To tackle this issue, Seimei figured there were three possible approaches.
First, he could search for a place brimming with natural energy. Right now, his Shadow Clones weren't hitting the full potential of their Level 7 natural energy absorption—not because of their limits, but because the environment was holding them back. If he could find a spot rich with natural energy, his clones could soak up way more of it.
The problem? After the Ten-Tails' Divine Tree drained the ninja world, natural energy was pretty scarce. Even the most "abundant" spots weren't all that impressive. Unless he could seize one of the three sacred lands—like Mount Myoboku or Ryuchi Cave—it'd be a wash. And right now, he had neither the plan nor the power to pull that off. So, this option was pretty much a no-go.
Second, he could create more Shadow Clones to absorb natural energy through sheer numbers. Quantity over quality, basically. But that would eat into his time developing Dust Release and ultimately delay his goal of mastering all seven chakra nature transformations to achieve the Bloodline Net. Unless it was absolutely necessary, Seimei wasn't keen on messing up his rhythm.
Third, he could level up his proficiency in Natural Energy Perception and Natural Energy Control. Sure, the world's depleted natural energy limited his clones' output, but higher proficiency levels would still let them squeeze out more from what was available. It's not like they could suck the environment completely dry—there was always some energy to work with if you tried hard enough.
As it happened, after days of practice, his Natural Energy Perception and Natural Energy Control were close to reaching Level 8. Based on his current progress, he estimated it'd take about a week to get there. A week wasn't exactly short, but it wasn't too long either. Seimei could wait.
So, after mulling it over, he decided to let things play out naturally and wait for his skills to level up. As for the natural energy he'd be short on during that week? Simple—he'd just use regular chakra to train his Body of the Extreme instead. It'd mean a slight dip in efficiency for a few days, but no big deal.
With his plan set, Seimei didn't waste any more time. He got himself together and dove right into a new round of training.
Just like that, a day passed.
The next day, Seimei finished his Body of the Extreme training and spent two hours practicing the Mirror Heart Technique. When night fell, he returned to the Hidden Leaf Village.
This was his tenth day of intense training, and tomorrow was his scheduled rest day, so he didn't push too late into the night.
Back in the village, he synced with his Shadow Clone's memories to catch up on what had happened over the past ten days. As expected, the village had mostly been dealing with the fallout from the Nine-Tails incident. Nothing major had popped up. In fact, with fewer patrols around, the village's atmosphere had noticeably lightened up.
Seimei let out a sigh of relief. Sure, after those first three days, he'd been pretty confident nothing big would happen, but only now did he truly relax.
After all, things have a shelf life. If nothing major had gone down in those ten days—plus the three before that—the odds of something big happening anytime soon were slim. That meant, until Naruto's generation grew up, there probably wouldn't be much to drag Seimei into.
After some thought, the only things that might affect his training were the peace treaty between the Hidden Cloud and the Hidden Leaf, and the power struggle between the Fire Country's daimyo and the village. Oh, and maybe the Hidden Mist's revival of the Blood Mist Policy.
If Uchiha Obito, as in Seimei's memories, decided to control Yagura Karatachi, that'd likely pull Seimei into the mix. After all, he had plenty of pawns in the Hidden Mist, including the Mizukage's aide, Genshi, who was basically his puppet. If Obito tried to push the Blood Mist Policy in the Mist, avoiding Seimei would be next to impossible.
But here's the thing: in Seimei's memories, Obito didn't reveal much at this point. Now, though, after invading the Hidden Stone and getting on Tsuchikage Onoki's radar, then stirring up the Nine-Tails chaos in the Leaf—with Minato Namikaze, who'd fought him up close, still alive—other villages were bound to take notice of Obito. Could he still pull off controlling Yagura under that kind of scrutiny?
Seimei wasn't so sure.
Think of it like the butterfly effect—one small change can ripple out, let alone changes this big. If Yagura got even a hint of intel and played it cautious, he could probably avoid being controlled, even if he wasn't stronger than Obito. After all, Yagura was a perfect jinchuriki with solid mental and physical strength.
And even if Obito did manage to control Yagura, enforcing the Blood Mist Policy wouldn't be a walk in the park. Times had changed.
After sorting through these thoughts, Seimei pushed them aside, cleaned up, and changed into casual clothes. He headed to the village's "food street."
Compared to ten days ago, the place was looking much better. Less-damaged buildings had already been repaired, and even the ones that needed total rebuilding were starting to take shape.
Seimei's eyes swept over the construction and the workers still at it, then he stepped into a restaurant.
As luck would have it, it was the barbecue joint he used to frequent. They were still serving up the same old barbecue, with the same owner behind the counter.
Seimei strolled in like he owned the place, found a quiet corner, and started ordering.
After stuffing himself silly, his appetite was finally satisfied. He left the barbecue joint, grabbed some snacks from a nearby stall, and headed home.
Back at his place, he polished off the snacks, took a quick breather, and went to his training room to keep up with his routine.
This time, he skipped using the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique to work on Dust Release. Instead, he quietly practiced the Mirror Heart Technique to stimulate his Sharingan's evolution.
Four hours flew by, and soon it was late at night.
Seimei wrapped up his planned training, let out a big yawn, and headed to bed.
The night passed quietly.
The next day, he didn't train at all—just took it easy to recharge.
At some point, he got a mission assignment for the day after. Seimei handed it off to a Wood Clone and, after his rest day, headed back to Moon Island to start another round of intense training.
Back in the day, he wouldn't have done that. But now? His Wood Clone Technique was maxed out, and the clones it produced were rock-solid—perfect for handling missions in his place.
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