It was late at night, and Seimei had just finished his daily training regimen.
Without wasting a moment, he returned to his wooden cabin and settled in to rest.
The night passed quietly.
The next day.
Morning.
Seimei woke up early, quickly washed up, and popped a few enhanced soldier pills to fill his stomach. Then, he dove straight into his training.
As usual, he started by performing the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.
What's worth noting is that this time, he didn't create the usual 300 shadow clones—he upped it to 400.
The reason? His mental strength had grown, allowing him to handle the intense training of even more shadow clones at once.
And this was with part of his mental energy still sealed.
If he unleashed his full mental power, which had doubled in capacity, he could probably sustain at least 500 shadow clones.
But 400 was already impressive.
With these 400 shadow clones simultaneously working on developing Dust Release, his efficiency would increase—not by a third, but at least by a quarter or a fifth.
Of course, this came at a cost. His daily chakra consumption would jump from 3 million points to 4 million points.
He'd calculated this based on the last few hours of training the previous night, so it should be fairly accurate.
However, this meant his chakra reserves, which were supposed to climb back to 3.92 million points, would drop to 2.92 million.
In other words, the extra 1 million points of usable chakra gained from his boosted mental attribute would all be poured into this.
And that wasn't the end of it.
Next, he planned to use natural energy to enhance his physical body, which would likely burn even more chakra.
At this rate, he might not have much chakra left to store during his training.
But Seimei wasn't bothered by this.
Chakra was meant to be used, after all!
He wasn't some hoarding squirrel, stashing everything away.
Besides, storing chakra in shadow clones came with its own losses—the more he stored, the greater the waste.
So, if he had a chance to use it effectively, he wasn't going to hold back.
With that thought, Seimei cleared his mind. He looked at the crowd of shadow clones in front of him, reached into his ninja pouch, and pulled out a sealing scroll.
Unfurling it, dozens of sealed books and scrolls appeared.
These were none other than the experimental notes on Dust Release development left behind by the Second Tsuchikage, Mu.
He distributed the notes among several dozen shadow clones, organizing them into small teams with those clones as leaders. Then, he sent them off to work.
After that, Seimei sat cross-legged on the ground, raised his hand, and released the Heart-Sealing Soul Contract Instant Teleportation Seal.
In an instant, he felt a shackle deep in his soul unlock.
A surge of immense mental energy radiated from him.
The shadow clones, who had just started to leave, paused instinctively, glancing back at him.
Having inherited Seimei's memories, they quickly understood what was happening and returned to their tasks.
As for Seimei?
He focused intently, carefully controlling this flood of mental energy to avoid putting pressure on his physical body.
At the same time, he extended his senses outward, delicately probing the natural energy in the air.
Time ticked by, second by second.
Perhaps because his shadow clones were sharing some of his mental energy, his sensitivity to natural energy was slightly dulled this time.
But overall, it wasn't a big deal.
So, Seimei didn't recall the clones.
Once he sensed the natural energy, he imagined his mental energy forming a vast net, trying to capture it all.
Unfortunately, the natural energy in the air was too scarce.
With his current mental attribute at 30 points, the net formed by his mental energy wasn't strong enough to hold it.
After several attempts, Seimei failed.
Left with no choice, he retracted his mental energy, letting it recover while he thought of other approaches.
A moment later, his mental energy was restored, and he reached out to sense the natural energy again.
This time, instead of a net, he shaped his mental energy into a hand, aiming to grab the natural energy directly.
Seimei targeted a specific point of natural energy, extending his mental hand to seize it.
But the energy slipped away like a slippery eel the moment his hand touched it.
Seeing this, Seimei didn't get discouraged. If anything, he felt a spark of excitement.
Why? Because making contact meant capturing it was possible. His failure was only due to his lack of finesse.
So, what do you do when you're not skilled enough?
Simple—practice!
With that, Seimei didn't hesitate. He controlled the mental hand again, reaching for another point of natural energy.
This time, he still didn't catch it.
The natural energy seemed to have a will of its own, dodging every time he got close.
He tried over and over, but success eluded him. The closest he got, it slipped through his fingers.
It was frustrating, to say the least.
But Seimei steadied himself.
With each attempt, he could feel his sensitivity to natural energy sharpening.
His control over his mental energy was getting more precise, too.
Seimei was confident that success was just a matter of time.
And he was right.
After three rounds of training—about three and a half hours—he finally did it.
In the clearing at the center of Moon Island.
Seimei's eyes snapped open.
A flash of excitement flickered in his gaze.
But he quickly closed his eyes again.
Suppressing his excitement, Seimei carefully guided his mental energy, slowly drawing the captured natural energy back into his body.
The moment that speck of natural energy entered him, Seimei felt something strange—a sensation rising not just from within, but from deep within his cells.
In that moment, his 1.3 trillion cells seemed to cheer in unison, welcoming their "king."
Even Seimei himself felt a profound emotion stir in his heart, as if… his very existence had been completed.
This odd sensation immediately caught his attention.
His instincts told him this wasn't a bad thing.
Considering the world of Naruto and his theories about Sage Chakra, Sage Mode, and the Ancient Sages, Seimei figured this was likely the world's will giving him feedback.
Or maybe it was a primal instinct, a mark left by the world on all life.
Perhaps, in the eyes of the world, absorbing natural energy for evolution was the true path.
But Seimei wasn't about to change his approach because of this.
To him, whether it was a black cat or a white cat, as long as it helped him grow stronger, it was a good cat.
Besides, if absorbing natural energy was a viable path, it still had its flaws—like how hard it was to master and the risks involved.
So, he'd take both paths, and he'd make sure both were strong.
That was the way to go.