Unsealing

Seiichiro's words irritated Ayako. She said indignantly, "We have new friends here! Calling me Auntie makes me sound old!"

Seiichiro stuck out his tongue and said without a care, "But by seniority, Auntie Ayako is my aunt!"

Uzumaki Ayako couldn't be bothered to argue with him. She turned to the other three and said, "Let's get aboard first. It's not convenient to talk out here on the sea."

The howling sea wind forced everyone to raise their voices just to be heard, which was indeed rather tiring.

But Senju Arashi wasn't ready to leave yet. She said to Ayako, "We overturned the passenger boat during the fight. We still have to compensate the owner for it!"

Ayako glanced at the wreckage in the distance. The passenger boat had been smashed to pieces by the massive waves, and it certainly wouldn't be easy to negotiate a fair price for the damages.

After considering it, she said to Senju Arashi, "I'll ask Uncle Kanbei to handle it. He often deals with the merchants at the port and is very good at sorting out this kind of thing."

Senju Arashi naturally had no objections. Everyone boarded the Uzumaki Clan's large ship. Ayako first summoned the old man from earlier and gave him some instructions, then he left for the port to carry them out.

Afterward, Ayako led everyone to the ship's main hall. Several small tables had already been set out, laden with all kinds of seafood and fruit.

Ayako invited everyone to sit. "You must be exhausted from traveling all this way. Have something to eat first, then we can discuss the Sealing Jutsu."

Qiancao's appetite had increased a lot lately. During the journey from the Senju Territory to the coast, she hadn't had a proper meal in days and was already starving.

So she didn't hold back. As soon as she sat down, she dug in.

Senju Arashi and Seiichiro were even less inclined to be polite to family. Before Qiancao had even started eating, the two of them already had their mouths full.

Only Wuming remained a little reserved, sitting off to the side unsure what to do. She didn't start eating fruit until Qiancao gave her an encouraging look.

Once everyone had eaten their fill, Ayako said to Qiancao, "I'll examine your seal first!"

Qiancao lifted the clothing over her stomach and let Ayako inspect the seal. After a long while, Ayako shook her head and said,

"This seal is quite troublesome. I'm confident I can undo it, but I'll need a certain plant from the Land of Whirlpools and plenty of time. You may have to stay here for a while."

Senju Arashi picked her teeth as she said to Qiancao and Wuming,

"The Land of Whirlpools is a wonderful place. It's far from the influence of the various daimyos, and with the Uzumaki Clan protecting it, it's one of the few places that hasn't been touched by war."

"Besides, you have nowhere else to go. You might as well stay for a while."

Qiancao hesitated, then said to Ayako, "Thank you so much for helping Wuming and me, but I'd like to see the Land of Whirlpools before making a decision."

Ayako didn't press her. She simply told the four of them to get some rest, then turned and left, leaving Qiancao staring blankly at the Uzumaki crest on her back.

Seeing Qiancao staring at her little aunt, Senju Arashi joked, "What? Have you fallen for my little aunt? She's the most beautiful woman in the Land of Whirlpools—and, more importantly, she's still unmarried."

Noticing Wuming's dejected expression beside her, Qiancao hurried to say, "No, no. I was just thinking about how I could possibly deserve everyone's kindness."

Swallowing the lobster meat in his mouth, Seiichiro grinned. "If you really want to thank me, hurry up and undo your seal so we can have a fight."

"That kid Hideki has incredible strength, but he doesn't like fighting. He's always whining that it's too much trouble, so he's never given me a proper match."

Qiancao smiled wryly. "Even with my seal undone, I wouldn't be a match for you, Seiichiro." Then she glanced at Wuming, wondering who would be stronger, her or Seiichiro.

Senju Arashi reassured her, "You saved my life, and you also brought us information about Black Zetsu, helping us avoid possible casualties in the future."

"So what's the big deal? I'm more worried that Father might use your backgrounds to strike at the Uchiha Clan and upset you."

Qiancao shook her head, then said, "All this time, I've only managed to get out of trouble thanks to luck and everyone's help."

"But if I keep relying on luck, sooner or later it'll run out. So I want to find somewhere to train properly and improve my strength."

Senju Arashi slapped her thigh. "If you want to train, that's even easier!"

"Don't let my little aunt's beauty fool you. She's the strongest ninja in the Uzumaki Clan, and she's proficient in ninjutsu of all kinds of nature transformations."

"More importantly, she has nothing else to do in the Land of Whirlpools besides studying Sealing Jutsu. She has all the time in the world, and she's always complaining to me in private that she's bored and wants a few disciples!"

"Ask her to take you on as her students. She won't refuse."

Qiancao was tempted by the idea. Although she could learn ninja skills from Wuming, most of the ninjutsu Wuming knew had been implanted directly into her. She could use them, but she couldn't teach them.

Finding a new teacher would indeed be a good thing.

Just then, Ayako came back in, holding a small bottle of liquid. She said to Qiancao, "I'll try this liquid first and see if it works."

Qiancao lifted her clothes again and lay down on the floor. Ayako applied the liquid to her five long, slender, fair fingers. With her other hand, she formed Hand Seals one-handed, slightly evaporating the liquid on her fingers until a little white smoke rose.

"Bear with it; it might hurt a little," Ayako told Qiancao as she lay there. She slowly pressed her smoking fingers against the seal on Qiancao's stomach.

Qiancao felt as if five red-hot brands were being pressed against her belly. Without mentally preparing herself, the searing pain would have made her cry out.

As she watched Qiancao grit her teeth and endure the agony, a hint of admiration flashed in Ayako's eyes. Only after Qiancao was drenched in sweat from the pain did she finally lift her hand.

The others hurried over to look at Qiancao's stomach. Maybe it was their imagination, but the seal there seemed to have faded slightly.

"Is her seal undone?" Senju Arashi asked her little aunt.

"Not even close," Ayako replied. "This seal has penetrated deep into her meridians. If I were to break it by force, I'd have to destroy the meridians bearing the seal, like this."

As she spoke, Ayako raised the bottle she had brought and explained, "Then I'd use this special liquid to regenerate her meridians."

This method of removing the seal startled Senju Arashi. She quickly asked, "Wouldn't that damage her body?"

"Not at all," Ayako replied. "The regenerated meridians will actually be tougher, which will be very good for her body."

"But the process can't be rushed. Meridians are intricate and complex, so we can only proceed a little at a time, like this."

"To remove the entire seal will take at least three years!"