The fourth day of intense training.
Morning.
Atop the massive boulder in the center of the island.
Seimei sat with his eyes closed, his expression shifting subtly. Every now and then, a flicker of realization crossed his face, as if he'd suddenly grasped some profound truth.
And, well, he had.
As Doton: Chōkajūgan no Jutsu (Earth Release: Ultra-Added-Weight Rock Technique) and Doton: Chōkeijūgan no Jutsu (Earth Release: Ultra-Lightweight Rock Technique) both reached perfection, waves of insight flooded his mind.
With that, his understanding of Doton chakra's nature transformation evolved to a whole new level.
In that moment, Seimei knew without a doubt—he'd reached the threshold to fuse other chakra nature transformations and develop a kekkei mōra.
Now, he had mastered the nature transformations of all seven chakra attributes.
In other words, he was ready to move on to the next phase of his training.
But, considering his body was on the verge of a major transformation, he decided to hold off for a few days.
Plus, he needed to think about where to even start with this next phase.
Oh, and one more thing—thinking about the Hashirama cells currently assimilating in his body, Seimei mused that there might be some pleasant surprises waiting for him soon.
No need to rush things.
With that thought, Seimei opened his eyes, wrapping up his reflections on Doton chakra's nature transformation. He leaped down from the boulder and dove back into training his Raiton Chakra Mode.
Crackling sparks filled the air as dense, almost tangible lightning surged across his body. The electricity tempered his physique from the outside in.
At the same time, faint strands of lightning slipped through his pores, flowing along his chakra pathways and seeping deep into his flesh, strengthening him from the inside out.
---
Two days passed in a flash.
Before he knew it, Seimei had been on this island for six days.
That afternoon, after completing another hour-long session of physical reinforcement, he stopped.
No particular reason—except that, for the past half hour, using Raiton Chakra Mode to strengthen his body had stopped producing any results.
He could sense it clearly: the invisible shackles binding his physical potential felt almost solid now, blocking any further progress.
Seimei knew he'd hit the critical point of transformation. One more step, and he'd break through his limits.
His first instinct was to push through the barrier in one go.
But after thinking it over for a while, he decided against it.
Sure, he could probably force his way through and succeed.
But six straight days of intense training had left him a bit worn out.
Instead of powering through, it made more sense to take a breather, get himself in top shape, and then tackle the transformation step by step.
Breaking through didn't depend on perfect timing or conditions. As long as he'd reached the critical point, with Hito no Miya as his guide, a bit of effort would get him there.
No need to push himself to the brink.
With that settled, Seimei released Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Multiple Shadow Clone Technique), recalling all his shadow clones. After absorbing their experiences and memories, he stopped training for the day.
For the rest of the time, he just sat on the boulder in the island's center, hands propping up his chin, staring blankly at the shimmering sea in the distance.
Time ticked by, second by second.
Before long, the sun dipped below the horizon, and night fell.
Whoosh~
A night breeze swept through.
Snapping out of his daze, Seimei glanced up at the sky. Seeing no signs of rain, he immediately started nurturing his Byakugan.
He'd done this step countless times by now, so it was second nature.
Two hours passed in no time.
The night deepened.
Seimei finished nurturing his Byakugan.
Then, he headed back to the wooden cabin, flopped onto the bed, and fell asleep.
Since the afternoon, he'd been cutting back on thinking, focusing on storing up energy.
Now, all that was left was to break through his physical limits tomorrow.
The night passed quietly.
---
The next day.
Morning.
Seimei slept until he woke naturally.
"Mmm~"
Sitting up in bed, he stretched hard, letting out a satisfied groan.
Right now, he felt amazing—like his whole body was brimming with endless strength.
Tossing off the blanket, he hopped out of bed.
After a quick wash, Seimei opened his ninja pouch, popped a few enhanced hyōrōgan to fill his stomach, and headed to the boulder at the island's center.
Inhale~~~ Exhale~~~
Taking a deep breath, Seimei closed his eyes, held it for a few seconds, then let it out slowly.
Suddenly, he snapped his eyes open, muttering to himself, "Everything's ready. Time to break through!"
Without hesitation, he raised his hand and cast Shōsen Jutsu (Mystical Palm Technique).
Silently, a dense blob of Yōton chakra formed in his palm.
He directed it into his body.
Next, he activated his Mangekyō Sharingan, tapping into the power of Hito no Miya.
An invisible force enveloped him. Seimei closed his eyes again, carefully guiding the Yōton chakra within his body, using Hito no Miya's aid to assault the invisible shackles.
The wonder of Hito no Miya shone once more!
While it couldn't directly shatter the invisible barrier, it boosted his physical strength by just a sliver.
That sliver was less than a tenth of what a normal reinforcement session would give, but progress was progress.
And as long as there was progress, it meant he'd torn a small crack in the so-called "limit."
The crack was tiny, but if he kept at it, steadily channeling power through it, bit by bit, he'd build up enough for a qualitative leap. Eventually, he'd shatter the limit entirely.
It'd just take some time.
In fact, breaking through this invisible barrier took him over two hours. It wasn't until nearly noon that he finally succeeded.
This was longer than any previous limit-breaking attempt he'd made.
The reason? Not only was his "physique" stat higher now, making the shackles on his body's growth tougher, but he also had to complete the final assimilation of the Hashirama cells during the process.
Over the past few months, he'd already assimilated over 90% of the Hashirama cells.
But as everyone knows, the first 90%—or even 99%—of something isn't always the hardest part. The final step is often the make-or-break moment.
It's like a carp leaping over the dragon gate—one misstep, and all the effort to get there is for nothing.
Luckily, he pulled it off.
And now, it was time to reap the rewards.
Feeling the warm currents surging from deep within his cells, Seimei closed his eyes.
In that moment, he felt like he was soaking in a hot spring, his entire body wrapped in comforting warmth, utterly at ease.
(Chapter End)