Chapter 361: Out on a Mission

The next day.

Early morning.

When the first ray of sunlight shone through the window and onto his face, Seimei opened his eyes.

A trace of confusion flashed in his eyes, but Seimei quickly regained his clarity.

He got out of bed, washed up, went to the stronghold's canteen, and ate some food to fill his stomach. Then, he sought out Uchiha Tetsuka.

Uchiha Tetsuka, who was assigning tasks, saw him coming over and said in surprise, "Captain, why are you here?"

In front of others, he was still quite cautious and didn't directly address Seimei by his name but called him captain instead.

As for the reason for his surprise...

It was simple. Seimei had stopped concerning himself with these matters a long time ago. His sudden appearance now truly surprised him.

Hearing his question, Seimei waved his hand and said, "You do your thing, I'm just here to take a look."

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Tetsuka didn't say much and immediately started arranging tasks for the ninjas under his command.

After everyone had received their tasks and left, Uchiha Tetsuka came to him and said, "Seimei, is there anything you need me to do?"

Obviously, he knew that Seimei couldn't have just come to take a casual stroll.

In the past, Seimei wished he could split a minute into two, so how could he have the leisure to come and take a look?

In fact, it was indeed the case.

The reason Seimei came today was that he wanted to go on a mission with Tetsuka. The unusual activity from Kirigakure still made him a bit concerned.

He wouldn't feel at ease without personally investigating it.

Therefore, he planned to go out to sea with Tetsuka to see if they could encounter any Kiri-nin.

Once they encountered them, with his strength, he could easily capture them.

At that time, with his lv7 (0/0) perfected "Genjutsu: Sharingan," he could read their memories with a bit of effort.

These people might not know any confidential information, but some surface-level information would be enough for him to get a glimpse of Kirigakure's intentions.

With this thought, Seimei directly said, "I'll go on a mission with you today."

"What?"

Uchiha Tetsuka almost couldn't believe his ears.

After Seimei explained his plan to him, Uchiha Tetsuka realized that Seimei wasn't joking and readily agreed.

It was a joke. With Seimei as a member of the team, his safety would be greatly increased. He would be a fool not to agree to such a thing.

Moreover, Seimei was the true commander of the stronghold. No one could control where he wanted to go.

Soon, the two of them, along with a dozen Konoha ninjas, set off on a small sailboat.

Small sailboats like this could only navigate in near-shore waters and couldn't venture into the open sea. If they did, they would sink if they encountered strong winds and waves.

However, their mission didn't require them to go deep into the sea. They only needed to patrol the surrounding waters and ensure that the Kiri-nin wouldn't approach.

So, there was no need to worry about storms.

Furthermore, at such a close distance, even if the boat capsized, they could return on their own.

As for not being able to walk on water?

Come on, the war had been going on for over two years. Genin of that level had long since died. The Genin who were still alive now all had some abilities.

And the village wouldn't send newly graduated Genin from the Ninja Academy to the front lines.

Therefore, the boat beneath their feet was at most just saving them some chakra. No one really cared about it.

...

Time passed by.

Seimei stood at the bow of the boat, looking at the monotonous scenery of the surrounding sea, and finally shook his head, withdrawing his gaze.

"Captain?"

Beside him, Uchiha Tetsuka saw this and spoke up, seemingly wanting to say something.

Seimei waved his hand and said, "I'll leave this to you. If you find anything, call me. I'm going to train first."

With that, he went to the stern of the boat, crossed his hands, formed the 'Ram' hand seal, and performed the "Shadow Clone Jutsu." With a "poof," a cloud of chakra smoke dispersed, and nine shadow clones appeared on the scene.

Seimei instructed one of the shadow clones to stay here, then he left with the remaining eight shadow clones.

After his strength increased, he had fewer concerns when doing things.

In the past, if there were so many people present, he would at most perform the "Palm Healing Jutsu" to strengthen his body and would never create shadow clones to train.

But now, he directly left one shadow clone as a communication signal and left with his main body.

Even so, no one dared to say anything.

This was the convenience brought by strength.

However, using shadow clones as a communication tool was still somewhat inconvenient because the only way they could inform him was by dispelling the "Shadow Clone Jutsu" and transmitting the memory back.

This was fine if the distance was close, as he could quickly rush over.

But if they were too far apart, by the time he arrived, the situation might have already changed.

So, he still needed to address this drawback. There was actually a solution, which was to leave two shadow clones behind or directly stay there himself.

For the latter, he could still show the "Palm Healing Jutsu" to others, as using medical ninjutsu to strengthen and modify the body wasn't something to be ashamed of.

But the "Mind Reflection Jutsu" was different. If he could avoid performing this technique in front of others, he would.

They might not know about this seemingly useless genjutsu that the Uchiha clan had shelved, and even if they did, they might not recognize it.

But it was better to be safe than sorry. If someone really recognized it, coupled with his outstanding performance, it might cause unnecessary trouble.

So, to avoid trouble, it was better to avoid showcasing it in front of others, especially when there were Uchiha clan ninjas present.

As for leaving two shadow clones behind, one for transmitting messages and one for providing combat support, this could indeed solve the problem.

But the key was that doing so wasted too much chakra.

Indeed, Seimei had a lot of usable chakra every day now, but there were also many skills he needed to practice. He couldn't afford such extravagance and definitely couldn't choose this option.

This time was an exception. Their squad's patrol range wasn't that large, and he could quickly arrive after receiving the memory transmission from the shadow clone.

But what about next time?

If they were a bit further away, wouldn't he be forced to follow the team, wasting time?

How could his skills improve quickly then?

With this thought, an idea Seimei had a long time ago surfaced in his mind. He thought to himself, "Perhaps, I should try learning the Yamanaka clan's 'Mind Body Transmission Technique.'"

He had this idea a long time ago when the Yamanaka clan ninja used this technique to communicate with him.

However, there was no urgent need at the time, so he didn't pay much attention to it.

But now, with the need arising, he could indeed research it.

The "Mind Body Transmission Technique," as a secret technique of the Yamanaka clan, could even achieve communication with someone across dozens or even hundreds of kilometers under the amplification of a barrier. Its effectiveness was undeniable.

He didn't expect to achieve that immediately. As long as he could communicate with his shadow clones across a few kilometers, that would be enough.

And with his current mental power, combined with his previous experiences of being connected by the Yamanaka clan using this technique, it wouldn't be difficult to develop it with some effort.

Of course, the implementation process might differ from the Yamanaka clan's "Mind Body Transmission Technique," but as long as the effect was achieved, that was all that mattered.

However, having made up his mind didn't mean he would try it right away.

His main task now was to focus and max out the "Wind Release: Wind Blade" and then level up the "Wind Release: Rasenshuriken."

Only then, with extra time and energy, could he research this mind transmission technique while also working on flying techniques.

(End of Chapter)