As Seimei walked away, Minato Namikaze suddenly turned his head, glancing in his direction.
Standing beside him, Kushina Uzumaki seemed to pick up on his thoughts. "Minato, is there something off about this Seimei?" she asked.
"Nothing, really," Minato replied, shaking his head.
But then he added, "Kushina, do you sense anything unusual about him?"
"Unusual? Like what?" Kushina asked, puzzled.
Minato's gaze flicked to her stomach.
In an instant, Kushina understood what he meant. Her eyes widened as she said, "You mean—"
"Exactly," Minato nodded.
Kushina shook her head. "No, I didn't sense any tailed beast chakra from him. Nothing at all."
"What about the Nine-Tails?" Minato pressed.
Kushina hesitated, then closed her eyes. After a few moments, she opened them again and shook her head. "It's still not cooperating."
As the Fourth Hokage, Minato knew tailed beasts weren't just mindless creatures—they could communicate. But ever since they resealed half of the Nine-Tails, no matter how hard he and Kushina tried, it refused to engage with them. This left Minato frustrated, unable to act on certain ideas or confirm suspicions.
With a soft sigh, he said, "Forget it. Let's not worry about it for now. It's rare we get a day off—let's enjoy it and walk around."
Leave it to Minato to know how to charm. His words brought a bright smile to Kushina's face.
She linked her arm with his, and they strolled off together.
As for Naruto? He'd already run off somewhere.
Meanwhile, Seimei indulged in a feast, satisfying his cravings before heading to a hot spring bathhouse in a corner of the village called Konoha Springs. He soaked there until late at night before finally heading home.
The moment he got back, he went straight to his bedroom and crashed.
The night passed quietly.
---
The next day.
Seimei slept in, waking up naturally. When he opened his eyes, the sun was already high above the rooftops.
Sitting up, he glanced out through the window blinds at the bright sunlight and stretched lazily.
After a while, he hopped out of bed, left his bedroom, and took a hot shower. Then, he threw on some casual clothes and headed out.
As he stepped onto the village streets and turned a corner, leaving the residential area, he was greeted by the lively sounds of vendors calling out.
Looking up, he saw a bustling street lined with stalls and shops selling all kinds of food and daily goods. It wasn't just the Uchiha clan milling about—plenty of other villagers were there, buying and selling.
This was different from what he remembered.
In his memories, at this point in time, the Uchiha clan and the village were practically at odds, with the clan being insular and under Anbu surveillance.
But now? Things were noticeably better. The tension had eased, and relations were more harmonious.
The reason was simple. In this timeline, the Nine-Tails incident hadn't caused much damage to the village, thanks to Seimei's involvement, and it hadn't dragged on long. Plus, since Obito Uchiha had revealed himself early, Minato knew he wielded the Sharingan. Even though the Nine-Tails' pupils showed signs of being controlled by Sharingan genjutsu when it first appeared, Minato didn't immediately pin the blame on the Uchiha clan.
At least, not openly.
On top of that, Danzo—the master manipulator—had been dealt with early by Seimei. Without Danzo stirring the pot, the Uchiha weren't forced to relocate to the village's outskirts. With more chances for interaction, misunderstandings had naturally decreased.
This created the relatively peaceful scene before him.
Of course, that didn't mean there was no friction at all. The divide between the Uchiha and Konoha had existed since the village's founding—it wouldn't vanish overnight. But for now, things were manageable.
Snapping out of his thoughts, Seimei walked over to a breakfast stall, sat down, and ordered something to eat.
He polished off the food quickly, then moved to another stall, ordered something different, and dug in again. Over the next half hour, he hit up several stalls, devouring enough food for ten people before finally feeling satisfied.
Burping contentedly, Seimei started wandering the village.
Before he knew it, he found himself outside the Ninja Academy.
Thinking back to something Minato had mentioned the day before, he paused. After a moment's thought, he decided to head inside and check out the sixth-year students.
But as soon as he stepped onto the campus, he noticed something off. The school was unusually quiet, and there were a lot of chunin and jonin lingering in the corners. Some were keeping watch, while others seemed to be waiting for something, their eyes occasionally darting toward the main building.
Seimei quickly sifted through the memories of one of his shadow clones and realized what was going on.
Today was the first day of Konoha's Chunin Exams.
The exams were held twice a year—once in July and once in December. Today was the written test for the July session. The ninjas on guard were there to ensure the exam wasn't disrupted, while the ones waiting anxiously likely had students taking the test.
Watching them, Seimei couldn't help but think of parents nervously waiting outside during college entrance exams in his past life.
With a quiet shake of his head, he stopped in his tracks and turned away from the academy. His urge to check on the sixth-years had just been a whim, and with the school off-limits for now, there was no point sticking around.
For the rest of the day, Seimei either wandered aimlessly or sampled every food that caught his eye, as if determined to try everything in one go.
And honestly, that was exactly his plan. He only got a break like this every ten days, so he wasn't about to miss out.
Of course, he didn't forget to stock up on supplies for the next ten days of training.
The day flew by.
Before he knew it, it was the next day.
---