Recalling the rough intel gathered by his shadow clone yesterday, Seimei activated his Byakugan, pinpointed a suitable spot, and dove headfirst into the seawater.
Splash!
A surge of water shot up, spraying in all directions.
A few breaths later, a figure burst out of the water, standing firmly on its surface.
By now, he was already a hundred meters out.
But this still wasn't Seimei's goal.
With chakra coating the soles of his feet, he stepped across the sea as if walking on solid ground.
Ignoring the waves crashing toward him, Seimei moved swiftly, soon reaching a point a kilometer out from shore.
Looking down from here, he could see the sidewall of the volcano.
Taking a deep breath to fill his lungs, Seimei channeled his chakra and activated the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, enveloping himself in a layer of crackling lightning chakra.
But that wasn't all.
To descend to the ocean's depths as quickly as possible, Seimei formed hand signs and used Earth Release: Ultra-Added-Weight Rock Technique to increase his body's density.
Following the volcano's sidewall downward, it didn't take long for him to reach a depth of four hundred fifty or sixty meters below the surface.
This was roughly the same depth as the trench he'd explored before.
Yet now, he felt he could keep going.
Still, to play it safe, Seimei released the Ultra-Added-Weight Rock Technique to avoid sinking too fast.
At the same time, he casually left a Flying Thunder God seal on the sidewall behind him.
This way, the next time he came here, he could simply use the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport back.
Retracting his hand, Seimei continued his descent.
One meter, two meters, five meters, ten meters.
Soon, he reached a depth of five hundred meters.
But this still wasn't his limit.
Pausing briefly, Seimei pressed on until he hit five hundred forty meters, where he finally stopped.
Even with the Lightning Release Armor protecting him, his body felt immense pressure, as if every inch of him was aching under the crushing weight.
With a thought, Seimei quickly activated Mystical Palm Technique and Human Path.
A surge of Yang Release chakra formed within him.
Guided by the Human Path, it flowed swiftly through his chakra network, seeping into every cell in his body.
Nourished by this energy, Seimei soon felt a wave of relief.
Glancing around, he spotted a relatively flat section of the rock wall.
Just like he'd done in the trench before, he raised his hand, formed seals, and used Water Release: Water Severing Wave to carve out a recessed platform in the rock.
Clearing away the loose stones, Seimei stepped inside and began reinforcing his body, following the principles of Lightning Release Chakra Mode and his own accumulated experience.
Time ticked by, second by second.
An hour passed in a flash.
Seimei didn't immediately teleport back to Moon Island.
Unlike the trench he'd trained in before, this spot was deeper, and the pressure was far greater. Teleporting out abruptly could injure him due to the sudden change in pressure.
So…
"Better head back to the Flying Thunder God seal first, then teleport out from there!"
With that thought, Seimei stepped out of the training platform, used Earth Release: Ultra-Lightweight Rock Technique to reduce his density, and shot upward along the cliff wall.
Soon, he reached the spot with the Flying Thunder God seal.
In the next moment, he activated the Flying Thunder God Technique and reappeared on the compacted clearing at the center of Moon Island.
A familiar bloated sensation hit him, and his face flushed briefly before returning to normal.
"Phew~"
Exhaling lightly, Seimei dispelled the Ultra-Lightweight Rock Technique and Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
Instead of recalling his shadow clones right away, he first checked the results of his recent training.
Compared to the trench, the harsher environmental pressure here had clearly accelerated his evolution.
Sure, it consumed more chakra, but compared to the boost in training efficiency, the extra chakra cost was negligible.
This was also thanks to the seventy thousand points of freely usable chakra he'd gained after his last Mental attribute upgrade. After allocating forty thousand points daily to developing Ice Release, he still had thirty thousand points left.
That was more than enough to cover the increased chakra cost of his physical training for a long time.
On the flip side, what he needed to focus on now was when his body would adapt to this extreme environment, causing his training efficiency to plateau again.
But recalling the conditions of this place, Seimei figured he didn't need to worry about that for now.
Why? Because this underwater extinct volcano, according to his and his shadow clones' scouting, was over twelve hundred meters deep.
Sure, he'd gone from four hundred fifty-six meters to five hundred forty meters in one go, but that was the result of his accumulated progress.
Next time, diving that deep in one shot would be impossible.
So, this twelve-hundred-meter depth would keep him busy for a while.
And even if he reached the bottom, he could always switch things up to face an even harsher environment.
How?
Simple—by entering the volcano itself.
Don't think an extinct volcano is safe just because it's dormant. It's only lost some of its pressure and stopped erupting. The dangers inside are far worse than the high water pressure out here.
So, if needed, Seimei could use Earth Release techniques to venture inside and train in an even more brutal environment.
This was exactly why he'd said before that this island—both its surrounding seas and the island itself—was perfect for his physical training.
With these thoughts flashing through his mind, Seimei quickly refocused and began calculating the timing of his next physical transformation based on his recent training results.
A few minutes later, he had his answer.
If he kept adapting at the same rate as he had near that island in the southern seas of the Land of Fire, training in progressively deeper waters, he could shave about half a month to twenty days off his timeline.
Last time, after his Wood Release evolved, he'd estimated his physical transformation would happen around late June to early July.
Now, that had shifted to early to mid-June.
In other words, his body could undergo its transformation in about two months.
Of course, this was just an estimate. If anything unexpected happened, the timeline could shift.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Seimei stopped dwelling on it.
He glanced around, taking in the two hundred-plus shadow clones training both on and off the island. With a thought, he dispelled the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.
Instantly, a flood of memories poured into his mind.
Without hesitation, Seimei closed his eyes and began sifting through the information, absorbing and processing the training experience contained within.
Notably, the four shadow clones he'd sent out earlier hadn't found anything unusual.
After scouting the area, they'd returned to the island and, like the others, began training to integrate Ice Release.
(Chapter End)