As evening fell, ti slipped by quietly.
At the heart of the island, atop a massive stone platform, Seii paused his use of the Mind Reflection Technique. With a single thought, he dispelled the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique. In an instant, every shadow clone, both on and off the island, vanished without a trace.
A flood of mories and information poured into Seii's mind. His expression remained steady as he closed his eyes, carefully sifting through the influx, absorbing and processing the cultivation experiences they contained.
Ti ticked by, second by second.
About fifteen minutes later, Seii opened his eyes again. A flicker of disappointnt crossed his face. Despite preparing himself ntally, after several rounds of training, he still had no clue how to fuse Wind Release and Water Release to achieve Ice Release. The frustration was hard to shake.
"As expected, I need a reference," he muttered.
Seii's thoughts drifted to the report from his shadow clone stationed in the Hidden Mist Village. If he left now, he could likely capture a ninja from the Yuki Clan, who had awakened the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, by tonight. But after so consideration, with tomorrow set aside for rest, he decided against imdiate action.
Packing up his gear, Seii stood, activated Wind Release: Wings of Wind and cloaked himself in a Chakra Mantle. He took to the skies, heading toward the Hidden Leaf Village.
Half an hour later, just outside the village, Seii landed in a wooded area. Releasing the All-Encompassing Seal at his brow, he activated his Byakugan to ensure no one was nearby. Then, he swiftly moved toward a spot not far from the village's periter wall.
Using the Heaven's Command ability, he slipped past the Leaf's sensory barrier and patrol routes with ease, entering the village undetected. From there, he made his way ho.
Seeing the shadow clone waiting for him, Seii didn't waste words. He dispelled the Shadow Clone Technique instantly. A torrent of mories flooded his mind, which he quickly reviewed.
From the clone's mories, he confird that nothing noteworthy had happened in the Hidden Leaf over the past two weeks.
"Phew," Seii exhaled, finally relaxing.
After shedding his gear, he took a quick shower, changed into casual clothes, and headed straight for the "Food Street." Satisfying his hunger and washing away his distaste for soldier pills was a ritual he followed every ti he returned to the village.
At the Food Street, the rich aromas overwheld him. Unable to resist, Seii dove into a feast, eating heartily for two hours straight. By the ti he was done, his stomach was full, and the sky had grown dark.
Back ho, Seii didn't rest. He went straight to his training room and began his final task of the day—nurturing his Byakugan. Unlike usual, he spent three and a half hours on it, pushing his eyes to their current limit before stopping.
Opening his status panel, Seii checked the progress on his Byakugan—it had gained 18 evolution points. That was six more than usual. It wasn't a huge jump, but if he kept up this intensive nurturing during every rest period, the small gains would add up over ti.
"Not bad," he murmured.
Yawning, he covered his mouth, left the training room, washed up briefly, and headed to bed. Soon, soft snoring filled the room.
The night passed quietly.
---
The next day, like most tis he returned to the village, Seii spent his ti wandering, relaxing, or indulging in more food to satisfy his cravings. It was a carefree, leisurely day.
But such monts were always fleeting, especially with a plan in mind. Instead of waiting until the next morning to leave, Seii set out from the Hidden Leaf that very night.
His reason was simple: he needed to head to the Hidden Mist Village to capture a Yuki Clan ninja who had awakened their Kekkei Genkai, as part of his preparations for developing Ice Release.
Outside the Hidden Leaf, Seii gazed into the deep night. Forming hand signs, he activated Wind Release: Wings of Wind and the Chakra Mantle. With a flash of cyan light, he soared into the sky, heading toward the Land of Water.
Since he didn't use Earth Release: Ultra-Lightweight Rock Technique to lighten his weight, and the Hidden Leaf was quite far from the Land of Water, the journey took over an hour. Finally, he arrived just outside the Hidden Mist Village.
Using his Byakugan to scout the terrain ahead, Seii prepared to use Heaven's Command to slip into the village. But sothing made him pause. Hiding in a nearby forest, he ford hand signs and activated the Mind Connection Technique.
His 26-point ntal attribute gave him formidable ntal strength, allowing him to easily link with the shadow clone stationed in the Hidden Mist. They began to exchange information.
After the conversation, Seii couldn't help but feel his caution had paid off. According to the clone, the Yuki Clan ninja he'd targeted had taken a mission and left the village just yesterday. If he'd rushed in, it would've been a wasted trip.
Of course, he could target another Yuki Clan ninja, but that would introduce too many variables. Seii preferred to keep things clean and stick to his plan—capturing the specific ninja he'd chosen.
Learning the target's whereabouts from his clone, Seii cut off the Mind Connection Technique and imdiately set off for the new location.
How did the shadow clone know the ninja's movents? Simple—his network of spies. Over ti, Seii had built a large, well-distributed group of informants in the Hidden Mist, spread across various departnts. Tracking a sowhat notable ninja's movents was child's play with their combined efforts.
In truth, the shadow clone hadn't even needed to work hard. Using the Heart-Sealing Soul Contract: Instant Teleportation Mark, it had subtly influenced a Hidden Mist ANBU ninja to monitor the target's movents, effortlessly uncovering their destination. ANBU privileges made it that easy.
Refocusing, Seii cleared his mind. He ntally reviewed the map of the Land of Water and flew toward the target's location, following the intelligence.
Why not use the Flying Thunder God Technique? While Seii had left several Flying Thunder God markers across the Land of Water from past visits, they were sparse compared to the country's vast size. Unfortunately, there wasn't a marker near the target's current location.
So, flying it was.
But it didn't matter much. With his current speed, as long as the target hadn't left their mission site, he wouldn't miss them. Even if he did, he could always return to the Hidden Mist, sneak in, and take them down.
Seii wasn't in a rush.
(End of Chapter)
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