With that thought, Seimei closed the panel, raised his hands to form seals, and performed the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.
This time, he created 160 shadow clones.
Moving forward, he planned to increase the number of shadow clones with each training session until he reached his limit.
Looking at the clones, Seimei directed 159 of them to work on developing Ice Release, while the remaining one was sent to the island where Yukikaze was being held.
At the same time, Seimei himself began training.
Crackle!
A thunderous sound rang out as a layer of Lightning Release Armor enveloped his entire body.
Then, locking onto the Flying Thunder God mark at the bottom of the ocean trench, he activated the Flying Thunder God Technique with a thought.
His vision shifted instantly.
In a flash, Seimei went from the island to the depths of the trench.
Watching the fish swim by, he quickly adjusted his condition, activating the Mystical Palm Technique and Human Shield to adapt to the sudden pressure change.
Then, following the principles of the Lightning Release Chakra Mode and his own accumulated experience, he began strengthening his body.
Unlike before, during this training session, he paid extra attention to the changes in his body while occasionally checking the panel to monitor the progress of his Wood Release.
He had no choice—after a month of passive enhancement, his Wood Release progress had increased by another 120 points.
Now, it stood at (970/1000), just 30 points shy of advancing.
Thirty points.
It wasn't a big gap by any means—almost negligible.
Filling it wouldn't take long at all.
Seimei had a gut feeling that once it advanced, the feedback to his body would have a positive effect on his physical training.
And that's why he was so focused on it.
As it turned out, his instincts were spot-on.
A week later, at dusk, after completing another round of physical training, his Wood Release finally advanced.
Underwater, at the bottom of the trench, Seimei paused his training and stretched out his hand. A cluster of Wood Release chakra formed, and a vibrant green vine sprouted from his fingertips, swaying gently as faint green light radiated from it, exuding a sense of vitality.
Opening the panel, Seimei saw that in the bloodline section, his Wood Release progress had broken through the (1000/1000) barrier, now sitting at (1/5000).
In that moment, he could clearly feel that he was forming Wood Release chakra faster and controlling it with greater ease.
Seimei was almost certain that, if he wanted, he could easily develop a few Wood Release ninjutsu based on this.
That was the mark of a superior bloodline—or, rather, exceptional talent.
But as he'd said before, a few Wood Release ninjutsu weren't all that important to him right now.
So he didn't dwell on it. What really interested him was the feedback to his body after this advancement.
It was well-known that Wood Release was a kekkei genkai closely tied to vitality and physical constitution. Its improvement would naturally enhance his body's evolution.
Closing his eyes, Seimei carefully sensed the changes in his body.
Time ticked by.
About five minutes later, he opened his eyes again.
How to put it?
He was a little disappointed.
He'd thought this advancement would bring some significant changes—maybe not a direct boost to his "Constitution" stat, but at least it should've brought his body closer to its next transformation.
And the result?
Sure, it did bring him closer to his next transformation, but only by a tiny margin.
By his estimate, his body, originally set to reach the transformation threshold by mid-July, was now on track for late June or early July.
In other words, it shaved off about half a month.
For that kind of improvement, Seimei could only say it was better than nothing.
But he hadn't held out much hope to begin with, so he chalked it up as a minor detour in his training.
Clearing his mind, Seimei dispersed the Wood Release vine at his fingertips and focused again, resuming his physical training.
After an hour, he returned to the island, absorbed the training experiences and memories of his shadow clones from the past hour, and began the second round of training.
This time, he didn't go back to the ocean to train his body. Instead, he used the Mind Reflection Technique to push his Sharingan's evolution.
At his current pace, in about a week, his Sharingan's progress would break through the (10000/100000) mark.
When that happened, his "Spirit" stat would improve, giving him more chakra to train with.
Seimei had assumed he'd reach that point smoothly.
But what he didn't expect was that, just as he was nearing success, Yukikaze—who had been quiet for nearly a month and a half—suddenly caused trouble.
That morning, Seimei had just finished his first round of training.
He'd absorbed the past hour's training experiences and memories from his shadow clones and had barely started the second round when the shadow clone sent to the island in the deep ocean suddenly dispelled.
At the bottom of the ocean trench, wrapped in Lightning Release chakra and deep in training, Seimei was interrupted by a sudden influx of memories.
At first, he thought one of his shadow clones had been too hasty, messing up the fusion of Wind and Water Release and accidentally destroying itself.
It wasn't common, but it happened occasionally.
Seimei was about to mentally curse the clone for wasting chakra when he realized the memories came from the clone on the distant island.
---
Moments earlier, on the isolated island in the deep ocean…
Yukikaze, following the shadow clone's instructions, formed Water Release chakra in one palm and Wind Release in the other, carefully adjusting their states to align before slowly fusing them together.
Watching closely, Seimei's clone was fully immersed, analyzing the subtle changes in the chakra's properties before and after fusion, hoping the other clones could replicate it later.
But at that moment, Yukikaze suddenly thrust his palms forward. The fused chakra transformed into a sharp, slender ice spike that pierced straight through the clone's heart.
In the clone's final moment before dispelling, it saw Yukikaze bolt toward the edge of the island, seemingly about to leap into the sea and escape.
---
Back at the ocean trench, Seimei opened his eyes and said calmly, "Couldn't hold it in anymore, huh? Ready to make a last stand?"
He wasn't surprised by Yukikaze's rebellion.
He'd anticipated it from the moment he lifted Yukikaze's attack restrictions while keeping his ability to channel chakra. It was inevitable.
Yukikaze was a jonin, after all—a jonin with an awakened kekkei genkai, no less. He had his pride.
He might play along and cooperate for a while, but over time, he was bound to snap.
Attacking Seimei was only a matter of time.
So why had Seimei left such an obvious loophole?
As he'd once said, it was to give Yukikaze a glimmer of hope, so he wouldn't completely give up.
And the strategy had worked. If Yukikaze hadn't seen that sliver of hope, he wouldn't have been so compliant for over a month.
As for this backlash?
Honestly, Seimei didn't care.
Thanks to the Sealed Heart and Soul: Contract Teleportation Mark, Yukikaze couldn't leave the island or send out any information.
And that was why Seimei wasn't in a rush to deal with him.