Grind is My Ninja Way

The next day.

Early morning.

After Seimei finished washing up and filling his stomach, he received a patrol mission from Nara Kaikō and promptly departed from Yujin Port.

This time, he went alone—not because he didn't want company, but because it wasn't feasible.

His patrol area covered not only the vicinity of Yujin Port but also several other strongholds currently engaged in battles with Kirigakure shinobi.

Moreover, he was tasked with monitoring the activities of the Mist ninjas in the Land of Waves, even across the strait.

It was clear that Nara Kaikō intended to fully exploit his flying abilities to gather intelligence as comprehensively as possible.

Seimei didn't have much to say about it.

Upon leaving Yujin Port, he immediately used the Shadow Clone Jutsu to create three clones.

After assigning each clone to a specific region, he sought a secluded spot to train.

For someone like him, who had already mastered Wind Release: Wings of Wind and Mental Connection Technique, such tasks hardly required his direct involvement. Sending a few clones was more than sufficient.

As long as intelligence could be relayed back promptly, he believed even Nara Kaikō wouldn't complain about him taking it easy.

Temporarily setting aside the mission, Seimei returned to the training ground he had used the previous night.

He deactivated the Guardian Seal on his forehead, focused his mind, and activated his Byakugan. After a quick scan of the surroundings to ensure no one was nearby, he landed on the ground.

Wasting no time, he performed the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu, creating eight clones.

Seimei assigned tasks to each of them:

One clone practiced Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, Another trained in Water Release: Great Shark Bullet Technique, A third worked on Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu.

Among the remaining five, two focused on Chakra Cloak and Shadow Sword Technique, while the other three studied Chakra Absorption Technique, Guardian Seal, and Object-Sealing Formation.

Since he had more time today, Seimei didn't create too many clones to train simultaneously. Instead, he ensured that at any given time, only one clone practiced a specific skill.

This approach maximized the efficient use of every bit of chakra.

After setting the assignments, Seimei dismissed the eight clones.

He then began his own training, focusing on Mystical Palm Technique and Reflective Mind Technique.

The former required at least two more months of consistent effort to induce another transformation in his body, thereby enhancing his physical constitution.

The latter, on the other hand, needed just over a month to push the evolution of his Mangekyō Sharingan beyond the 30,000/50,000 threshold.

However, it was possible that his Reflective Mind Technique would reach full mastery before that.

At its current level (Lv8), gaining two points of proficiency raised the evolution progress of his Sharingan by just one point.

Once it upgraded to Lv9 (0/0), it was expected that every point of proficiency would directly correspond to one point of progress.

Undoubtedly, this would be a significant leap forward.

With such hopeful thoughts in mind, Seimei gradually immersed himself in his training.

Time flew, and the third day arrived.

The past two days had been unusually peaceful.

Two days ago, the retreat of the Mist ninjas from Yujin Port seemed to mark a turning point.

Since then, the remaining Mist forces along the eastern border of the Land of Fire had all but abandoned any offensive intentions.

They stayed holed up in their remaining strongholds, merely awaiting attacks from Konoha's forces, doing little else.

This made Seimei's patrol mission incredibly simple.

Thanks to the calm environment, his training had gone exceptionally smoothly over the past two days.

By midday on the third day, another one of his skills had leveled up.

In the secluded forest, Seimei opened his eyes, a thoughtful look flashing across his gaze.

After a brief pause, he raised his right hand and lightly traced the air in front of him. His fingers seemed to touch something, yet also seemed to touch nothing at all.

A peculiar sensation arose in his heart, and Seimei murmured, "An illusion?"

As he spoke, he opened the proficiency panel.

He saw that the "Sealing Array" had already leveled up. Its proficiency had increased from LV5 (3990/5000) to LV6 (10/10000).

This change didn't just allow him to create sealing scrolls with larger storage spaces; it significantly enhanced his spatial awareness.

Because of this, he had just experienced the illusion that he could casually touch space itself.

Yes, Seimei had already come to a conclusion—it was merely an illusion.

Indeed, his spatial perception had improved, but not to the level where he could physically touch space.

Still, even so, this improvement would make it much easier for him to learn other space-time ninjutsu in the future.

What's more, this was only LV6.

When his "Sealing Array" advanced to LV7 (0/0) and achieved a qualitative transformation, the benefits it would bring him might be even greater.

At that point, his talent in space-time ninjutsu could very well reach an entirely new level.

These thoughts flashed through his mind as Seimei closed the panel, retrieved a scroll and ink from his ninja tool pouch, and began crafting a new sealing scroll with an even larger storage space.

After placing all his belongings into the new scroll, he resumed his training.

Time passed quickly, and before long, it was evening.

The moon shone brightly in a sky sparse with stars.

Seimei stood up. With his chakra at a low ebb, he promptly began practicing the "Multi-Shadow Clone Technique."

Boom!

With the sound of a burst of chakra, smoke scattered into the air.

What had been an empty stretch of forest was suddenly filled with people.

These figures were identical to one another, and after a few seconds, they disappeared.

However, this was only the beginning.

For the rest of the evening, these figures continuously appeared and vanished. Occasionally, there were brief pauses, but they never lasted long.

The entire process was almost like a haunting, enough to chill anyone to the bone.

If an ordinary person happened upon this scene, they might have fainted on the spot.

Yet this was simply Seimei repeatedly practicing the "Multi-Shadow Clone Technique." Each pause was a moment for him to reflect on his progress.

Time ticked by second by second. After around 200 repetitions, Seimei suddenly stopped.

He closed his eyes, reflecting for a moment.

When he opened them again, he had gained new insights into the "Multi-Shadow Clone Technique."

In that moment, Seimei knew—his "Multi-Shadow Clone Technique" had leveled up.

With that thought, Seimei raised both hands, forming the "Ram" seal, and once again performed the "Multi-Shadow Clone Technique."

Boom!

A burst of chakra smoke scattered, and hundreds, if not thousands, of identical figures appeared in the forest.

From the outside, these shadow clones looked no different from the ones created at LV7. But Seimei knew that the chakra consumption had decreased.

At LV7, each use of the "Multi-Shadow Clone Technique" consumed at least 5% of his current chakra.

Now, that number had dropped to 4%.

A mere 1% reduction might not seem like much, but given his enormous chakra reserves, it made a significant difference!

Currently, with a total chakra reserve of 200,000 points, a 1% reduction equaled 2,000 points.

Two thousand points of chakra could fuel several powerful ninjutsu.

And this wasn't even his limit.

As his chakra reserves grew larger in the future, the value of that 1% reduction would only increase.

Of course, these calculations were based on creating dozens or even hundreds of shadow clones at once.

If he only created one or two clones and delayed dispersing them, the undivided chakra wouldn't be consumed, making the actual cost negligible.

In other words, using the technique in normal situations wouldn't result in significant chakra depletion.

Additionally, with the "Multi-Shadow Clone Technique" at LV8, the stability of his clones had improved.

Although they still couldn't withstand a direct hit from a sharp weapon, they wouldn't disappear as easily when struck by stray ninjutsu.

Taking note of all these changes, Seimei wasted no time and resumed his practice.

Indeed, his "Multi-Shadow Clone Technique" had leveled up, but he hadn't yet completed his training plan for the day. So, he had to keep going.