Grind is My Ninja Way

Returning to the West Mountain stronghold once again, Seimei looked at the drastically changed mountain terrain and could easily infer the intensity of the battle last night.

At this moment, almost all the trees on the entire mountain had disappeared, replaced by various strange-shaped lava crystals.

In addition, there were many mountain collapses caused by powerful Earth Release ninjutsu.

In short, this was already a completely new place.

And when stationed in such a place, the first priority was naturally to thoroughly investigate the surrounding environment.

With this in mind, Seimei directly instructed Yamanaka Kiku behind him, "Kiku, immediately take people to scout the surrounding situation and then formulate new defensive strategies."

"Yes, Captain!"

Upon hearing this, Yamanaka Kiku responded without hesitation.

However, his voice sounded somewhat weak, as if he had just recovered from a serious illness.

In reality, it was almost the same!

Yesterday, although they retreated from the main battlefield in time and didn't participate in the subsequent "Four-Tails Scramble," they couldn't avoid the fierce fighting on the outer battlefield.

Yamanaka Kiku was injured internally in this battle. Although he had been treated with Seimei's medical ninjutsu, due to the short time, he hadn't fully recovered yet.

In the past, for such an injury, his superiors would definitely give him a few days to recuperate.

But not this time.

The battle yesterday had caused Konoha too many losses, and the defenses at various points couldn't be relaxed, so they could only send out these lightly wounded.

Watching everyone leave, Seimei used a few Body Flickers to reach his former residence.

Unfortunately, the place was unrecognizable.

The simple wooden house he had lived in before had already turned to ashes.

Seimei wasn't picky. He randomly found a giant rock formed by solidified lava and sat on it.

He formed hand seals and skillfully used the Mystical Palm Technique, condensing a stream of pure Yang Release chakra to start strengthening his body.

During the strengthening process, he multitasked and also thought about what to do next.

First, needless to say, it was to continue strengthening his body.

He had to seize this rare period of peace and not waste a single minute or second.

Second, he also had to find a way to gather knowledge related to Water Release chakra development and some Water Release ninjutsu.

Although he didn't have time to develop Water Release chakra for the time being, he could start preparing after this round of strengthening was completed.

It was better to prepare in advance than to rush to collect it when the time came.

Finally, there was a third thing, which was to find a replacement weapon.

With his continuous improvement in strength, the kind of short sword he currently held, which couldn't conduct chakra, was already greatly limiting his performance.

If he didn't want to suffer losses in this aspect in future battles, he had to replace it as soon as possible.

As for the target, he had already decided. It was the rare Kusanagi sword in the ninja world.

Coincidentally, both collecting knowledge and finding a weapon could be done with the help of the Uchiha clan.

The former went without saying. As a prestigious clan with a thousand years of heritage, such knowledge and ninjutsu could be easily provided.

As for the latter...

This was also a decision he had made long ago.

Compared to the entire Uchiha clan's intelligence network, his efficiency alone was too slow. It was far better to let the clan help him search.

As for whether the Uchiha clan would help, faced with the request of their 'rising star,' he believed that neither the conservative nor the radical faction, both interested in winning him over, would refuse.

Three minutes later.

Seimei opened his eyes.

He didn't rush to use the Mystical Palm Technique again to strengthen his body. Instead, he took out paper and pen and carefully wrote a letter.

After finishing, Seimei put the letter away.

In two days, the supply convoy from the main camp would arrive, and then he could find someone to take the letter back.

...

Another week passed in a flash.

It was now early March.

Seimei could clearly feel that his body was one step closer to transformation. In at most another week, he would definitely undergo the transformation.

"Soon, it'll be soon!"

Somewhere on the mountain, Seimei opened his eyes and muttered to himself.

A moment later, footsteps approached. Seimei looked towards the sound and saw several Konoha Chunin emerging from behind the strangely shaped lava crystals.

These were his direct subordinates, responsible for patrolling this area.

Seeing them coming, Seimei asked directly, "Any abnormalities?"

"None."

One of the Konoha Chunin replied concisely.

Seimei wasn't surprised by this answer.

Just as he had expected, after the fierce battle a week ago, the Iwa ninjas' attack rhythm had significantly slowed down.

Not to mention large-scale attacks, even small-scale conflicts had become rare.

In the past week, the number of times they encountered enemies here could be counted on one hand, and the battles that broke out couldn't even be considered battles.

As soon as those Iwa ninjas discovered they were exposed, they would retreat without any hesitation, so encounters often turned into pursuits.

Therefore, head-on conflicts were almost non-existent.

However, a week had passed, and it was likely that the Iwa ninjas had almost recovered. It was hard to guarantee they wouldn't launch a major attack.

With vigilance in his heart, Seimei said to his subordinates, "Don't let your guard down. The enemy could restart the war at any time. Be careful during patrols."

"Yes, Captain!"

The Konoha Chunin's hearts tightened, and they hurriedly responded.

Seeing this, Seimei waved his hand and said, "Alright, let's go to the next area!"

As he spoke, he got up and ran towards another direction.

Several Konoha Chunin followed closely behind.

Soon, the group arrived at their destination.

Without waiting for Seimei to speak, the Konoha Chunin tactfully left, dispersing to carry out their routine patrols and searches.

As for Seimei himself, he found another place and started using the Mystical Palm Technique, condensing Yang Release chakra to strengthen his body.

Just like that, days passed by.

...

Three days later.

In the evening.

Seimei had just completed his patrol and returned to his residence at the mountaintop stronghold. Before he could even settle down, there was a knock on the door.

*Knock knock knock~*

Seimei opened his eyes somewhat impatiently and said, "Come in!"

*Creak~*

A Konoha Chunin pushed the door open and entered.

"What's the matter?"

Seimei looked at him and asked in an indifferent tone.

"Jonin Seimei, Captain Yuino has summoned all the Jonin for a meeting. This is the order!"

The Konoha Chunin replied respectfully, neither servile nor overbearing. As he spoke, he took out a handwritten summons from his chest.

Seimei took the summons and checked it. After confirming there were no issues, he nodded and said, "When exactly?"

"In half an hour."

The Konoha Chunin replied.

"Alright, I understand. You can go back and report."

Hearing Seimei's words, the Konoha Chunin didn't linger any longer. After exiting the wooden house, he immediately used the Body Flicker Technique and left.

(End of this chapter)