"Hah…"
Letting out a long sigh, Seimei steadied his emotions.
He had successfully uncovered his adversary's mission objective through Aburame Muin's memories.
It was, in fact, himself.
As he expected, their focus on him stemmed from the seemingly insignificant yet suspicious flaw in his use of Fire Style: Elemental Combustion Technique.
For days, the Root division had been investigating the destruction of the Demon Realm Island base.
Initially, they hadn't suspected him.
Although he was powerful, it didn't seem plausible for him to locate the base without precise intelligence.
However, his frequent use of the Fire Style: Elemental Combustion Technique in battles, recorded and reported to Danzo by Root ninjas, changed things.
Danzo, with his cunning instincts and experience in scheming, keenly linked this technique to the Sharingan's ability to copy jutsu.
Thus began his plan to target Seimei.
As for evidence?
Danzo didn't need any.
If you were even slightly suspicious, he would act against you, following his philosophy of "better safe than sorry."
Beyond this, his deep-seated animosity towards the Uchiha clan meant he was determined to prevent a genius like Seimei from flourishing.
Every stellar performance by Seimei on the battlefield was a thorn in Danzo's heart, robbing him of peace.
Danzo dreamed of eliminating him.
This opportunity played right into Danzo's hands. Whether there was a misunderstanding or not, he immediately devised a plan to kill Seimei.
Considering the war wasn't over, Danzo knew he couldn't cause too much disruption within the village. He also doubted his own strength alone would be enough.
So, he planned to borrow someone else's blade.
The first step was leaking intel about Kirigakure's operation near the Black Stone outpost to Nara Keiko.
This was easy for Danzo.
Since Nara Keiko received intelligence from the ANBU, and Root had infiltrated ANBU heavily, Danzo often used ANBU's name for his operations.
Thus, the information smoothly reached Nara Keiko.
Danzo wasn't worried about her verifying it, as the intel aligned with Kirigakure's actual plans, albeit exaggerated to push her into reinforcing the Black Stone outpost quickly.
The second step involved ensuring Seimei was assigned to the reinforcement unit.
This wasn't difficult either.
Danzo had thoroughly studied Nara Keiko's behavior.
He anticipated that she would likely send Seimei, who had ties to the Black Stone outpost and was familiar with the terrain.
The only variable was whether Seimei would refuse to leave the main battlefield.
Luckily, Seimei played along.
Thus, the second step succeeded.
The third step was the real act of borrowing the knife: leaking Seimei's unit's whereabouts to Kirigakure.
This led to the ambush earlier.
For most people, this would have been the end. Facing enemies far outnumbering them, with retreat cut off, survival would have been impossible.
But Seimei was no ordinary man.
This was merely the beginning, a way for Danzo to drain his chakra and weaken him.
The true killing blow was the three hidden Root squads.
Indeed, in the vicinity of the battlefield, three Root squads were lying in wait.
Aburame Muin's memories revealed Danzo's orders for him to coordinate with these squads to kill Seimei.
However, Aburame Muin didn't know their exact locations.
Additionally, Seimei learned that within his reinforcement unit, there was a Root mole.
This person was responsible for guiding Aburame Muin and the hidden squads in case Seimei deviated from the predetermined route.
"Heh… Planting operatives on both sides—classic 'Darkness of the Ninja World' style!"
With a cold laugh, Seimei reviewed the information and behavior of everyone in his unit.
To his disappointment, he couldn't identify a suspect.
Clearly, this mole was highly skilled.
Coupled with Aburame Muin's immediate self-destruction, it was evident that Danzo had sent his elites.
Unfortunately for Danzo, he hadn't anticipated Seimei possessing the Byakugan.
This allowed Seimei to instantly pick out Aburame Muin among the Kirigakure ninjas and uncover so much.
Wait—
Seimei suddenly realized the absence of Hyuga clan members in his unit might also be Danzo's doing.
If true, Danzo's meticulousness surpassed Seimei's expectations.
The more thorough the scheming, the more Seimei was determined to eliminate him.
He had no intention of living under the constant threat of a lurking snake.
Glancing at the evolution progress of his Mangekyo Sharingan—**(17296/50000)**—he felt conflicted.
Originally, Seimei planned to deal with Danzo after his Mangekyo evolved into the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, eliminating the risk of blindness.
But now, it seemed he couldn't wait that long.
Recalling Danzo's information, Seimei concluded that Danzo at this time wasn't as decrepit as in the future.
However, he lacked the arm of Sharingan eyes and its immunity-granting Izanagi.
Seimei needed only to guard against Danzo's bandage-wrapped, sealing-protected right eye to avoid a fate like Uchiha Shisui.
Factoring this in, Seimei was confident in defeating him.
The challenge lay in locating Danzo.
As a master of shadows, Danzo kept his whereabouts secret, even from Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Still, Seimei wasn't worried.
Once the war ended and everyone returned to the village, opportunities to strike would arise.
For now—
Seimei gazed at Aburame Muin, threw a kunai, and struck his throat.
Moments later, confirming his death, Seimei used Fire Style: Elemental Combustion Technique.
With a burst of flames, Aburame Muin and the insects within him were reduced to ashes.