Time slips by like a galloping horse. In the blink of an eye, three weeks had passed.
It was now early February.
Over the past twenty-three days, he'd returned to the village twice to rest, "wasting" two days in the process.
During that time, he'd also completed another mission.
This one was pretty straightforward, though. It didn't take much effort—just a day, round trip.
So, all told, he'd spent about twenty days training.
And those twenty days were just enough for him to max out his upgraded Heart-Sealing Soul-Lock: Contract Instant Body Mark.
And yeah, he'd done exactly that.
This morning, on the massive rock at the center of the island, Seimei Uchiha absorbed the experience from his last round of training—one hundred fifty shadow clones, each practicing for an hour. He opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing in them.
"Status panel!" he muttered.
The familiar translucent blue screen popped up in front of him:
---
Name: Seimei Uchiha
Age: 14
Physique: 25
Spirit: 26
Chakra: 605,000 (684,084 → 727,092)
Bloodline:
- Sharingan: Eternal Mangekyo (2,354/100,000 → 3,853/100,000)
- Byakugan (2,265/5,000 → 2,643/5,000)
- Wood Release (165/1,000 → 315/1,000)
Skills:
- Chakra Refining Technique: Lv6 (7,879/10,000 → 8,551/10,000)
- Spirit Transformation Technique: Lv9 (1/100,000)
- Heart-Sealing Soul-Lock: Contract Instant Body Mark: Lv9 (1/100,000 → Lv10, 0/0)
- Chakra Control: Lv8 (2,400/50,000 → 3,600/50,000)
Perfected Skills:
- Izanagi: Lv9 (0/0)
- Izanami: Lv9 (0/0)
---
As he'd hoped, his Heart-Sealing Soul-Lock: Contract Instant Body Mark had officially hit the max—Level 10, the pinnacle of S-rank skills.
This breakthrough gave him the power to influence souls directly.
Ignoring the other changes on the panel for now, Seimei pulled a scroll from his ninja pouch—the one sealing Danzo's reanimated body.
With a quick hand sign, he performed the Shadow Clone Technique.
Poof! A puff of chakra smoke cleared, and a shadow clone appeared.
Seimei tossed the scroll to his clone, who caught it with a nod. Without needing instructions, the clone knew exactly what to do. Locking onto the deserted island they usually used to siphon Danzo's chakra, the clone activated the Flying Thunder God Technique and vanished silently.
---
Meanwhile, on that remote island…
The shadow clone appeared in an instant. First, he erased the old Flying Thunder God mark on the ground. Then, he used the Transformation Technique to disguise himself as someone else entirely.
But he didn't stop there. To make sure nothing could trace back to Seimei's real body, the clone activated Human Ward, altering his chakra signature completely.
Only then did he carefully unseal the scroll, releasing Danzo.
"Where am I? And who are you?" Danzo demanded.
Seimei had long since silenced Danzo's ability to speak or think, leaving him like a vegetable, existing only to supply chakra. To Danzo, it felt like barely a moment had passed since he'd been sealed. So, seeing a new face with an unfamiliar chakra signature naturally threw him off.
But he wasn't expecting an answer. His first instinct was to bolt, trying to get as far from the scroll as possible.
No dice.
Before he could take two steps, eight chakra chains sprang from the scroll, wrapping around his body and tethering him in place.
Danzo froze, glaring at the chains. "Damn it!" he growled under his breath.
He struggled, thrashing against the bindings, but it was pointless. The chakra chains didn't budge or break, no matter how hard he fought.
And then, as the shadow clone activated All-Encompassing Seal, Danzo's consciousness was suppressed again. His body hung limp in the air, back to being unaware of anything.
With Danzo quieted, the clone wasted no time. Forming hand signs, he unleashed the Level 10 Heart-Sealing Soul-Lock: Contract Instant Body Mark.
Slap! The clone pressed his palm onto Danzo's body.
Instantly, intricate sealing patterns spread like a net, enveloping Danzo entirely. With a low shout from the clone, the seals tightened, sinking into Danzo's body like a hot knife through butter.
And Danzo's current body? It was essentially just a soul, thanks to the Impure World Reincarnation. Meaning those seals were now etching directly onto his soul.
Time ticked by, second by second.
About five minutes later, the sealing was complete.
The clone pulled back his hand, sensing the seal to confirm it had taken hold properly. Satisfied, he activated All-Encompassing Seal again, resealing Danzo into the scroll.
He wasn't taking any chances. Orochimaru hadn't undone the Impure World Reincarnation, and if Danzo's location got traced through some ninja trick, it'd be a mess. Even on this deserted island, Seimei didn't want anyone sniffing around.
After resealing Danzo, the clone waited a moment to ensure nothing weird happened. Then he dropped the Transformation Technique, reverting to his original appearance.
He left a new Flying Thunder God mark on the ground, locked onto Seimei's location, and activated the technique again.
The world blurred, and in an instant, he was back in front of Seimei.
Barely containing his excitement, Seimei asked, "How'd it go?"
"Smooth as silk," the clone replied, handing over the scroll before dispelling itself with a poof.
A rush of memories flooded Seimei's mind. He quickly reviewed them, then extended his mental energy into the scroll to check Danzo's state.
Just as the clone said, the Heart-Sealing Soul-Lock: Contract Instant Body Mark had successfully taken hold. But whether it was truly etched into Danzo's soul—and how strong its grip was—required one final test.
With that in mind, Seimei activated the Spirit Transformation Technique.
It's worth noting that after reaching Level 9, his Spirit Transformation Technique had grown even stronger. When his soul "left" his body, his base sensory range was ten times what it was at Level 7. His ability to sense specific chakra signatures? Still ten times that—a thousand times his normal range for general perception, and ten thousand times for specific chakra.
Plus, his senses were now razor-sharp.
Even leaving aside the boost to his combat power, this insane sensory upgrade alone proved the technique's worth.
And this was just Level 9. If he could grind it up to Level 10—the S-rank cap—the effects would likely be even crazier.
No wonder Kato Dan could cross two battlefields and pinpoint Tsunade's location after returning from the Pure Land. If Seimei could max this out, he'd probably pull off the same trick.
Heck, if he memorized the chakra signatures of key players, he could practically know everything happening in the world without leaving his spot. Talk about a security boost.
But that was for later.
Right now, his focus was on using soul-to-soul contact to test just how tightly the Heart-Sealing Soul-Lock: Contract Instant Body Mark could bind Danzo's soul.
---
(End of Chapter)