On the other side, Seimei heard Uchiha Obito's question.
However, he didn't respond immediately. Instead, he calmly took out a scroll from his ninja tool pouch as if he hadn't heard anything.
With a few swift hand seals, he activated the Sealing Technique: Object Locking Formation.
In the next moment, Obito's severed arm disappeared from Seimei's hand, while the scroll now bore a large kanji symbol for "Seal".
Clearly, the severed arm containing Hashirama's cells had been sealed within the scroll.
Satisfied, Seimei tucked the scroll away.
Only then did he shift his gaze back to Obito.
With his goal accomplished, Seimei felt no lingering worries. He didn't mind exchanging a few words now.
But judging from Obito's current expression, it seemed he no longer cared for a response.
In fact, that was exactly the case.
When Obito saw Seimei nonchalantly seal his severed arm, the face beneath his mask darkened like the bottom of a scorched pot.
If not for needing time to regenerate his arm, he would've attacked already.
Now that his right arm had fully healed, he no longer had the patience for idle talk.
Swish, swish, swish!
Several kunai shot out, aiming for Seimei's vital spots.
However, such attacks posed no threat to someone with a Mangekyō Sharingan.
With just a glance, Seimei locked onto the kunai's flight trajectories.
His body flickered, easily evading every one of them.
Obito never expected a few kunai to finish Seimei off. The attack was merely to disrupt Seimei's vision.
Almost at the same time Seimei dodged, Obito activated Kamui.
Unlike most people, Obito's body—bolstered by Hashirama's cells—granted him immense vitality. He didn't need to worry about the usual vision deterioration caused by excessive use of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
So when he struck, it was with Kamui's teleportation ability.
Without a sound, his figure appeared behind Seimei.
A kunai shot forward, aimed straight for Seimei's heart.
Against most opponents, even those with a Mangekyō Sharingan, such a surprise attack could've landed if they hadn't awakened a corresponding eye technique.
But Seimei was different.
Having trained the Flying Thunder God Technique to level 9, he could sense subtle fluctuations in space.
The instant Obito appeared, Seimei detected him.
That gave him more than enough time to respond.
With a push off the ground, Seimei sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the kunai before spinning around to face Obito.
Their eyes locked.
Without hesitation, Seimei activated his Mangekyō Sharingan, casting a powerful genjutsu.
Since the previous clash had proven his superiority in illusions, he naturally intended to exploit that advantage.
However, having been caught once before, Obito only faltered for a brief moment before breaking free.
But that moment was all Seimei needed.
He refrained from drawing his signature katana—better to keep his identity hidden for as long as possible.
Instead, he grabbed a kunai and slashed toward Obito's throat.
Obito snapped back to reality just in time to see the kunai rushing toward him.
Without hesitation, he activated Kamui's intangibility, shifting his neck into the Kamui dimension.
Seimei's kunai sliced through thin air, as if cutting through a shadow.
At that exact moment, Obito countered.
He flickered to Seimei's left side, his right hand thrusting forward with Wood Style: Piercing Stalk Technique!
Seeing the newly regenerated arm and the wooden spikes emerging from Obito's palm, Seimei couldn't help but marvel inwardly.
Hashirama's cells really are something else...
Hashirama had been dead for decades, yet his cells still possessed such powerful vitality.
It was no wonder Madara had remained so calm when he saw Tsunade use Creation Rebirth: Strength of a Hundred Technique—nearly granting immortality.
Perhaps Hashirama had lived in that near-immortal state every day.
Seimei's anticipation for assimilating Hashirama's cells into his own body grew even stronger.
These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.
Faced with the wooden spikes, Seimei leapt backward, narrowly avoiding the attack.
Without missing a beat, he dashed forward again, spitting out a medium-sized Fireball Jutsu toward Obito's face.
Feeling the heat, Obito didn't bother countering. Instead, he phased out with Kamui once more.
The fireball passed harmlessly through him, exploding against a tree behind him.
Obito paid no mind to the burning tree.
He flickered forward again, kunai in hand, aiming straight for Seimei's heart.
A direct heart stab was a risky move—most would aim for the throat or other areas that allowed quicker follow-ups.
But Obito's intangibility gave him no fear of mutual destruction.
If anything, he welcomed it.
Unfortunately for him, Seimei understood his abilities far too well to fall into that trap.
Seimei immediately retreated, forcing Obito into pursuit.
The two clashed again and again, exchanging dozens of moves within moments.
Yet thanks to their Mangekyō Sharingan abilities, neither could land a decisive blow.
After one more missed strike, Seimei abruptly stopped.
With a forceful push off the ground, he widened the gap between them.
Obito hesitated—wary of a trick—so he didn't rush to close the distance.
For the moment, the fight paused.
Standing five or six meters apart, Seimei lowered his kunai slightly and smirked.
"Want to keep going? If we fight any longer... your identity won't stay hidden."
Obito's visible eye narrowed slightly at the veiled threat.
But he quickly masked his reaction.
"Oh? Should I call you Uchiha Seimei... or Uchiha Shisui?"
Clearly, Obito had run through the list of known Uchiha with Mangekyō Sharingan.
Only two names fit the profile.
Seimei neither confirmed nor denied, merely offering a calm suggestion.
"We have no grudge... no quarrel. How about we mind our own business?"
"No grudge, huh?"
Obito's lips curled into a sardonic smile beneath his mask, his gaze flicking to his still-throbbing arm.
Then what do you call my severed arm? A friendly handshake?
By now, he'd more or less figured out Seimei's true motive—Hashirama's cells hidden within his right arm.
Everything else was just a smokescreen.
---