Unsealing

Seiichiro's words annoyed Ayako, and she retorted with a playful pout, "We have a new friend here! Calling me 'Aunt' just makes me sound old!"

Seiichiro stuck out his tongue and replied heartlessly, "But Aunt Ayako, by seniority, you are my aunt!"

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

The howling sea breeze forced everyone to shout just to be heard, which was indeed quite exhausting.

However, Senju Arashi didn't want to leave just yet. She said to Ayako, "We capsized a merchant's passenger ship during our fight. We need to go and compensate them for their vessel first!"

Ayako looked at the wreckage of the passenger ship in the distance. The entire boat had been torn to pieces by the giant waves, and negotiating a fair price for compensation would certainly not be an easy task.

After a moment of thought, she said to Senju Arashi, "I'll have Uncle Kanbei handle this. He deals with the merchants at the port often and is very skilled at managing such matters."

Senju Arashi naturally had no objections, so the group boarded the large ship of the Uzumaki Clan. Ayako first called over the old man from earlier to give him instructions, and he set off toward the port to carry out his orders.

Afterward, Ayako led everyone into the main hall of the large ship, where several small tables had already been prepared, laden with various seafood and fruits.

Ayako invited everyone to sit down. "You must be exhausted from your journey. Eat something first, and then we can discuss the sealing matter."

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

He didn't stand on ceremony; once he sat on the floor, he began to eat voraciously.

Senju Arashi and Seiichiro were even less reserved with their family. Before Qiancao had even started, the two of them already had their mouths stuffed with food.

Only Wuming remained somewhat reserved, sitting to the side at a loss. It wasn't until Qiancao signaled to her with his eyes that she began to eat some fruit.

Once everyone was full, Ayako said to Qiancao, "Let me examine your seal first."

Qiancao lifted his shirt to reveal his abdomen, allowing Ayako to inspect the seal. After a long while, Ayako shook her head and said:

"This seal is quite troublesome. I am confident I can break it, but it will require a specific plant from the Land of Whirlpools and a significant amount of time. You may need to stay in the Land of Whirlpools for a while."

Senju Arashi, who was picking her teeth to the side, said to Qiancao and Wuming:

"The Land of Whirlpools is a wonderful place. It's far from the influence of various feudal lords, and with the protection of the Uzumaki Clan, it's one of the few places untouched by the flames of war."

"Since you have nowhere else to go, staying for a while is perfect."

Qiancao hesitated for a moment before saying to Ayako, "I am very grateful for your help to Wuming and me, but I would like to see the Land of Whirlpools for myself before making a decision."

Ayako didn't force the issue; she simply told the four of them to get some rest and turned to leave, leaving Qiancao staring blankly at the whirlpool-shaped family crest on her back.

Seeing Qiancao staring at her aunt, Senju Arashi teased, "What? Are you smitten with my aunt? She is the most beautiful woman in the Land of Whirlpools, and more importantly, she isn't married yet."

Noticing Wuming's dejected expression, Qiancao quickly said, "No, no, I was just wondering how I could possibly deserve such kindness from all of you."

Swallowing a piece of lobster, Seiichiro laughed and said, "If you really want to thank me, just break that seal soon and have a fight with me."

"That kid Hideki has immense strength, but he dislikes fighting. He complains about it being a hassle every day and won't have a proper match with me."

Qiancao gave a wry smile. "Even if I break the seal, I definitely won't be a match for you, Seiichiro." He then glanced at Wuming, wondering to himself who was stronger between her and Seiichiro.

Senju Arashi comforted him, "You are my savior, and you brought us intelligence on Black Zetsu, which may prevent future casualties."

"So, this little favor is nothing. I was actually worried that my father might try to use your background to strike at the Uchiha Clan and make you unhappy!"

Qiancao shook his head and said, "For this entire time, I've only managed to survive by relying on luck and the help of others."

"But if I keep relying on luck, I'll run out of it eventually. That's why I want to find a place to train properly and improve my own strength."

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

"Don't let her beauty fool you; my aunt is the most powerful ninja in the Uzumaki Clan and is proficient in all kinds of elemental ninjutsu."

"More importantly, she has nothing to do in the Land of Whirlpools other than researching sealing techniques. She has plenty of time all day and is always complaining to me about being bored, saying she wants to find some apprentices!"

"If you ask her to take you on as students, she won't refuse."

Qiancao felt tempted. Although he could learn ninja skills from Wuming, most of the ninjutsu she possessed were directly implanted; she could use them, but she couldn't teach him.

Finding a new master would indeed be a good thing.

At that moment, Ayako returned from outside, holding a small bottle of potion. She said to Qiancao, "Let me test if this potion has any effect first."

Qiancao lifted his shirt and lay on the floor again. Ayako applied the potion to her five slender, fair fingers. With her other hand, she performed a single-handed seal, causing the potion on her fingers to evaporate slightly, emitting a faint white smoke.

"Bear with it; it might hurt a little," Ayako instructed the prone Qiancao, then slowly pressed her smoking fingers onto his seal.

Qiancao felt as if five red-hot branding irons were being pressed against his stomach. If he hadn't mentally prepared himself, the intense pain from the high heat would have made him cry out.

Watching Qiancao grit his teeth to endure the agony, a flicker of admiration crossed Ayako's eyes. She only pulled her hand away once Qiancao was drenched in sweat.

The others quickly crowded around to look at Qiancao's stomach. Whether it was an illusion or not, the seal on his abdomen seemed to have faded slightly.

"Is his seal broken?" Senju Arashi asked her aunt.

"Not even close," Ayako replied. "This seal has penetrated deep into his meridians. If we were to break it by force, we would have to destroy the very meridians where the seal is etched."

As she spoke, Ayako held up the potion she had brought and explained, "And then use this special potion to reshape his meridians."

This method of breaking the seal startled Senju Arashi, who quickly asked, "Won't that cause damage to his body?"

"Not at all," Ayako replied. "These reshaped meridians will actually be even tougher, which will be quite beneficial to his body."

"However, this process cannot be rushed. Meridians are, after all, very delicate and complex things; we can only proceed little by little like this."

"To complete the entire unsealing, it will take at least three years!"