Boom!
Just as Seimei finished speaking, a muffled explosion echoed from deep within the base. Listening carefully, it sounded like the blast of explosive tags.
Without hesitation, Seimei dove into the pond, swam through the underwater passage, returned to the cliff, and finally exited the deep cave.
As he left the cave, a faint tremor shook the ground beneath him, as if the entire Oni Island was vibrating. Distant, continuous explosions seemed to rumble from below, as if detonations were going off in the depths.
This was indeed the case.
Before leaving the underground base, Seimei had set up a timed explosion device using the explosive tags stored there. The recent tremors were caused by those explosions.
His purpose was to destroy the underground base.
While he was now a member of Konoha, he couldn't condone Konoha's extreme measures for victory. This went beyond just ruthless tactics.
Using live subjects for such experiments was inhumane.
As the saying goes, when wealthy, you can help the world; in hardship, you must guard your integrity.
Though he had transmigrated to a world where lives were often disregarded, his moral views from his previous life kept him from being assimilated into this harsh world.
So, if possible, he still hoped to change certain things.
Ignoring it was one thing, but now that he had seen it, he couldn't allow this tragedy to continue for over a decade.
Moreover, their experiments weren't entirely for the sake of winning the war.
This strengthened Seimei's resolve to destroy the base.
As for those inside…
Aside from those who his shadow clones had already handled, only a few half-dead experimental subjects remained.
After consulting with them, he gave them a quick end.
For those who had not yet undergone transformation… it just so happened that Kimura had used them all today.
When he met him earlier, Kimura even requested he capture more people tomorrow.
Unfortunately, Hikoyan wouldn't see that day, as Seimei had already obliterated him completely.
Hovering in the air, Seimei surveyed the island. After the tremors gradually ceased, he shook his head and flew off into the distance.
...
Over two hours passed.
As night began to fall, Seimei finally returned to the Black Rock outpost.
He took a brief rest, then headed to the command center.
After learning about the scout team's observations of Feiyu Town that day, he left the outpost without delay.
Wasting no time, he flew directly toward Feiyu Town.
Fifteen minutes later…
He arrived at his destination.
Circling high above, he surveyed the town and confirmed that the Mist Shinobi there seemed unlikely to mobilize their forces anytime soon. He left a shadow clone to continue monitoring.
His main body, meanwhile, headed for the rocky shore he usually used for training.
By now, night had fallen.
Seimei ate a few military rations to fill his stomach, then began summoning shadow clones to train.
Unlike before, he summoned an additional shadow clone this time.
The clone's task was to study the books and scrolls left by Kimura, hoping to quickly extract the relevant techniques he needed.
Then, he could transplant that Byakugan.
With it, he would eliminate his weakness in reconnaissance.
As for why he didn't have his main body conduct the research…
It was simple: his main body still needed to practice "Mystical Palm Technique" and "Mind's Eye Technique." The former was critical for boosting his "Constitution" attribute, while the latter was tied to the evolution of his Sharingan—both essential to him.
Certainly, the Byakugan would enhance his detection capabilities, but it was slightly less important than these two.
Seimei knew his priorities well.
Besides, for studying knowledge, it didn't matter if it was the main body or a clone.
These thoughts flashed through his mind, and Seimei quickly dismissed them. After sending the shadow clones off to their respective tasks, he entered his training state.
...
Meanwhile…
In Konoha.
At the headquarters of Root.
Danzo looked at the intel in his hand, his usually grim face growing even darker.
He looked down at his subordinate, kneeling before him, and asked calmly, "What exactly happened over at Oni Island?"
Though his voice was calm, it carried an undeniable chill.
Even the Root ninja below, devoid of personal will, shuddered slightly at the sound.
Suppressing his discomfort, the ninja replied, "Lord Danzo, the exact situation is still unclear. The message came from Serpent Fang's summoning beast. According to it, the summoning contract between Serpent Fang and his beast suddenly vanished this afternoon. Suspecting Serpent Fang's death, the beast reported the incident to us."
He continued, "After receiving the report, we tried contacting the base, but received no response."
"Serpent Fang" was actually Kimura's codename within Root. His summoning beast was an exceptionally clever fox he had personally modified. This fox, upon noticing the dissolution of their contract, promptly reported it to Root.
Unbeknownst to Seimei, Kimura had secretly severed his contract with his beast before his death. This oversight led to Root discovering the Oni Island base's disappearance earlier than Seimei anticipated.
However, it didn't make much difference, as Seimei had already taken care of everything necessary and didn't fear any investigation.
Danzo, visibly dissatisfied with his subordinate's explanation, scoffed, then asked, "What about Jin and Chi? With Serpent Fang missing, what were they doing?"
Hearing this, the Root ninja hesitated slightly, then gritted his teeth and said, "Lord Danzo, they're missing as well."
"Heh…"
Danzo chuckled coldly at the news, not in anger, but with a chilling smile.
After a while, he spoke, "Good, very good. Someone dares to target me. They must be courting death!"
Upon hearing this, the Root ninja looked up in surprise. "My lord, do you mean…"
"Humph!"
Before he could finish, Danzo interrupted him with a snort.
"Something that silenced both Jin and Chi can't be coincidental. It must have been a planned attack."
Danzo turned to his subordinate. "Wind, gather our forces and investigate this matter thoroughly. I want to know who's behind it."
"Yes, Lord Danzo!" The ninja, codenamed Wind, responded immediately and left without delay.
Watching his departing subordinate, Danzo leaned back in his chair, his eyes half-closed, lost in thought.
Meanwhile, Seimei remained unaware that his abrupt actions had completely misled Danzo in his investigation.
Of course, the base on Oni Island was incredibly well-hidden, and without Seimei's foreknowledge from his past life, it would have been nearly impossible to find.
In other words, Danzo naturally assumed whoever found the base must have conducted an elaborate investigation.
To this, Seimei could only say: Good luck!
(End of Chapter)