Sealing-type Seeds

Minato Namikaze taught with great care, but he was also extremely strict.

That level of strictness was completely beyond Xia Yan's expectations, because he found that Minato Namikaze seemed to be teaching him as though he were his own disciple!

What was going on now?

Xia Yan was utterly baffled. He knew Minato Namikaze would do his best to teach him, since he had been so candid in providing so much information.

Even if Minato Namikaze still had to verify that information himself, given how many things it implicated, receiving attentive instruction in return was still no problem.

But now, Minato Namikaze was going beyond mere attentive instruction. He was practically holding nothing back.

Although Xia Yan found that phrase a little nauseating, since it had long since been worn out through overuse in the modern world he came from, that was exactly how Minato Namikaze was behaving now.

He had no intention of keeping anything to himself. He started with the most basic sealing jutsu, and even explained some of his insights into Flying Thunder God during their breaks.

This kind of instruction was truly unimaginable to Xia Yan. Although his progress in sealing jutsu was still frustratingly slow, he felt he was close to fully completing the first stage of sealing!

I just don't know exactly when that will be. Maybe a month, maybe longer.

Xia Yan thought to himself. With his cheat, successfully performing it really would mean he had completely mastered the abilities of that stage.

But first, he still had to perform it successfully, and he really had not managed that yet.

It was not that he had never tried. He had attempted a sealing once, but unfortunately, his seal had ultimately failed for various reasons.

Xia Yan's sealing jutsu grades aren't very good...

Unfortunately, despite those poor grades, there was no landlady or anyone of that sort around either.

Three days passed quickly. Although Xia Yan's progress in sealing jutsu was less than ideal, he had gained a great deal of theoretical knowledge.

Coupled with Minato Namikaze's attentive instruction, he had even developed a very good understanding of Flying Thunder God, which he had not yet had much contact with.

It was fair to say that Xia Yan now had almost everything ready. He was just still waiting for the last crucial piece to fall into place.

And over these three days, Minato Namikaze's attitude toward me has changed quite a bit too.

Xia Yan was fairly good at reading people, and he also had his sensory abilities to help him.

As a result, over these three days, Xia Yan could detect the changes in Minato Namikaze's attitude, however slight they might be.

Xia Yan felt that these changes were most likely because Minato Namikaze had already verified some of the information he had provided through his own channels.

Although Xia Yan was not quite sure which parts had been verified, he would not dwell on it. Whichever parts they were, it made no difference to him.

Even if there were some errors in that information, they were within acceptable limits. Xia Yan had never guaranteed that the information he provided was one hundred percent accurate.

"All right, Xia Yan. I'm afraid this round of instruction will have to end here."

As the sun sank in the west, Minato Namikaze looked at Xia Yan and spoke with a smile.

Three days had passed, and Xia Yan had to report back to the Anbu, so naturally, their lessons would have to stop for the time being.

Over those three days, Minato Namikaze's impression of Xia Yan had indeed changed considerably.

First of all, he had indeed confirmed the truth of some of the information Xia Yan had provided.

He had to admit that learning these truly shocking things had left him deeply troubled.

But knowing them also gave him a clearer assessment of his own circumstances, and a better understanding of exactly where he stood.

Even though this information had not yet been fully verified, Xia Yan had still proven his worth, and Minato Namikaze knew very well that he did indeed need Xia Yan's help.

Secondly, Minato Namikaze had also developed an appreciation for his talent.

Xia Yan's grounding in the basic theory of sealing jutsu was truly solid. Clearly, this young man had secretly put in a great deal of effort.

Even though he had not yet truly completed a sealing jutsu, Minato Namikaze considered that perfectly normal.

Sealing jutsu was different from other ninjutsu, and its complexity far exceeded theirs.

Minato still clearly remembered how it had taken him an entire month to complete his first seal when he was learning sealing jutsu.

And back then, Kushina had taught him personally. Even under those circumstances, his performance had been that poor, so one could imagine just how difficult it was.

If Xia Yan could truly learn and master Flying Thunder God, then from Konoha's standpoint, without considering any personal interests, that would undoubtedly be a good thing.

Konoha was indeed far too weak now, and since Xia Yan had talent, Minato Namikaze was willing to teach him.

"Thank you for your instruction, Lord Hokage." Xia Yan looked at Minato Namikaze with a smile, then gave him a solemn bow. "Without your guidance, I would never have progressed so quickly. Thank you."

"It's nothing. You're a Konoha ninja too, after all, aren't you?" Minato Namikaze said earnestly. He patted Xia Yan's shoulder and said softly, "If-and I do mean if-the opportunity arises, I would be willing to become your teacher."

"Thank you for thinking so highly of me, Lord Hokage." Xia Yan immediately understood what Minato Namikaze meant, and he smiled as he replied softly, "If the opportunity arises, I will certainly call you my teacher, Lord Hokage."

If the opportunity arose-then clearly, now was not the time.

Minato Namikaze was clearly not yet one hundred percent certain of Xia Yan's true thoughts, nor did he understand his motives.

And Xia Yan had other thoughts at work in his mind as well. He would not necessarily tie himself to Minato Namikaze's ship.

Neither knew when that moment would come. Perhaps soon, perhaps never.

"All right, let me give you something before I leave."

Minato Namikaze walked over to a large tree, then pressed his palm directly against it.

As chakra surged, Xia Yan clearly saw a Flying Thunder God cursed seal appear on it a moment later.

However, this cursed seal was incomplete. It was only the most basic, original cursed seal, without any personal characteristics added to it.

But Xia Yan's eyes lit up slightly, because he knew Minato Namikaze was not showing him this cursed seal, but rather the sealing jutsu.

"This sealing jutsu is the basic Flying Thunder God seal," Minato Namikaze said with a smile. "You can study the method used to make this seal. I believe it will be very useful to you."

"Thank you, Lord Hokage!" Xia Yan broke into a radiant smile. This sealing jutsu was indeed very useful to him.

"Then I'll take my leave." Minato Namikaze did not dwell on it and continued, "We'll meet again the next time you have time off."

"Yes, Lord Hokage." Xia Yan smiled and nodded.

Minato Namikaze was not one for idle talk either. He nodded lightly, and then his figure vanished from the spot like a phantom, as though he had never appeared at all!

The Flying Thunder God Technique...

Watching this, Xia Yan could not possibly have said he did not covet it, but he also knew that he had no need to consider it right now.

But there's something to look forward to, isn't there?

Smiling, Xia Yan stretched, then simply sat down against the tree. After a day of training, he felt a little tired too.

But what he never expected was that, as he rested against the tree, the system in his mind suddenly stirred.

"Plant with special attributes detected. Analyzing."

"Analysis data: basic sealing-type seed."

"..."