mark." Instead, he opted for the Transcription Seal, embedding a Flying Thunder God mark into their bodies.
The difference was that these seals were set to activate under specific conditions: either seeing Uchiha Obito or being attacked by him. That way, if the Flying Thunder God marks vanished, Seimei would know Obito had made his move, allowing him to plan his next steps.
Using his Sharingan's genjutsu, Seimei erased the memories of the Konoha Anbu in front of him, activated the "Will of Heaven," and vanished from sight.
He observed from a distance for a bit, confirming the Anbu hadn't noticed anything unusual, then moved on to his next target.
Over the next hour or so, Seimei tracked down ten targets in total, planting Transcription Seals on each before calling it a night.
From afar, he sensed their positions and nodded to himself. "This should be enough."
Of the ten, seven were Anbu under Hiruzen's command, and three were Sarutobi clan ninjas. With this setup, whenever Hiruzen made a move—whether using his Anbu or his clan members—Seimei was highly likely to get wind of it.
At this point in time, anyone guarding Hiruzen was bound to be one of his trusted confidants. When he mobilized his forces, at least a few of these ten would likely be involved, giving Seimei insight into his plans.
With that, Seimei turned his attention away and didn't linger. He flashed back home.
Once there, he didn't bother with anything else. He headed straight to his bedroom and settled in for some rest. Soon, the faint sound of his snoring filled the room.
The night passed quietly.
---
The next day.
Early morning.
Seimei woke up bright and early. After leaving a shadow clone at home, he teleported back to Moon Island.
Even though only a day had passed, returning here got him a little excited. Seimei realized he'd grown fond of this feeling—training alone, steadily growing stronger.
Sure, days like these were tough, sometimes monotonous and dull. But honestly? If he could, he'd love for them to go on forever.
Here, he didn't have to overthink or deal with social obligations. He could just follow his plan, do his thing, and wait for the results.
Speaking of plans, Seimei opened his status panel for a quick look. After the previous week's training, his Sharingan's evolution had reached (19,935/100,000). At this rate, he'd break through the (20,000/100,000) milestone in just two days.
Once that happened, his "Mental" attribute would likely increase by another point, and his overall abilities would see a massive boost. He was really looking forward to it.
Closing the panel, Seimei raised his hands, crossing them into the "Boar" hand sign, and cast the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.
Poof! Poof! Poof!
With bursts of chakra smoke, three hundred shadow clones appeared around him.
Seimei glanced at them, then pulled a sealing scroll from his ninja pouch and handed it to one of the clones. "Alright, you guys get to training."
The clone took the scroll, formed a hand sign, and released the sealing array. Dozens of scrolls and books spilled out—the research notes of the Second Tsuchikage.
The clone distributed them to several dozen other shadow clones. Then, the three hundred clones split into smaller groups, each centered around one of the clones holding the notes. From there, they'd conduct their research and experiments in teams.
This was the training method Seimei had refined after much trial and error. It was, by far, the most efficient way to develop Dust Release.
Watching the clones disperse, Seimei turned his focus inward. He took a deep breath, locked onto the Flying Thunder God mark inside the volcano, and with a thought, activated the technique.
In an instant, he vanished.