Seimei invested 3 hours every day in learning and creating the Cooling Seal.
However, he didn't work on this himself.
Instead, he just created a few shadow clones and left the Seal creation to them.
Of course, since the most gruesome part of Fuinjutsu—memorizing and comprehending the usage of Runes—was finished, he didn't create 7 shadow clones to draw the Cooling Seal this time.
He invested no more than three shadow clones for this task every day.
He used his other spare shadow clones to train various Ninjutsu, Kenjutsu, and Genjutsu.
He even left one of his shadow clones to read the study materials and complete the homework he received from the Ninja Academy each week.
Such abuse of the Shadow Clone Technique would have left most Shinobi exhausted, both mentally and physically.
But for him, the wielder of the Otsutsuki bloodline, it was nothing.
His vitality was more abundant than Senju and Uzumaki clan Shinobi, helping him recover from physical exhaustion within minutes.
And his Spirit attribute was high enough to bear the load of the memories coming from tens of shadow clones at once.
At most, he would feel a slight disorientation if he received more than 60 hours' worth of memories from over 20 shadow clones at once.
(A/N: If an average Chunin with no special bloodline or Yin Release talent tried what Seimei just did with his shadow clones—receiving 60 hours of memories from 20 shadow clones at once, they wouldn't just feel a slight disorientation.
Their mental fatigue would reach the point where they would faint and wouldn't wake up until three days later.
That is, if their physique can bear the strain of releasing so many shadow clones at once.
When a ninja releases his shadow clone, all the mental and physical exhaustion the clone feels will be transferred to the ninja at once, including the clone's memories.
That's why, unless someone has a large chakra reserve, powerful physique, and strong mental resilience, they shouldn't even think about creating so many shadow clones at once.)
Otherwise, he would be completely fine.
So, he spammed shadow clones to handle all the mundane and repetitive tasks without even batting an eye.
Meanwhile, he continued his physical conditioning and Taijutsu training by himself.
After all, the training his shadow clones did only improved his skills.
It wouldn't improve his physique.
That's why if he wants to become physically strong, practice powerful Genjutsu, increase his chakra reserves, or enhance his bloodline and ocular abilities, he must rely on himself.
Shadow clones couldn't help him with them.
But Seimei had nothing to complain about.
After every practice session was over, he could see his progress in numerical value thanks to his system.
This motivated him to work even harder.
--------------------
One afternoon, Seimei was practicing Uchiha-style Kenjutsu diligently when he finally heard a familiar "Ding~" alert.
Undoubtedly, it was an alert from his system.
However, at the next moment, he understood what had happened.
One of his shadow clones just dispelled itself, and its memories came flooding into Seimei's mind.
"Status Panel," said Seimei in a low voice as he paused his Kenjutsu practice and sheathed his Ninjato.
As soon as his words fell, a translucent blue panel showed up.
Seimei scanned the system panel carefully and soon discovered the reason for the notification.
"I see."
"The Cooling Seal finally reached Level 3."
"Sigh~"
"How many days has it been since I started practicing this Seal? Around half a month?"
Just as Seimei said, it took him half a month to improve his first Fuinjutsu Seal's proficiency to Lv. 3.
Moreover, it took his three shadow clones two days to draw a functioning Cooling Seal for the first time.
At that moment, his system added a new skill: Uzumaki Sealing Technique.
Once he focused on that prompt, he saw another skill under it: [Cooling Seal Lv.0 (1/ 100)]
Now, after grinding the skill for another ten days, his new skill prompt looked like this:
[Uzumaki Sealing Technique Lv.1 (77/ 200)
→Cooling Seal Lv.3 (12/ 1,000)]
At Lv.3, he could control the cold feeling emitting from the Seal by infusing chakra and giving a few mental commands, making the Seal quite useful.
It wasn't the case when his Cooling Seal proficiency was at level 1.
At that time, he had to set the degree of coldness released from the Seal during the Seal creation process.
From the moment he drew the final Rune, the degree of coldness emitted by the Seal was set. It couldn't be changed at will.
At level 3, this problem was solved.
He just needed to change the Runic structure a bit and add a few Runes that could control how much cold air passed through the Seal formation based on the amount of chakra someone infused in the completed Cooling Seal later.
It was a bit like the computer programming from his previous life.
And there was one more thing…
"I thought each Seal I learn would be registered in the system panel, making it very cluttered once I learn dozens of Seals."
"Thankfully, that's not the case."
"It seems no matter how many Seals I learn, all of them will be registered as the Uzumaki Sealing Technique."
"If I want to check the progress of any particular Seal, I just have to focus on the Uzumaki Sealing Technique prompt, and the list of Seals registered under it will pop up."
"This is very convenient."
Additionally, as he mastered and refined new Seals, his proficiency in the UzumakiSealingTechnique would be enhanced, too.
This, in turn, would help him learn new Seals faster and level up existing Seals quicker.
A win-win situation.
"Alright. I will just practice my Kenjutsu for 30 more minutes before calling it a day."
With that, he unsheathed his Ninjato and began the final phase of his Kenjutsu training.
-------------------------
The same day at the Hyuga clan compounds…
A 10-year-old boy was walking through the corridor of the Hyuga clan leader's mansion to answer the summons.
He had a refined face, shoulder-length black hair, and a pair of pure white eyes with a hint of lavender. His face had the stern expression of a typical Hyuga Shinobi.
