Time quickly flew by, and soon it was evening.
Just as Seimei finished his last round of training and was about to rest before heading out for a scouting mission, he noticed that a new skill had appeared on his panel.
It wasn't just any skill—it was the "Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall."
After hours of practice and refinement, he finally succeeded in imprinting this jutsu onto his panel.
This meant that from now on, as long as he used chakra, he could steadily level up the jutsu until it reached perfection.
However, considering the current situation, Seimei decided not to invest too much chakra into it just yet.
As long as he got it to a beginner level and could use it when necessary, that would be enough for now.
Next, he planned to allocate the 70,000 chakra points he'd taken from "Wind Style: Rasenshuriken" into upgrading "Earth Style: Hardening Jutsu."
Based on his previous day's chakra consumption and proficiency growth, Seimei estimated that the 70,000 points could give him around 700 proficiency points per day.
And since it only required 1,000 proficiency points to upgrade "Earth Style: Hardening Jutsu" from level 3 to level 4, in just a day and a half, he could successfully level it up. In three more days, he could reach level 5.
By then, his "Earth Style: Hardening Jutsu" would be ready for real combat and could handle more complex situations.
This filled Seimei with anticipation.
As for "Guard Seal" and "Object Sealing Formation," with the 5,000 chakra points saved from pausing the practice of "Disease Extraction Jutsu" and the 4,000 points originally allocated for developing Earth chakra, there was enough to work with.
Since there was no rush to use these sealing techniques, he decided to level them up slowly over time.
Closing the proficiency panel, Seimei stood up, stretching his stiff body.
Without lingering, he formed a hand seal and activated "Wind Style: Wings of Wind."
With a "boom," a pair of light blue chakra wings appeared.
Seimei controlled them with a gentle flap.
The next moment, he soared in the direction of the Blackstone Base.
In just a few minutes, Seimei arrived at the base.
After a quick meal to fill his stomach, he took on his mission and flew toward Flying Fish Town to the south.
From the mission details, Seimei learned that Flying Fish Town had been unusually quiet the previous day, with no suspicious movements from the Mist ninjas.
Thus, he needed to stay especially alert tonight.
---
That night, under a sparse sky of stars and a bright moon, Seimei hovered high in the air, his Sharingan observing the town below.
The town was brightly lit, with traces of Mist ninja activity everywhere.
Clearly, both Konoha and Mist feared a surprise attack from the other side.
That explained why the Mist ninja's vigilance was so high.
Seimei's gaze swept across several tall buildings in the town. As expected, he saw crossbows at the ready, operated by ninjas, all prepared for action.
He also noticed several Mist ninjas inside the buildings.
The Mist ninjas weren't trying to hide any of this, obviously intending to intimidate him.
But Seimei had no intention of breaking into their territory. While he was confident they couldn't stop him, there was no need to take unnecessary risks.
With this thought, he flew away from Flying Fish Town.
After some time, he arrived at the rocky beach he'd been using for training recently and deactivated "Wind Style: Wings of Wind."
As soon as his feet touched the ground, Seimei performed the "Shadow Clone Jutsu."
In an instant, eleven shadow clones appeared, accompanied by puffs of chakra smoke.
Seimei glanced at them, sending one to monitor the Mist ninjas while he and the remaining ten began their training.
They communicated through the "Mind Connection Jutsu," so nothing would be delayed.
---
Time passed by the second.
In the blink of an eye, the night was over.
Unexpectedly, the Mist ninjas in Flying Fish Town remained calm.
Seimei took advantage of the peaceful night to focus on his training.
The next morning, as the first rays of sunlight touched the sea, Seimei opened his eyes. His shadow clones had already disappeared.
They had completed their assigned training, and from the second half of the night onward, Seimei had been training in the more time-consuming "Palm Healing Jutsu" and "Mind Reflection Jutsu" alone.
Though he was mentally exhausted, the growth in proficiency on his skill panel made him feel incredibly satisfied.
Seeing the progress, he felt that all his effort had been worth it.
"Inhale... exhale..."
He took a deep breath and slowly let it out.
Seimei focused his mind, formed a hand seal, and activated the "Mind Connection Jutsu," instantly linking with his shadow clone over 20 kilometers away.
After confirming that everything in Flying Fish Town was normal, Seimei had the clone deactivate the "Shadow Clone Jutsu."
In the next moment, a wave of memories flooded his mind.
Seimei quickly browsed through them and confirmed once again that there were no unusual actions from the Mist ninjas. He then activated "Wind Style: Wings of Wind" and flew back toward Blackstone Base.
---
About fifteen minutes later, Seimei was hovering over Blackstone Base.
The Konoha ninjas on guard saw him but didn't attempt to stop him.
Once he landed, Seimei headed straight back to his quarters, forcing himself to stay awake as he wrote a brief mission report.
Afterward, he formed a hand seal and used the "Shadow Clone Jutsu," creating a clone to submit the report while he made his way to the cafeteria.
Energy follows the law of conservation. While he could recover a lot of chakra each day, it also meant he ate much more than others.
Usually, he relied on military rations to replenish his chakra.
But honestly, the taste of military rations wasn't great.
So whenever he had the chance, he'd head to the cafeteria for a proper meal.
Although the conditions here were tough, and the food wasn't exactly gourmet, it was still better than rations, right?
After quickly downing several bowls of noodles and filling his stomach, Seimei left the cafeteria.
Not waiting for the food to digest, he returned to his quarters and fell asleep.
And that sleep lasted the entire morning.
When Seimei opened his eyes again, the sun was already high in the sky.
The blinding light streamed through the window, making him squint instinctively.
Raising his hand to block the light, Seimei sat up, dazed for a moment before getting up and straightening his clothes.
After freshening up, Seimei stretched, feeling completely refreshed.
"After lunch, I'll continue training and upgrade 'Earth Style: Hardening Jutsu' and 'Wind Style: Wings of Wind,'" he thought to himself. Suddenly, his ears twitched, and his brow furrowed.
Almost immediately, there was a knock at the door.
(End of Chapter)