In Koharu Utatane's home, a figure suddenly appeared beside her.
The person bowed and said, "I've returned."
Hearing this, Koharu Utatane opened her slightly closed eyes and asked, "How is it?"
"The target is the same as always—either training or heading to training. There are no other unusual activities," the person replied.
Indeed, among those monitoring Seimei, one was assigned by Koharu Utatane herself.
A few days ago, the exchange in the Hokage's office made her temporarily abandon plans to confront Seimei directly, but she hadn't stopped investigative efforts.
Compared to Homura Mitokado and Hiruzen Sarutobi, her personality was more assertive, and her actions more impulsive.
Thus, even though the Uchiha clan had shown clear intentions to protect Seimei at all costs, she still hadn't given up.
Unfortunately, Seimei was excessively cautious, leaving no leverage for her to act against him. This left Koharu Utatane deeply frustrated.
Still, no matter how frustrated she was, she had to hold it in. The village had its rules, and at this sensitive time, if she acted recklessly, it would certainly give the Uchiha clan something to use against her.
Such a turn of events could lead to a complete reversal of the situation.
So, even after hearing her subordinate's report of no progress, she suppressed her anger and dismissed them.
Before they left, she instructed, "Continue the surveillance. Do not let up!"
The subordinate responded before taking their leave.
Soon, the room was left with only Koharu Utatane.
She stared blankly ahead, reminiscing about the events of the past decades, and finally let out a light sigh: "Ah..."
Back on that same island. Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚•𝙣𝙚𝙩
After Seimei once again released the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, absorbing the experiences of the eleven clones around him, his Lightning Style: Thunder Blade finally reached perfection.
Seimei stood up and unsheathed the long sword at his waist with a crisp "clang."
He began swinging the sword, performing the moves of Lightning Style: Thunder Blade within a radius of several dozen meters around his position.
For a time, flashes of light and the sound of thunder filled the area, creating a lively spectacle.
Seimei swung his blade, and a streak of lightning shot from its edge, striking a distant tree and leaving a charred mark.
He swung again, and another lightning blade flew forth, splitting a large boulder on the ground into two.
Indeed, after reaching the perfected level of Lv7 (0/0), Seimei could now use Lightning Style: Thunder Blade for ranged attacks.
The two lightning blades he had just released had an attack power equivalent to that of a standard C-rank ninjutsu.
Given the frailty of most ninja in the shinobi world, a direct hit to a vital area would result in either death or severe injury.
With this, combined with his ability to perform one-handed seals and jutsu without hand signs, his close-combat abilities were significantly enhanced.
After practicing Lightning Style: Thunder Blade for a while longer, Seimei finally stopped and sheathed his blade.
He then opened his proficiency panel.
Now that Lightning Style: Thunder Blade was perfected, the chakra he had allocated to it needed to be reassigned.
And how much chakra was that?
A whopping 87,000 points!
Undoubtedly, this was a huge amount of chakra that could significantly accelerate the progress of any skill.
Seimei's gaze swept over the skills he had recently learned, checking their progress bars. Once he confirmed they were advancing as planned, he decided to allocate all the chakra to Water Style: Great Waterfall Jutsu.
This had been his plan all along.
The jutsu, an advanced form of Water Style: Waterfall Jutsu, started at Lv7 proficiency. Grinding it to perfection would save considerable time.
As for how long it would take...
Seimei had already done the calculations. On average, practicing this jutsu required 120 chakra points to increase proficiency by one point.
With 87,000 chakra points, he could achieve 725 points of proficiency.
Thus, to grind it to the perfected level of an A-rank jutsu, Lv9 (0/0), would take only three months.
While three months might not align with his next planned operation, even at Lv8, the water domain he could create would give him a tactical advantage in battles against tailed beasts.
Although it was unlikely he'd need to use this jutsu, as the saying goes:
Better safe than sorry.
Having made these arrangements, Seimei closed the panel.
Then, raising his hand again to form seals, he performed the "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu," creating eleven shadow clones to begin a new round of training.
Just like that, the days passed by one after another.
As time went on, the village of Konoha grew increasingly lively. Everyone was eager to quickly elect a new Hokage to lead them toward a brighter future.
Finally, after ten days, the Hokage election began.
That morning, even Seimei didn't head to the island for training. Instead, he stayed in the village, quietly waiting for the election to start.
In truth, although it was called an election, the result had already been decided.
By now, all the key interests had been divided among the factions.
The rest was merely a symbolic process—each Jonin casting their vote to complete the formalities.
The line moved quickly, and soon it was Seimei's turn.
He entered the specially arranged voting room, nodding slightly toward Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others seated at the front, acting as though nothing was amiss, before walking over to the ballot box.
There was only one ballot box, but voters could write down two names—Minato Namikaze and Orochimaru.
That's right, even though Hiruzen Sarutobi had requested that Orochimaru withdraw from the Hokage candidacy, his name still remained on the list of nominees.
The reasoning was simple—dirty laundry shouldn't be aired in public.
Thus, even though Orochimaru had no chance of becoming the Fourth Hokage, he still had to sit there quietly and await the results.
Seimei placed his vote, which bore Minato Namikaze's name, into the box, casting a sidelong glance at Orochimaru.
At that moment, Orochimaru's already pale complexion appeared even more lifeless and unpleasant.
It couldn't be helped. Given the current situation, even someone like Orochimaru couldn't help but feel a bit disgruntled.
After all, he was supposed to be one of the central figures in this event, but now, he could only sit back and watch the whole thing as though it were a staged performance.
How could anyone feel good in such a situation?
Every person who walked past him felt like a humiliation.
The only reason Orochimaru hadn't stormed out already was his lingering attachment to the village and the faint sense of camaraderie he still felt toward Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Noticing Seimei's glance, Orochimaru slightly turned his head, his golden snake-like eyes brimming with cold indifference.
Seimei didn't meet his gaze directly; instead, he casually shifted his eyes elsewhere.
After casting his vote, Seimei nodded once more at Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others before leaving the room.
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