Time flies like an arrow, and days pass like a shuttle.
In the blink of an eye, six days had gone by.
As this round of intense training reached its latter half, Seimei's "Natural Energy Perception" and "Natural Energy Control" skills, as expected, successfully advanced to Level 8.
And the results were astonishingly good!
The first thing he cared about most was the issue of chakra absorption.
After reaching Level 8, Seimei tested it and found that his one hundred shadow clones could now absorb 500,000 points of natural energy per hour, up from the previous 350,000 points.
This not only met the daily requirement of 7 million points of sage chakra for his "Body of the Extreme" technique but also allowed him to store some extra natural energy, so he wouldn't have to worry about unexpected situations.
Of course, to achieve this, he had to make some changes.
For example, he needed to further spread out the locations where his shadow clones trained.
After all, even if he was squeezing every last drop, the environment had its limits in terms of natural energy content and recovery speed.
Only by properly dispersing the shadow clones could he fully utilize the effects of Level 8 "Natural Energy Perception" and "Natural Energy Control."
The old method of keeping fifty shadow clones on Moon Island to absorb natural energy after noon wouldn't cut it anymore.
Now, he could only leave thirty or forty shadow clones on the island. The rest had to be sent to the primeval forest in the northeastern part of the Land of Fire.
Luckily, that place was vast enough to handle even more clones without issue.
Secondly, after reaching Level 8, he could control more natural energy.
Before, he could only manage about 500,000 points of natural energy or sage chakra flowing through his body.
Any more, and he risked losing control.
But now, he could safely handle 1 million points of natural energy or sage chakra circulating through his meridians.
It was clear that once he reached Level 9 and triggered a qualitative leap, this ability would grow even stronger.
At that point, he might even be able to start developing "Sage Mode."
Unlike advancing his "Storm Release," successfully developing "Sage Mode" at his current level would significantly boost his combat power.
Seimei couldn't help but take this seriously.
More importantly, once he mastered "Sage Mode," the sage techniques of the three holy grounds would pose less of a threat to him.
By then, even if he couldn't directly take over one of the holy grounds for training, he could at least tap into the natural energy they radiated.
That's right—the ninja world wasn't completely devoid of places rich in natural energy.
For example, the village where Jūgo was born had natural energy far above the average level in the ninja world.
Otherwise, even with Jūgo's Sage Body and natural affinity for absorbing natural energy, he wouldn't have lost control so easily.
And villages like that were likely connected to the three holy grounds.
Of course, this didn't mean they were the holy grounds' spies in the ninja world. Rather, their locations were probably nodes where the holy grounds absorbed the ninja world's natural energy.
In the past, Seimei didn't dare approach these places, fearing detection by the holy grounds.
But once he mastered "Sage Mode," he could try seeking them out.
These thoughts flashed through his mind, but Seimei set them aside for now, muttering to himself, "No rush for that yet," before diving into another round of intense training.
With an abundant supply of natural energy, his training in "Body of the Extreme" reached peak efficiency.
And so, Seimei immersed himself in the thrill of training, losing track of time.
---
In the blink of an eye, twenty days had passed.
It was now mid-November.
The weather had turned chilly.
That noon, on Moon Island, inside the volcano.
After Seimei completed another full cycle of "Body of the Extreme" but saw little progress, he finally confirmed that his body had reached a critical threshold.
Opening his eyes, he glanced at the time.
It was almost exactly at the one-hour mark of his training session.
Instead of continuing, he teleported to the surface of Moon Island.
Sitting cross-legged in the open area at the center, Seimei didn't rush to dispel his "Multiple Shadow Clone Technique" and recall all his clones. Instead, he waited for them to finish their hour of training.
Then, along with the clones scattered in the primeval forest in the northeastern Land of Fire, he actively dispelled the technique.
Time ticked by, second by second.
Soon, the hour was up.
Suddenly, fragments of memories flooded his mind.
At the same time, a massive amount of chakra mixed with natural energy flowed back into his body.
Suppressing a headache, Seimei sorted the chakra and natural energy.
The chakra his body could handle was directed into his meridians, while the excess was absorbed into the alternate space at his brow.
As for the natural energy…
He sent it all into the space in his abdomen created by the "Three Elements Sealing Technique."
Once everything was processed, he closed his eyes and carefully reviewed the memories of his shadow clones, absorbing and digesting the training experience they contained.
A quarter of an hour later, Seimei opened his eyes again.
He had fully processed the clones' memories.
Feeling much lighter, Seimei stood up and walked around the island, relaxing for a bit. Then, he swallowed several enhanced soldier pills to replenish the energy he'd expended.
Once his body was back to peak condition, he found a spot, sat cross-legged, and began, as he had done before, to push past his physical limits.
With the power of "Human Guardian" enhancing his body and guiding his evolution, he used an improved version of the "Mystical Palm Technique" to channel a large amount of Yang Release chakra, driving his body's evolution.
Time passed, second by second.
Seimei could clearly feel the invisible barrier holding back his physical growth slowly breaking down.
The process was slow, but he wasn't in a hurry.
And so, the sun set, and the moon rose.
In the blink of an eye, night had fallen.
A bright moon hung in the sky, its soft light spilling over the island. Seimei remained seated cross-legged.
But at this moment, he was no longer calm.
His body was trembling slightly, and his expression was somewhat strained. Clearly, he had reached the critical point of his breakthrough.
Time continued to pass.
At a certain moment, a faint crack sounded in Seimei's ears, as if something had broken.
Then, more frequent crack crack sounds followed.
Suddenly, Seimei opened his eyes.
At that moment, he could clearly feel the invisible barrier restricting his physical growth completely vanish, and his body surged with renewed vitality.
Standing up, Seimei hopped lightly a few times.
A sense of ease washed over him.
It felt as if his body had shed a heavy suit of armor, leaving him light and unburdened.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Seimei threw a few punches, each one whipping up a sharp gust of wind.