"Whoa..."
Feeling his body suddenly weaken, Seimei couldn't help but feel a bit dazed.
He'd been so focused on testing earlier that he forgot: when you first learn Sage Mode, there's no way it lasts long.
Just like Naruto in his memories—back when he started, he could only hold it for five minutes.
And him? Sure, he managed to pull it off once, but he hadn't truly mastered it yet.
So, it was no surprise that he suddenly slipped out of Sage Mode.
Still...
With a flicker of thought, Seimei focused his mind, gathering the three types of energy in his body. He tried again to fuse them and re-enter Sage Mode.
But after half an hour, he still hadn't succeeded.
Sigh.
Letting out a soft breath, Seimei opened his eyes again.
He'd expected this outcome, but when it actually happened, it still left him feeling a bit helpless.
On the bright side, he'd already imprinted this technique onto his skill panel. It was just a matter of time before he nailed it again.
Adjusting his mood, Seimei raised his hands to form seals and cast the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.
Poof! Poof! Poof!
With bursts of chakra smoke, ten figures appeared in the clearing.
Looking at them, Seimei said, "Keep practicing, guys!"
The ten shadow clones nodded, each picking a direction and moving a short distance away. They sat cross-legged and began fusing senjutsu chakra, trying to enter Sage Mode.
Shifting his gaze from them, Seimei focused inward, drawing chakra from the special space in his forehead to replenish his reserves.
Then, he cast the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique again.
This time, he created a whopping 550 shadow clones.
Of those, 300 focused on absorbing natural energy, while the remaining 250 worked on combining the seven types of chakra natures to develop the Bloodline Net.
As for Seimei himself?
He went back to using the Reflection Heart Technique to push his Sharingan toward evolution.
The sounds of chirping insects and singing birds filled the air.
An hour later...
Seimei stopped the Reflection Heart Technique, dispelled the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, and recalled all his shadow clones.
Notably, in that hour, none of the ten clones practicing Sage Mode had managed to re-enter it.
That was a bit disappointing.
But he could accept it.
After all, if Sage Mode were that easy to master, there wouldn't be so many stone frog statues at Mount Myoboku.
Clearing his mind, Seimei sifted through the memories in his head, absorbing and processing the training experiences they contained.
Fifteen minutes later, he opened his eyes.
Sitting there, he pondered for a moment before raising his hands to form seals again, casting the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique once more.
Just like an hour ago, he started with ten shadow clones.
Their task? Keep practicing Sage Mode, of course.
His gut told him this time they'd definitely pull it off.
Watching the ten clones move off, Seimei topped off his chakra reserves and cast the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique again.
Another 550 shadow clones appeared, and as before, he split them into two groups, assigning them their respective training tasks.
Then, while using the Reflection Heart Technique to stimulate his Sharingan's evolution, he kept an eye on the ten clones, waiting to see when they'd succeed.
And things unfolded as he'd hoped.
About forty minutes later...
While training, Seimei suddenly sensed a unique chakra fluctuation.
He paused the Reflection Heart Technique, opened his eyes, and looked toward the source of the disturbance.
No surprise there—it was coming from where the ten clones were training.
And at that moment, one of them had entered Sage Mode.
Seeing this, a smile spread across Seimei's face.
At the same time, a wave of relief washed over him.
Sure, he'd had his guesses, but only when those guesses came true could he truly relax.
He didn't disturb the clone, waiting instead for it to exit Sage Mode on its own before dispelling the ten clones.
Instantly, ten sets of memories flooded his mind.
Nine of them he skimmed through quickly, but the memory of the clone that had entered Sage Mode? That one he studied carefully.
About five minutes later, Seimei opened his eyes again.
A thoughtful glint flickered in his gaze.
In that moment, his understanding of Sage Mode deepened just a bit more.
"Panel!"
With a thought, he opened his proficiency panel.
Sure enough, in the skill section, the proficiency bar for Sage Mode had ticked up one point—from lv0 (1/100) to lv0 (2/100)!
This meant practicing the technique would get a little easier.
For example, he might enter Sage Mode in less time.
Or maybe more clones could succeed at once.
Either way, his progress in building Sage Mode proficiency would definitely speed up. No more slogging through nearly two hours just to gain a single point.
Of course, expecting a massive leap all at once was unrealistic.
After all, mastering Sage Mode required 100 proficiency points. A single point wasn't going to cause a dramatic breakthrough.
Clearing his thoughts, Seimei glanced at the other shadow clones. Since the ones practicing Sage Mode needed to be managed separately anyway, he decided not to recall the 550 clones.
Instead, he raised his hands, formed seals, and cast the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique again, creating another ten clones.
And so, his shadow clones were split into two groups.
One group was recalled every hour.
The other was recalled immediately upon making progress.
The higher recall frequency meant faster iteration.
By the time night fell and he stopped training, Sage Mode had gained five proficiency points.
Sure, five points wasn't much compared to the 100 needed to master it, but it was a solid start.
Seimei was confident that tomorrow, he'd rack up proficiency even faster.
At this rate, in just three or four days, he could grind the technique to the entry level.
By then, he'd have a clear sense of the chakra cost for practicing Sage Mode.
And that would be the foundation for tweaking his training plan moving forward.
With various thoughts flashing through his mind, Seimei quickly reined them in, deciding not to overthink.
He gathered his things, and with a flicker of thought, he cast the Flying Thunder God Technique, teleporting straight to Moon Island.
Time to rest!