Time flies, and the years pass like a fleeting moment.
In the blink of an eye, mid-June has arrived.
It has been a week since Seimei completed the escort mission.
During this week, he has either been training or on his way to train—his schedule packed to the brim every single day.
He hasn't allowed himself even a moment of relaxation.
But this intense training has brought him substantial rewards.
Aside from improving his other skills, his "Eight Trigrams Seal" has reached the critical point just before perfection.
Seimei estimates that with just two more rounds of training—about two more hours—he will fully master it.
However...
As he looked up at the sun setting over the distant horizon, slowly disappearing into the sea, he suddenly felt the urge to take a break.
Indeed, thanks to his proficiency system, every effort he puts in yields visible progress, making his patience and perseverance far stronger than the average person.
But the monotony of training has left him mentally exhausted.
After perfecting "Eight Trigrams Seal," he still needs to combine it with "Guardian Seal," "Sealing Array," and "Curse of Self-Binding" to develop a sealing technique that can perfectly harness the power of the Seven-Tails.
And that is no easy feat.
Seimei has already decided to dedicate an entire day to researching this.
Without a doubt, it will be a mentally draining process.
So before that, he wants to relax.
With this thought in mind, Seimei stood up, used "Shadow Clone Jutsu" to leave a clone behind to watch over Shomu, then activated "Flying Thunder God Jutsu" and returned home.
After removing his gear, he walked into the bathroom and enjoyed a long, refreshing shower.
Then, he returned to his bedroom, got dressed, and habitually reached for his ninja tool pouch, preparing to put it on.
But at that moment, his movements suddenly froze.
Since he was taking a break, there was no need to be fully armed.
With his current strength, even if he carried nothing, ordinary opponents wouldn't stand a chance against him.
Besides, this was the Hidden Leaf Village—safety was practically guaranteed.
Even in the unlikely event that a formidable enemy took this opportunity to attack, he could easily escape using "Heavenly Transfer" and "Flying Thunder God Jutsu."
There was no need to bring his gear.
With that in mind, Seimei set down his ninja tool pouch.
Not only that—he also took off the Jonin uniform issued by the village and changed into a casual outfit before stepping out into the courtyard.
As the enticing aroma of various foods wafted from a distance, Seimei took a deep breath.
"Tch."
Wiping the corner of his mouth, he quickly followed the direction of the delicious scents.
If there was one thing he loved aside from training, it was food.
In his past life, he had been an ordinary office worker. He wasn't always living paycheck to paycheck, but saving money had been difficult. With the constant pressures of life, he never dared to splurge.
But now, in this extraordinary world, after all his hard work, he wasn't at the very top of the power hierarchy, but he was definitely among the elite.
So money was no longer an issue.
For instance, from his recent A-rank mission, aside from earning recorded merit points, he also received a two-million-ryō reward from the village.
How much was that worth?
To put it in perspective, a bowl of Ichiraku Ramen in the village costs around 60 to 100 ryō, with deluxe options slightly more expensive but never exceeding 150 ryō.
If we average the cost at 100 ryō per bowl, then two million ryō would buy him 20,000 bowls of ramen.
At three meals a day, that would last him 7,000 days—nearly 20 years.
In other words, if he retired today and lived off ramen alone, he wouldn't have to worry about money until he turned 35.
And that was just from a single mission.
Since becoming a Jonin, he had lost count of how many missions he had completed. Although mission rewards during wartime were mostly converted into merit points, he had still saved up a significant amount of money.
So now, money was just a number to him—it simply didn't matter.
That's why when it came to food and other personal indulgences, he never held back.
Of course, that was because he had reached Jonin status early, allowing him to take on high-difficulty missions and convert his strength into wealth. For Chunin and Genin, it was a completely different story.
Not only did team missions require a cut for the team leader and the village, but lower-rank missions didn't pay much to begin with.
After splitting the reward among teammates, there wasn't much left.
On top of that, ninja life was expensive—whether it was buying ninja tools or using medicinal resources for training, everything cost money.
Because of this, while Chunin could live somewhat comfortably, Genin were usually struggling financially.
Especially civilian Genin without a clan background or further growth potential—they could barely afford the basics for training and survival.
Shaking his head at the thought, Seimei dismissed it from his mind and arrived at "Gourmet Street."
The sky had already darkened, and the streetlights were glowing softly.
Stalls lined both sides of the street, and the area was packed with people—many parents bringing their children along.
Among the crowd were also other ninja, some like him, dressed casually and without gear.
When their eyes met, they would give each other a subtle nod of acknowledgment.
Then, whether alone, in small groups, or as fathers, mothers, husbands, or wives, they blended into the daily lives of ordinary people.
Seimei felt that the only reason this world hadn't completely split apart was because ninja lifespans weren't much longer than those of regular people—if anything, constant battles made their lives even shorter.
Otherwise, society would have already divided into two distinct classes: ninja and civilians.
…Well, maybe nobles would fit somewhere in between.
But in any case, things wouldn't be as "harmonious" as they appeared now.
Of course, none of that really concerned Seimei. It was just something he pondered when he was bored.
Suddenly, his nose twitched as he caught the scent of boiled meatballs.
Without hesitation, he stepped forward.
For the next hour or two, he wandered the streets like an ordinary teenager, purchasing and devouring various snacks as he went.
Fortunately, thanks to his powerful physique and enhanced digestion, he could consume large amounts of food and even convert the excess energy into stored chakra.
Otherwise, there was no way he could eat so much.
Finally, Seimei arrived at the most luxurious barbecue restaurant on the street.
The grilled meat here was unrivaled, and he came here at least once every few days to indulge.
But he also had another reason for coming here—intelligence gathering.
Yes, intelligence.
Not classified intelligence, of course, just the latest rumors and gossip circulating within the village.
With his past-life memories, he could often detect underlying patterns in these rumors and predict future events.
This, in turn, provided valuable insight for his decisions.
And this restaurant was an excellent place to gather such information.
Why?
Because its high prices meant that only ninja—the village's wealthiest group—could afford to dine here.
And when ninja gathered for a meal, what did they do?
Talk big and brag, of course.
Would it even count as a proper get-together otherwise?
That's why this was the perfect place to eavesdrop on village chatter.