"This is..."
Ao's pupils suddenly constricted as his mind raced.
Suddenly, he recalled a piece of intelligence he came across not long ago while researching information on the Uchiha clan.
He blurted out, "Mangekyō Sharingan?!"
That's right. The intel mentioned that back when the Hidden Leaf Village was first founded, the Uchiha clan's leader, Uchiha Madara, possessed a pair of unique eyes known as the Mangekyō Sharingan.
However, decades had passed, and no one in the Uchiha clan had been known to awaken such eyes, so many people considered it a myth. Ao was no exception.
But now...
He realized that it wasn't a myth! Seimei's eyes were very likely the Mangekyō Sharingan, and his ability to break through the village's defenses multiple times before might have been due to the powers of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Thinking deeper, Ao estimated that the strange situation he witnessed that night must have been related to Seimei activating the Mangekyō Sharingan.
It all made sense! Everything matched up perfectly!
Wait!
Ao suddenly realized a crucial point—on that night, with the help of his Byakugan, he had been able to spot Seimei's anomaly. So why couldn't he see anything now?
"Could it be..."
Whatever Ao had just thought of caused him to hurriedly scan the surroundings.
The next moment, his face turned pale.
At that very moment, everything around him shattered like broken glass, and Ao snapped back to reality. He found Seimei standing in front of him, one hand gripping his throat and the other hand pressed against his heart.
It turned out that the moment he saw Seimei's eyes, he had already fallen into a genjutsu.
Everything that followed was merely an illusion, a product of his own mind. Even the shout he thought he'd made was just a figment of his imagination—no one had heard it at all.
Ao knew he had no chance now.
But he wasn't willing to give up without a fight.
Without hesitation, he swung his hand to stab the kunai he held.
However, before he could make a move, the 'Chakra Scalpel' attached to Seimei's left hand sliced through his heart muscles, causing his heart to stop beating.
Simultaneously, Seimei's right hand exerted force, severing Ao's carotid artery and some of his nerves, plunging him into unconsciousness instantly.
Clink!
The kunai fell weakly from Ao's hand, landing with a crisp sound on the ground, marking the complete failure of his last-ditch effort.
Behind him, a Mist Chūnin, who had been nearby and facing in their direction, noticed the situation and yelled, "Captain!"
While shouting, he threw the kunai in his hand, aiming at Seimei's back.
However, without even turning his head, Seimei sidestepped the attack.
After awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, his perception had increased severalfold.
In the past, without a clear line of sight, he likely wouldn't have noticed the approaching kunai until it was within range.
But now, he had already sensed the attack from afar and could easily avoid it.
This dramatically enhanced his survival skills on the battlefield.
Still, it wasn't time to reveal the Mangekyō Sharingan just yet.
Seimei deactivated his Mangekyō Sharingan and quickly formed hand seals, performing the Wind Release: Wings of Wind technique.
In the next instant, he grabbed Ao and soared into the sky.
Down below, several Mist ninja, who had been attracted by the earlier shout of "Captain," could only watch Seimei fly away helplessly.
In contrast, the Leaf ninjas, though unclear why Seimei had taken the enemy leader, were encouraged, as it was clear that he had defeated the opponent.
This was a huge morale boost.
As a result, they fought even more fiercely.
However, Seimei wasn't concerned with their reactions. His only focus now was acquiring the Byakugan.
Everything else could wait.
...
About a minute later.
Seimei landed back on the ground.
There was no one around for kilometers.
Satisfied, Seimei nodded and gently placed Ao down before checking his condition.
That's right—Ao wasn't dead yet.
Although Seimei had cut his heart muscle with the Chakra Scalpel, a heart can stop beating for a minute and still keep a regular person alive, let alone a ninja with enhanced physical resilience.
So Ao was still alive.
Of course, Seimei hadn't spared him out of kindness. He needed Ao alive to ensure that he could extract the Byakugan from him.
He knew that Ao had placed a protective seal known as the "Guardian Sealing Tag" on the Byakugan to safeguard it.
If the Byakugan was threatened, the Guardian Sealing Tag would automatically activate, protecting the eye with a sealing technique.
To avoid complications, Seimei hadn't delivered a fatal blow.
If this "Guardian Sealing Tag" were anything like Danzo's "Reverse Four Symbols Sealing," which could permanently seal something, it would be a huge problem.
Seimei wasn't about to let his efforts go to waste.
With these thoughts running through his mind, Seimei was about to use the Mystical Palm Technique to heal Ao.
But then, he hesitated.
He activated the Chakra Scalpel again and swiftly severed most of Ao's nervous system and muscle groups.
Now, even if Ao woke up, he wouldn't be able to move.
But that wasn't all.
After deactivating the Chakra Scalpel, Seimei formed hand seals again and performed the Chakra Absorption Technique.
A soft, white glow enveloped his hand as he pressed it against Ao's chest.
In the next moment, a large amount of chakra flowed out of Ao's body and into Seimei's.
Within seconds, Ao's chakra was completely drained.
To weaken him further, Seimei even absorbed part of Ao's spiritual and physical energy.
When Ao's body began to convulse and his face turned pale, signaling that he was on the brink of collapse, Seimei finally stopped the Chakra Absorption Technique and switched to using the Mystical Palm Technique to repair Ao's damaged heart muscle.
One second, two seconds...
One minute, two minutes...
It took five full minutes for Seimei to completely repair Ao's heart muscle and restore his blood flow, allowing his breathing to return to normal.
Suddenly, Ao's eyes snapped open. He gasped heavily, like a fish out of water.
As a seasoned Jōnin, his instincts were sharp. The moment he awoke, he immediately identified the source of danger—Seimei!
Without any hesitation, he attempted to attack.
But just as he prepared to move, he realized he couldn't control his limbs.
Not only that, he also felt an overwhelming weakness in his body.
Upon closer inspection, he realized that not only was his chakra completely depleted, but his body also felt frail, as though recovering from a severe illness.
It didn't take much thought to know that Seimei was behind all of this.
He looked at Seimei and had only managed to utter the word "You" when his consciousness was abruptly dragged into a genjutsu.
(End of chapter)