First Steps in Sealing Arts

First Steps in Sealing Arts

Tsunade was the undisputed "princess" of the Hidden Leaf Village.

Not only was she one of the powerful figures known as The Three Sannin, she was also the beloved granddaughter of Hashirama, the First Hokage and "God of Shinobi."

Compared to her invincible husband, Hashirama's wife, Uzumaki Mito, was far less famous.

Even among the Hidden Leaf Village's ninja who had met her in person, the impression Uzumaki Mito left behind was merely that of "a kind, gentle old grandmother who loved the village and supported and protected everyone she held dear."

But as her granddaughter, Tsunade still remembered the terrifying power of sealing arts.

How powerful were sealing arts? Few people in the shinobi world today could say for sure. After all, this vast and profound system had already declined.

Few remembered that Uzumaki Mito's mastery of sealing arts had once reached the level where she could suppress and seal the complete Nine-Tails. Though she could not communicate with it mentally, controlling the Nine-Tails' chakra had been effortless for her. For a long time after Hashirama's death, she had effectively been the Hidden Leaf Village's strongest fighting force!

Back then, the Uzumaki Clan, who had been friends with the Senju Clan for generations, had stood proudly in the world through their powerful sealing arts. Yet for that very reason, they were feared and coveted by numerous countries and shinobi clans. After a terrible tragedy that left the entire shinobi world unwilling to speak of it, the Land of Whirlpools was destroyed, and the Uzumaki Clan scattered across the world, existing in name only.

From then on, sealing arts declined, and the truly world-changing grand sealing arts were lost one after another.

But Tsunade knew that the village possessed many treasured, isolated copies of sealing arts.

—When her grandmother had traveled such a great distance to marry her grandfather, it had been a monumental alliance that shook the entire shinobi world. Her dowry had been substantial, including a great deal of knowledge about sealing arts.

The Dead Demon Consuming Seal, the Four Symbols Seal, the Yin Seal... Certain powerful sealing arts were in the hands of Hidden Leaf Village ninja.

Still, while sealing arts were useful, the entry barrier was extremely high. Like space-time ninjutsu, they were a field reserved for geniuses. For ordinary people, studying sealing arts was honestly less practical than learning a few Fire Release techniques.

Tsunade rubbed the purple diamond-shaped mark on her forehead and beckoned Hyuga Yuto over.

"Yuto, come here."

"What is it, Sensei?" The branch family boy stood before the blonde woman. He was still using the Mystical Palm Technique to treat his arm, but fortunately, the bleeding had stopped and it had already been bandaged. Tsunade would not suffer a blood phobia attack.

"Yuto." Tsunade tapped his forehead protector. "There's a technique I want you to try... Do you know about the mark on my forehead?"

"Yes, I do. You told me about it before." Hyuga Yuto nodded. "The Yin Seal."

"Now, I want to teach you this technique." Tsunade paused, arranging her words. "The Yin Seal is an S-rank supplementary ninjutsu. Its purpose is to gather, regulate, and control chakra. Once you achieve minor success, a diamond-shaped mark will appear on your forehead. At a higher level, skilled users can preserve their youth through the Yin Seal's low output and fine adjustments."

"My grandmother, Lady Uzumaki Mito, had the same kind of mark on her forehead."

"However, my Yin Seal differs from ordinary Yin Seals. I made many improvements and developed derivative techniques based on them, so it is already vastly different from the original version."

"I named this mark... the Strength of a Hundred Seal."

"The Yin Seal is a matter of slow, painstaking effort. Patience is what matters. Practitioners must spend a great deal of time regulating and accumulating their chakra before they can condense this Strength of a Hundred Seal."

"Don't rush, Yuto. Take it slowly. Starting this afternoon, you'll begin trying to practice the Yin Seal. Of course, don't neglect medical ninjutsu or Monster Strength, either."

Hyuga Yuto nodded solemnly. "Sensei, I won't let you down!"

"Mm." Tsunade grinned and ruffled the branch family boy's hair again. "Do your best."

After asking a few more questions about the precautions for practicing the Yin Seal, Hyuga Yuto ran off to continue treating his injuries.

Tsunade remained where she was, hugging her knees as she stared at her gifted disciple. Her gaze was complicated.

To keep her disciple from feeling too much pressure, there were several things she had not told Hyuga Yuto.

In truth, the greatest purpose of teaching him the Yin Seal was to test Hyuga Yuto's talent for sealing arts!

As long as one was willing to put in the slow, painstaking effort, anyone could learn the Yin Seal. It was only a matter of whether it took longer or shorter. Most practitioners succeeded in their fifth year.

But succeeding in the fifth year meant one had no particular talent for sealing arts. It was merely an ordinary level.

Succeeding in the third year meant one had some talent.

Completing the technique in the second year meant one was a genius, suited to studying sealing arts.

Succeeding within a year—back when the Uzumaki Clan was at its peak, those who achieved that were exceedingly rare. They were true great talents, fine uncut jade. With careful polishing, they could steadily become top-tier jonin, or even Kage-level powerhouses. Uzumaki Mito had been one of them.

The Yin Seal was, in a sense, a "sealing arts talent detector"!

Tsunade had thought it through clearly.

If Yuto progressed quickly and displayed decent talent for sealing arts, she would continue teaching him sealing arts and study an extremely difficult method for temporarily sealing "damage."

If Yuto lacked talent in that area, then she would find another path. At worst, she could use the crudest method—since Lion Fang Severance damaged the user's body, she could simply use Ninja Art: Creation Rebirth to endure the damage head-on. You destroy, I heal. It was clumsy, but it was still a workable solution.

In fact, given Tsunade's temperament, she preferred the second plan. Straightforward and direct—after all, she had plenty of vitality.

But she understood that her disciple was from the Hyuga Clan, not the Senju Clan, who were famed for their vigorous life force and immense chakra reserves. He was absolutely not as tough as she was, and likely could not endure the repeated cycle of destruction and healing.

"Huh? Wait, I feel like I forgot something important..."

The blonde beauty suddenly grabbed at her hair, realizing something.

She abruptly raised her head and looked at Hyuga Yuto.

In the forest, less than twenty meters away from her, the handsome young man was stroking his arm and carefully treating it. His face was fair and refined, his figure balanced and slender. He looked like a pampered young master who had never done manual labor, yet a closer look revealed thick calluses piled across his palms and scars covering them. Who knew how much grueling training and deadly combat he had endured?

Tsunade opened her mouth, but in the end, she said nothing.

She slumped to the ground, muttering in self-abandonment, "Forget it, forget it. Whatever happens, the old man will take the blame for me anyway... Mm, I'll go talk to the old man later."

That evening, at the Hokage Building.

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at his female disciple, who was standing obediently before him, and said incredulously, "Tsunade... You want to teach Hyuga Yuto... No, that isn't the right way to put it." He paused, his tone turning grave. "You plan to teach the Uzumaki Clan's advanced sealing arts to a child from the Hyuga branch family?"