Inside the room.
Seimei shook his head quietly, dismissing his thoughts.
No matter what ambitions Danzo had or how much preparation he had made, it was now all in the past.
What Seimei needed to do was clear: he had to empty this place as quickly as possible.
With that thought in mind, he swiftly began removing the books and scrolls from the shelves and piling them together.
Next, he pulled out a sealing scroll from his ninja tool pouch.
After unrolling it, he formed a hand seal and activated the "Sealing Formation."
In an instant, intricate sealing patterns seemed to come alive, crawling out from the scroll and spreading over the pile of books and scrolls in the center of the room.
Once everything was covered, Seimei changed his hand seal and uttered, "Seal!"
The next moment, all the books and scrolls disappeared, leaving behind only the scroll, now bearing a single character: "Seal."
Satisfied, Seimei nodded and clapped his hands, brushing off nonexistent dust before tucking the scroll away.
It had to be said—reaching mastery in the "Sealing Formation" had saved him a lot of trouble.
Without this sealing scroll, quietly emptying this place without attracting attention would have been nearly impossible.
But now, he had accomplished it with ease.
After one final glance around the room to ensure nothing was left behind, Seimei turned and walked out, intending to leave the base.
His mission was complete; there was no reason to waste any more time.
However, just as he took two steps, his body was suddenly ensnared by a branch that shot out from the shadows.
Yes, a branch.
"Wood Release?"
Seimei muttered as he activated his Byakugan.
He quickly spotted an eight- or nine-year-old boy wearing a Root mask, standing in the shadows nearby.
The branch had extended from the boy's arm.
Seeing this, Seimei immediately guessed the boy's identity—Yamato, one of Orochimaru's experimental subjects who had successfully fused with Hashirama's cells and gained the power of Wood Release.
Or rather, he should now be called "Tenzo."
Seimei looked at the boy but did not immediately break free from the bindings. Instead, he feigned curiosity and asked, "Who are you?"
However, Yamato gave no response to his question.
Through the holes in his mask, he simply stared intently at Seimei with cold, unyielding eyes.
After a long pause, he finally spoke: "You're not one of the base's ninjas. Who are you, and why are you here?"
His voice was icy, as though he was ready to attack at any moment.
Seeing this, Seimei shook his head, thinking to himself, Danzo really is a corrupting influence. Such a young child, already brainwashed into this state.
With his Byakugan, Seimei noticed that several Root ninjas were converging on their location.
It was clear that Yamato had already sent out a signal before making his move.
Realizing he couldn't afford to waste time, Seimei broke free from the branch's hold.
In a flash, he darted toward the other end of the passageway.
He had a fairly good impression of Yamato, so he decided against killing him.
Of course, another reason was that he didn't want to reveal his Sharingan.
While it was likely that, after this incident, the village would be able to deduce who had acted if they investigated thoroughly, as long as he wasn't caught red-handed or left clear evidence, he would still have some plausible deniability.
This would prevent the village from going too far.
After all, Seimei was not only a powerful Jonin but also a member of the Uchiha clan.
For an ordinary ninja, the village might act without solid proof, acting solely on suspicion. But for someone like Seimei, it wasn't that simple.
For this reason, Seimei's focus was never on hiding his identity but on eliminating evidence.
Whether it was erasing the traces of the forest battle or avoiding the exposure of his Sharingan, his approach was the same.
These thoughts raced through Seimei's mind as he deftly dodged Yamato's Wood Release attacks while sprinting down the corridor.
When he turned a corner, he activated his Mangekyō Sharingan and unleashed the ability in his left eye—Heavenly Movement.
Without a sound, his figure vanished.
Moments later, Yamato arrived, staring at the empty corridor with a look of confusion in his eyes.
Apparently, it was impossible to understand why he had disappeared.
However, Seimei completely ignored the other party. He simply maintained the power of "Heavenly Dominion" and brushed past them, heading directly toward the entrance of the base.
Along the way, he saw many Root ninja converging in this direction. Numerous barriers had been set up along the path, as if they intended to block every possible exit.
Unfortunately, under the power of Seimei's "Heavenly Dominion," such arrangements were completely ineffective.
He easily bypassed the defensive lines set up by the Root ninja and reached the entrance of the base.
After taking a short rest, Seimei felt that his eyes had mostly recovered. He was preparing to use the same method again—activating "Heavenly Dominion"—to leave the base.
But just then, over a dozen Anbu ninja streamed in through the entrance, heading straight into the depths of the base.
Observing them, Seimei easily deduced that this was the work of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
It was clear that he must have already received news of Danzo's death and had now sent people to take over everything within the Root organization.
"I wonder to what extent he'll act on behalf of his old friend?"
Seimei pondered this for a moment but quickly shook his head.
No matter how Hiruzen Sarutobi reacted, Seimei was confident he could handle it with ease. Therefore, there was no need to dwell on it too much.
After all, the shinobi world is ultimately a place where strength reigns supreme. As long as his power is strong enough, what does it matter if he stands against the entire world?
Thus, what he needed to focus on was not predicting Hiruzen Sarutobi's response but instead doing everything possible to improve himself.
Fortunately, by emptying out the Root organization's secret vault, he had gained a significant haul this time—enough to further address his weaknesses.
With this in mind, Seimei once again activated his Mangekyo Sharingan. Then, using "Heavenly Dominion," he confidently strolled out of the Root's headquarters.
After leaving, he didn't return home but instead changed his appearance and quietly left Konoha Village.
It was still not yet noon. Judging by the patterns of his movements over the past while, he should currently appear to be training outside the village.
So, leaving first was the safest option.
After walking a certain distance, Seimei activated his Byakugan to confirm that there was no one nearby. He then performed "Wind Release: Wings of Wind" and "Chakra Cloak" in succession.
Seimei spread his wings.
In the next moment, his entire figure transformed into a streak of light, soaring into the distance.
This time, Seimei did not head to the forest where he usually trained. Instead, he flew straight past it, continuing southward until he finally reached a small island.
The island wasn't very large, but it was more than sufficient for Seimei to use as a training ground.
Here, he would continue his daily training.