"Seal!"
On a Monday afternoon in the southern border forest, Mutsuki was practicing the One Finger Seal taught to him by Kushina.
As it is a Sealing Jutsu used to seal Chakra, Mutsuki experimented with his own Shadow Clone.
"I can't condense Chakra, It appears to be successful," the Shadow Clone provided feedback.
"But it feels like using full power could break through the seal," the Shadow Clone added.
Mutsuki nodded, understanding why Minato said this Sealing Jutsu had no practical value in combat.
Although he had just learned it, the fact that his Shadow Clone, which only had half of his Chakra, could instantly break through indicated the restraining force wasn't formidable.
"However, I've still learned it pretty quickly. Could it be that I have a talent for Sealing Jutsu?" Mutsuki thought to himself.
The Sealing Jutsu was given to him by Kushina last night, and he managed to master it today. According to Kushina, he could be considered a genius in Sealing Jutsu.
Strictly speaking, he practiced for less than half a day, to be precise, he spent some time practicing last night and then practiced for a short time this afternoon.
Many speculations flashed through Mutsuki's mind, including the innate talent of the original owner, his own talent, or the combined result of the two...
The reason doesn't matter because this is absolutely good news. Even if he doesn't look ahead to learning those powerful Sealing Jutsu in the future, just limiting himself to the present has shown him the dawn of deciphering the Root Forbidden Seals.
After reading books on Sealing Jutsu and seal-related techniques, and learning this Sealing Jutsu, Mutsuki has realized that seals are essentially a small category of Sealing Jutsu.
The Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal is essentially a Sealing Jutsu, a rather special one. Sealing Jutsu can generally be resolved in two ways. The first is to break through directly with powerful Chakra, and the second is to use the corresponding unsealing technique to lift the seal.
Mutsuki finds the method of forcefully breaking the seal with Chakra unreliable. This is because the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal is of a high level, and if he could break it forcefully, it would probably not be difficult to kill Danzo.
So, Mutsuki is preparing to learn more Sealing Jutsu and then research the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, ultimately developing the unsealing technique for the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal.
He deliberately kept a Ninjutsu proficiency scroll unused, intending to use it for Sealing Jutsu.
The system rewards him with corresponding Nature Transformation knowledge for any Chakra attribute Ninjutsu he hasn't mastered. Therefore, Mutsuki speculates that if he directly elevates a certain Sealing Jutsu to proficiency, he can also gain some Sealing Jutsu knowledge.
Mutsuki does not plan to use the proficiency scroll on the One Finger Seal. He feels that this Sealing Jutsu should be equivalent to the Three Basic Jutsu, and using the proficiency scroll on this Sealing Jutsu would be a bit of a loss.
After finishing the disciples' training, Mutsuki went directly to the main city area.
Since he was invited to dinner by Kushina and Minato yesterday, Mutsuki rightfully called the two over to his house for a meal.
Today, Mutsuki made chili fried eggs, tempura, and stewed potatoes with meat.
Mutsuki's personal favorite is chili fried eggs, a dish that his mother often made for him in his past life.
Mutsuki can be said to really enjoy eating eggs; he accepts them steamed, boiled, or fried. Coupled with his preference for spicy food, there is rarely just simple chive fried eggs at his home; it's mostly chili fried eggs.
He starts by cracking the eggs into a bowl, quickly whisking them with chopsticks, then pouring chopped chili directly into the egg mixture, stirring it, and finally pouring it into the pan.
Despite having the skill of a chef, making this dish always brings back memories of his past life.
"Mutsuki, what's wrong? Are you afraid of your own cooking being too spicy?" Kushina teased as she watched Mutsuki picking up the chili fried eggs but not eating them.
"It's amazing; chili and eggs fried together taste so good," Minato praised.
If he were to cook, there's no way he could combine chili and eggs like this, let alone fry them together so boldly.
"Yeah, chili fried eggs are delicious," Mutsuki said, putting aside the reminiscing and displaying a gentle smile. He then took a piece of chili fried egg and put it into his mouth.
"Mmm, tasty."
The three of them continued chatting while enjoying their meal, eventually discussing the Sealing Jutsu that Mutsuki was currently learning.
"Mutsuki, can you perform the One Finger Seal now?" Kushina asked.
Mutsuki shook his head and said, "Every time I visualize it in my mind, it goes smoothly, but I just can't use it successfully. It feels like something is missing."
Mutsuki wasn't planning to reveal that he learned it in less than half a day; that would be too extraordinary, especially since Kushina claimed she learned it in just one day.
Where there's Kushina, there's likely ANBU surveillance, and he didn't want to appear too exaggerated. He planned to pretend that it took him seven days to learn, making it seem not too genius while still indicating his talent in Sealing Jutsu.
"It's normal; very few people can learn it in just one day. Your situation is quite normal," Minato reassured him.
He was worried that Kushina's previous words might affect Mutsuki, leading to a mindset issue.
"Yes, as long as you can learn it within a month, there's no problem," Kushina added.
"If there's anything you don't understand, feel free to ask us, no need to be polite," Kushina said while enjoying her meal.
Minato also nodded, indicating that it was not a problem.
"As long as you don't find it troublesome," Mutsuki said with a smile.
...
Thursday afternoon, Southern Boundary Forest of Konoha.
"Obito, eighty-five questions. Might Guy, thirty questions," Mutsuki announced the results of this afternoon's training.
"Only eighty-five!" Obito's face couldn't hide his excitement.
He felt that enduring the beatings from Kakashi wasn't in vain. This was the least number of questions after the change in combat rules, indicating his progress—getting hit less and hitting more.
Obito planned to use 40% for training compensation, do 10% on the same day, and allocate the remaining 50% for installment payments. After distribution, he even felt that there weren't many questions left.
"Thirty questions!?" Might Guy clenched his fists in disbelief. This was the highest number of questions since the rule change.
Even if he maxed out the ratio of questions to training, he would still need to do twelve questions.
"Not bad, all of you have made significant progress. If you choose to do installment payments today, I'll waive the interest," Mutsuki said with a smile.
Obito's eyes instantly lit up, thinking he could do more questions in installments without need to train to reduce their numbers.
Might Guy considered the option of interest-free installments; it was practically a gift. Without hesitation, he applied for installment payments with Mutsuki.
After the training, Might Guy approached Shisui, hoping he could assist with some intensive training.
Obito's progress triggered a strong sense of crisis in Might Guy. Although he still had a significant advantage, in a combat situation, Obito wasn't allowed to use Ninjutsu, leaving him at less than half his full strength.
Recalling Mutsuki's words, Might Guy realized that real battles were crucial for improvement, not just training bouts like those with Obito—actual fights where one goes all out to test and enhance their abilities.
"All-out strength?" Shisui inquired.
Might Guy nodded in confirmation.
"Then I'll be serious," Shisui informed in advance.
Might Guy tensed his muscles, ready to unleash his Taijutsu at any moment. However, in the next instant after Shisui finished speaking, a large tree sprouted from the ground, binding Might Guy.
Just as Might Guy was wondering what Ninjutsu Shisui had used, the tree that had bound him suddenly disappeared. Shisui, now holding a kunai at his neck, signaled the end of the fight.
Might Guy understood what had just happened; he had fallen victim to Shisui's Genjutsu.
"The road to becoming the strongest is still long," thought Might Guy, who had been defeated in a single strike.
"Again, please!"
Although the path was long, Might Guy was not one to give up!
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