Time flies, and the years pass like a fleeting arrow.
In the blink of an eye, more than half a month had gone by.
It was now mid-August.
Since entering August, Kirigakure's offensive had become increasingly fierce.
Not only was Seimei's Eagle's Beak Cliff stronghold under attack, but the entire northern front, as well as the central and southern fronts, were all facing Kirigakure's relentless assault.
Among them, there were instances of strongholds being breached and defense lines being torn apart.
Seimei was even mobilized to provide support several times.
One must know that the Eagle's Beak Cliff stronghold he was guarding was the weakest point on the entire front line. Even he had to be mobilized, so one could imagine how dire the situation was.
A crucial factor contributing to this situation was that Konoha was engaged in a decisive battle with Sunagakure and couldn't spare any attention for this side.
And Kirigakure seized this opportunity.
They wanted to break through Konoha's defense line in one fell swoop and invade the Land of Fire.
Unfortunately, Kirigakure's overall combat strength was ultimately lacking.
Moreover, Konoha had spent two to three years building this defense line. It might not be impregnable, but it couldn't be breached in just half a month.
Therefore, the battlefront reached a stalemate. Konoha couldn't drive away the Kirigakure ninjas, and the Kiri-nin couldn't completely break through the defense line.
This made Kirigakure's ambition of a large-scale invasion of the Land of Fire a mere dream.
However, they couldn't stop small-scale infiltrations.
As a result, the flames of war spread directly into the rear of the defense line, and supply convoys were frequently attacked.
However, as the saying goes, those who often walk by the riverbank will eventually get their shoes wet. The Kirigakure infiltration teams, with their frequent sabotage, eventually encountered their nemesis.
Just a few days ago, Seimei suddenly heard the news that the eternal Genin, Might Dai, had single-handedly killed five members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
This news shocked the entire Konoha Village and also surprised Seimei.
Originally, Seimei thought that since he had killed Raiga Kurosuki and Jinin Akebino, this incident shouldn't have happened.
Unexpectedly, it still did.
Although Raiga Kurosuki and Jinin Akebino were dead, Kirigakure quickly selected two new wielders of the Seven Swords, and then...
Then, they were kicked to death by Might Dai who opened the Eight Gates.
This made Seimei sigh. The inertia of the world was truly powerful.
However, there were some differences in the details.
For example, in the original timeline, three of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist survived.
They were Raiga Kurosuki, the wielder of the "Lightning Blade: Kiba," Jinin Akebino, the wielder of the "Executioner's Blade," and Mangetsu Hozuki, the wielder of the "Greatsword: Samehada."
But now, only two survived.
They were Mangetsu Hozuki, the wielder of the "Greatsword: Samehada," and Kuriarare Kushimaru, the wielder of the "Longsword: Nuibari," whom he had encountered before.
From this, it could be seen that there were still some changes.
And it was precisely because of this incident that Kirigakure, which had been frantically attacking on the front line, suddenly halted its offensive.
These days, the front line had been quite peaceful.
And this also gave Seimei a rare period of tranquility for training.
Although he hadn't stopped his cultivation in the past few days, frequent missions still had some impact.
Now, it was different. He could focus on his training with peace of mind.
In the forest clearing, Seimei finished this round of "Mind Reflection Jutsu" training. With a thought, he dispelled the "Shadow Clone Jutsu."
In the next moment, the shadow clones practicing various skills around him suddenly turned into chakra smoke and disappeared.
At the same time, a large amount of training experience and memories surfaced in Seimei's mind.
In the past, receiving so many memories simultaneously would give him a headache.
But now, with his "Spirit" attribute breaking through the 20-point mark and his mental power soaring, he could easily handle it.
Seimei closed his eyes, carefully digesting these experiences and memories, converting them all into proficiency for the corresponding skills, and imprinting them deep in his mind.
Time passed by.
At a certain moment, Seimei opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing in them.
Then, he raised his right hand, palm open, and wisps of chakra gathered, forming a small shuriken shape.