He was dressed in a traditional Hyuga clan combat kimono.
His forehead did not have the hideous markings of the Caged Bird Seal, making it clear that he belonged to the Main family of the Hyuga clan.
The boy soon arrived before a traditional Japanese sliding door and knocked on it lightly.
Knock! Knock!
"Come in."
As soon as he knocked, a deep elderly voice rang out from the other side of the door.
The boy followed the instructions obediently and slid the door open.
He soon walked in and said in a solemn tone, "I have come to answer your summons, clan leader."
Before him was a man who looked like he was in his late thirties.
He too had long, straight black hair, a pair of Byakugan brimming with oppressive ocular power, and a stern face with a healthy complexion.
Don't judge him by his looks. He was well over 120 this year.
He was one of the few lucky Kage-level Shinobi who didn't die young during the Warring States Era—an era that killed many Kage-level ninjas at a young age, who could have lived for at least 250-300 years otherwise.
And right now, he was the current Hyuga clan leader, Hyuga Fumihito.
(A/N: He would become the grandfather of the next Hyuga clan leader, Hyuga Hiashi—Uzumaki Naruto's father-in-law in the original Narutoverse. But let's leave it for later.)
Seeing the boy, Hyuga Fumihito's stern expression softened a bit.
"There is no need to address me formally when it's just the two of us, Itsuki," said Hyuga Fumihito.
"I understand, father," the boy replied.
Yes. The name of this young, 10-year-old boy was Hyuga Itsuki—the youngest child of Hyuga Fumihito.
A true prodigy of the Hyuga clan.
Fumihito let out a barely perceptible smile before regaining his stern expression.
He asked, "The inter-class competition among the S-class of the Academy will soon begin. You know that, right?"
Itsuki nodded and replied, "Yes, Father. It will be held in two weeks."
"On November 2nd, to be precise."
"And since I'm ranked first among the students of my class 2-S of the second year, I will be in the 4-person team, which will be competing against the other three S-classes of the second year."
"Well done, Itsuki. I expect nothing less from you," said Fumihito.
He paused for a while and then continued.
"I heard that a new prodigy has emerged from the Uchiha clan."
"What was her name again? Hmm…yes, Uchiha Reina."
"I want you to beat her team in this competition."
"No!"
"To be precise, I want you to beat her."
Hearing this, Hyuga Itsuki's expression stiffened.
He hesitated a bit before speaking up, "But father. I'm not sure if I can beat her."
"I don't know her exact combat capabilities, but she should at least be as powerful as an Elite Chunin."
"She also has a Two-tomoe Sharingan."
"Although my Byakugan can see chakra concentration around her eyes whenever she tries using Sharingan Genjutsu—making it easier for me to take precautionary measures, her eyes still give her an advantage in close combat."
"And we mainly rely on Gentle Fist and Taijutsu, which makes it difficult to counter Uchiha prodigies like her."
Hyuga Fumihito listened to his son's analysis patiently and nodded.
He praised, "Good. Very good."
"At least you didn't let the recent surge in power go to your head."
"Capable Ninjas should always be cautious, acknowledge their own weaknesses, and understand their opponents' powers well."
Then he became serious and continued, "But you don't have to worry about being at a disadvantage in Taijutsu and close combat."
"For the next two weeks, I will personally teach you a few powerful Hyuga clan secret techniques to counter Sharingan."
"You should be able to grasp the techniques I will teach you within this timeframe."
"Even if you don't master them, just learning the basics will help you fight that Uchiha girl and deal a decisive blow to her when the opportunity arrives."
Hearing this, Hyuga Itsuki was thrilled.
His Hyuga clan was one of the rivals of the Uchiha clan during the Warring States Period.
So, how could they not have powerful hidden techniques to counter the almost unfair combat advantages of the Uchiha clan's Sharingan?
He suppressed his excitement and said with a solemn expression, "Yes, father."
"I will train hard to learn everything you impart to me and make the clan proud."
Fumihito nodded with satisfaction and said, "Very well. As a Hyuga, you should have such confidence."
"If a problem arrives, just slap it away with our Gentle Fist technique."
"In today's world, our clan's Dojutsu is the most powerful."
"Our secret techniques are made to utilize Byakugan's power to its fullest."
"Train well and show the Uchiha clan that Byakugan is the greatest Dojutsu out there in this world of Shinobi."
"Nothing can beat it."
As Fumihito spoke, his expression became more and more fanatical. A dense surge of ocular power leaked from his Byakugan, giving his eyes a slightly maddening glint.
Hyuga Itsuki's refined features were now also colored with a fervent look.
If Seimei were to witness this scene, he would surely have sported a deadpan expression on his face.
(Seimei: Really now? Byakugan is the most powerful Dojutsu?
Oh please!
Do you think my Tenseigan, my real Uncle Otsutsuki Hagoromo's Rinnegan, and my grandmother Otsutsuki Kaguya's Rinne-Sharingan are a joke?)
But he wasn't here. So, no harm was done.
Thus, the father-son duo of the Hyuga clan continued to scheme how to defeat Uchiha Reina, entirely overlooking the presence of Seimei.
---------------------------
A/N: If you like what you're reading, consider supporting me on P@treon and read up to 25 Advanced chapters!
patreon.com/Seigan