Sealing Art: Seven-Star Seal

Kakuzu returned from his diplomatic mission to the Uzumaki Clan at the end of May.

Yayoi successfully obtained the betrothal letter sent by the Uzumaki Clan, which also meant that his political marriage with the clan was now set in stone.

However, because the bride was still too young, the wedding would take place in two years' time.

Yayoi had no complaints about this. As long as the relationship was confirmed, he could afford to wait a few years.

Besides, in the coming decade and more, the political situation in the Ninja World would only grow increasingly stable, and massive upheavals would be practically nonexistent.

To say the least, apart from smaller nations still experiencing turbulence, the actions of the major nations had become quite steady.

As a rising power among the nations, second to none, the Land of Night was also developing steadily.

However, there was still one piece of news from the Land of Fire that caught Yayoi's attention.

Hyuga... successfully integrated into Konoha not long ago.

In a garden pavilion within the main courtyard of the Inner Court of the General's Residence, Yayoi was keeping pregnant Kicho company, chatting as they strolled.

Since it concerned the Hyuga Clan, Yayoi brought up their integration into Konoha to Kicho.

"It's pretty much as expected. In the letters my father exchanged with me, he mentioned the head of the Senju Clan visiting multiple times."

Standing by the railing of the pavilion and gazing out over the blooming spring scenery of the courtyard, Kicho smiled faintly, pressing her lips together, not particularly surprised by the news.

Though she hid it well, Yayoi could still detect the schadenfreude in Kicho's tone, along with the fact that her mood had clearly improved.

He guessed that Kicho's father, Hyuga Hideto, must be in a terrible position within the Hyuga Clan.

As the chaotic era gradually subsided and ninja clans moved toward alliance, it had become an inevitable trend.

Anyone standing in the path of this movement would be crushed without mercy.

Kicho's father, Hyuga Hideto, was a typical family-first traditionalist and would never approve of an entity like the Hidden Leaf Village.

Furthermore, he was not just an ordinary traditionalist within the Hyuga Clan; he was also a core member of the Hyuga's Radical Faction.

All his status had essentially been earned through past battles.

Without a change in stance, his position within the Hyuga would gradually be marginalized.

Before the might of Konoha, his personal strength was truly insignificant.

"Still, I didn't expect that Hashirama Senju had to visit three times in a row before the Hyuga Clan finally agreed to join."

Yayoi had always kept an eye on the movements of Konoha in the Land of Fire. He couldn't possibly know the details, nor did he know what Hashirama Senju and the Hyuga Clan had actually discussed.

However, the fact that Hashirama Senju visited the Hyuga Clan three times consecutively to finally bring them into Konoha was not hard to find out.

Konoha hadn't concealed this aspect in the slightest.

"It's probably a matter of face. When I was still there, the old fogies in the clan cared deeply about such things."

Kicho had no qualms about exposing the Hyuga Clan's underbelly to Yayoi, her husband.

She, a genius of the Hyuga Clan, knew all too well how rigid the Hyuga were, how desperately they clung to their pride, and so on.

"So, your father-in-law came asking for help?"

"Yes. Father hopes to use me to draw the external force of the Land of Night into Konoha, thereby solidifying his declining status within the Hyuga Clan. A man pushing fifty, he also feels the physical decline that Hashirama mentioned. If he doesn't take action soon, who knows, he might drop dead one day and no one would even care."

Kicho sneered.

She kept calling him Father, but her tone held not a shred of respect.

"Let's hope he can change his stance."

Yayoi knew that over the next dozen years, the radical factions of the ninja clans needed to alter their stances to secure their positions within their families.

Moreover, there weren't actually that many true radicals. The Warring States Period had lasted for many years, and even those who seemed radical had grown numb to war.

Most shinobi were simply driven by the anxiety and fear of having their lives unguarded, swept along by the radicals—making them standard pseudo-radicals.

After all, when it came to war, the momentum was strongest only in the first two or three years. Once the stalemate dragged on for too long, even an iron man would grow tired and disgusted, leading to a decline in the will to fight.

That was precisely why, during the founding war of the Land of Night, he had compressed the conflict to end within two years.

Still, extreme war-mongering elements like Kicho's father, Hyuga Hideto, were indeed quite rare.

"Unfortunately, that's impossible. That man's desire for power weighs heavier than his life. Being marginalized in the family would probably feel worse than being killed; he might actually be angered to death."

Thinking of something amusing, Kicho instinctively laughed out loud.

After that, Yayoi and Kicho stopped discussing the internal affairs of the Hyuga Clan.

