Status Elevated, The Yin Seal Cultivation Method

"Why would Lady Mito take an interest in him? Could Sa and Mio be connected to the Senju Clan? Or perhaps their ancestors were Uzumaki or Senju who ended up scattered abroad?"

Orochimaru fired off questions in succession, a hint of tension and worry creeping into his brow.

After all, Gojo Yoru was a disciple he had taken a liking to at first sight, and also the greatest asset to support his future ambition of becoming Hokage.

If he didn't truly value him that much, Orochimaru wouldn't have unconditionally gifted Gojo Yoru the extremely precious Nature Transformation scroll containing an understanding of both Yin and Yang Release nature transformations.

Nor would he have tacitly allowed Gojo Yoru's manner of addressing him.

He didn't want to see this promising seedling snatched away by someone else at the final hour.

Jiraiya rubbed his chin, a glimmer of realization dawning. "No wonder that brat is already so tall at his age. If it's connected to the Senju and Uzumaki Clans, that explains it."

"He has no connection to the Senju or Uzumaki Clans—at least not on the surface." Sarutobi Hiruzen fed Orochimaru a reassurance, puffing on his pipe. "You're both full-fledged jonin now. In all these years of going out on missions, you should know about the Tailed Beasts and the jinchuriki of the major villages, right?"

"I do."

Orochimaru nodded instinctively, then, as if a thought struck him, his expression shifted abruptly. His eyes widened in shock as he looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen, then mimicked the man by pointing at the ceiling. "Could it be that..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded gravely. "Lady Mito doesn't have much time left."

"Teacher Sarutobi, are you planning to transfer the Nine-Tails into Sa and Mio's child?" Jiraiya suddenly interjected, ruining the mood.

"..."

Orochimaru and Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at Jiraiya with speechless expressions.

Ignoring the idiot, Orochimaru continued, "If I recall correctly, a survivor from the Land of Whirlpools is lodging at Tsunade's place. Is she the next candidate?"

After seeing Sarutobi Hiruzen nod, Orochimaru, who had vaguely guessed the truth, asked knowingly, "What's her relationship with Sa and Mio's child?"

"Classmates. People who saved each other and cherish each other." Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't hide it. "This morning, she brought the Uzumaki Clan's Scroll of Sealing to the Gojo residence. Lady Mito didn't stop her."

"I understand." Orochimaru nodded, a surge of glee rising in his heart.

So this was the reason for the attention. What an unexpected windfall!

In that moment, Gojo Yoru's standing in Orochimaru's eyes rose even higher.

Jiraiya, meanwhile, was green with envy, grinding his teeth. "What a sly little brat. If my math's right, they've known each other less than a year? In that short time, he's already swindled the Uzumaki Clan's Scroll of Sealing. Where does he get that love-struck brain? Why hasn't this old man ever met someone like that? Damn it, this ugly world that only cares about looks—let it burn!"

Still ignoring Jiraiya's impotent rage, Orochimaru asked, "Teacher Sarutobi, did you call us here tonight because you want us to train Sa and Mio's child?"

"That's right. I was originally planning to pick one of you, but it seems that's no longer necessary." Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled at Orochimaru. "Since he's the disciple you chose, you'll be the one to train him."

"With pleasure." Orochimaru grinned immediately. This suited his plans perfectly.

With Sarutobi Hiruzen's guarantee, he no longer had to worry about someone snatching his prize midway.

He just hadn't expected that the Uzumaki Clan survivor lodging at Tsunade's place would happen to be in the same class as Gojo Yoru, and that Gojo Yoru had already won her heart, earning the right to learn the Uzumaki Clan's Fuinjutsu.

What an impressive fellow!

It seemed he would have to prepare an extra special gift for this future disciple of his.

Gojo Yoru had no idea that Sarutobi Hiruzen and his three disciples were discussing him.

At that moment, he was in the basement studying the Yin Seal.

He hadn't dared to keep the oversized scroll, only copying a few sealing techniques, among them the Yin Seal.

As he read through the annotations on the Yin Seal, the more he looked, the more amazed he became. He couldn't help but think to himself, "This isn't a sealing technique at all—it's practically a miniaturized, watered-down version of Yin-Yang Release."

The Yin Seal was a very special technique.

It was classified as a Fuinjutsu, yet its category was Medical Ninjutsu. Compressing and storing chakra in the forehead involved the spiritual aspect of Yin Release.

Its effect of maintaining a youthful appearance was tied to Yang Release.

Thinking that this technique was an S-Rank secret art of the Uzumaki Clan, Gojo Yoru couldn't help but suspect it was a product of Yin-Yang Release from the Sage of Six Paths' era.

Especially since Tsunade had used it as a core to develop the "Hundred Healings Technique" and "Creation Rebirth," which only added to its Yin-Yang Release flavor.

To master this technique, one needed not only talent in Fuinjutsu but also powerful chakra control, as well as a certain understanding of the body and spirit—meaning medical knowledge, or an understanding of Yin Release and Yang Release. None of these could be lacking.

That was the difficulty of mastering an S-Rank secret art.

But fortunately, Gojo Yoru met all the requirements for learning this technique.

As for the method of cultivating the Yin Seal, the annotations were very clear. The ancestors of the Uzumaki Clan had already summarized their experiences.

The first step was to condense a diamond-shaped mark on the forehead.

How to condense it? Sealing!

This step was the threshold of talent.

Chakra was fluid. The Yin Seal required intercepting a strand of chakra from the meridian network, forming a seal at a point in the body that was a necessary passage for both Yin Release chakra and Yang Release chakra. This seal would then continue to siphon off strands of chakra flowing through the meridian network.

This independent chakra not only had the effect of micro-adjusting chakra, enhancing bodily functions, and keeping the body in its peak state at all times.

When needed, this seal could also be unsealed, releasing a massive amount of chakra to boost combat power.

Even without having cultivated the Yin Seal yet, Gojo Yoru was one hundred percent certain of this.

The Yin Seal can store Space-Time Chakra.

The so-called Storage Scroll operates on the same principle as these two.

Sealing and Space-Time are practically a perfect match.

What Gojo Yoru is uncertain about now is whether, after sealing this portion of Space-Time Chakra, those cells undergoing "Evolution" will continue to secrete Space-Time Power.

If the value is locked, the idea of using the Yin Seal to increase Space-Time Chakra capacity will fail.

But if sealing part of the Space-Time Chakra causes the cells to judge it as consumed and still secrete more Space-Time Power, then this technique would be a divine-level art for Gojo Yoru, on par with a pure-blood Otsutsuki Clan member.

He wouldn't need to wait for that death-like evolution to arrive in order to break the capacity limit of Space-Time Chakra.

Although this would require daily accumulation, this trump card would be enough to turn the tables at a critical moment.

Thinking this, Gojo Yoru wished he could start experimenting immediately.

Unfortunately, the Yin Seal is not a technique that can be learned overnight; it requires a significant investment of time.

Even probing the cells takes a certain amount of time—at least enough to form a single seal.

Speaking of seals, Gojo Yoru had a wildly imaginative idea.

As for what that idea was, it remained unknown for now.