In the skies above the second route, Seimei's shadow clone moved silently like a ghost in the night, arriving unnoticed above the four Mist Village warships.
Although there were no lights on these warships, thanks to the powerful insight of his Sharingan, he could still see the silhouettes of people on the deck.
However, he could only see the figures on the deck and near the ship's railing.
As for inside the cabins—
That was another story.
Even for the ninjas on the deck and near the railing, he couldn't gauge their strength.
After all, to avoid detection, he was flying too high and couldn't get a clear look.
At that moment, if he had a Byakugan, he could have easily completed the task, determining both the number and strength of the Mist ninjas.
Unfortunately, he didn't have one.
'Maybe I should look for an opportunity to get a Byakugan!'
Suddenly, this thought crossed Seimei's mind.
It was undeniable that in many areas, the Sharingan surpassed the Byakugan. However, in terms of reconnaissance, it fell far behind.
If he could obtain a Byakugan and master it, he could make up for this shortcoming.
And as luck would have it, there was currently a Byakugan out in the open.
'Perhaps Ao would make a good target.'
Various thoughts flashed through his mind.
Seimei temporarily pushed these ideas aside. With a light flap of the wings on his back, he followed the slowly departing Mist Village warships.
...
Time passed, minute by minute.
About twenty minutes later—
Seimei's original body arrived at the scene.
Finding his shadow clone, he asked directly, "What's the situation?"
"See for yourself."
At these words, the shadow clone responded by immediately canceling the "Shadow Clone Jutsu."
The next moment, a flood of memories appeared in Seimei's mind.
He closed his eyes briefly and quickly sifted through the memories.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes and murmured, "Getting a Byakugan from Ao... if there's a chance, it might be worth trying."
With that, he closed his eyes again.
After a moment, he finally gained a preliminary understanding of the Mist ninjas below.
However, it was only a rough understanding.
Since the shadow clone hadn't gotten close for a detailed observation, the information gathered wasn't much.
'From here, it's up to me.'
With that thought, Seimei used the "Mind Communication Jutsu" to cancel the shadow clone near the first route.
The next instant, a new wave of chakra, along with a set of memories, returned to his body.
Seimei closed his eyes briefly, but soon opened them again, a trace of joy appearing on his face.
Originally, he had recalled the shadow clone to strengthen his own power.
To his surprise, it brought him an unexpected bonus: his "Wind Release: Wind Wings" had leveled up.
That's right—after he processed the clone's memories, his "Wind Release: Wind Wings" had advanced to level 4.
In an instant, Seimei felt his understanding of this ninjutsu rise to a new level.
Following that, he looked at the chakra wings behind him, growing increasingly dissatisfied with them.
As a perfectionist, Seimei couldn't tolerate any shortcomings in his abilities before taking action.
Glancing down at the Mist Village warships, Seimei made up his mind. With a slight movement, he controlled the chakra wings behind him and silently flew into the distance.
Before long, he was over ten kilometers away.
Once he was certain the Mist ninjas wouldn't detect anything, Seimei landed on the surface of the sea and canceled his "Wind Release: Wind Wings."
Without a word, he quickly formed hand seals, gathering chakra and casting the "Wind Release: Wind Wings" again based on his latest insights.
The next moment, a pair of pale blue chakra wings reappeared on his back.
Compared to level 3, the wings at level 4 were much more compact.
Each wing was now only about a meter long. While still a bit large compared to his body, they were now much more proportional overall.
Seimei gave the wings a few test flaps and immediately noticed they were much more responsive than before.
However, he needed to conduct a proper test to know for sure.
With this thought in mind, Seimei soared into the sky and began testing the limits of his level 4 "Wind Release: Wind Wings."
The sound of cutting through the air echoed as Seimei flew back and forth.
After some time, he finally finished his test.
And the results—
Not bad at all!
First, there was agility.
Compared to level 3, his wings were indeed more agile after advancing to level 4, allowing him to maneuver more precisely in flight.
With this improved agility, he could now make more evasive moves in tight spaces.
This would make it much harder for enemies to land an attack on him.
Next was speed.
At level 3, his "Wind Release: Wind Wings" allowed him to fly at a maximum of 30 meters per second, or 108 kilometers per hour.
Now, at level 4, he could fly up to 40 meters per second, or 144 kilometers per hour.
While still slower than a commercial airplane, it was already faster than most cars.
With this increased speed, Seimei could reach his destination much more quickly.
Lastly, there was chakra consumption.
While it had increased somewhat, the difference wasn't significant enough to affect its usability.
Seimei was very satisfied with this.
The only regret was that even at level 4, he still couldn't create a shadow clone with chakra wings.
Seimei guessed he'd have to reach level 5 for that to happen.
"What a shame!"
Sighing lightly, Seimei shook his head, putting the thought aside. With a flap of his wings, he flew back toward the Mist Village warships.
Having dealt with his own matters, it was now time to carry out the mission assigned by the village.
...
A few minutes later—
On one of the Mist Village warships—
A Mist Chūnin was standing guard on the deck when he suddenly noticed the light above him dim, as though something was blocking it.
He looked up and saw, silhouetted against the moonlight, a figure flying by at high speed. It had a pair of wings, resembling a large bird.
However, his ninja instincts told him this wasn't just a bird.
He focused his gaze.
Then, in the shadow above, he saw a pair of eyes, blood-red, with three pitch-black tomoe spinning within them.
"A Sharingan?!"
The Mist ninja was shocked and immediately tried to raise an alarm.
But it was too late.
The moment he saw those eyes, he was already caught in a genjutsu. Trying to shout now was nothing but a dream.
After entrapping him with the "Sharingan Genjutsu," Seimei wasted no time. His speed increased instantly, and he dove down toward the warship.
"Who's there?!"
Another Mist ninja, not far away, noticed something amiss. Shouting a warning, he hurled a kunai.
But Seimei merely tilted his head slightly, dodging the attack.
In the blink of an eye, he skimmed across the deck, and as he rose again, he had already snatched up a figure.
It was none other than the Mist Chūnin he had just caught in the "Sharingan Genjutsu."
Yes, Seimei's method of completing the mission was this simple and direct. With this Mist Chūnin in his grasp, he could easily extract the intelligence required for the mission.
All that remained was to escape safely.
(End of Chapter)