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In a flash, Seimei's vision shifted.
In an instant, he teleported from Moon Island, far out at sea, to the outskirts of a border camp in the northern Fire Country.
Byakugan!
With a single thought, Seimei activated his Byakugan.
After confirming no one was nearby, he triggered Heaven's Control and dashed toward the camp's interior.
Why not teleport directly inside? Two reasons.
First, the camp was rigged with multiple sensory barriers that could easily detect unusual chakra fluctuations.
Second, there were plenty of sensory ninja inside. Appearing out of nowhere would draw unwanted attention.
To keep his movements hidden, this was the only way.
Fortunately, with Heaven's Control, sneaking into the camp was no trouble at all, so it didn't bother him much.
At his quarters, Seimei quickly grabbed the supplies and gear his wood clone had prepared, then left the tent.
About an hour later, the first group heading back to the village was ready.
Seimei and a few other Jonin leaders counted heads, confirmed everything was in order, and set off.
At first, Seimei stayed on guard, but as no incidents occurred, he gradually relaxed.
---
Time passed, and evening arrived.
In the northern Fire Country, on a road leading to Konoha, a Leaf Jonin at the front raised his right arm.
The team of over a hundred ninja behind him came to a gradual halt.
With his command, they began setting up camp in the nearby woods.
Seimei stood atop a nearby tree, watching as the Leaf ninja efficiently unloaded tents and supplies from the convoy.
In no time, a temporary camp took shape.
Though small, it had all the essentials.
At the center was the command tent. The inner circle had single tents for Jonin and temporary beds for the wounded. The outer perimeter held larger tents for regular ninja.
Beyond that, freshly set traps and mechanisms served as an early warning system.
All of this was done in less than an hour.
That was the efficiency of ninja!
Ordinary people couldn't come close to this. Just clearing the trees and leveling the ground would've been a nightmare for them.
For ninja? A few jutsu, and it was done.
Seimei couldn't help but wonder: with skills like these, why waste time fighting and killing? Wouldn't it be better to do something more meaningful?
Sure, becoming a ninja required talent, but with the major villages churning out tens of thousands of ninja, that "talent" clearly wasn't that rare.
In the end, it came down to clans, bloodlines, and their stubborn ideas keeping power tightly controlled.
If ninjutsu and chakra were made widely accessible, the ninja world would probably see an explosion of productivity.
All three of the ninja world's great wars stemmed from uneven resource distribution.
If productivity could be boosted, it would go a long way toward easing that conflict.
"What a shame," Seimei muttered, then pushed the thought aside.
That wasn't his problem to solve right now. Maybe after he achieved his goals, he'd give it a nudge.
For now, he'd focus on himself.
---
A few hours later, deep into the night, Seimei was resting in a tent at the camp's center.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open.
He sat up slowly, raising his right hand to focus his mind, extending his senses outward.
Soon, he picked up over a dozen unfamiliar presences deep in the forest.
Without hesitation, Seimei stepped out of his tent.
The camp was quiet. Aside from a few ninja on night watch, no one stirred.
Even those on duty hadn't noticed the intruders.
That alone showed how freakishly sharp Seimei's sensory abilities were.
Glancing around, he flickered to another tent nearby.
Before he could enter, the ninja inside woke up.
Seimei waited a few seconds.
The tent flap rustled, and a middle-aged Jonin stepped out.
It was none other than the mission's commander, a Nara clan Jonin named Nara Mitsuhiko.
Seeing Seimei at his door, Mitsuhiko's expression turned serious. "Seimei, what's going on?"
Mitsuhiko didn't know Seimei well, but he knew his personality. Seimei wouldn't come looking unless something serious was up.
No nonsense, Seimei quickly explained what he'd sensed.
Hearing about strangers approaching, Mitsuhiko extended his own senses, trying to locate the targets Seimei mentioned.
Unfortunately, he picked up nothing.
He didn't think Seimei was lying, though. He just sighed inwardly. Seimei's reputation was well-earned—his sensory skills alone put him leagues ahead of other Jonin.
Shaking his head, Mitsuhiko didn't dwell on it. "I'll gather the team. You go scout them out."
"Got it."
Seimei nodded and left without hesitation.
But he didn't head straight for the intruders.
Though their chakra signatures didn't seem particularly strong and likely posed no real threat to him, as the saying goes: Caution keeps you safe.
First, the Leaf's Anbu had noticed something off, putting Minato Namikaze on alert. Now, a group of uninvited guests was creeping in under cover of night. Something fishy was going on.
Rather than getting close, Seimei preferred to figure out who they were first.
With that thought, he stopped moving.
He was now a good distance from the camp.
Unsealing the mark at his forehead, he activated his Byakugan.
Instantly, everything within a two-kilometer radius came into view, his vision shifting to the Byakugan's signature black-and-white.
Focusing, Seimei zeroed in on the dozen or so figures.
"Hm? Mist Anbu?"
That's right—these weren't just any intruders. They were Anbu from the Hidden Mist Village.
This caught Seimei completely off guard.
Why on earth were Mist ninja here?
And just a dozen of them, at that.
Even if they were elite Anbu, what could they possibly accomplish?
His side had over a hundred ninja. Even without Seimei, whose strength was off the charts, the rest could easily handle this small Mist squad. A direct fight would, at best, end in mutual destruction.
What were they up to? Seimei couldn't wrap his head around it.