Whether Hyuga Hideto changed his stance or not had nothing to do with them, and even if he were marginalized, it would require a process; he wouldn't lose his status overnight.

"Uzumaki Hisana—is that the candidate put forward by the Uzumaki Clan? It's quite a cute name, she should be a beauty."

Kicho shifted the topic to the Uzumaki Clan.

Compared to the rigid Hyuga Clan, the family atmosphere of the Uzumaki Clan was much more normal.

Based on Kakuzu's personal impression, he also felt that the Uzumaki Clan would make a good ally.

Sometimes, there was no need to listen to what the other party said; one only needed to observe what they did.

The rigidity of the Uzumaki Clan stemmed from the fact that the family was too ancient and had existed for too long, resulting in somewhat fossilized ways of thinking.

However, their personalities turned out to be quite open-minded once one got to know them.

Radicals of the Hyuga Clan, like Hyuga Hideto, rarely appeared within the Uzumaki Clan.

"Well, according to Kakuzu's relay from the Uzumaki Clan, she is a girl with exceptional talent in the field of sealing jutsu."

Yayoi did not think the Uzumaki Clan would do something as tacky as deceiving him.

"I was discussing her appearance, my lord husband. Or are you saying you think I am small-minded and would be jealous of such a thing?"

Hearing Yayoi change the subject, Kicho slightly pouted her lips to express her coyness.

"Generally speaking, she would be a woman of striking appearance."

Yayoi smiled helplessly and replied.

"Are there no more specific traits?"

Kicho puffed out her cheeks in feigned dissatisfaction.

"More specific traits... Let me think about this."

Yayoi recalled for a moment, then remembered the details Kakuzu relayed from the Uzumaki Clan, noting that there was indeed one point that caught his attention.

"What you mentioned... actually, there is one."

"What is it?"

"She can eat a lot."

Yayoi hesitated for a moment before answering.

"Eat a lot?"

Kicho blinked her beautiful eyes, a trace of confusion flashing across them.

What kind of trait was that?

"That is right. I heard that for a single meal, she can eat at least one hundred large meat buns and ten roast chickens."

Yayoi nodded, indicating that this was how the Uzumaki Clan introduced her.

Kicho and Yayoi exchanged a glance, unable to help picturing the other person's image in their minds.

Soon, the image of a tall, voluptuous beauty—only sixteen years old, yet taller than an adult male—was quietly and unconsciously sketched out in their minds.

"I somehow feel this younger sister will be very majestic, my lord husband."

Kicho's expression became subtle.

"Indeed, she might even be taller than I am."

Yayoi and Kicho instantly felt their pressure double.

A beautiful girl so tall and imposing gave off a strong sense of oppression just by looking at her.

After keeping Kicho company for a while, Yayoi sent her back to her room to rest.

As for himself, he came to the training ground in the inner court to practice sealing jutsu.

That was right. When Kakuzu returned, he brought back not only the marriage proposal from the Uzumaki Clan, but also a ninjutsu scroll recording advanced sealing jutsu.

Sealing Art: Seven-Star Seal.

That was the sealing jutsu recorded on the ninjutsu scroll.

Although this sealing jutsu could not completely seal Tailed Beasts, it could greatly suppress the chakra of rampaging Tailed Beasts. (The effect was similar to Hashirama's Kakuan Entering Society with Bliss-Bringing Hands technique, and it was not a sealing jutsu used to create Jinchūriki.)

Moreover, this sealing jutsu could be used not only to suppress Tailed Beasts' chakra, but also to suppress a ninja's chakra.

It was an advanced sealing jutsu capable of achieving victory of the weak over the strong.

However, even though this sealing jutsu was powerful and possessed strong suppression capabilities, its usage conditions were rather special.

There were two ways to use this sealing jutsu.

The first method of use required a ninja with all seven chakra natures to learn it before it could be used.

The second method of use required seven ninjas with different chakra attributes to study and learn it before it could be cast.

Simply put, it could be released by a single person, but required all seven chakra attributes to be present.

Alternatively, it could be a multi-person joint effort, requiring only the gathering of seven ninjas with different chakra attributes.

Furthermore, the power of the sealing jutsu would also increase or decrease to a certain extent depending on the user's level of mastery over the transformation of chakra nature.

If the transformation of all seven chakra natures reached the realm of perfection, then the power of this sealing jutsu could be brought to its highest level.

Conversely, the power of Sealing Art: Seven-Star Seal would be diminished.

It belonged to the category of advanced sealing jutsu that were simple to begin with and easy to master, but extremely difficult to master thoroughly.

A sealing jutsu very suitable for me.

Yayoi nodded. He was a ninja equipped with all seven chakra attributes.

