✳️ Flashback ✳️
Let's go a few minutes back…right at the moment when the messenger hawk's bisected corpse and the sealed metallic container fell from the sky, leaving the Iwagakure spy, Akiyama Hisui, stunned, forcing his brain to go into overdrive to make countless speculations.
While Hisui was letting his imagination run wild, Seimei watched his actions quietly, hiding behind the cover of dense foliage, trees, and several Fuinjutsu seals.
Although Seimei didn't know what he was going through the potential spy's head, he chose to recover the evidence first.
And the evidence, of course, was the sealed metallic container that had the scroll holding the intel the middle-aged ninja had scribed in it.
After a few minutes of insults and provocations from the spy, Seimei suddenly saw him discreetly looking at the sealed metal container.
The spy's thoughts were pretty obvious.
"So, you also want to retrieve the evidence that can leak your info, huh?"
"Not that it matters."
"But I should still retrieve it, just in case."
"Who knows if he goes mad and ends up destroying his brain with some secret Jutsu?"
"Won't I be framed for unjustly killing the bodyguard of a merchant then?"
"Although no one would lay their hands on me due to my status, it would definitely give others, including the enemy elemental nations and their hidden villages, a chance to throw mud at my father."
"I am such a good son. Can't let my father's reputation be tarnished now, can I?"
Seimei muttered as he created a single-handed cross seal to create a shadow clone and marked it with his unique Flying Thunder God Mark.
Whether it was the sound of Seimei's low-voiced self-talk or the disturbance in chakra that occurred due to creating a shadow clone, the Sound Blocking Barrier Seal and the Chakra Isolation Seal blocked them completely.
As a result, even with Hisui's chakra-sensing technique, he couldn't pick up any chakra signature, chakra fluctuations, or even hear the slightest sound of the noise made by the shadow clone or Seimei's self-talk.
The shadow clone turned his head toward Seimei, nodded, and instantly sprang into action.
There was no need to give the shadow clone any extra instructions. It already knew what Seimei expected it to do.
Sure enough.
At the next moment, it immediately channeled lightning chakra around his leg to activate one of Seimei's signature Lightning Release movement techniques.
Lightning Release: Thunder Body Flicker
Sparks of lightning flickered around the shadow clone's legs and body before they turned into bolts of purple lightning arcs, coiling around it with a crackling sound.
Crackle! Crackle!
The vibrant purple lightning and its thunderclap-like sound attracted the spy's attention and made him even more vigilant.
And then, with a flash of thunder, the shadow clone dashed forward, leaving behind nothing but a trail of lightning.
The distance between the spy and the shadow clone was just a hundred meters.
For the first sixty meters, the shadow moved at a speed that made his figure blurred within the stream of lightning, at least from the spy's point of view.
The shadow clone was heading toward the spy, forcing him to take out his kunai and prepare for an imminent clash.
But the imminent clash never happened.
Just as the spy was expecting a head-on clash, the shadow clone finally increased the intensity of the Thunder Body Flicker, changed its direction toward the hawk's corpse, and dashed with a speed so fast that the spy, Akiyama Hisui, felt as if a lightning bolt passed through instead of a human.
Everything happened so fast that the spy couldn't even comprehend.
And by the time he did, the shadow clone had already retrieved the sealed metallic container and run toward the opposite direction of the forest.
The spy could only stare at the hawk's corpse and the place where the sealed metal container had been dropped with a dumbfounded expression.
Seeing his opponent's power, the spy showed a look of lingering fear. His back was drenched in cold sweat.
But the shadow clone paid no mind to it.
It simply used the Flying Thunder God Mark left behind by the main body to teleport the sealed metal container to the main body's location before dispersing itself with a puff of smoke.
✳️ Flashback Ends ✳️
Back in his original position, Seimei looked at the sealed metallic container in his hand and then at the clearly agitated spy, and fell into deep thought.
