Five Elements Seal Complete

Just two days ago, he had thought he would need more time to refine it. He had never expected a sudden insight during today's training to let him complete it outright.

Thinking about it, Sasuke felt deeply moved and immensely accomplished.

For one thing, he couldn't train in this Ninjutsu openly. He had to practice it in secret in the Basement.

For another, his grasp of Wind Release had been poor at first. To complete this Ninjutsu, he had copied quite a few Wind Release techniques with his Sharingan.

And his Chakra reserves were still too low, so he could only practice a miniature version of the Rasenshuriken.

Fortunately, the miniature Rasenshuriken wasn't much different from the full-sized version. The biggest difference was simply how much Chakra he put into it.

Now that he had completed this Ninjutsu, Sasuke's mastery of Wind Release ranked among the best in all of Konoha.

Neji was pleasantly surprised to hear it. He hadn't truly expected Sasuke to pull it off.

"Not bad, Uchiha Sasuke!" Neji gave him a thumbs-up.

"Hmph!" Sasuke grinned smugly. "Don't underestimate the power of the Uchiha, especially one who's awakened the Sharingan!"

"Sure, sure. The Uchiha Clan really is amazing!" Neji played along.

Sasuke felt much better after hearing Neji's praise.

"Unfortunately, I don't have enough Chakra. By my calculations, I can only use a full-sized Rasenshuriken once with my current reserves. Powerful as it is, it isn't practical for me," Sasuke said regretfully.

Neji glanced at him. "You're still young. Once you grow up, you'll be able to use it normally."

"Heh." Sasuke gave a cold laugh. "I've already figured out a way to use it normally as I am now."

Neji thought for a moment. "You made it smaller, didn't you?"

Sasuke wasn't surprised Neji had guessed. His circumstances forced him to train out of sight, and his Chakra reserves weren't enough to practice a full-sized Rasenshuriken.

With his Byakugan, Neji could easily see all that.

Sasuke nodded. "That's right. I made a miniature Rasenshuriken!"

Neji gave him an unreserved thumbs-up. Sasuke really was a genius when it came to Ninjutsu. In the original story, Kakashi had taught him Chidori, an A-rank Ninjutsu, and he had gone on to develop a whole series of Lightning Release Ninjutsu. That included the powerful S-rank Lightning Release: Kirin, which drew on Natural Energy from heaven and earth.

Now Neji had taught him the Rasengan and explained the concept behind Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, and Sasuke had completed that Ninjutsu too.

"That really is a great approach. Even at a smaller size, this Ninjutsu is incredibly powerful. Hardly anyone could take a hit from it." Neji praised the technique.

Sasuke shook his head. "It's only a stopgap. My body's still holding me back."

With that, he looked at Neji, who stood a head taller than him, and sighed helplessly.

They were only a year apart. How was Neji so much taller? Sasuke Uchiha had been eating plenty, too.

Neji looked up from his Sealing Jutsu practice. "Everyone develops differently. You probably just haven't hit your growth spurt yet."

Sasuke nodded in agreement. He was only about twelve, so it was entirely possible he hadn't started growing yet.

"Once you hit your growth spurt, your strength will take a leap forward. Don't worry about it. Besides, you have no need for a Ninjutsu that can kill on such a large scale in Konoha," Neji said.

"I hope so," Sasuke said, a little hopeful.

"So what are you planning to do next?" Neji asked without looking up.

"I don't have any plans for now. I feel like I've taken my Ninjutsu about as far as I can. After graduation, I'll see whether the Jonin leading my team can help me improve my Taijutsu and Lightning Release," Sasuke said after some thought.

Neji looked at him. "That makes sense. For you, Lightning Release and Taijutsu complement each other. Both are worth improving."

Sasuke nodded. That was exactly what he had in mind.

Seeing Neji absorbed in his study of Sealing Jutsu, Sasuke said, "I won't disturb you. Take whatever you need. You know your way around here anyway."

Neji didn't stand on ceremony. He merely nodded and immersed himself in the world of Sealing Jutsu.

To Neji, that world now seemed wondrous, especially after studying the Six-Combination Seal.

Both drew on Chakra, but Sealing Jutsu didn't follow the Yin-Yang Five Elements divisions of conventional elemental techniques. Pure Chakra was enough to use any Sealing Jutsu, regardless of type or rank.

Sealing Jutsu looks like a branch of Ninjutsu, but it's already showing signs of becoming a system of its own, Neji thought. That was what he had come to understand through studying it.

And the strength of a Sealing Jutsu seems closely tied to the person using it... Neji felt as though he was beginning to grasp something.

Neji studied until well past midnight before dispelling his Shadow Clone.

The moment it vanished, exhaustion crashed over him. He felt as though he had stayed awake for two days and nights straight.

Utterly drained, Neji fell straight into bed and slept until his body clock woke him the next day.

When he woke, Neji couldn't help envying the advantage the Nine-Tails provided. If he were a Jinchūriki, he would have made a hundred or so Shadow Clones to train with long ago. Instead, he had to be careful with just two, afraid he might work himself to death.

Over the following week, Neji used his Shadow Clone to speed up his training. Every morning, he sent it to the Uchiha Clan to practice Sealing Jutsu until midnight.

Just as Neji mastered the Five Elements Seal and prepared to push on and fully master the Four Symbols Seal, a message came from the Main Family.

The servant they sent told him he would be leaving in three days to visit the Kaguya Clan in Kirigakure and should get ready.

What a shame. I've only just begun to make headway with the Four Symbols Seal and the Yin Seal, Neji thought.

At his current pace, there was almost no chance he could learn either one before leaving.

Both were extremely difficult S-rank Sealing Jutsu, harder to learn than S-rank Ninjutsu. Even Neji estimated he would need about a month to learn one.

And that estimate relied on his exceptional control over his own Chakra. Ordinary Jonin lacked the Chakra control needed to learn the Yin Seal at all.

My mastery of Sealing Jutsu is still nowhere near enough. Even when I try working through it in my head, I get nowhere, Neji thought.

The idea had occurred to him as soon as he encountered the Yin Seal. When he began studying it in earnest, Neji tried stripping away the functions related to Medical Ninjutsu.