"Not bad!"
Looking at the now perfected "Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall" on the panel, Seimei nodded in satisfaction.
Although he had estimated during his last Spirit attribute enhancement that it would take about a week for "Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall" to advance successfully, seeing it happen for real still filled him with excitement.
This accomplishment not only meant he had gained another powerful ninjutsu but also signified an additional 30,000 chakra points daily that he could freely allocate.
Initially, Seimei planned to invest this chakra into "Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere," "Wind Release: Vacuum Blade," "Wind Release: Wind Devour," and "Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave."
After five days of practice, these four techniques had already progressed to around LV3 (350/1000).
At this rate, the daily increase of 200 proficiency points felt a bit slow.
Unexpectedly, the Mist Village had been unusually quiet over the past five days. While their attacks hadn't stopped, the intensity on the battlefield had dropped several levels.
As a result, Seimei hadn't earned much additional chakra, and the progress of his "Shadow Shuriken Clone Technique" and "Chakra Cloak" inevitably slowed.
Anticipating that chakra acquisition would remain scarce for a while, Seimei decided to alter his plans. He split the 30,000 chakra points into two equal parts, allocating them to these two techniques.
This way, they would each gain 100 and 150 proficiency points daily, respectively.
Though this progress was modest, it was only the beginning.
Seimei decided that once "Water Release: Water Formation Pillar" and "Water Release: Water Severing Wave" reached mastery, the saved chakra would also be redirected to these two skills.
This adjustment would triple their growth rate, making it more satisfactory.
As for the previously planned enhancements for the "Wind Release" techniques, Seimei decided to postpone them until his body underwent another transformation and his Physique attribute increased next month.
With these thoughts flashing through his mind, Seimei took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, and calmed himself before casting the ninjutsu Mind Link Technique.
After connecting with a few shadow clones and confirming that the battlefield was under control, he severed the link.
Wasting no time, he raised his hands to form seals, casting Shadow Clone Technique again.
Poof!
Amid a puff of chakra smoke, seven or eight figures appeared around him.
Without unnecessary chatter, Seimei immediately assigned them their respective training tasks and resumed practicing Mystical Palm Technique and Heart Reflection Technique himself.
The former strengthened his body, while the latter guided the evolution of his Sharingan.
Time ticked away, and the forest returned to silence.
Two days later.
The Leaf Village and the Stone Village officially signed a peace treaty.
Seimei didn't know if, in this timeline, the plot involving the Stone Village ninjas attempting to assassinate Shikaku Nara during the exchange—and Rasa intervening—had unfolded.
Regardless, the peace agreement was signed without issue.
Granted, such treaties could sometimes be as meaningless as scraps of paper. However, during this period of general desire for stability, they held significant value.
Even if Onoki wanted to reignite the war, many in the Stone Village would likely oppose him under the guise of preserving the village's reputation.
This was the treaty's true purpose.
Unlike the alliance treaty signed with the Sand Village, the Stone Village, being in a relatively better position, only agreed to a ceasefire with the Leaf Village without forming an alliance.
This was why, in later years, the Chunin Exams held in the Leaf Village saw no participation from Stone Village ninjas.
At the Black Stone Base.
While the crowd around him celebrated excitedly, Seimei silently withdrew to a corner.
He formed seals and cast Wind Release: Wings of Wind. With a "whoosh," he ascended into the sky and flew beyond the base.
Now was the base's most relaxed moment, but Seimei remained vigilant, ensuring he could respond immediately to any sudden movement from the Mist Village ninjas.
This wasn't due to any sense of responsibility but rather because he wanted to avoid unnecessary complications.
While chaos might provide more opportunities to harvest chakra, Seimei, as he had previously mentioned, found such methods increasingly inefficient as his Physique and Spirit attributes continued to grow. With his daily chakra recovery skyrocketing, he preferred a stable environment for self-cultivation.
Fortunately, his fears didn't materialize.
For the next few days, the Mist Village maintained its half-hearted attitude—neither launching full-scale offensives nor retreating. They seemed as conflicted as the Stone Village had been earlier.
Seimei speculated that internal debates within the Mist Village were causing this hesitation—whether to end the war and how to do so.
However, their decision mattered little.
With the Sand Village and Stone Village withdrawing from the war, the outcome of the shinobi world was essentially settled—peace was inevitable.
Even if the Mist Village decided to continue fighting, it would be futile.
Once the Leaf Village redirected its forces from the Rain Country battlefield, the Mist Village would naturally retreat.
Thus, their deliberations were inconsequential.
Time flew by.
Another week passed, bringing them to early December.
That evening, Seimei absorbed the results of another round of shadow clone training.
His "Water Release: Water Formation Pillar" successfully advanced.
After carefully familiarizing himself with the technique, Seimei opened his eyes and performed hand seals.
In an instant, a robust water pillar surged forth, toppling a large section of forest.
"Not bad," he muttered before releasing the technique.
With that, Seimei mastered yet another ninjutsu.
Starting the next day, he would gain an additional 30,000 chakra points for distribution.
This time, he had no intention of altering his plan. The 30,000 chakra points would again be evenly divided between the "Shadow Shuriken Clone Technique" and "Chakra Cloak."
Their daily proficiency gains would increase from 100 and 150 points to 200 and 300 points, respectively.
At this rate, progress was anything but slow!