More than half an hour later...
Seimei arrived outside the village of Konoha.
Deactivating the Wind Release: Wings of Wind and Chakra Cloak, he landed back on the ground.
Without pausing, he headed straight toward Konoha's main gate.
This time, he didn't disguise himself and maintained his original appearance.
Unlike earlier in the morning, when he had returned to loot spoils of war and needed some semblance of cover, now he was returning to the village normally, with no need to hide.
Of course, he had another motive for his actions—to test the village's response.
From the actions of the ANBU ninjas earlier, it wasn't hard to deduce that Hiruzen Sarutobi had likely linked Danzo's death to him and had gathered significant intelligence.
Otherwise, there was no way they could have located that forest so quickly.
Since that was the case, Seimei thought he might as well probe them a little.
Although he was confident that without concrete evidence, they wouldn't act rashly, it was still just his assumption.
Who knew if Hiruzen Sarutobi might have a momentary lapse in judgment and decide to strike?
Perhaps Hiruzen thought his time as Hokage was coming to an end anyway and might use his remaining time to avenge his old friend.
If his thoughts turned more extreme, he might worry that if Seimei dared to kill a village elder today, he might dare to kill the Hokage tomorrow.
A person like that could pose a potential threat to the village.
In such a scenario, eliminating him might not only relieve Hiruzen of guilt but also make him feel like he was safeguarding the village's future.
It was similar to the time after the Nine-Tails' rampage. Even though the delegation from the Hidden Cloud Village was at fault, Hiruzen sacrificed the younger brother of the Hyuga Clan leader for the sake of so-called peace.
Although Hyuga Hizashi volunteered to die, it seemed more like he was forced into a corner with no other choice.
After all, given Hiruzen Sarutobi's intelligence, he couldn't have overlooked the possibility of Hizashi dying in place of Hiashi.
When he informed the Hyuga Clan of the Hidden Cloud's demands, he might have already decided on the outcome.
Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't as righteous as he appeared on the surface.
Still, all of this was just Seimei's speculation. The actual situation would depend on how the village reacted to his return.
Thinking about this, a peculiar smile crept across Seimei's face.
If the situation took the worst possible turn, he wouldn't hesitate to flip the table.
He had already obtained most of the jutsu, genjutsu, and forbidden techniques he needed from Danzo's archives.
Additionally, with his current strength, no one could stop him if he truly wanted to leave—not even Minato Namikaze.
He could cause a commotion and leave the village, becoming a rogue ninja.
However, unless absolutely necessary, he didn't want to go down that path.
It wasn't because he feared the village's pursuit. How strong could the shinobi they sent be?
Even if they sent multiple Kage-level ninjas, he could always escape if he couldn't win.
The main reasons he didn't want to leave Konoha were twofold.
First, the village was a stable environment where he could focus on training without unnecessary distractions.
Second, becoming a rogue ninja would undoubtedly attract unwanted attention.
Bounty hunters, ninjas from other villages coveting his bloodline, and rogue factions would all come after him upon hearing the news.
The constant harassment would drive him mad.
If possible, he genuinely didn't want to leave the stability of the village.
But everything depended on how the village reacted.
With that thought, Seimei resumed walking toward the village gate.
By now, night had fallen.
Although the main gate of Konoha hadn't closed yet, there were only a few people coming and going. The area was far from the bustling streets, and the surroundings were pitch dark.
Only a single lantern above the two gate guards illuminated a small area.
As Seimei approached the gate, he nodded to the two guards as a greeting.
The guards returned the gesture but with slightly stiff movements, as if trying to conceal their nervousness.
Seimei paused momentarily, looking ahead at the street. He muttered under his breath, "Could there really be an ambush?"
Suppressing the urge to deactivate the seal on his forehead and activate his Byakugan for reconnaissance, he continued walking.
Having just offended Hiruzen's faction, he didn't want to provoke the Hyuga Clan by exposing his Byakugan.
If that happened, even the Uchiha Clan wouldn't be able to help him.
Shaking his head, Seimei pushed the thought aside and walked on.
Before long, he had covered over a hundred meters.
At this moment, two figures cloaked in black robes and wearing masks emerged suddenly from the dark alleys on either side, blocking his path.
Seimei carefully scrutinized them for a few moments, but since he wasn't familiar with the Anbu ninja, he couldn't tell who they were.
Moreover, with only two of them present, it didn't seem like an ambush to kill him, so he felt somewhat relieved.
'The worst-case scenario hasn't happened. I'll just adapt to the situation as it unfolds!'
This thought flashed through his mind as Seimei looked at the two and feigned confusion, saying, "Anbu? Is there something you need from me?"
The two weren't fooled by his performance—this was evident from their utterly emotionless eyes behind their masks.
Staring at Seimei, they ignored his question and simply said, "Jonin Seimei, the Third Hokage has summoned you. Please come with us."
Hearing this, Seimei neither agreed nor refused. Instead, he asked, "Where's the written order?"
At his inquiry, even these two Anbu, who had suppressed their emotions to the extreme, couldn't help but show a slight flicker in their eyes.
It was only at this moment that they remembered—situations like this did indeed require an official written order personally issued by the Hokage.
After all, they couldn't expect others to blindly follow their commands just because they appeared.
What if enemy ninja disguised themselves and impersonated them? That would lead to a huge disaster.
Thus, a safeguard was necessary.
This safeguard was a written order personally penned by the Hokage.
At the same time, it also served as a check on the authority of the Anbu.
However, in the past, within the village, their presence alone typically represented the Hokage's will, so no one had ever seriously questioned this process.
Except in particularly serious matters—like when Kakashi asked Hiruzen Sarutobi to save Yamato. On that occasion, Hiruzen specifically wrote a hand-signed order to be delivered to Danzo.
Receiving such an order was equivalent to receiving a direct command from the Hokage himself. Even someone as high-ranking as Danzo, a senior advisor, had no choice but to comply.
This was because the order represented the Hokage's authority.
Defying such a command was tantamount to challenging the Hokage's power. Anyone connected to this web of authority would instinctively reject and even retaliate against you.
So, this seemingly trivial matter was actually incredibly important.
Now, Seimei's sudden mention of this caught the two Anbu off guard.
Seeing their subtle reactions, Seimei immediately understood that his guess was correct—they didn't have a written order.
Since that was the case, he wouldn't feel obligated to cooperate.
After all, even if they pursued the matter later, he could claim he was simply following protocol.