Since he had already retrieved the evidence, there was no need to hide anymore.
It was better to knock that guy cold, capture him, and hand him over to the kind and compassionate uncles working in the Torture and Interrogation Division of Konoha.
Yup! That sounds like a good plan. Let's just do it.
With that thought, Seimei canceled all the active Fuinjutsu seals, activated the Body Flicker Technique, and instantly appeared ten meters away from the spy, startling the clearly agitated man even more.
"Yo uncle! I was just taking a stroll and saw you. So, I thought I should say Hi," said Seimei in a teasing tone.
Meanwhile, Akiyama Hisui, although startled by Seimei's sudden appearance out of nowhere, still forcibly calmed his agitation and looked at the man…no, kid that appeared in front of him with a scrutinizing gaze.
He was a middle-aged man who had braved the Warring States Era and experienced countless missions and hardships, after all.
After his initial surprise, he calmed down very soon.
For a ninja, getting agitated meant death. They needed to be cold, calculating, and utterly ruthless, even when facing a deadly enemy.
Only then would they have even a sliver of hope to survive impossible ordeals.
But when he finally got a good look at the kid, he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat all over again.
Snow-white hair, fair skin, jewel-like ocean-blue eyes, and the unique purple lightning he just saw a moment ago…
Hey, hey, wasn't this the son of the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, and the nephew of the God of Shinobi?
Rumors had it that this kid was as powerful as a full-fledged Jonin and had a generous 25 million Ryo bounty.
Could his luck be any worse?
Akiyama Hisui cursed inwardly.
Who was he? A Chunin from Iwagakure with no background.
And his opponent?
Forget about his combat prowess for a minute. This child was the son of the infamous Senju Tobirama, that obsessive madman full of peculiar Forbidden Jutsu.
Even if Akiyama Hisui had a hundred times more guts and enough power, he still wouldn't dare to kill the kid in front of him.
That was freaking Senju Seimei.
Akiyama Hisui wanted to cry, but he had no tears.
He could only point his shaky index finger at Seimei and utter, "You…you…you…"
Watching the middle-aged ninja's rich, constantly changing expression and his words, Seimei let out an amused smile and asked, "Hmm? Me? What about me?"
The spy didn't speak, but he didn't dare to move either.
What was the point of running away at this point?
From the speed Seimei had shown just a few seconds ago, it was clear that he could never outrun this kid.
But he didn't want to get captured either. Who knew what kind of torture he would have to suffer? In this world of Shinobi, the fate of a captured spy was often even more tragic and gruesome than that of a heinous criminal.
So, he could only commit suicide now.
With that, Akiyama Hisui hardened his resolve and tried to use the kunai in his right hand to stab the side of his head to commit suicide.
Seeing this, Seimei, who had already quietly channeled plenty of Earth Release chakra to the ground, suddenly activated his Ninjutsu.
Earth Release: Shackles of Gaia
Multiple deep-brown Earthen chains, each with a sharp spear tip, erupted from the ground near Akiyama Hisui.
One of the Earthen chains knocked the kunai, redirecting it to prevent Hisui from committing suicide.
"Ahhhhhh!"
Meanwhile, the spear tip of another chain stabbed his right wrist, forcing him to scream in pain and loosen his grip on the kunai, allowing the kunai to fall to the ground.
The other Earthen chains wrapped around Hisui's body, completely immobilizing him.
Seimei walked forward and said, "Now, now, uncle! Why are you in such a hurry to die?"
"You can't die. Not yet, at least."
"For now, go to sleep."
With this, Seimei gave a hand chop to Hisui's neck, causing him to lose his consciousness.
Just to be safe, he also placed the Chakra-Suppression Seal and the Self-Cursing Seal on the middle-aged spy.
Now, even if the man woke up, he wouldn't be able to move or use his chakra.
Perfect.
Next, Seimei grabbed the man and hung him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
"Alright! Time to make a trip to the Hokage Office."
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