A flurry of thoughts raced through Seimei's mind, but he didn't linger on them. Since he'd already allocated the 1.5 million chakra points, there was no point in wasting time.
With a flicker of intent, Seimei raised his hands, forming seals to cast the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique once again.
Poof!
A cloud of chakra smoke dispersed, revealing even more shadow clones than usual scattered across the clearing.
Seimei eyed them and started by sending off one group according to the previous setup, letting them get back to their training.
Then, factoring in the increased chakra investment for each skill, he assigned some of the remaining clones to work on those same techniques.
Finally, he tasked the last batch with developing curse seal techniques.
Just like that, over 150 shadow clones were divvied up in no time.
But this was only a rough draft.
Over the next few hours, he'd tweak things based on their progress, fine-tuning until every skill's training efficiency peaked and chakra waste hit rock bottom.
Watching the clones head off, Seimei snapped out of his thoughts. No time to dawdle—he jumped straight into his own training.
The crackle of electricity filled the air.
Seimei's body was soon cloaked in a thick layer of Lightning Release chakra as he followed the Lightning Release Chakra Mode training method, pushing his physique to the limit.
Time slipped by, minute by minute.
Before long, hours had passed.
Night fell.
After finishing his final round of training, Seimei absorbed the experience and memories from all his shadow clones, converting them into proficiency for the corresponding skills. Then, he began nurturing his Byakugan.
The process took two hours.
By the time he was done, it was well past midnight.
Seimei gave himself a quick rinse, then headed into the cabin to rest.
The next morning, as dawn barely broke, he was up again. He popped a few enhanced soldier pills to fill his stomach, then kicked off another day of training.
Two days flew by like that.
Seimei figured this ten-day training cycle would just keep rolling along—until noon on the third day, when he suddenly sensed the Flying Thunder God mark on his shadow clone activate.
Perched on a boulder, Seimei's eyes snapped open.
A faint tremor pulsed in his chest—he knew his shadow clone was calling him.
Based on the instructions he'd left, the frontline clone wouldn't bother him unless something big was up.
In other words, if it was reaching out, things had gotten serious enough that Seimei himself had to step in.
"Did something stir up with the Hidden Stone Village, or is it something else?"
Seimei's mind buzzed with questions.
But after racking his brain, he couldn't pin it down.
Screw it—no point overthinking.
With a thought, he dispelled the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.
In an instant, every shadow clone training across the island—inside and out—halted mid-session, no matter what they were working on.
Poof!
They vanished in puffs of chakra smoke.
A flood of memories poured into Seimei's head.
He shut his eyes, sifting through the clones' training experiences and memories, converting them into skill proficiency.
Since they'd only been at it for less than an hour this time, it took him just ten minutes to process everything.
Opening his eyes again, Seimei rubbed his throbbing temples.
Once the ache eased up, he grabbed a few enhanced soldier pills from a nearby wooden box and tossed them into his mouth.
Crunch, crunch.
The crisp sound echoed as he chewed a few times before swallowing.
While waiting for his stamina to rebound, he tapped into the Senra Bansho Fuin at his forehead, pulling some stored chakra to replenish his body's meridians.
It didn't take long for him to feel back at his peak.
No more stalling—Seimei locked onto his shadow clone's position and activated the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Silently, his figure vanished from the spot.
---
Meanwhile, at the border between the Land of Earth and the Land of Waterfalls:
Inside a tent, Seimei's form appeared out of nowhere.
Standing in front of him was an identical figure—his shadow clone from the front lines.
Sensing his arrival, the clone turned calmly to face him.
Before it could speak, Seimei cut in, "What's going on?"
The clone didn't mince words. "Just now, a squad from the village's Anbu sent a distress call. They spotted two teams of Stone ninja sneaking across the border. They're asking for immediate backup. I've got a hunch they're coming for us. Check it out yourself."
With that, the clone dispelled itself.
A rush of memories flooded Seimei's mind.
Thanks to the clone's quick rundown, he sorted through them in no time.
Just as the clone suspected, these guys were probably after him.
The reason?
Simple. Their current location was the same spot where he'd briefly stopped with Old Purple after teleporting from the Land of Waterfalls into the Land of Fire.
It was a desolate nowhere—nothing around, just a random teleport point he'd set up while passing through on his way back to the Leaf Village.
For the Hidden Stone Village to send so many people, risking encirclement, to sneak into Fire territory and head straight for that dead-end spot? No wonder the clone got suspicious.
Even if it hadn't, with the Anbu's distress call now in play and the frontline command handing him the job, Seimei had to move.
That's why he was stationed here in the first place.
Speaking of the frontline command, it was an old acquaintance—Nara Keiko, an elite jonin from the Nara clan.
They'd worked together plenty of times, and she knew what he was capable of. The second that distress call came in, she'd handed him the mission.
The plan: use his flight ninjutsu to get there fast, link up with the Anbu squad, and tail the intruders.
Then, the village and the front lines would coordinate, sending forces to surround the Stone ninja and wipe them out in one fell swoop.
With the mission clear, Seimei didn't hang around. He tapped into the chakra stored in his forehead's alternate space, topping off his meridians until they were brimming.
Then, he cast Wind Release: Wings of Wind and donned his Chakra Cloak, soaring into the sky toward the mission site.
Halfway up, something clicked in his mind. He paused, raised his hands, and formed seals for another technique.
In an instant, his flight speed spiked. His body blurred into a streak of cyan light, vanishing across the horizon.