Temple of Fire Steals Sword

"Then I'll take my leave."

At the entrance to Ryūchi Cave, Sosuke sincerely bid farewell to Lady Tagorihime.

With his current strength, ordinary Summoning Beasts could offer very little help.

Only an existence on the level of Tagorihime could play a role in battle. Before leaving, Sosuke shamelessly pestered her into signing a contract.

"." Silently watching the youth before her, Tagorihime was lost in thought for a long time, still unable to fathom why the White Snake Sage valued him so highly.

Signing a contract was one thing, but she had even told him the locations of several divine tools—things she herself hadn't known about beforehand.

"Forget it." Tagorihime decided to stop dwelling on it for now. Setting aside a trace of petty jealousy, she actually had a decent impression of the youth.

At the very least, as a contractor, he was qualified to summon her.

"Your Chakra is insufficient. When summoning, it's best to activate that Cursed Seal form," Tagorihime reminded him coolly.

When performing the Summoning Technique, the more powerful the target, the more terrifying the Chakra cost.

In the end, Sosuke only had Chakra at the Chunin level. Without the boost from the Cursed Seal state, he truly couldn't summon Tagorihime in her entirety.

[Name: Uchiha Sosuke] [Age: Eight] [Physical Strength: Genin] [Mental Strength: Jonin] [Chakra Capacity: Chunin] [Special Abilities: Sharingan (Two Tomoe), Cursed Seal] [Ninja Tools: Short Sword] [Summoning Beast: Tagorihime] [Points: 184]

In the short term, his Chakra likely couldn't be raised, so the Cursed Seal became a necessary medium for performing the Summoning Technique.

"Don't summon me around mealtimes. I also like to nap during the day. Evenings are fine—that's my preferred time for activity."

"..."

Sosuke was a bit speechless. It felt like he'd somehow gotten himself a girlfriend.

Can't summon at mealtimes, can't disturb her nap time either. Good grief—so he had to pick the right time to fight enemies?

But considering she would become his teacher in the future, Sosuke generously chose to accept it.

The White Snake Sage had been generous, truthfully telling him about the Kusanagi Sword and the Yata Mirror.

She also promised that once his body could withstand it, he could return to Ryūchi Cave to learn Sage Mode.

Those few words alone saved Sosuke countless points, and the youth naturally felt immense gratitude.

After bidding farewell to the snakes of Ryūchi Cave, Sosuke and the others set off for their next destination: the Temple of Fire.

Originally, his plan was to return to the Western War Zone as soon as possible, but now it seemed he'd have to delay a while longer.

Since one of the Kusanagi Swords was stored at the Temple of Fire, Sosuke had no reason to let the treasure continue gathering dust.

"I'm just borrowing it for a bit—it's not stealing," the youth consoled himself.

For a ninja, the importance of a weapon went without saying.

Aside from durability, the most crucial factor was Chakra conductivity.

Ordinary weapons could conduct Chakra too, but if you put out 100 units of Chakra, the final effect might only be around 10 units.

With a high-performance weapon, Chakra conductivity could be pushed to its limits, and the Kusanagi Sword was naturally among the best.

Not to mention, it had the property of being indestructible, so there was no worry about the weapon being shattered in battle.

Glancing at the Girl with a Bun, who was amusing herself with a small snake, Sosuke confirmed one last time: "I'm going to steal a sword from the Temple of Fire. Are you sure you want to come along?"

Mito had also signed the Ryūchi Cave contract and was currently trying out the Summoning Technique repeatedly.

Hearing his question, the girl replied with some impatience: "You're the one stealing the sword. What does that have to do with me, Uzumaki Mito? Besides, I told you—I'm trying to find a way to solve the human trafficking problem at its source."

"Alright then."

Seeing her say that, Sosuke didn't press further.

But as they traveled, the youth couldn't help asking about Sealing Techniques.

"What's this? You're interested in Sealing Techniques?" Mito looked at him with a faint smile.

"Uh, yeah, that's right."

Sealing Techniques were quite useful, often helping in battle, and he also wanted to take the chance to study the Flying Thunder God Barrier.

In the future, when facing attacks like the Tailed Beast Ball, he could use the barrier to transfer it elsewhere.

But Sosuke currently knew nothing about Sealing Techniques and needed a good teacher to guide him.

Fortunately, Mito was right there—there was no better candidate than her.

Briefly explaining his thoughts, Sosuke believed this matter shouldn't be too difficult.

As for the reward for teaching Sealing Techniques, he could make up for it with the Shadow Clone Technique.

For the Uzumaki Clan, who possessed immense Chakra, the utility of the Shadow Clone Technique was absolutely absurd.

Perhaps Mito could even replicate Naruto's classic human-wave tactic.

The girl silently pondered for a moment, then nodded uncertainly. "In theory, it should work, but we'll need to study it carefully."

"Alright, let's not rush this."

He could tell that the girl had no immediate plans to return to the Land of Whirlpools.

Once they stole the Kusanagi Sword and returned to the Western Army Corps, the two of them would have plenty of time to exchange insights on Sealing Techniques.

It wasn't just the Flying Thunder God Barrier—Sosuke was also very interested in other types of Sealing Techniques.

This was the kind of thing you could go without using, but couldn't afford not to know.

Someday, he might run into a problem that could only be solved with a Sealing Technique.

For instance, scheming against that Mr. Black Zetsu lurking in the shadows.

As a construct of Yin-Yang Release, ordinary methods were completely useless against Black Zetsu—Sealing Techniques were an effective way to deal with him.

"By the way." Sosuke suddenly remembered something and quickly reminded the girl beside him, "Your clansmen think you're dead, and they're currently launching a fierce assault on the Land of Water."

"Ah, that's happening?!" Mito was shocked. She had been too busy having fun outside to even consider how her father would view this.

Only after hearing Sosuke's reminder did she belatedly realize the situation. After thinking it over, she decided to write a personal letter to her father.

She would say she was still alive and would return to the Land of Whirlpools once she dealt with the Fūma Clan.

Looking at the finished letter, Mito thought for a moment, then reached up and removed the pendant from her Ponytail.

With this, combined with her handwriting, she believed her father would trust the authenticity of the letter.

As for the specifics, she didn't explain in detail. Mito knew her father's views on the Uchiha, so she wisely chose to keep that part hidden.

"Done."

Spending a certain amount of silver, she handed the letter to a professional Post Station. With that worry taken care of, Mito followed her companion on the road to visit the Temple of Fire.

"I've heard the Temple of Fire is very famous—monks from all over often go there to pay respects."

"Seems like it."

"So if we two go to steal the sword, will we run into trouble?"

"Don't worry, I'll find a way to convince those monks."