In an instant, Seimei's vision shifted.
One moment he was in the center of the island, and the next, he stood at the edge of the trench.
The sudden change in pressure made his face flush red, and the "Thunder Armor" cloaking his body flickered and twisted.
A moment later, he adjusted, and it stabilized.
"Phew~~~"
Exhaling softly, Seimei adapted to the crushing pressure of the ocean depths.
Wasting no time, he stepped forward, descending along the trench's cliff wall until he neared its bottom.
Stopping at the limit of what he could endure, Seimei used the "Water Style: Water Severing Wave," swiftly carving a square platform into the cliff with a few precise slashes.
He cleared away the debris.
From there, things were straightforward.
On the platform, Seimei activated the "Mystical Palm Technique" and "Human Control."
Following the principles recorded in the "Lightning Chakra Mode" and his own hard-earned experience, he began strengthening his body, cycle after cycle.
To others, this kind of training might feel monotonous and unbearable, something they'd abandon quickly.
But not Seimei.
Though his proficiency panel didn't display his physical strength gains, its "One Proof, Eternal Proof" effect let him feel every bit of progress with each session.
That alone ensured he'd never give up.
Plus, every hour, he returned to the island to recall his shadow clones, absorbing their training experiences and memories from the past hour.
During these breaks, he could rest briefly and switch gears, training the "Heart Reflection Technique" for an hour.
This kept things far from dull.
In fact, he enjoyed it.
And so, the days passed.
…
A week later.
That morning.
At the island's center.
On a massive boulder.
Seimei's figure appeared out of nowhere.
Seawater dripped from him, and he frowned slightly.
With a thought, a burst of Fire Style chakra spread across his body, instantly evaporating the moisture from his clothes.
Satisfied, he stretched, nodding approvingly.
Then, he glanced at the shadow clones training across the island, silently calculating—this was his thirteenth consecutive day of training.
Not ten, thirteen.
The reason he'd gone past ten days was simple: ten days ago, when his body completed its transformation, he'd entered a deep restorative sleep.
That slumber had fully recharged his energy and stamina.
From that point, he'd reset the clock on this grueling training cycle.
And now, he'd reached his limit.
Tonight, he'd return to the village to rest.
But before that, one of his training efforts was about to bear fruit.
With a thought, Seimei dispelled the "Multiple Shadow Clone Technique."
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Clouds of chakra smoke erupted as all 150 shadow clones, both on and off the island, dissolved.
In an unseen dimension, they transformed into streams of chakra, carrying an hour's worth of training experience and memories back to Seimei.
Instantly, a flood of information surged into his mind.
Without hesitation, he sat cross-legged and began sorting through it.
Time ticked by.
Normally, processing his clones' experiences took about fifteen minutes.
But this time, half an hour passed, and Seimei still hadn't stirred.
In the past, this usually meant he'd gained something extra.
And this time was no exception.
After over two weeks of training, he'd finally mastered the technique of fusing Fire and Earth chakra natures.
Yes, this was the result he'd been chasing.
Seimei's eyelids twitched, and suddenly, his eyes snapped open.
A glint of determination flashed in his gaze.
He raised both hands, drawing on the insights his shadow clones had just provided. In his left palm, he formed a ball of Fire Style chakra.
In his right, a ball of Earth Style chakra.
Focusing intently, he fine-tuned the chakra natures in both palms until they perfectly aligned, then slammed his hands together.
Clap!
His palms met, and a unique chakra fluctuation pulsed from the point of contact.
Seimei paused, then slowly parted his hands.
Between them, a head-sized ball of molten lava took shape.
Terrifying heat radiated from it, so intense that even Seimei, the caster, felt his skin prickle.
This was unmistakably the manifestation of Lava Style chakra.
In other words, he'd successfully developed the Lava Style kekkei genkai.
But before he could celebrate, the lava ball trembled violently and exploded, sending scorching molten globs in all directions.
"Crap!" Seimei muttered, instantly using the "Flying Thunder God Technique" to teleport away.
He escaped, but the surrounding flora wasn't so lucky.
The moment the lava touched plants or trees, they turned to ash.
Even the boulder beneath him was scarred with fist-sized craters.
Whoosh~
Moments later, Seimei reappeared.
Surveying the devastation, he sighed, "No wonder it's Lava Style. That power is insane!"
That lava ball, if it hit someone, would leave them dead or crippled—far beyond what ordinary Fire Style techniques could do.
And this was just his first attempt. With more refinement, its power would only grow.
For now, though, like Wood Style, he didn't plan to develop Lava Style techniques further—just mastering the fusion of Fire and Earth chakra was enough.
On that note…
With a thought, Seimei opened his proficiency panel.
Good news: the bloodline section now listed Lava Style.
Bad news: its evolution degree wasn't (1/1000) but (1/100).
(1/100).
Seimei was familiar with this.
Back when his Sharingan hadn't awakened, its progress bar was (1/100). After transplanting the Byakugan, same deal—(1/100).
And every newly learned technique, when first etched onto the panel, started at (1/100).
All three cases meant the same thing—not yet mastered!
In other words, a 1/100 progress bar showed he hadn't fully grasped the fusion of Fire and Earth chakra.
That wouldn't do.
Only by grinding it to (100/100) and advancing to (1/1000)—true mastery—could he confidently move on to developing the next kekkei genkai.
Why had Wood Style started at (1/1000) right after development?
Simple: he'd already assimilated "Hashirama cells" beforehand. Developing Wood Style was about activating and completing the related genes.
But now, fusing Fire and Earth chakra to create Lava Style was like starting from scratch, guiding his genes to mutate in a specific direction.
The two processes weren't on the same starting line.
So, the difference made sense.
Still, with his proficiency panel, Seimei wasn't worried about boosting its evolution degree—it was just a matter of how tough it'd be.
(End of Chapter)