One hour later.
Seimei paused his physical enhancement training and swam upward for a distance. Once he reached a depth where the pressure was manageable, he immediately activated the Flying Thunder God Technique.
In a flash, his surroundings shifted.
In just an instant, Seimei went from the dark, lightless ocean floor to a brightly lit island, the sunlight almost blinding.
He summoned a burst of Fire Release chakra, instantly evaporating the water clinging to his body.
Closing his eyes, Seimei carefully sensed the changes in his body.
A moment later, he opened them again.
After an hour of intense training, Seimei had a clear grasp of the improvements he'd gained from developing and mastering the basics of Ice Release.
Ten days ago, when he first arrived at Moon Island, he estimated his body's transformation would complete by early June.
Now, that timeline had likely shifted forward to late May or early June—about a month and a half from now.
While it was only about ten days earlier, Seimei wasn't focused on just one or two transformations. His sights were set on every transformation to come.
After all, this training had enhanced his potential. As long as his potential wasn't exhausted, these improvements would continue to benefit him.
And the longer each transformation took, the more time he'd save in the future.
Satisfied, Seimei nodded to himself.
With the testing of Ice Release complete, it was time to move on to the next step.
According to his earlier plans, he would now attempt to combine Water Release and Lightning Release chakra natures to develop the Storm Release kekkei genkai.
Once he mastered Storm Release, he'd have a handle on blending the chakra nature transformations of Fire, Earth, Wind, Lightning, and Water.
From there, combining Yin and Yang chakra natures would let him attempt to develop a Truth-Seeking Orb.
But there was a problem: developing Storm Release wouldn't be easy without a reference like Yukikaze.
Originally, his plan was to capture Darui. However, based on reports from his shadow clone infiltrating the Hidden Cloud Village and other spies, Darui hadn't yet awakened or developed this kekkei genkai.
In other words, capturing him would be pointless.
In this situation, developing Storm Release would take far longer than anticipated, even if he poured more chakra into it.
Plus, the more kekkei genkai he mastered, the more he could feel an invisible resistance.
Seimei understood why.
Each kekkei genkai he developed required guiding his genes to mutate in specific ways.
But a person's genes had a limit to how much they could handle. Overloading them would make his genes increasingly unstable, skyrocketing the risk of genetic diseases or even kekkei genkai-related illnesses.
While chakra, as a supernatural force, could suppress this to some extent, and his exceptional Constitution stat allowed him to handle more genetic changes than most, there was still a limit.
His instincts told him that, with his current physical condition, he likely couldn't handle a sixth kekkei genkai.
But after some thought, Seimei decided to push forward with developing Storm Release anyway.
For now, he didn't have other skills that required his shadow clones, so he couldn't let this training accelerator go to waste.
As for the issue of genetic capacity? That wasn't an immediate concern.
Developing Storm Release wasn't something he'd master quickly.
And in just a month and a half, his body would undergo its transformation.
When that happened, his Constitution stat would increase, naturally boosting his genetic capacity.
So, there was no need to overthink it.
Worst case, if the slight boost to his Constitution still wasn't enough to support Storm Release, he could pause the research and wait for his body to transform further.
He could adapt his approach based on how things played out.
So, development would continue.
As for the lack of a reference?
Seimei's mind sparked with an idea. He opened his ninja tool pouch and pulled out a storage scroll. Unsealing it, a pile of books and scrolls appeared before him.
After rummaging through them, he pulled out a specific book.
It was none other than the notes left by Uchiha Madara, detailing some insights on developing Storm Release.
While it didn't contain a successful case study, it could still provide some inspiration.
This would help offset the disadvantage of not having a living reference.
So, that wasn't a big worry either.
With a few hand signs, Seimei sealed the other scrolls and books back up. Then, he performed the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.
Poof! Poof! Poof!
With bursts of chakra smoke, over two hundred clones appeared.
Seimei selected four of them, instructing them to scout the area and not return this time.
They'd serve as his first line of defense against any rogue ninja who might show up.
The rest took the book of Madara's notes and left to begin experimenting with combining Water and Lightning Release to develop Storm Release.
Watching their backs as they left, Seimei nodded, then formed more hand signs and activated the Mind's Eye Technique, starting a new round of training.
Time ticked by, second by second.
Before long, night had fallen.
…
Nighttime.
While Seimei was routinely nurturing his Byakugan, a memory suddenly surfaced in his mind.
His eyes snapped open, then quickly shut again.
He began rapidly processing the new information.
The memory came from none other than the shadow clone he'd sent hours ago to follow Chikamura Daiki and Koike Raiko.
From the memory, it was clear they'd already reached their destination.
Only now did Seimei learn exactly where the rogue ninja's base was hidden.
It turned out they were holed up in the infamous Misty Sea.
Located in the eastern part of the Land of Lightning and the northeastern part of the Land of Water, this sea was shrouded in thick fog year-round, filled with natural whirlpools and countless reefs—a notoriously dangerous area in the ninja world.
Most ships that ventured in would either crash on the reefs or lose their way in the fog, with less than one in a hundred making it out alive.
Seimei hadn't expected those rogues to set up their base in such a perilous place.
But it made sense. If they'd chosen somewhere safer, the pursuit teams from the various villages would've wiped them out months ago. How else could they have stayed free this long?
Their good days were over, though.
Over the past few days, his shadow clone had fully scouted the base. Now, all that was left was for Seimei to head there and finish the job.
In truth, if he wasn't worried about some escaping, his shadow clone—carrying half his chakra—could've handled them all on its own.
After all, as long as it wasn't dispelled, its combat strength was undeniable.
Wait a second…
A sudden idea popped into Seimei's head.
Maybe I should try developing a Wood Release clone.
Compared to regular shadow clones, a Wood Release clone could withstand far more damage, making its advantages obvious.
He hadn't thought of it before since there wasn't a need.
But now, with a clear purpose, his mind was racing.
Unfortunately, developing it now was too late for this mission. He'd have to wait until this was over to start working on it.
"What a shame," Seimei muttered to himself.
He paused nurturing his Byakugan, locked onto the Flying Thunder God mark left by his shadow clone at the rogue ninja base, and activated the Flying Thunder God Technique.
In an instant, he vanished from the spot.
(End of Chapter)