After letting his mind wander briefly, Seimei refocused his thoughts, seizing the time to convert his cultivation experiences and memories into proficiency for his various skills.
Unfortunately, since he hadn't canceled the "Shadow Clone Technique" midway to refresh the clones, the efficiency of cultivation dropped significantly over time.
Ultimately, the skill proficiency gained was roughly half of what he would typically achieve with the same chakra consumption.
This left Seimei feeling somewhat frustrated. After some contemplation, he decided that starting tomorrow, he must set aside time to preemptively absorb the training experiences of his shadow clones, converting them into skill proficiency before refreshing their states.
Even if he couldn't do it every hour like in normal training sessions, he couldn't let the intervals stretch too long; the losses were simply too great.
After glancing one last time at the skill proficiency levels on his interface, Seimei stopped dwelling on it and turned to practice the "Palm Sage Technique" and "Reflection Mind Technique."
His training plan for the day wasn't complete yet—he couldn't afford to slack off.
---
Time flew by, and the next day arrived.
**Morning.**
Just a few hours after falling asleep, Seimei was suddenly awakened by an explosion.
Opening his eyes and freezing for a split second, he quickly got up, formed a hand seal, and activated a ninjutsu—**Wind Style: Wings of Wind!**
*Whoosh!*
A pair of light green chakra wings appeared on his back.
With a flap, Seimei soared into the sky.
From his vantage point, he looked toward the direction of the explosion.
As expected, the Mist Ninja had launched another attack.
The sound of explosions grew more frequent.
Seimei didn't spend long observing and quickly returned to the ground.
By this time, everyone in the temporary base was already awake.
Facing their questioning gazes, Seimei wasted no words. After saying, "The Mist Ninjas are attacking again," he instructed everyone to gather their gear and eat quickly.
Well, "eat" mostly meant consuming soldier pills.
Given the situation, there was no time to prepare proper meals; filling their stomachs was the priority.
About 15 minutes later, orders arrived from the commanding Jonin.
Seimei quickly scanned through them.
Today, their mission was to defend an area and prevent the Mist Ninjas from breaking through the encirclement and escalating the battle.
Taking the task without delay, Seimei led his subordinates toward their assigned location.
As they approached the destination, Seimei once again used the "Shadow Clone Technique," splitting into three clones.
He then had the clones use the "Transformation Technique" to change their appearances before separating from the main group.
Although the other Konoha ninjas were curious about his actions, they wisely refrained from asking. Seimei's loyalty was unquestionable—why bother probing into his actions?
After all, he was their commanding officer; prying into his secrets was as good as asking for trouble.
Moreover, with the life-and-death battle looming, they had no mental capacity for such concerns. Better to focus on surviving the war.
The battle began about 30 minutes later.
Luckily, the Mist Ninjas attacking their line weren't too numerous, allowing everyone to breathe a small sigh of relief.
Seimei also felt a bit relieved.
With fewer enemies, he had more opportunities to absorb his shadow clones' training experiences and refresh their states.
Time passed.
At first, everything went as planned. Seimei was even able to refresh his clones every hour, keeping their training at peak efficiency.
However, by mid-afternoon, the situation deteriorated sharply.
Something must have gone wrong on another battlefield, as a large number of Mist Ninjas broke through and launched a fierce assault on their line.
Forced to reveal more of his strength, Seimei faced the combined attack of four Mist Jonin.
Thanks to his formidable skills, he held his ground, critically injuring one of them in retaliation. Without this, their defense line might have collapsed before reinforcements arrived.
On the bright side, the Mist Ninjas retreated after this failed assault, giving Seimei some much-needed time for training.
In the following days, he encountered two similar incidents, each more dangerous than the last.
Only after the battles did Seimei learn that critical defensive positions on their side had been breached, leading to these repeated crises.
Although they managed to drive the Mist Ninjas back to Yujin Port, it was clear that their defenses were barely holding.
Fortunately, the worst-case scenario didn't materialize.
Five days later, the first wave of reinforcements from the Sand Ninja battlefield arrived. Though their numbers were small, their presence bolstered the morale of Konoha's forces.
Even as the Mist Ninjas launched an even crazier assault the following day, Konoha's forces held firm.
That night, as the battle subsided temporarily, Seimei headed to the makeshift hospital in the rear to assist with treating the wounded.
Yes, he was moonlighting as a medical ninja again.
In fact, this wasn't his first time.
Three days earlier, when the Mist Ninjas had intensified their attacks, Seimei was reassigned to help with the growing number of casualties.
Since this also allowed him to quickly improve his medical ninjutsu proficiency—especially the "Palm Sage Technique"—he had no objections.
Nearly every evening since then, he'd spare time to work as a temporary medical ninja.
Despite being a temporary role, Seimei's superb medical skills left a lasting impression on both the injured and the medical staff.
While treating a wounded ninja, Seimei mulled over the likely future.
With reinforcements from the Sand battlefield continuing to arrive, the tide of this battle would soon turn.
Perhaps today marked the last major offensive the Mist Ninjas could mount.
Going forward, they'd likely be forced to retreat to Yujin Port.
But what about the Mist Ninjas at the other three breached positions?
This time, the Mist had opened four gaps in Konoha's defenses, but only this one was the main attack point. The forces at the other three locations were relatively minor—could they hold?
The answer was obvious: no.
Seimei predicted that Konoha's leadership would focus on reclaiming those positions first, then drive the Mist Ninjas out of the Fire Country entirely.
By then, it would likely be time for negotiations.
For Seimei, the question was when he would be reassigned.
Not being reassigned?
Highly unlikely.
If Konoha's leadership intended to reclaim the lost positions, they'd undoubtedly prioritize sending those originally stationed there—like Seimei and his team—back to their respective units.
And if not reassigned, couldn't he just apply for it himself?
Nara Keiko surely wouldn't reject such an offer of support.