After discussing the plan, Seimei returned to Hyuga Hayato's side and briefly recounted the content of the meeting.
After hearing his account, Hyuga Hayato realized the seriousness of the situation and understood why Seimei had rushed back earlier.
If his premonition came true, it would indeed be a terrifying event.
This also made him even more cautious while carrying out his scouting duties.
Almost every minute, he would activate his Byakugan and use its eye ability to observe everything within a one-kilometer radius.
Fortunately, until mid-morning, during a short break, they didn't find anything unusual.
However, their luck only lasted until then.
After the break, they had just set off for half an hour when Hyuga Hayato's expression suddenly changed as he routinely activated his Byakugan to observe the surroundings.
Seimei, who had been closely watching him, immediately noticed the change in his expression and asked, "Linghuo, did you find something?"
Hyuga Hayato turned his head towards the front right and said in a serious tone, "At three o'clock, about six hundred meters away, there's an Iwa ninja team."
Hearing this, Seimei immediately looked in that direction, but the distance was too far, and he couldn't see anything. So he continued to ask, "How many people? What's their strength like?"
"Seven."
Hyuga Hayato first stated the number of people in the team.
"And their strength?"
Seimei asked again.
Although a ninja's strength couldn't be entirely determined by the amount of chakra they possessed, there was no doubt that those with more chakra wouldn't be weak.
Therefore, judging the enemy's strength based on their chakra levels was a basic tactic, and Seimei often did so.
Compared to his Sharingan's accuracy in observing chakra, the Hyuga clan's Byakugan was undoubtedly more precise.
Thus, their judgment would be more accurate.
Sure enough, after a while, Hyuga Hayato said, "Four of them are average, with chakra levels about a quarter of yours."
"A quarter of mine?"
Seimei murmured and glanced at his status panel.
Currently, his maximum chakra was 24,724 points. During missions, he usually maintained his chakra around 24,000 points.
A quarter of that was 6,000 points, which was the level of a special jonin.
In an instant, Seimei had a rough estimate of the strength of these four people.
Then, he heard Hyuga Hayato continue, "The other two are stronger, with chakra levels about half of yours."
"Half?"
Seimei frowned slightly. Half was 12,000 points, even exceeding the level of "one card" (likely referring to a specific measurement unit in the story).
'Could these two be elite jonin?'
Seimei was filled with doubt.
But he wasn't too nervous because at this level, it wasn't just about chakra quantity but also a ninja's combat skills.
In fact, the latter was even more important.
Even with sufficient chakra, one couldn't become an elite jonin without adequate combat skills.
If ordinary jonin were the pillars of the village, then elite jonin were the thickest among them.
In peacetime, they could even compete for the position of Kage.
This showed that there wouldn't be too many elite jonin in each village.
So, it was unrealistic for Iwagakure to send two at once.
Thinking of this, Seimei secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Then, he continued to ask, "And the last one?"
"The last one..."
Hyuga Hayato hesitated for a moment, not speaking for a while, just staring intently in that direction, as if struggling to observe something.
"Ah!"
Just as Seimei was getting impatient, Hyuga Hayato suddenly cried out, closed his Byakugan, and started gasping for air. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and he looked as if he had been frightened.
Before Seimei could ask, he shouted anxiously, "Run!"
Hearing this, Seimei didn't waste any time. He immediately grabbed Hyuga Hayato's arm and rushed towards the main group at high speed.
It took more than ten seconds for Hyuga Hayato to recover.
He broke free from Seimei's grip and explained as they moved, "The last guy isn't an ordinary ninja. If I'm not mistaken, he's the Five-Tails jinchuriki."
"What?"
Seimei stopped in his tracks, unable to believe it, and asked, "Are you sure?"
Although he had already guessed from Hyuga Hayato's reaction that the last person was definitely not simple, he didn't expect it to be the Five-Tails jinchuriki.
Moreover...
'Iwagakure is actually willing to send out such a powerful weapon?'
Seimei was puzzled.
But after thinking about it carefully, he felt it wasn't that surprising, after all, it was the Five-Tails jinchuriki who had come out this time.
Compared to other jinchuriki, the Five-Tails jinchuriki, Han, was much more stable, and there was basically no need to worry about him losing control.
Besides, this wasn't the first time Iwagakure had sent him out.
Otherwise, how did he get the title of "Steam Ninja"? It was earned through battles!
Thinking of this, Seimei didn't find it strange anymore.
But...
'That's a jinchuriki! If I can turn him into a 'chakra battery', I won't have to worry about chakra for a long time.'
As soon as this thought popped up, Seimei couldn't help but feel tempted.
What?
He wasn't strong enough?
Indeed, with his current strength, it was unlikely he could capture the Five-Tails jinchuriki. But don't forget, his Sharingan's evolution progress was at (9999/10000).
Once he evolved his three-tomoe Sharingan into the Mangekyo Sharingan, his strength would definitely increase significantly.
At that time, with Mangekyo-level瞳力 and his 'Genjutsu: Sharingan' at level 6 with over half progress, controlling a mere jinchuriki wouldn't be a problem.
Even if the jinchuriki fully transformed into the tailed beast, Seimei was somewhat confident in dealing with it.
If the ocular jutsu he awakened was even more powerful, the process might be even simpler.
However...
After some internal struggle, he still gave up on this idea. There were three main reasons: first, he didn't want to disrupt his plan and rashly awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Second, capturing a tailed beast at this time would be too high-profile. Uchiha Madara wasn't dead yet, and if he attracted his attention, it would be a big problem.
If Madara thought he had potential and captured him to control and use him to further the "Eye of the Moon Plan," that wouldn't be good.
Seimei didn't want to get entangled with someone who was about to die.
As for the third reason...
There were too many people around, not only Konoha ninja but also Iwa ninja.
If he chose to attack the Five-Tails jinchuriki, Han, and couldn't resolve the situation quickly, it would inevitably turn into a large-scale battle.
At that time, his Mangekyo Sharingan would definitely be exposed.
And once his Mangekyo Sharingan was revealed, it would cause even more trouble, which completely went against his plan.
So, after careful consideration, he ultimately decided to hold back.
Of course, such a good opportunity couldn't be wasted.
Although he couldn't capture the jinchuriki this time, observing his combat habits and power level would be quite beneficial.
Even though he might not target this tailed beast in the future, it was always good to be prepared, right?
"Seimei? Seimei?"
While Seimei was brainstorming, Hyuga Hayato's anxious voice suddenly brought him back to reality.
Seeing that he had regained his senses, Hyuga Hayato anxiously asked, "Why did you stop? When I was observing him with my Byakugan just now, the tailed beast noticed me. The jinchuriki is already heading this way. We need to hurry and meet up with the main group."
However, before he could finish speaking, a "whooshing" sound like a train moving at high speed suddenly came from the distance, growing louder and louder.
Hearing this sound, Hyuga Hayato immediately activated his Byakugan and looked in the direction of the sound.
The next moment, his face changed drastically, and he shouted, "Run! He's coming!"
In fact, even without him saying it, Seimei had already seen the newcomer through the gaps in the forest.
He was wearing red armor, a conical hat, and emitting white steam all over his body, rushing towards them at an extremely fast speed.
He ignored the thinner trees along the way, directly crashing through them, only slightly changing his direction when encountering thicker trees.
This kind of power was terrifying.
(End of Chapter)