"For now, I'll deal with the Sealing Jutsu Formula first. I have other matters to attend to today, so I need to get back to camp. Let's not try the combination lock yet. We should recall as much as we can about the letters first, then decide what to do."
Slowly pushing the two dark iron boxes toward Hyuga Yukyō, Chiba sighed and spoke.
"I know."
Hyuga Yukyō nodded. Although his gaze did not leave the iron boxes and he still looked eager to open them, his tone had calmed, and his reply was quite firm.
He knew there was no use rushing now. They could only take it slowly—or rather, proceed cautiously.
As a physical measure, this combination lock was far more difficult to deal with than the two types of jutsu. If the letters still existed, this physical measure should have been the simplest part. After all, Hyuga Shinsuke had not intended to make things difficult for them, but to make them cooperate. The Sealing Jutsu Formula and Barrier Jutsu were one aspect, while the two letters containing the combination were undoubtedly connected. They were another hint, urging them to put aside their prejudices and work together properly. Therefore, the combination had to be in the two letters.
But both letters had already been destroyed. Hyuga Shinsuke had died for betraying the clan, so Chiba could not possibly keep his letter. As for Hyuga Yukyō, once the code had been deciphered, he had destroyed the letter as well, just in case someone else could use it to identify the code.
Now, the clues to the combination lock's code had been destroyed by the two of them.
And they did not know whether the lock was designed for a single attempt or multiple attempts. A single-attempt design meant the