Chapter 1195 - 1190 – Clash

Time crawled forward.

Seimei's eyes snapped open.

A sharp glint flashed across his pupils.

"Ryūchi Cave?" he muttered under his breath.

Yep, the memory that just synced to him came from the shadow clone all the way out in the Land of Fields, the one quietly soaking up natural energy.

And the reason that clone urgently pushed the memory over? It had just run into one of the big three of Ryūchi Cave: Princess Tagorihime, the Field-Heart Goddess herself.

…A few minutes earlier

Land of Fields – Inside that hidden mountain-cavity space

A bunch of Seimei's shadow clones were sitting cross-legged, peacefully pulling in the thick natural energy that filled the place.

Then, a tiny ripple in space.

Over in the corner, the wooden clone that was permanently stationed here popped its eyes open.

No hesitation. It instantly locked onto the source of the ripple.

Nothing visible. No chakra signature either.

But "Seimei" didn't let his guard down for a second. With a thought, pure white Byakugan veins bulged around his temples.

There she was.

A teenage-girl figure dressed head-to-toe in emerald robes, golden crown on her head, giving off that untouchable, ethereal vibe.

Except Seimei wasn't buying the innocent act for even a heartbeat.

Forget how the heck someone just waltzed into this super-secret spot. The look alone screamed one name: Tagorihime, one of Ryūchi Cave's Three Goddesses.

Ever since he'd discovered this node linked to the three great sage regions, he'd been on high alert 24/7. Any spare moment, he'd run through every plot point and character he could remember.

That's why he clocked her identity in half a second.

Looks like she felt his stare, because she dropped the invisibility and just materialized right in the middle of all the shadow clones.

She turned to the wooden clone in the corner and asked, voice crisp, pleasant, but laced with that creepy seductive pull, "Who are you? Why are you here?"

If this had been some random civilian or a shinobi with a weak will, they'd probably spill their entire life story the moment they heard that voice.

But this was an extension of Seimei. Even if it was "just" a wood clone, it inherited a chunk of the real deal's natural resistances, including insane genjutsu defense.

Tagorihime's little charm trick? Basically just a fancy genjutsu. It didn't even make the clone blink.

Seeing that her voice had zero effect, her expression finally got serious.

She'd already been pretty serious the second she arrived. Anyone who could handle natural energy that dangerous was automatically a threat.

Dead silence filled the cavern.

Neither side said a word. Shadow clones, wood clone, nobody moved.

The standoff dragged on until the wood clone finally spoke, calm as ever.

"Tagorihime, huh?"

He didn't even pretend not to know her. Straight-up called her out.

At this point, he really didn't need to tiptoe around her. Sure, she was strong, way stronger than your average ninja, but compared to him? Meh.

Out of everyone in Ryūchi Cave, the only one he actually respected was the White Snake Sage.

And even then, "respect" didn't mean "fear."

The Sage couldn't stay in the human world for long stretches. With Seimei's current power, even if he couldn't win outright, he could stall until the old snake had to slither home.

And if they actually went all-out? He wasn't convinced he'd lose.

So yeah, no reason to act scared.

Across from him, Tagorihime's face darkened the instant he said her name.

"Who the hell are you?" she hissed. "How do you know who I am?"

Then her voice dropped, cold and venomous. "And do you have any idea that the natural energy here belongs to the three sage sanctuaries? Stealing it like this… are you looking to die?"

'So she really showed up because the clones were siphoning the energy,' Seimei thought.

Out loud, he just smirked. "Huh. Since when did natural energy born from the shinobi world suddenly get trademarked by you three leeches?"

In his eyes, the so-called "sacred grounds" were nothing but parasites latched onto the planet, bleeding it dry for a thousand years.

A thousand years ago, Kaguya showed up, planted the God Tree, and sucked the world almost dry to make her chakra fruit.

After she got sealed and the tree got chopped down, the planet should've slowly recovered over the centuries.

But it hasn't.

Look at the power creep, or rather, power decline. Forget ancient history; just the last few decades of the village era show how far the overall level has dropped.

If it weren't for freaks like Naruto and Sasuke, the shinobi world would be down to a handful of decent fighters.

And the culprits? The three sage regions constantly draining the planet's lifeblood to keep their own pocket dimensions "high-tier."

That's why geniuses are born less and less, and the ceiling keeps getting lower.

So yeah, Seimei had zero guilt about hijacking their supply.

He'd only kept things quiet before because he didn't want extra trouble.

Now that Tagorihime had walked right up to him? No more playing nice.

His words clearly struck a nerve.

Her beautiful face twisted into something feral. "Sharp tongue, little boy. Let's see if your bones are just as tough."

The next instant, her body lunged forward like a striking cobra, slipping through the crowd of shadow clones in a blur.

Her jaws opened impossibly wide, revealing long, needle-sharp fangs dripping with dark-purple venom as she went straight for the wood clone's neck.

The stench hit first, thick, rotten-sweet venom so potent that even catching a whiff told you it was bad news.

With his Constitution 43, a bite probably wouldn't kill the real Seimei, but it'd still be a massive pain.

Good thing this was only a wood clone. Worst case, it pops, no big loss.

Best case? He turns the tables and takes her out.

Thoughts flashed lightning-fast.

Then, without a shred of hesitation…

The wood clone's eyes ignited, three black tomoe spinning wildly.

Mangekyō Sharingan, active.