The Uchiha Clan's Blind Swordsman

"Do you know what you just said?"

"That statement alone is enough to brand you with the crime of [treason], and in the end, it will implicate the Uchiha Clan."

"Where do you get the courage to say such things to Konoha's jinchuriki?"

"I am merely stating facts!"

Chiba spoke calmly.

"I told you, who says children's words are always harmless?"

"Besides, you should be very clear about what the higher-ups in Konoha are like, right?"

"The extinction of the Land of Eddies and the Uzumaki Clan... don't you find that suspicious?"

Hearing this, Kushina Uzumaki's eyes narrowed slightly.

"It seems I really can't treat you like an ordinary child!"

"You can even analyze something like this?"

"Judging by your tone, does that mean my guess is correct?"

Kushina Uzumaki shook her head.

"Who knows? I was only guessing, too."

"After all, so much time has passed since then."

Historically, the Land of Eddies was annihilated because other nations feared the sealing techniques of the Uzumaki Clan.

But that raises a question.

Where was Konoha when the Uzumaki Clan was being wiped out?

One must know that the Land of Fire and the Land of Eddies are separated only by a narrow stretch of sea.

More importantly.

The entire ninja world knew that the Uzumaki Clan possessed the ability to suppress tailed beasts, making them natural jinchuriki.

In Chiba's view.

The nations coveting the Uzumaki Clan's ability to serve as jinchuriki was a far more convincing reason than the fear of their sealing techniques.

And what was bizarre was that the Uzumaki Clan was destroyed by a coalition of nations.

Yet, aside from Konoha, not a single nation had a jinchuriki from the Uzumaki Clan.

Were those great nations all fools?

"The Uchiha are no longer the Uchiha of the Warring States period, yet Konoha remains the same Konoha that has viewed the Uchiha through tinted glasses since its founding."

"So, if you're only here to offer platitudes... then take back your scroll. Thank you for your good intentions."

Having said that, Chiba tossed the scroll Kushina had given him right back.

After catching it, Kushina threw it back at him immediately.

"No, just take it as a gift for our first meeting..."

"It's nothing particularly precious."

"Even if it can't change anything."

"You still have a lot of potential."

"I am not the Konoha leadership; I don't look at the Uchiha through tinted glasses."

Kushina Uzumaki's heart was in the right place.

It was clear that she truly wanted to make Konoha a better place.

Unfortunately, she was putting her efforts in the wrong direction.

As Konoha's jinchuriki, she had already adapted to the village.

By using the Nine-Tails to deter other nations, she had made many contributions to Konoha and was a hero in every sense of the word.

Regrettably—

Her child would not receive the childhood they deserved.

If she knew the life her future child would lead, would she choose to understand, or would she choose to turn her blade against Konoha?

Chiba opened the scroll Kushina had given him.

Sealing techniques existed in every nation.

However, the sealing techniques of the Uzumaki Clan were exceptionally powerful and perfectly suited for sealing tailed beasts.

The successive jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails had all relied on the sealing techniques of the Uzumaki Clan to contain it.

The strength of its sealing is evident.

Although Chiba's primary focus is on swordsmanship, and the Fujitora Issho template is his greatest reliance at the moment, he still intends to learn necessary ninjutsu.

Now that sealing techniques are laid out before him, there is no reason for Chiba to pass them up.

As the saying goes, one can never have too many skills.

The scroll does not record a specific ninjutsu, but rather provides a foundational explanation of sealing techniques.

This is the learning foundation passed down through generations of the Uzumaki Clan; although Kushina Uzumaki claimed it was nothing precious, in Chiba's view, the most fundamental things are the most valuable.

Even the most heaven-defying sealing techniques are developed from these foundations.

As long as one is sufficiently proficient in the basics and adds their own understanding, it is entirely possible to create brand-new sealing techniques.

Of course, this is also predicated on having sufficient talent.

Whether it is this inherited foundational knowledge or the powerful sealing techniques that extend from it, both are treasures of the Uzumaki Clan.

More importantly, there are many notes in the margins of this scroll detailing Kushina Uzumaki's own understanding of the material.

I never expected Kushina to hand something like this over to me.

It is clear that she truly has the intention of taking Chiba on as a disciple. Furthermore, her desire to assist Namikaze Minato in resolving the issues between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha seems to come from the heart.

Unfortunately, she chose the wrong person to help.

Under the enhancement of [Perfect-level Observation Haki], the Haki replaced Chiba's eyes as he carefully read the contents of the scroll.

After finishing it entirely, Chiba slowly exhaled.

Without realizing it, beads of sweat had already formed on his forehead.

The consumption of [Perfect-level Observation Haki] is simply too great. Just reading a single scroll had nearly exhausted all of his physical strength.

Although this Observation Haki is peerlessly powerful, it is definitely not something that can be used casually in actual combat. At the very least, it is not something the current Chiba can use at will.

He would likely only use it when facing a true enemy where he needs to find their weaknesses, or perhaps when he grows strong enough that his stamina can keep up with the Haki's consumption.

When Chiba finished reading all the foundational content in the scroll, he saw a massive character for "Seal" on the final page.

This was a sealing technique.

"This is..."

Chiba formed hand seals and directly undid the seal on the scroll.

Poof.

Accompanied by a burst of white smoke, a new scroll appeared before Chiba.

Chiba untied the cord binding the scroll, and the moment he opened it, he perceived the name of a sealing formula.

"Five Elements... Seal?"

The Five Elements Seal is a technique that gathers chakra of five different natures onto the five fingers to perform a seal. The chakra of the person being sealed will be disrupted or even completely blocked. Even among sealing techniques, it is considered a high-level forbidden jutsu.

In the original story, Orochimaru used the Five Elements Seal to suppress the Nine-Tails' chakra leaking from Naruto.

So, this sealing technique also originated from the Uzumaki Clan?

Chiba remembered that the Five Elements Seal should be classified as an A-rank forbidden jutsu. Yet, Kushina had brought it out so casually, claiming it wasn't anything precious.

Thinking of this, the corner of Chiba's mouth twitched violently.

Is this really not considered precious? Or is it that the Uzumaki Clan's sealing techniques are just so overpowered that the Five Elements Seal is actually the weakest one?

Chiba pondered for a moment, and it seemed that might actually be the case.

Four Symbols Seal, Eight Trigrams Seal, Contract Seal, Dead Demon Consuming Seal...

These renowned sealing techniques are likely the true pinnacle of the Uzumaki Clan's arts.

The Five Elements Seal seems rather unremarkable when placed among them.

Chiba took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and tucked the scroll away.

Clearly, the Five Elements Seal is not something he can learn at his current level.

He must first master the fundamentals of sealing techniques.

Tonight, however, there is an even more important matter at hand.

His progress with the Fujitora Issho template has reached 9.9%.

Barring any accidents, once midnight passes and the Daily Mission refreshes, he will be able to push his Fujitora Issho template progress to 10%.

At that point, not only will he gain another ability from the Fujitora Issho template, but he will also be able to unlock the next unknown template.

His heart is filled with a sense of anticipation he hasn't felt in a long time.

Chiba truly enjoys the feeling of becoming visibly stronger.

And the 0.1% template progress from this Daily Mission.

The sense of growth it brings will be unprecedentedly immense.

Time ticked by, second by second.

The moment the system notified him that the Daily Mission had refreshed, Chiba drew his blade and... swung it out.

Daily Mission: 1,000 sword swings, has begun.

With every exhilarating swing.

Chiba poured his full strength into every single strike.