The two-week journey, like a dazzling but fleeting cherry blossom festival, had finally drawn to a close.
In the early morning on Cherry Blossom Street, the air still carried the damp mist of the hot springs and a faint floral fragrance. Outside the villa, Toru Kujyo had already changed into clothes suited for movement, his short black shirt outlining his increasingly firm, sleek muscles. Behind him, Hanabi clung reluctantly to Karin's waist, her little face full of sorrow at their parting.
"Karin, are you really not coming back to Konoha with us?" Hanabi looked up, reluctance filling her clear eyes. Their two weeks together had made her deeply attached to this gentle, considerate red-haired girl.
Karin crouched down and gently stroked Hanabi's hair. Warmth filled her amber eyes, but a trace of resolve lay beneath it. "Lady Hanabi, I still have a task Lord Toru assigned me, so I can't leave just yet." She turned her gaze toward Toru Kujyo, her eyes filled with boundless trust and reverence. "Please rest assured, Lord Toru. I won't let you down."
Toru Kujyo's gaze was calm and unfathomable. He took a scroll from inside his shirt and held it out to Karin. "This contains a secret technique of the Uzumaki Clan called the Adamantine Sealing Chains."
"The Adamantine Sealing Chains?" Karin trembled, disbelief flaring in her eyes. As a descendant of the Uzumaki Clan, she had heard of this legendary, supreme sealing jutsu through scattered records, despite having grown up far from her people. It was a power strong enough to restrain tailed beasts, the ultimate proof of pure Uzumaki blood.
"Your constitution and chakra reserves already meet the basic requirements to learn it." Toru Kujyo's voice remained level, yet carried unquestionable authority. "While I'm away, your task is to devote yourself fully