Next, the shuriken rapidly grew larger and spun, tearing the surrounding air and creating a whistling wind.
That's right, this was the S-rank forbidden technique - Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!
After more than half a month of practice, his "Wind Release: Rasenshuriken" had leveled up once again, from the previous lv6 (1900/10000) to the current lv7 (1/20000).
Now, when using this technique, he had a feeling of complete control.
With a thought, Seimei wanted to throw the "Wind Release: Rasenshuriken" in his hand.
However, after trying several times, he couldn't succeed.
In the end, Seimei could only sigh helplessly, "As expected, it's still not possible..."
Lv7 was the limit for B-rank ninjutsu, but not for S-rank.
Therefore, it was normal that he couldn't achieve the throwing attack that was only possible with perfect mastery.
However, although he couldn't throw it, his understanding of Wind Release had reached a new level.
Seimei had a vague feeling that as long as he was given some more time, he would be able to successfully develop a Wind Release-based flying technique.
That's right, even after more than half a month, he still hadn't developed the flying technique.
Its difficulty was much higher than he had anticipated.
However, after today, it should be almost done.
Composing himself, Seimei looked at the other skills on the panel.
Half a month's time wasn't long, but it wasn't short either.
During this time, besides the "Wind Release: Rasenshuriken" leveling up, his "Shadow Clone Jutsu," "Chakra Absorption Technique," "Rasengan," "Chakra Scalpel," and "Precise Illness Extraction Technique" had also all increased by one level.
Among them, the "Shadow Clone Jutsu" had risen from lv4 (1930/2000) to lv5 (385/5000).
This level-up increased the maximum number of shadow clones he could create from fifteen to twenty.
Furthermore, the chakra consumed when using this technique had decreased from one-seventh to one-sixth of the total chakra possessed by all shadow clones.
A one percent reduction per clone might not seem like much, but with the increased number, the chakra saved was still considerable.
Additionally, as the level of the "Shadow Clone Jutsu" increased, the stability of the shadow clones created also improved.
Now, when using shadow clones for skill training, they could last even longer.
Of course, this didn't have much impact on him since he refreshed every hour, but it was quite helpful for developing the flying technique.
At least, with the increased stability of the shadow clones, the number of times they exploded due to chakra rampages had significantly decreased when attempting the technique again.
This invisibly saved him a lot of chakra and also increased his development speed.
Moving his gaze away, Seimei looked at the "Chakra Absorption Technique" and "Chakra Scalpel."
These two had leveled up naturally because of the frequent battles recently and the increased number of times he used them.
The former had risen from lv5 (4700/5000) to lv6 (250/10000), and the chakra absorption speed had increased again.
At lv5, when using the "Chakra Absorption Technique," he could absorb one thousand chakra points from the target per second and convert ninety percent of it into his own chakra.
But now, the chakra absorbed per second had directly doubled to two thousand points, and the conversion rate was also one hundred percent.
It could be said that the improvement was immense.
As for the latter, it had risen from lv5 (2500/5000) to lv6 (100/10000). There wasn't much change, just that it was easier to use now.
Then there were "Rasengan" and "Precise Illness Extraction Technique"...
The former had leveled up a while ago and was now rapidly progressing towards lv8.
The latter barely managed to level up, going from lv4 (950/2000) to lv5 (30/5000), and its proficiency increased once again.
Aside from these skills that had leveled up, there was another skill on the verge of advancement, and that was the "Illusionary Sword Technique."
After over a dozen battles and persistent practice, his "Illusionary Sword Technique" had already reached the peak of lv6, just one step away from lv7.
And lv7 was pretty much the perfected state of this technique.
It was foreseeable that once this technique successfully leveled up, his close combat abilities would definitely see an improvement. It might not be much, but it was definitely something to look forward to.
Thinking this, Seimei closed the panel, performed the "Shadow Clone Jutsu," and once again entered a training state.
(End of Chapter)