In the blink of an eye, several hours had passed.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, a faint glow of sunset painted the sky.
With nightfall approaching, Seimei finally stopped flipping through the book in his hands. With a quick carp-like flip, he sprang up from the recliner.
He tucked the book away, placing it back in the study.
After splashing his face with water to cool down his brain from hours of intense studying, he stepped out of the house and headed straight for the "Food Street."
For the next hour or so, Seimei turned into a bottomless pit. He grabbed snacks from street stalls and popped into various shops to sample their main dishes.
In short, one word: accept everything.
"Burp~~~"
After stepping out of a barbecue joint, Seimei let out a satisfied belch, then turned and left the Food Street, making his way to another street nearby.
Unlike the Food Street, the shops here sold gear for ninja—weapons, tools, medicines, and the like.
Seimei strolled confidently to a familiar pharmacy and stepped inside.
Moments later, he emerged.
In his hands was a small wooden box.
Inside the box? None other than the Nara clan's special enhanced Hyōrōgan (soldier pills). This shop was his usual go-to.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the shopkeeper seeing him off and noticed the two Anbu ninja tailing him in the shadows. Seimei shook his head slightly.
No doubt, word of his frequent Hyōrōgan purchases had already reached the Nara clan's leader and Namikaze Minato.
And yeah, that was bound to raise some eyebrows.
After all, the Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone) he left in the village wouldn't be burning through Hyōrōgan like this.
If they thought about it even a little, they'd probably figure out his real body wasn't in the village.
Verifying it would be easy too—just send a ninja with strong sensory skills or have a Hyūga clan member take a quick peek with their Byakugan.
But so what?
He'd already done the bare minimum, following the village's orders by leaving a Kage Bunshin behind and not stepping out. That was plenty of face given.
What more could they say?
They wouldn't dare flip out over this, would they?
So, Seimei wasn't the least bit worried about being caught stocking up on supplies.
With these thoughts flashing through his mind, he gave a nod to the Nara shopkeeper behind him and quickly left the street.
No more wandering around. He'd secured enough resources for the next ten days of training, and after that feast, his stomach was happy. Time to head back.
With that in mind, Seimei picked up the pace and headed straight for the Uchiha clan's compound, returning home.
---
Late at Night
In the training room.
Seimei sat with his eyes closed, the seal of Senrō Banshō Fūjin (All-Creation Sealing Exhaustion) glowing faintly at his brow, its Bagua-like pattern shimmering with white light as the jutsu formula seemed to flow endlessly.
At the center of the Bagua, the sealed Byakugan gleamed, growing ever purer under the flood of chakra. At a glance, it looked almost like a flawless gem.
These signs screamed one thing: extraordinary.
And they were, no question.
Senrō Banshō Fūjin was an S-rank Fūinjutsu (sealing technique), the pinnacle of sealing arts.
As for the Byakugan…
Suddenly, Seimei opened his eyes.
Two hours had passed.
Routine nurturing complete!
He pulled up his status panel and checked the progress—(846/5000)!
After over a dozen days of consistent nurturing, his Byakugan's evolution was inching closer to the 20% mark.
And with that, it was becoming even more remarkable.
He quietly sensed the Byakugan for a moment, waiting for the swollen feeling to fade slightly before concealing the seal at his brow. Then he stood and left the training room.
After a quick wash, he headed to his bedroom to rest.
Tomorrow kicked off a new round of intense training, so Seimei needed to be in top shape.
---
The Next Day
Early Morning
At the crack of dawn, Seimei was already up.
After washing up, he expertly packed his gear and left a Kage Bunshin to guard the house.
Then, he activated his Mangekyō Sharingan and used Ama no Miya (Heaven's Control) to slip past the two Anbu ninja watching him, leaving the house without a trace.
He dashed toward the sensory barrier.
As usual, he used Ama no Miya to pass through the barrier. Once he was out of the watchtower's line of sight, he immediately cast Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique) and teleported to an island in the southern seas of the Land of Fire.
First, he scouted the area to make sure everything was clear. Then, he used Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Multiple Shadow Clone Technique), creating a ton of clones.
They split into groups and began training.
Every hour, he'd dispel the clones, absorbing and processing their training experience and memories, converting them into skill proficiency.
Then, he'd create new clones based on that progress and start the next round of training, cycling endlessly to keep improving.
Everything was perfectly organized!
And so, Seimei trained for five straight days.
---
Five Days Later
Afternoon
When Seimei dispelled Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu once more, absorbing the past hour's worth of training experience and memories from his clones, a sudden insight about Raiton: Raikiri (Lightning Release: Lightning Blade) sparked in his mind.
He calmed himself and carefully processed the knowledge.
After a long while, he opened his eyes.
A hint of joy flickered between his brows.
With a thought, he opened his proficiency panel.
No surprise there—after twenty days of grueling training, his Raiton: Raikiri had finally gone from lv9 (5100/100000) to lv10 (0/0), reaching perfection.
Standing up, Seimei hopped off the boulder and walked to his usual ninjutsu testing spot.
He eyed a large tree a hundred meters away, flipped his palm, and a ball of lightning sparked to life in his hand. It glowed blue-white, radiating an unsettling aura.
The chirping of Chidori still echoed from his palm, but it was much quieter than before.
Suddenly, Seimei activated his Sankōdama Sharingan (Three-Tomoe Sharingan).
The next moment, the lightning in his palm flared brightly.
He stomped the ground, shooting forward like an arrow from a bow, reaching the tree in the blink of an eye.
Shink!
A sharp, piercing sound rang out.
Seimei's palm drove deep into the trunk, the lightning piercing clean through the entire tree.
And that wasn't all.
With a low shout, crackling thunder roared again.
The lightning in his palm surged, expanding like a porcupine, shooting out countless bolts that left a web of scorch marks inside and out.
If this hit a person, even if they didn't die, they'd be half-crippled.
"Phew~~~"
Exhaling lightly, Seimei pulled back his hand, dispersing the lightning.
Looking at the hole in the tree, he was pretty satisfied with Raiton: Raikiri's destructive power.
But he had no plans to dive deeper into it. Derivative techniques like Raiton: Sōraishin (Lightning Release: Twin Lightning Shiver) or Raiton: Raiden (Lightning Release: Lightning Transmission)? He wasn't going to bother developing them.
Sure, with his current knowledge and ninjutsu expertise, he could probably create them with some effort. But he hadn't forgotten why he developed Raiton: Raikiri in the first place.
From the start, his goal was singular: to use this technique to deepen his understanding and mastery of Raiton chakra's nature transformation.
Now that he'd achieved that, there was no need to go further.
As for the potential boost in combat power?
Seimei didn't care.
Heck, not only did he not care about undeveloped techniques, but even the fully mastered Raiton: Raikiri wouldn't be his go-to in regular combat.
It wasn't about being picky—it was about what suited him best.
Raiton: Raikiri might fit Kakashi's fighting style, but it didn't mesh with his.
What was his edge?
Simple: his massive chakra reserves.
So, moving forward, he had two paths. First, overwhelm with raw power, focusing on developing high-damage, wide-range ninjutsu that left enemies with nowhere to hide.
Second, refine his swordsmanship for one-on-one close combat.
Combined with the Susanoo from his Mangekyō Sharingan, he'd be ready for most situations.
For any special cases, he could just crush them with sheer strength.
That's what you call a hexagonal warrior.
With these thoughts swirling in his mind, Seimei shifted his focus back to Raiton: Raikiri itself.
(End of Chapter)