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"White Zetsu?!"
Seimei's heart skipped a beat as he instantly recognized the creature before him.
It was a special lifeform—or rather, a puppet—created by Kaguya Ōtsutsuki and later modified by Madara Uchiha: White Zetsu.
And this one was no ordinary White Zetsu; it was a specially enhanced version.
Otherwise, with the average strength of a White Zetsu, it wouldn't even come close to the level of a jōnin.
Knowing its identity cleared up some things that hadn't made sense before.
For example, why was the creature's disguise so flawless?
The answer was simple: it was one of White Zetsu's abilities, the "Impersonation Technique."
In another timeline, during the Fourth Great Ninja War, countless White Zetsus used this very technique to infiltrate the Allied Shinobi Forces, sparking a massive trust crisis.
Keep in mind, the Allied Shinobi Forces were packed with ninjas—more than you could count—and they had no shortage of tricks up their sleeves.
Yet, even then, it took Naruto's ability to sense malice to tell who was a White Zetsu.
That alone showed just how terrifyingly effective their disguise ability was!
So, it was no surprise that Seimei hadn't seen through it right away.
As Seimei mulled this over, a presence suddenly appeared nearby.
He turned his head and saw, not far off, a figure emerging from the roots of a large tree.
The figure was half black, half white, with something resembling a Venus flytrap sprouting from its head, encasing it.
Who else could it be but Black Zetsu?
Seimei wasn't particularly shocked by his appearance.
After all, a White Zetsu had just "killed itself" right in front of him, so Black Zetsu showing up wasn't exactly a shocker.
The one who'd probably told him to stop earlier was likely Black Zetsu.
And since Black Zetsu was here, could Obito Uchiha—his deeply entwined partner—be far behind?
As Seimei pondered this, a ripple of spatial distortion appeared ahead.
The next moment, a figure wearing a spiral mask materialized on a branch of the tree behind Black Zetsu. Who else could it be but Obito Uchiha?
Looking at the two of them—one high, one low, a familiar duo—Seimei's lips curled into a slight smirk.
This was, after all, the second time he'd seen them together.
The first time was when he'd discovered the fake Four-Tails Jinchūriki, Tsukiko Imamura, and impulsively altered his plans, leading to a slight hiccup in his mission to intercept Iwagakure's infiltration team.
That mistake had caused his village to suspect him, resulting in his border patrol duties being revoked and a summons back to the village to report.
During that time, his subordinates were all killed by these two, and his shadow clone, traveling with them, was ambushed and destroyed. Later, he'd personally gone to the scene and sent another shadow clone to observe closely.
That was the first time he'd seen these two together.
He still remembered how, back then, after they revealed they knew he'd captured the Four-Tails and Seven-Tails, he'd managed to stall them by claiming he, too, wanted the power of the Ten-Tails.
Nine months had passed since then.
In those nine months, just as he'd expected, the duo hadn't approached him again.
But now, here they were, showing up out of the blue.
This meant their strategy had changed.
Connecting this to the recent ambush Konoha had set up against Obito, Seimei had a hunch about what they were after.
That's why a faint smile crept onto his face.
However, his smile seemed to unsettle Obito and Black Zetsu.
They'd originally planned to use White Zetsu's unmatched disguise ability to intimidate Seimei and throw him off balance.
But unfortunately, Seimei hadn't even given White Zetsu a chance to speak, rendering their preparations useless.
And now, with Seimei flashing that confident smile, as if he'd already guessed their intentions, they felt like they'd lost the upper hand.
Luckily, they held a trump card: Seimei's secret control over the Four-Tails and Seven-Tails. They weren't afraid he'd refuse to cooperate.
With that in mind, Obito didn't waste words. He cut straight to the point: "Seimei, you wouldn't want Konoha or the other villages finding out about what you've been up to, would you?"
"Starting with threats, huh? Pretty bold!" Seimei thought to himself.
But this also confirmed something: Obito was rattled.
Konoha's actions a few days ago might not have caused him any real harm, but they'd clearly made him feel threatened, hinting that things might be slipping out of his control.
That's why he was so eager to approach Seimei now, looking for an ally.
Too bad for him, Obito had miscalculated. Seimei wasn't afraid of his threats.
This wasn't nine months ago. Seimei had since maxed out his "Heart-Sealing Soul Contract Instant Teleportation Seal" to the S-rank skill limit—Level 10 (0/0)!
With this technique as his foundation, he could easily build his own operation and ensure his training went undisturbed.
So, even if Obito leaked the intel about him holding the Four-Tails and Seven-Tails, and even if he ended up at odds with every major power, it wouldn't matter.
Besides, there was no guarantee those powers would even believe some shady intel.
Obito had no concrete evidence to prove the Four-Tails and Seven-Tails were in Seimei's hands.
Even he was just piecing it together from scraps of clues.
In that case, he could hardly expect others to fully trust his word.
Still, Seimei wasn't ready to burn bridges with Obito just yet.
For one, if Obito spread this intel, the other powers might not immediately believe it, but they'd definitely send people to investigate.
After all, anything involving the Tailed Beasts was too big to ignore.
And since this involved Seimei, a somewhat notable figure in the ninja world, even Konoha would likely poke around, both openly and covertly.
That would inevitably cause Seimei some hassle and inconvenience—something he'd rather avoid.
Second, if he wanted to get his hands on the Nine-Tails' chakra, he'd need Obito's cooperation.
With that in mind, pretending to be coerced into reluctantly working with them might not be a bad move.
So, Seimei's face immediately darkened, and a faint, almost imperceptible killing intent radiated from him.
But sensing this killing intent, Obito wasn't angry—on the contrary, he was pleased.
If Seimei was showing killing intent, it meant he still cared about keeping his secret.
That made things easier.
Obito spoke calmly, "Don't you also want to collect the Tailed Beasts? How about the Nine-Tails?"
At the mention of the Nine-Tails, Seimei pretended to be intrigued but kept the killing intent simmering.
He sneered, "You mean Kushina Uzumaki? You think the Uzumaki Clan's seals are that easy to break? And besides…"
He glanced toward the Hokage Building at the center of the village.
He didn't finish his sentence, but the implication was clear.
Behind Kushina Uzumaki stood the legendary Yellow Flash of the Leaf.
With Minato Namikaze around, anyone thinking of targeting the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki had to weigh whether they could handle the wrath of a Kage-level ninja.
And behind that Kage-level ninja was one of the five great ninja villages, Konoha.
Obito followed his gaze, looking toward the Hokage Building in the distance.
"Hokage…" he murmured, lost in thought for a moment.
Suddenly, he seemed to lose interest in everything. Turning back to Seimei, he said, "In a few months, there'll be an opportunity. Whether you can seize it is up to you."
As he spoke, he activated the teleportation ability of his Kamui.
Ripples of space-time distortion spread out from him, quickly forming a twisted spatial tunnel.
Obito's body warped like a noodle before vanishing into the other dimension.
Just before he disappeared, his voice rang out: "Remember, keep an eye on Kushina Uzumaki."
With that, he was gone.
Seeing him leave, Black Zetsu didn't linger either. Without any visible movement, he sank into the ground, merging with the earth.
In Seimei's senses, Black Zetsu moved dozens of meters away in an instant before his presence completely vanished.
Clearly, he'd used the "Mayfly Technique" to escape.
Looking at where the two had been, Seimei's grim expression gradually relaxed.
Then, as if sensing something, he immediately activated the "Ama no Miu" ability.
The next moment, he too vanished from the spot.
Not long after he slipped into the dimensional space, a blonde figure appeared in the clearing. Who else could it be but Minato Namikaze?