Grind is My Ninja Way

The sudden loss of the lead, after finally getting some information, made Seimei feel a bit down.

Just as he was feeling disappointed, he suddenly noticed the Uchiha elder in front of him looking calm and composed, as if he had everything under control.

Suddenly, he remembered that before the elder said "haven't obtained," there was a qualifier: "temporarily."

In other words, it was highly possible that they already had information about the Craftsman Village leader.

However, judging by the elder's demeanor, he probably needed to make some promises.

With this in mind, Seimei pondered for a moment, then said directly, "I wonder what the Elder needs me to do?"

Hearing this, the Uchiha elder looked Seimei up and down and said with satisfaction, "A teachable child!"

After that, he let out a hearty laugh.

After laughing, he said, "Actually, not long ago, Cat Granny sent a message. Their ninja cats discovered someone suspected to be the leader of the Craftsman Village. However, this information hasn't been confirmed yet."

'Cat Granny'

Relevant information quickly flashed through Seimei's mind.

Cat Granny was an upright black market merchant who lived with a group of ninja cats. She ran a ninja tool shop and had a long-standing friendship with the Uchiha clan.

She was both an intelligence source for the Uchiha clan and their exclusive weapon supplier.

'If the information came from her, it shouldn't be wrong.'

Seimei thought to himself and then asked, "Where is the target?"

"The Land of Artisans."

The Uchiha elder replied.

"What?"

Seimei was surprised. "He still dares to stay in the Land of Artisans?"

"Dares?"

The Uchiha elder gave Seimei a strange look and retorted, "Why wouldn't he dare?"

Seimei was taken aback at first, then he reacted. The Five Great Ninja Villages were afraid of the entire Craftsman Village siding with another village, not just a single Craftsman Village leader.

As long as he didn't do anything that could easily cause misunderstandings, like gathering the Craftsman Village ninjas, even if the Five Great Ninja Villages' spies discovered him, they most likely wouldn't do anything.

After all, they still needed the Craftsman Village's services after the war, so they naturally couldn't be too harsh now.

Therefore, it was normal for him to stay in the Land of Artisans.

Perhaps he was deliberately staying there and occasionally showing his face to reassure the Five Great Ninja Villages.

After figuring this out, Seimei said to the Uchiha elder, "Elder, please inform me immediately once his whereabouts are confirmed."

"You want to handle it yourself?"

Hearing this, the Uchiha elder frowned slightly. But thinking of Seimei's past achievements, he finally nodded and replied, "Alright! I'll have someone notify you then."

Afterward, the two chatted for a while before Seimei excused himself and left.

Until the very end, the Uchiha elder didn't ask him to do anything.

Seimei had anticipated this.

What the elder wanted was an attitude, not necessarily for him to do anything specific.

At least, not for now.

That was precisely why Seimei had straightforwardly asked what the elder wanted him to do. Otherwise, did they really think he would willingly follow their orders just for a Kusanagi sword?

Everything was just an act...

For him, whether it was the radical or conservative faction within the Uchiha clan, they were all just familiar strangers.

If he wanted to, he could do anything, even help them overthrow Konoha's rule. But if he didn't want to, no amount of coercion or enticement would work.

Possessing the Mangekyo Sharingan and with his strength rapidly increasing, he had the confidence.

...

The sun set and rose.

In the blink of an eye, it was the next day.

Morning.

Seimei arrived at the familiar training ground on the northwest side of the headquarters. For the first time in a long while, he didn't create any shadow clones. Instead, he planned to practice the ninjutsu - Water Release: Water Wall, himself.

After an afternoon and evening of studying, he had gained some insights into how to develop Water Release chakra.

Next, as long as he could successfully perform 'Water Release: Water Wall,' he would almost be considered入门.

Compared to the 'Wind Release: Breakthrough' he practiced when developing Wind Release chakra, the difficulty of 'Water Release: Water Wall' was undoubtedly higher.

But...

Seimei was confident!

For no other reason than his chakra control now was on a completely different level compared to before. Not to mention, he also had the 'Human Path' dojutsu.

The different attributes of chakra were, in essence, just manifestations of different chakra natures.

Judging from the fact that every Jonin could develop a second or even third attribute, theoretically, everyone should possess all attributes.

It was just that the difficulty of development increased further down the line.

But this problem didn't exist for Seimei.

Since chakra inherently possessed these natures, Seimei could completely use the 'Human Path' to guide it. Coupled with sufficient theoretical knowledge, he should be able to achieve it easily.

Thinking this, Seimei activated his Sharingan and scanned his surroundings. After confirming there was no one else around, his thoughts moved, and his three-tomoe Sharingan instantly transformed into the Mangekyo Sharingan.

A slight stinging sensation came, and a trace of blood flowed from his right eye. The power of the 'Human Path' enveloped him.

Seimei recalled the insights and experiences from the book on developing Water Release chakra, combined with the corresponding theoretical knowledge, and silently used the power of the 'Human Path' to guide the transformation of the chakra within his body.

A moment later, he raised his hands and began to perform the hand seals methodically - 'Tiger - Snake - Rat - Snake - Tiger'!

*Bang*

A cloud of chakra smoke exploded.

A water wall suddenly emerged from the ground, rising about a meter in front of Seimei.

However, it only lasted for less than half a second before the water wall suddenly collapsed, turning into a pool of water that gathered at Seimei's feet.

The Mangekyo Sharingan deactivated, and Seimei wiped the blood from his face, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes.

His guess was indeed correct. With the help of the 'Human Path' and sufficient theoretical knowledge, he easily developed the Water attribute of his chakra.

Furthermore, with the enhanced body control from the 'Human Path,' he successfully performed the B-rank ninjutsu - Water Release: Water Wall.

Although the water wall collapsed quickly, it was a breakthrough from zero to one.

Seimei opened his panel and glanced at it. As expected, a new skill had appeared - [Water Release: Water Wall: Lv0 (1/100)]!

Next, as long as he continued to practice, he could quickly increase the level of this technique.

And as the proficiency of 'Water Release: Water Wall' increased, his understanding and mastery of the Water Release chakra's form and nature transformations would also gradually deepen.

By then, he wouldn't have to worry about the water wall suddenly collapsing.

Additionally, he could also try to learn the 'Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique.'

However, this time, Seimei didn't plan to use the 'Human Path' to speed things up.

He had already successfully developed Water Release chakra. As long as he persisted in practicing a few dozen times, he would eventually achieve the breakthrough from zero to one.

Then, it was just a matter of grinding.

(End of Chapter)