Naturally, the Uzumaki Clan could not have known about this matter. The fact that he possessed all seven chakra attributes was known to only a very few people, even in the Land of Night.

The Uzumaki Clan giving him this advanced Sealing Jutsu was clearly meant for him to gather seven ninjas with different affinities to jointly cast this sealing jutsu capable of suppressing Tailed-Beast Chakra.

However, mastering it is extremely difficult. Right now, I have only learned four of the Five Release Ninjutsu—Fire Release, Water Release, Earth Release, and Lightning Release—and I've only grasped the surface of them, far from mastery.

Yayoi frowned.

This sealing jutsu was best cast by a single person, if possible.

Joint casting by seven people had overly cumbersome requirements regarding the timing and tacit coordination.

If even one person made a mistake, it would affect the overall effect of the technique and cause the sealing jutsu to fail completely.

In short, while the difficulty would decrease, the fatal risks would greatly increase.

However, casting it alone...

Forget it, as long as I can learn it and it produces results, that's enough. After all, powerful sealing jutsu capable of suppressing Tailed-Beast Chakra are simply too rare.

It wasn't as if Yayoi had never been exposed to sealing jutsu before.

Among the many ninja clans he had wiped out, some powerful sealing jutsu did exist, and among them, there was likewise a sealing jutsu capable of producing effects on Tailed Beasts.

However, that sealing jutsu was meant for creating Jinchūriki, not simply for suppressing Tailed-Beast Chakra. Although it was imperfect, modifying it would make it barely usable, even if the effect might not meet expectations.

Yayoi had even incorporated some functions of this Jinchūriki-creating sealing jutsu for absorbing Tailed-Beast Chakra into his self-created Secret Art: Life Creation.

When he first captured the Seven-Tails, Yayoi actually weighed in his heart whether he should create a Jinchūriki.

Yet considering various hidden dangers, Yayoi directly abandoned the idea.

First, he only needed the Tailed Beast's chakra and didn't value the increase in combat power brought by the Tailed Beast.

It was fine if the Seven-Tails could move on its own, but even if it didn't move, he could take the initiative. Either way, the chakra care package wouldn't run away on its own.

Second, sealing a Tailed Beast into a Jinchūriki posed risks to the Jinchūriki.

No matter how powerful a sealing jutsu was, it could not perfectly seal a Tailed Beast. Tailed Beasts would always go berserk for various reasons.

By then, the berserk and out-of-control Jinchūriki would bring casualties to their companions. In the end, they would inevitably be isolated, discriminated against, and even face extreme situations of hostility and bullying by those around them, which was unfavorable to internal unity.

The most important point was that he needed a large amount of Tailed-Beast Chakra. Once sealed inside a Jinchūriki, when extracting the Tailed-Beast Chakra, what would be consumed at that time wouldn't just be the Tailed-Beast Chakra—the Jinchūriki's life would also be drained away along with it.

This meant that every time a Puppet Lifeform was created, a Jinchūriki would have to die.

Even if someone was willing to make this sacrifice, Yayoi wouldn't agree; this kind of sacrifice would ultimately distort internal purity.

The evil consequences of this distorted internal mindset were even more terrifying than a berserk Tailed Beast.

And by then, a large number of "volunteers" might even appear.

Once the opening was made, this kind of thing was bound to happen.

Human stupidity and malice could not withstand testing.

Conversely, a simple Tailed-Beast rampage was very simple for Yayoi to handle; armed suppression or even killing it directly were both acceptable.

Therefore, Yayoi would rather make the process a bit more troublesome than let the tragedy of Jinchūriki be born on the soil of the Land of Night.

Sealing Art: Seven-Star Seal was precisely the advanced sealing jutsu that matched Yayoi's intentions.

Without having to create a Jinchūriki, he could still suppress the Tailed-Beast Chakra, and coupled with his various backup plans, he could almost perfectly control the Seven-Tails while treating it as a long-term chakra care package.

With my ability, I can master this "Seven-Star Seal" sealing jutsu within two months.

Yayoi estimated the time he needed to start from scratch, encounter, and learn Sealing Art: Seven-Star Seal.

The time was neither long nor short, an extent Yayoi could accept.

As for what to do if he wasn't skilled in using it after learning the sealing jutsu? Regarding this point, Yayoi had zero fluctuations in his heart.

With the Seven-Tails as the ultimate training dummy, he didn't need to worry about the proficiency of this sealing jutsu at all.

Aside from being a chakra power bank, the Seven-Tails had gained yet another new use in Yayoi's mind.

A perfect world where only the Seven-Tails got hurt had thus been achieved.