Time passed, minute by minute.
Gradually, Uchiha Haruki entered a strange state.
At that moment, his perception of the outside world dropped to its lowest level, while the experiences and memories accumulated by his Shadow Clones kept surfacing in his mind.
This gave Haruki the feeling of divine inspiration in developing his new jutsu—he couldn't stop even if he wanted to.
In fact, he had already been just one step away from success.
And now, it was as if one foot had already stepped over the threshold.
…
Who knew how long had passed?
Suddenly, Haruki opened his eyes.
A sharp glint flickered within them.
He stood there blankly for a moment.
Then, he raised his hands and slowly formed a series of hand seals. While gathering chakra from within his body, he followed a faint guiding sense, and cast the jutsu—Telepathic Link Technique (Tōshin no Jutsu)!
The next moment, a voice rang in his mind.
"Did it work?"
The voice wasn't someone else's—it was his own.
However, the one speaking wasn't him, but a Shadow Clone located dozens of kilometers away.
Hearing the question, Haruki nodded slightly and replied mentally, "Yes, I've successfully developed the Telepathic Link Technique."
"Too bad you're telling me this now. I can't learn it until we merge back together."
The clone responded dryly.
"Mm."
Haruki gave a simple acknowledgment and asked, "How's it looking on your end? Any signs of Mist ninja?"
"Nothing."
The Shadow Clone responded concisely.
"Alright, keep watching," Haruki instructed one last time before cutting off the connection.
Opening his eyes, he recalled the sensations from earlier—it was a completely new experience.
With a thought, he brought up his skill interface.
Sure enough, in the skills column, a new entry appeared:
Telepathic Link Technique: lv0 (1/100)
Seeing the "lv0 (1/100)" displayed, Haruki understood that while he had successfully developed the jutsu, it hadn't reached entry level mastery yet.
The only reason he could use it now to connect with a clone dozens of kilometers away was because he and the Shadow Clone already shared a natural link. This connection served as a medium, saving him a lot of effort.
Moreover, the primary purpose of creating this jutsu had been to improve communication between his main body and Shadow Clones.
Now that it worked, it excelled in that specific area.
On the other hand, if he tried to use it on a completely unrelated person right now, no matter how hard he tried, it would be nearly impossible to succeed.
Only once he upgraded it to level 1—true mastery—would it begin to resemble the telepathy techniques used by the Yamanaka clan.
With that in mind, Haruki immediately created another Shadow Clone to take advantage of the presence of the other two clones and grind skill experience for the Telepathic Link Technique.
As for himself, he returned to practicing Heart Mirror Technique (Eishin no Jutsu) and Mystic Palm Technique (Shōsen Jutsu).
There wasn't much to say about the Heart Mirror Technique. For his Mangekyō Sharingan to evolve to the next level, at his current pace, it would take at least two or three months.
The Mystic Palm Technique, however…
Thanks to the relentless training over the past two days, its proficiency had increased significantly.
As a result, his body had reached the critical point of transformation.
Haruki estimated that in just a day or two, he could begin using the Mangekyō's Power of Man ability to guide his body's evolution.
With that thought in mind, he continued immersing himself in training.
…
Time passed.
In the latter half of the night, near the second sea route, Haruki's Shadow Clone was continuously flying—both to monitor the sea below and to level up the Wind Release: Wings of Wind technique.
Much like the Rasengan, Wings of Wind could be leveled in two ways:
One, by repeated practice.
Two, by sustaining its active effect over time.
Since flying itself was the effect of the technique, maintaining flight would gradually increase its proficiency. And if he performed complex movements while flying, the gain would be even faster.
This was why Haruki had been able to raise the technique's level so quickly in just a few days.
It also ensured that his chakra wasn't being wasted.
After all, training the Heart Mirror Technique, evolving his Sharingan, using the Mystic Palm Technique, or developing new jutsu—all of those required relatively little chakra.
Without Wings of Wind to consume it steadily, at least half of his daily chakra recovery would go unused.
Now, however, every drop was put to good use.
Of course, there was still some unavoidable waste, but compared to doing nothing, this was a much better return.
Just as the Shadow Clone was juggling both training and surveillance, four large ships suddenly entered his peripheral vision.
He halted midair, activating the Sharingan.
His eyes locked onto the distant vessels.
"No mistake… They're definitely Mist warships."
The clone muttered as he spotted the unmistakable insignia of the Hidden Mist Village on their sails.
With confirmation, the clone prepared to dispel itself and inform the original.
But just as he was about to do so, a familiar telepathic link flared up.
He'd nearly forgotten—one of the other clones had been practicing Telepathic Link Technique with him this whole time.
For the sake of focusing on flying, Haruki had been ignoring the connection. Now it turned out to be a stroke of luck.
He quickly called out mentally, "Wait!"
The soon-to-be-cut link froze in place.
A familiar voice came through.
"What is it?"
"I've spotted Mist ninja."
The Shadow Clone replied directly.
"Got it. I'll notify the original right away."
The voice responded.
"Okay."
With that, the telepathic connection faded.
Moments later, a new link formed.
This time, it was the main body, Uchiha Haruki, initiating the Telepathic Link Technique.
"What exactly are you seeing over there?" Haruki asked.
"In visual range, I see four Mist warships. They haven't noticed me yet. Do you want me to move in closer?"
The Shadow Clone replied.
Haruki thought for a moment and said, "Yes. Fly a little higher and stay hidden. I'll be there as soon as possible."
"Understood."
The clone gave a final response and began flying toward the Mist fleet.
At the same time, Haruki was already racing toward the scene with all his might.
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