A week later.
After seven continuous days of battle, both the Konoha and Kirigakure forces were inevitably worn out.
As a result, the two sides tacitly agreed to a temporary truce.
Stepping out of the conference room, Seimei observed the quiet base and thought to himself, "As expected, the closer we get to the end of the war, the more brutal it becomes."
From his omniscient viewpoint, he knew the Third Ninja World War was nearing its conclusion. But based on recent events, the front-line battles had clearly intensified.
To put it simply, in just the last seven days, this base had suffered casualties reaching two-thirds of its total personnel.
Thanks to medical ninjutsu, which defies normal healing methods, at least half of those injured were saved from death. But even so, losing nearly a third of the force in just a week was a tremendous blow.
And this was only one of the diversionary points under attack from Kirigakure. The fighting at the main breach in the southern defense line was undoubtedly even fiercer, with people likely dying every moment.
Shaking his head, Seimei pushed the thoughts aside. His strength was not yet at an invincible level; apart from lying low, there was little he could do.
Perhaps, when he could control this entire planet as he pleased, he might attempt to remake it according to his will. But who knows if he'll even have the interest by then?
Lost in these musings, Seimei returned to his room.
Sitting by his bed, he closed his eyes and began carefully recalling the visual system transformation techniques he'd been developing over time.
…
Time ticked by.
About an hour later, Seimei reopened his eyes.
Without hesitation, he gathered his belongings, and after making preparations, quietly slipped out of his room.
This time, he didn't draw attention by flying directly out. Instead, he carefully avoided the Konoha patrols, leaving the base silently.
He then proceeded stealthily, evading Kirigakure squads patrolling near the base, and continued westward.
Indeed, Kirigakure forces were still present outside the base.
While they had agreed to a temporary ceasefire, they hadn't withdrawn. They remained camped close to Black Stone Base, ready to launch another assault at any time.
But Seimei wasn't looking to confront them; he was searching for a secluded place where he could perform a visual system transformation surgery on himself.
Today, with no battles underway, provided a rare opportunity Seimei didn't want to miss.
After walking for over half an hour, he left the war zone.
With no delay, he used his Wind Release: Wind Wings technique, instantly pushing his speed to its limit, flying at 100 meters per second toward the heartland of the Land of Fire.
Though the surgery wouldn't take long, caution was still necessary.
And compared to other areas, for the time being, the Land of Fire was relatively safer.
…
Time passed like water, flowing silently.
Seimei stopped and started, finally finding a suitable spot near midday.
It was an open cave, appearing ordinary from the outside. But deeper within, it concealed a hidden area.
Standing in a central hall, Seimei observed the decayed doors around him, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
Yes, this wasn't a natural cavern but rather a man-made underground space.
From the decayed remnants inside, it was likely that some group had once prepared this as a supply storage to counter war.
As for how long ago—at least several decades.
In other words, this place existed even before the founding of Konoha. Given how long it had gone unnoticed, it was highly likely no one remembered it existed.
Discovering this place was all thanks to the giant bear that had made the cave its lair; otherwise, he would never have stumbled upon it.
In short, the likelihood of anyone else finding this place was slim.
An underground space like this could serve not only as his surgery site today but also as a secret base in the future. It was perfect.
"Alright, this will do," Seimei muttered, immediately making up his mind.
Since he had decided to perform the surgery here, a bit of cleaning was in order.
With this thought, he went to the corner of the hall, raised his hand to form seals, and performed the Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.
A fierce wind erupted from his mouth, sweeping through the underground hall, carrying all the dust and debris toward the base's exit.
After a few breaths, the wind stopped. Lowering his right hand, Seimei looked around the now spotless hall, nodding in satisfaction.
However, after glancing into the surrounding rooms, he frowned.
His quick-and-easy cleaning method, naturally, didn't reach the interiors of the rooms. In fact, the wind had stirred up more dirt and dust inside, making them even messier.
But he wasn't in the mood to worry about that right now.
Satisfied with the clean hall, he was ready to begin the surgery.
Noticing there were no tables or chairs around, he stomped his foot, sending Earth Release chakra into the ground. Instantly, a stone operating table rose up before him.
This wasn't a real jutsu, just a use of Earth Release chakra to reshape the rock.
With this done, he raised his hands again, crossing them to form the "ram" sign and cast Shadow Clone Jutsu.
*Poof!*
With a puff of chakra smoke, two shadow clones appeared in front of him.
Seimei turned to one of them and said, "Guard duty is your task."
The clone simply nodded and left the underground hall.
Then, Seimei looked at the other shadow clone. Handing two scrolls over, he said, "The surgery is in your hands."
The clone took the scrolls from him with a simple "Mm."
It formed a hand sign, opening the first scroll and taking out a full set of surgical tools, then unsealed the second.
In the center of the scroll appeared a vial filled with a green solution.
Inside the pale green liquid, a vibrant eye could be seen.
This was the Byakugan he had obtained from Ao.
Next, the shadow clone would transplant it into him, giving him access to the Byakugan's abilities through an additional visual system.
Watching as the clone prepared everything in an orderly manner, Seimei lay down on the stone operating table.
A moment later, the surgery officially began.
*(End of Chapter)*