Sunsets and sunrises.
In the blink of an eye, a week had passed.
Just as Seimei had predicted, Kirigakure had no intention of sitting idly by and letting events unfold to their detriment.
Ever since the news of Konoha's negotiations with Iwagakure broke, Kirigakure began mobilizing its forces, deploying troops from its homeland through its forward base in the Land of Waves and into the Fire Country.
However, they didn't concentrate solely on the four main breach points but instead distributed their forces widely along the eastern border of the Fire Country.
This created tremendous pressure on Konoha's strongholds along the border.
The situation grew even tenser two days ago, following reports that the second round of negotiations between Konoha and Iwagakure had been relatively successful. Kirigakure's agitation became increasingly apparent.
Sometimes, Seimei wondered whether this information was deliberately leaked by Iwagakure to provoke Kirigakure, forcing them to create trouble for Konoha and thereby increasing Iwagakure's bargaining power in the negotiations.
Alternatively, it might have been an effort by radicals within Iwagakure and some factions in Konoha who were against ending the war, working together to disrupt the situation.
Regardless of the truth, Seimei knew that as one of the four strongholds near Kirigakure's breach points, the Black Stone Stronghold had to prepare for an all-out battle.
This meant even Seimei had to cut back on his training time.
Fortunately, his Shadow Clone Technique had reached level 6, allowing him to summon up to thirty clones at once.
Otherwise, there simply wouldn't have been enough time.
However, having multiple clones practicing the same skill simultaneously caused diminishing returns in efficiency, even though he had increased the frequency of refreshing his clones.
There was no avoiding it.
With the war looming, Seimei couldn't afford to stand out too much.
Now, he could only hope that the coming battles would allow him to absorb enough chakra to compensate for the time he had lost.
To Seimei, the battle seemed inevitable.
Regardless of who was pulling the strings behind the scenes or what the truth might be, Kirigakure had prepared extensively. They wouldn't stop now.
This was simply the calm before the storm.
Seimei could almost foresee that in three days, when the results of the third round of negotiations between Konoha and Iwagakure were announced—if the talks proceeded smoothly—this war would likely erupt in full force.
At that point, the entire frontline would be engulfed in flames.
Shaking his head, Seimei pushed these thoughts aside. Taking his squad, he continued patrolling the forest southwest of the Black Stone Stronghold.
In a flash, three days passed.
At noon on the third day—
Black Stone Stronghold, Command Center, Meeting Room.
Seimei and a group of jonin sat quietly, waiting for the latest news.
After a short while, Sano Nobuhisa entered the room.
He took his seat at the head of the table without preamble and spoke directly:
"The third round of negotiations has concluded successfully. In ten days, the village will hold a final round of talks with Iwagakure. If successful, both sides will sign a peace treaty by the end of the month."
Undoubtedly, this was good news.
However, unlike ten days ago, no one in the meeting room smiled. Instead, everyone wore serious expressions.
Over the past ten days, Kirigakure's actions had created immense pressure, leaving no room for optimism.
The room was silent, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
After a long pause, someone finally broke the silence:
"Captain, what are the orders from Command?"
All eyes turned to Sano Nobuhisa.
After a few seconds of silence, Sano Nobuhisa said, "Command cannot spare additional manpower. There are too many strongholds to defend. They've ordered us to hold out for ten days."
Clearly, these ten days were critical. Not only would there be no reinforcements from the Iwagakure front, but some troops previously stationed there would also be diverted to the Suna battlefield.
Successful negotiations did not guarantee an end to the fighting.
Moreover, this round of talks likely had an element of testing the waters on Iwagakure's part.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have scheduled the final negotiations ten days from now.
By doing so, Iwagakure seemed intent on gauging whether Kirigakure could make significant progress within those ten days.
If Kirigakure managed to breach Konoha's eastern defenses during this time, Iwagakure would undoubtedly abandon the previous agreements and launch a full-scale invasion of Konoha.
Given this, Konoha couldn't afford to let its guard down.
Thus, the burden of holding the eastern line fell squarely on Seimei and the others.
Seimei didn't need to think too hard to realize that this battle would be brutal unless Kirigakure chose to retreat voluntarily.
But that was highly unlikely.
For the past ten days, Kirigakure had practically made its intentions clear to Konoha. Why would they back down now?
This battle was unavoidable.
As Seimei's thoughts drifted, Sano Nobuhisa spoke again:
"Everyone, the dawn of victory is in sight. Let us give it our all!"
With that, he began assigning tasks without waiting for reactions.
Unsurprisingly, Seimei's flying abilities were called into play once again.
This time, his mission was not to lead patrols but to monitor the Kirigakure forces in Fish Town and scout within a 30-kilometer radius around the Black Stone Stronghold to provide intelligence for the team.
After a brief moment of consideration, Seimei accepted the task.
Although the mission required a lot of effort, it was relatively safe and allowed him a degree of freedom.
Once the meeting ended, Seimei handed over his squad, replenished his supplies, and activated Wind Style: Wings of Wind, soaring into the skies and leaving the stronghold behind.
Out of sight, he quickly performed the Shadow Clone Technique, summoning five clones.
He sent one clone toward Fish Town to monitor the Kirigakure forces there.
The other four clones were dispatched in the cardinal directions to patrol the 30-kilometer radius around the stronghold.
As for Seimei himself?
There was nothing more important than training.
Thanks to the Mind Connection Technique, he didn't need to worry about delayed intelligence transmission. He could focus on his training while relaying critical information to Sano Nobuhisa when necessary.
Notably, after ten days of training, Seimei's proficiency with Wind Style: Wings of Wind was nearing the level 6 cap, just a step away from level 7 mastery.
He estimated that a full day of high-intensity scouting would push his proficiency to the max.
Once that happened, he'd gain an additional 20,000 chakra points daily—how delightful!
Brushing off his thoughts, Seimei chose a direction, flapped his wings, and flew forward.