Shaking his head quietly, Seimei pushed aside his wandering thoughts. He took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and steadied himself. It was time to focus and begin his breakthrough.
As always, he started by activating his Mangekyō Sharingan, tapping into the power of Susanoo to enhance his body. This would serve as his guiding light, steering his physical evolution in the right direction.
Next, he formed hand signs and cast an improved version of the Mystical Palm Technique. A surge of pure, potent Yang Release chakra coalesced and flowed into his body. This chakra was both the driving force for his physical evolution and the catalyst to spark cellular changes.
Finally, Seimei focused his mind, directing the Yang Release chakra through his chakra network, letting it seep into every cell in his body.
As this process unfolded, something incredible happened at a microscopic level, beyond the reach of his mental perception. His cells began to mutate, their genes shifting bit by bit, breaking past their old limits and climbing toward greater heights.
Time ticked by, second by second, as Seimei used this raw, primal method to strengthen his body.
---
Ten hours passed in the blink of an eye.
The sun had set.
Night had fallen.
At last, after guiding another wave of Yang Release chakra into his cells, Seimei heard a sound like glass shattering in his ears.
His eyes snapped open, and he muttered, "It worked!"
He'd done it.
In that moment, he shattered the invisible barrier holding him back, opening up new potential for his body to grow.
A spark of joy lit up Seimei's heart, and a small smile crept onto his face.
But he quickly reined in his excitement. Breaking the barrier was only the first step. True success would come only after his body completed its transformation.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, a warm current surged within him, flowing through his chakra network and spreading across his entire body.
It felt like soaking in a hot spring—his whole body enveloped in a cozy, indescribable comfort.
Gradually, he closed his eyes, letting his mind go blank, simply savoring the process.
Based on past experiences, this warmth would fade in about half an hour, signaling the completion of his body's transformation.
But this time, things didn't go as expected.
Before the transformation could finish, about twenty minutes in, a strange sensation pulsed at his forehead.
Seimei instinctively opened his eyes and reached up to touch his brow.
The Byakugan, sealed there, had activated on its own, breaking free of its constraints.
He could clearly feel his chakra rushing toward it, as if urging his Byakugan to evolve.
"How is this possible?" Seimei blurted out, stunned.
Over the past three months, while strengthening his body, he'd been carefully advancing his Byakugan's evolution, bringing it close to a breakthrough. But he'd always made sure it wouldn't actually cross that line.
If it broke through now, it would reach the same level as his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
In the past, his Byakugan's progress hadn't yielded extra benefits because his Sharingan had already evolved first, claiming the spotlight. Those were minor advancements anyway.
But a major breakthrough like this? It would likely bypass the Sharingan's influence and directly boost his mental attributes.
And that was exactly what he was afraid of.
If his mental attributes increased now, it could be the final straw, throwing his mind and body completely out of balance.
He'd planned for everything, ensuring his Byakugan wouldn't break through. He'd even accounted for the extra evolution points his body's transformation might grant.
But what he hadn't anticipated was that this transformation would trigger a chain reaction, giving his Byakugan far more evolution points than usual.
Unlike the Sharingan, which required the Mind's Eye Technique to stimulate the brain and produce special chakra for evolution, the Byakugan's growth was more like a gradual buildup from quantity to quality. Before reaching the Tenseigan, all it needed was enough accumulated power.
And now, with enough power amassed, it had begun its evolution without warning.
This caught Seimei completely off guard.
Inhale… exhale…
Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Seimei forced himself to calm down and think of a solution.
First off, stopping the Byakugan's evolution wasn't an option.
His Byakugan wasn't his original eye—it was a transplant. Though it had fully integrated with his body through his transformations, no one could guarantee it was flawless.
Unless absolutely necessary, he wouldn't dare interrupt the process.
But he also couldn't just let the Byakugan complete its evolution unchecked.
Right now, his mental attribute was at 34 points, and his physical attribute was at 33. Even if this transformation boosted his physical attribute by one point to 34, a Byakugan evolution would likely push his mental attribute to 36—or possibly higher.
That would mean his mental attribute would outstrip his physical attribute by two points again.
This wasn't just the gap between 33 and 35. The higher the base attributes, the harder they were to increase, and the bigger the difference each point made.
The two-point gap between 34 and 36 would be far greater than between 33 and 35.
That kind of imbalance between his mind and body was something he absolutely couldn't allow.
Since he couldn't stop the evolution or let it finish, there was only one option left—delay it.
Yes, delay. He needed to slow down the Byakugan's evolution.
At the very least, he had to let his body complete its transformation first, boosting his physical attribute by one point to better withstand the Byakugan's evolution. Even if his mental attribute grew more than expected, he could still seal part of his mental energy to ease the strain, preventing a total imbalance.
He'd done this before when his mind and body were out of sync, and it had worked.
So…
"I can do this!"
With that thought, Seimei didn't hesitate. He focused his mind, carefully controlling his chakra to flow into his Byakugan at a slower, gentler pace.
Sure enough, the Byakugan's evolution process began to slow down.
---