"Hold on!"
Just as Daiki Chikamura was about to write the intel, Seimei suddenly stopped him, locking eyes with a stern warning. "Listen up. Don't try anything clever, or you'll regret it."
Daiki's right hand, holding the pen, trembled slightly—barely noticeable—before he steadied himself. He nodded. "Got it."
With that, he carefully began writing the report.
Seeing that the Soul-Sealing Contract Instant Movement Seal didn't activate, Seimei gave a subtle nod of approval. He'd set conditions in the seal to punish any sneaky wording in the report. Since nothing happened, it meant Daiki had taken his warning seriously and kept the intel clean.
Sure, with Seimei's current strength, even if Daiki sent a warning and the rogue ninja base prepared for him, he wasn't worried. But why invite trouble if he could avoid it? A warning was necessary, and it worked.
Soon, Daiki finished writing.
He put the pen down and handed the scroll to Seimei for inspection. But Seimei didn't even touch it, gesturing for Daiki to send it through the usual channels.
The ninja world was full of secret techniques, and while Seimei's Soul-Sealing Contract Instant Movement Seal ensured Daiki couldn't tamper with the intel, it didn't guarantee the recipient wouldn't pick up on something from the scroll itself. Better to avoid contact altogether and minimize risks.
Daiki seemed surprised that Seimei skipped the inspection, pausing for a moment. But he quickly recovered, following orders. He tucked the small scroll into the body of a tiny shark he'd summoned earlier, formed a hand seal, and the shark vanished.
Seimei got straight to the point. "When will they receive it?"
"About half an hour," Daiki replied.
Seimei glanced at the sun sinking toward the horizon, thought for a moment, and said, "Wait here for a bit."
Without another word, he walked into the forest, out of sight.
A few moments later, he returned. "Alright, let's go."
Daiki and Reiko Koike exchanged confused glances but didn't dare ask questions. They followed his lead, guiding him forward.
Soon, the trio reached the spot where the Water Demon Shark was hiding. With a loud splash, the scarred creature emerged from the water, coming to a stop before them.
Seimei acted quickly, placing a Soul-Sealing Contract Instant Movement Seal on the shark to ensure it wouldn't betray his location. Then, forming hand seals, he used an improved version of the Palm Sage Technique. In just a few minutes, he healed the shark's surface wounds.
Visibly, the creature perked up, more lively than before.
Daiki, watching this, was stunned. He hadn't expected Seimei, with his youthful face, to wield such advanced medical ninjutsu. Inwardly, he sighed, I've lived all these years, and what do I have to show for it?
Noticing Daiki staring, Seimei frowned. "What are you standing there for? Get it to use its technique and swallow us. Let's move!"
"Uh? Oh!" Daiki snapped out of it, nodded quickly, and commanded the Water Demon Shark. It opened its massive jaws, swallowing the three of them whole.
The shark dove back into the water, swimming off into the distance.
Not long after they left, another figure appeared at the same spot.
It was none other than Seimei himself—or, more accurately, his real body.
That's right. The one who'd left with Daiki and Reiko was just a shadow clone.
There were three reasons for this setup:
First, safety. As the saying goes, even a lion uses full strength to hunt a rabbit. Though this mission didn't seem too dangerous, caution was key. A shadow clone was perfect for scouting the path.
Second, efficiency. Nightfall was still hours away. Even if he flew to the rogue ninja base with the two, it'd be broad daylight, and he'd likely have to wait before acting. Why waste time when he could train instead? Daiki and Reiko's intrusion was just a minor hiccup, and wiping out their organization was only to eliminate future threats. His true goal was undisturbed training, so a shadow clone was enough to handle this.
Third, precaution. If the rogue ninja team coming to support Daiki and Reiko didn't get the updated intel and kept heading this way, leaving his base unguarded would be reckless. He had to stay to prevent that.
With these thoughts in mind, Seimei turned his gaze from the distant horizon and headed back to the clearing in the center of Moon Island. It was time to start testing his newly awakened Ice Release.
The interruption from Daiki and Reiko had delayed these tests, and now he needed to catch up.
First up: using Ice Release.
Like with his Wood Release and Lava Release, once he'd mastered Ice Release, he no longer needed to manually combine Water Release and Wind Release chakra, tweaking their form and nature on the spot. Now, Ice Release felt almost instinctive—he could summon its chakra at will.
This made things much easier.
Still, like with Wood and Lava Release, he didn't plan to develop Ice Release further or use it in combat just yet. Its impact on his fighting style wasn't his focus.
What did interest him was how awakening the Ice Release bloodline limit affected his body. Whether it was Ice Release's unique power or a cumulative effect from strengthening his body with Lava Release, Seimei could clearly feel his physical potential had grown again, much like when he'd unlocked Wood Release.
He'd once thought only a unique bloodline like Wood Release could boost his innate talent. When Lava Release didn't yield the same result, he assumed he'd been right. But now he realized he'd been mistaken. It wasn't that Lava Release couldn't enhance his potential—it was that Lava Release alone wasn't enough. Adding Ice Release did the trick.
This boost meant his body could be strengthened more efficiently, requiring less time and effort for the same results. In turn, this would accelerate his path to a critical physical transformation.
How much faster, though? That required testing.
With a single thought, Seimei used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport deep into the ocean. He dove further, reaching his pressure limit, and found a relatively flat spot. There, he skillfully carved out a platform and began his physical training.
(Chapter End)