After some deep thought, Seimei closed the proficiency panel. Without saying a word, he raised his hand again and performed a hand seal, casting the ninjutsu—**Palm Sage Technique**, to begin strengthening his body.
He needed to confirm how long it would take for his body to undergo its next transformation after his **Physique** attribute reached 19 points.
The rich Yang Chakra surged forth as Seimei meticulously guided it, allowing it to invade every part of his body, prompting his cells to evolve.
Time ticked by, second by second.
In the blink of an eye, over two hours passed.
It was now late afternoon.
Suddenly, Seimei opened his eyes.
A trace of undeniable fatigue flashed through his gaze.
Forcing himself to stay alert, he carefully sensed the changes in his body.
After more than two hours and nearly fifty rounds of strengthening, he vaguely sensed some improvement.
However, compared to before, this progress was minimal, not enough to estimate how long it would take for the next transformation.
After some thought, Seimei activated his **Mangekyō Sharingan**.
Immediately afterward, he activated the pupil technique residing in his right eye—**The Eye of Man**!
With its unique power, he instantly scanned his entire body, accurately assessing his progress this time.
After deactivating **The Eye of Man** and closing his Mangekyō Sharingan, Seimei murmured, "Two months, huh."
Yes, based on his estimation, at the current rate of strengthening, it would take about two months for his body to reach the new critical point.
At that time, he could attempt to break through.
So, what to make of this?
Two months is neither too short nor too long.
It all depends on whom you compare it to.
Compared to his past experiences, the time required for this transformation was indeed a bit long.
But compared to others in the ninja world, who are often stuck at the mercy of their innate talent and aptitude, two months is nothing.
In any case, Seimei had that much patience.
With that in mind, he stopped overthinking, washed his face, and returned to bed to rest.
There were only a few hours left before nightfall, and he needed to be fully rested before going on his mission.
Soon, the faint sound of snoring filled the room.
It took only a few moments for Seimei to fall into a deep sleep.
...
Time flew by, and night came.
Outside the **Black Stone Outpost**.
Up in the sky.
Still a distance from **Feiyu Town**, Seimei suddenly changed direction, flying toward the open sea.
About fifteen minutes later.
He arrived at a location about 30 kilometers from the shoreline.
Here, there was a smooth stretch of rocky shoreline.
From high above, Seimei activated his Sharingan, scanning the area to confirm that there was no one within a few kilometers before landing.
Standing on the slightly slippery rocks, Seimei wasted no time. He crossed his hands, forming the **Ram** hand seal, and performed the **Shadow Clone Technique**!
*Boom!*
With a puff of chakra smoke, ten shadow clones appeared.
Without saying a word, Seimei assigned two of them to train **Wind Release: Rasenshuriken**, and another to train **Rasengan**.
Next, he had three more train **Water Release: Water Formation Wall**, **Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique**, and **Water Release: Great Shark Bullet Technique**.
As for the remaining four, he selected three to train **Delicate Extraction Technique**, **Mind Transmission Technique**, and **Instant Sword Technique**.
The last one was tasked with developing **Earth Release Chakra**.
Watching the ten busy clones, Seimei nodded in satisfaction.
This was how he had been doing it for the past two days.
By doing this, he could keep up with his training progress even while on a mission.
Though it required him to return every hour to absorb the related experiences and memories and refresh his clones, the benefits far outweighed the inconvenience.
Moreover, with **Wind Release: Wings of Wind**, covering this distance wasn't much trouble at all.
It even gave him more opportunities to improve his proficiency in **Wings of Wind**, truly a win-win situation.
Refocusing, Seimei didn't delay any further. He formed the hand seals, cast **Wind Release: Wings of Wind**, and, with a flap of his wings, flew toward Feiyu Town.
It was time to carry out his mission.
...
Meanwhile.
In **Feiyu Town**.
At the center.
Inside a building, more than a dozen **Kirigakure Jonin** were gathered, seemingly discussing something.
After a while, the **Kirigakure Jonin** sitting at the head of the table summarized, "Since everyone agrees, let's proceed as planned."
He then turned to someone on his right and said, "Ao, you will lead this operation."
"Yes, Captain!" replied Ao, whose right eye was covered with a black cloth, as he stood up immediately.
"Very well, everyone, go make your preparations!" the leading Jonin said once more.
"Yes!" the others responded in unison.
Soon, only **Yano Chizaki** remained in the meeting room, staring blankly ahead, lost in thought.
Meanwhile, the others, upon leaving the room, began preparing under Ao's direction.
This time, they were planning to deliver a heavy blow to **Konoha's** morale.
And the method?
To eliminate the one who had been harassing them every night—Seimei.
Yes, their target was Seimei.
As one of Konoha's renowned genius ninjas, Seimei's death would undoubtedly have a huge negative impact on Konoha.
Especially at such a critical moment when a great war was on the horizon.
Unfortunately, while their plan sounded good, the outcome would depend on their respective abilities.
...
About fifteen minutes later.
Seimei arrived over Feiyu Town.
As usual, he activated his Sharingan, observing the movements of the **Kirigakure** ninjas below.
Until the latter half of the night, when he had gathered enough intel and the Kirigakure ninjas were at their most exhausted, he began his action.
With a sudden dive, he plummeted down. As he reached a rooftop, he fiercely threw a **kunai**.
Sparks flickered on the kunai as an **explosive tag** quickly ignited.
Just as the kunai was about to hit the roof, another kunai appeared out of nowhere, flying toward Seimei's kunai.
*Clang!*
A crisp metallic clash echoed.
The two kunai collided in midair, creating sparks.
Seimei's kunai was deflected, and with a *boom*, it exploded into a bright flame midair.
In an instant, Feiyu Town seemed to come to life.
All the Kirigakure ninjas, whether resting or on night watch, emerged from their hiding spots and looked in this direction.
However, their expressions didn't show much panic.
It wasn't that they were particularly calm, but that they had grown used to it.
Since the scouting mission began, Seimei had done this almost every night before leaving.
At first, the Kirigakure ninjas were a bit flustered, but after it happened repeatedly, they got used to it.
Seimei's main reason for doing this wasn't just to harass them. His goal was to destroy those **crossbows**.
Though they weren't a significant threat, they still posed some danger.
So, he wanted to destroy them completely before the great battle began.
Unfortunately, he hadn't succeeded yet.
But tonight, it seemed like there might be an opportunity...
**(End of Chapter)**