Ten minutes later.
Seimei finally lets go of the guy's skull.
Itō's memories confirmed it: every last one of these sorry bastards was Orochimaru's errand boy, and their one and only job was to hunt him down.
Crystal clear target: find Seimei. Period.
That's exactly why Itō recognized him on sight. Otherwise, no way a random Sound scrub would know his face. He's been lying low for years, and puberty did him enough favors that casual acquaintances wouldn't clock him anymore.
Unless they came with a goddamn photo and a kill-on-sight order.
Which lines up perfectly with how fast Itō tried to bolt the second he realized who was standing over him. Dude didn't even think about fighting—just needed to get word back to Daddy Snake and call it mission complete.
"Orochimaru…"
Seimei mutters the name like it tastes bad.
Thanks to Itō's brain-dump, he now has the snake's current hideout burned into his head. Right smack in the Land of Rice Fields. If he hauls ass now, there's a damn good chance Orochimaru's still there.
And if Jūgo's with him? Jackpot. Seimei will rip the location of that natural-energy hotspot straight out of somebody's throat if he has to.
Speaking of which… that Wood Clone he sent out weeks ago to scout Jūgo's birthplace? Still radio silent.
He was planning to let Orochimaru stew a little longer, but when opportunity kicks down your door, you don't tell it to come back later.
So yeah. Personal visit it is.
But first, home security.
He waves at the Wood Clone chilling ten kilometers up in the sky. The clone dives down instantly.
It glances at the four dried-up husks on the deck and raises an eyebrow. "Well?"
"Orochimaru's dogs," Seimei answers. "I've got his exact location. I'm going snake-hunting. Moonlight Island's on you till I get back."
The clone thinks for half a second, then nods. "Fine. Watch your back."
"Always."
The Wood Clone flaps its wings and shoots off toward the island.
Seimei turns back to the four corpses.
Didn't even have to lift a finger. Just flexed the Byakugan's long-range chakra drain and sucked them dry like juice boxes. Not a ton of chakra, but free is free.
Four quick Fire Release bursts later, they're ash. One wind blade bisects the boat, and the whole mess sinks into the deep blue.
Time to move.
He locks onto the Flying Thunder God mark inside the Land of Rice Fields… then pauses.
Wait. The Wood Clone he sent looking for Jūgo's origin is still somewhere around here.
Fuck it. Shortcut.
He switches targets to the mark on the clone and—flash—teleports.
Scene swap in the blink of an eye.
From the middle of the ocean straight into the mountains of Rice Fields.
The Wood Clone jumps a little when he materializes out of thin air. "The hell happened?"
Seimei doesn't waste time—just spills everything that went down on the boat.
The clone nods, then smirks. "Perfect timing. I dug up something you'll wanna see."
And without another word, it disperses itself.
Boom—big surge of chakra floods back into Seimei, along with a fat stack of memories.
He stores the chakra in his forehead dimension, shuts his eyes, and starts flipping through the footage.
Ten minutes later he opens them again.
"Murderous demon, huh…?"
Exactly what the clone found: local villages have been whispering about a "man-eating demon" that lives up in these mountains. Anyone who goes up to chop wood, hunt, or gather herbs never comes back down—gets torn apart and devoured.
The clone came here to investigate the second it heard that story.
Seimei's not surprised. Sounds exactly like Jūgo when his curse seal personality takes the wheel.
The clone thought the same thing—same memories, same logic.
Problem is, the killings stopped cold about a year ago.
Villagers confirmed people used to vanish, but not anymore. So the clone couldn't prove it was Jūgo or just some random psycho.
Trying to trace the legend back to patient zero? Good luck. Every grandma and toddler in a fifty-mile radius knows the story by heart. Memory-reading wouldn't help; it's folklore soup.
But now, cross-referencing with the intel he just ripped from Itō—Orochimaru's base is literally right nearby.
Seventy percent chance that "demon" was Jūgo, went on a rampage, caught the snake's attention, and got scooped up.
Only downside: this place isn't the jackpot he's looking for. Natural energy here is thick, sure, but nowhere near the insane density of a convergence node.
Just means Jūgo must've wandered here from wherever the hell he was born, squatted in the mountains, then lost control and started snacking on hikers.
"Damn. So close…"
Seimei sighs, gives the mountain one last scan with his senses—nothing worth sticking around for—and locks onto the Flying Thunder God mark inside Orochimaru's lair.
Time to pay the snake a visit.