For Kushina, the character Senju Hashirama was undoubtedly familiar. The Wood-Style ninja who pacified turbulent times, the First Hokage, the God of Shinobi... These titles seemed ethereal, lacking a tangible connection. What Kushina was more acquainted with was him being her grandmother Mito's husband. Although Kushina hadn't met him, she often heard her grandmother scolding her deceased husband.
Recovering from her thoughts, Kushina continued to study the cards. Disregarding the names and introductions for now, what did terms like "Cost," "Attack," and "Health" mean? What connection did they have with the rune technique formulas above?
Perplexed, Kushina picked up a few more cards. Sarutobi Sasuke, Hyuga Tenjin, Uchiha Madara, Byakuren, First-Kage Ai, Ishikawa... Clearly, they were legendary ninjas active during the Warring States era. Even Uzumaki Clan's former Clan Leader Uzumaki Rin's name appeared among them.
Apart from these, there were also cards introducing Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Taijutsu. They, too, had the mysterious characters written on them.
Unable to contain her curiosity, Kushina asked Natsuhiko directly, "What's the use of these cards?"
Seeing her eagerness, Natsuhiko didn't beat around the bush and gave a straightforward answer, "To play."
"To play?"
Seeing that Kushina was still puzzled, Natsuhiko explained, "Exactly. It's not something profound. I just combined rune drawing practice with a little game to see if I could make the dull practice a bit more interesting."
Upon hearing Natsuhiko's explanation, Kushina couldn't help but think about the character introductions and Natsuhiko's projection jutsu.
"Is completing the rune technique formula a trigger for character projection corresponding to the card?"
Natsuhiko nodded, confirming her guess.
Kushina laughed, feeling a bit triumphant. She quickly realised that this game was indeed interesting for young ninjas, serving as a motivating teaching tool.
After learning Natsuhiko's idea, Kushina had a sense of déjà vu. She lightly tapped her forehead, saying, "How did I forget about this? When I first started learning Sealing Jutsu, Grandma Mito often made similar things for me. As long as I completed the missing runes, the talisman paper would fold itself into various origami toys. It was so much fun!"
Thinking back, those were days of pain and joy. The cards Natsuhiko made and Grandma Mito's origami seemed to share a similar concept. Was this the spiritual connection of geniuses? Kushina, as a novice, couldn't help but imagine fantastical things.
Kushina, with a complex mood, looked toward Natsuhiko with a bit of envy. "I didn't expect Lady Mito to have the same idea as me."
Natsuhiko, upon hearing about Mito's actions, raised an eyebrow in surprise. What truly astonished him was that Kushina practised rune drawing with normal talisman paper; otherwise, it would be impossible to succeed in turning it into origami. It seemed that being wealthy had its perks.
Natsuhiko, who had always thought that even a family with resources wouldn't withstand such practice, found himself slapped in the face by this unexpected revelation. Poverty really limited his imagination. Having money was nice.
With a complex feeling, Natsuhiko looked toward Kushina with a bit of envy. For a moment, the two locked eyes, gazing at each other without a trace of impurity, only pure admiration between a struggling student and a wealthy girl.
However, this peculiar staring contest was soon interrupted. Kushina suddenly remembered a question.
"But Natsuhiko, shouldn't these talisman papers be unable to perform jutsu? Even the simplest Clone Jutsu and Transformation Jutsu would be too much for such crude paper."
Natsuhiko, recovering, mysteriously replied, "Because the cards themselves aren't what's used for jutsu."
Saying that, he picked up one of the peculiar wooden machines he had taken out earlier.
With that, he picked up one of the peculiar wooden machines he had taken out earlier. Under Kushina's gaze, Natsuhiko placed his wrist on the circular part of the machine. After putting it on, a scythe-shaped flat panel extended outward in parallel to his arm, not hindering movement. The panel had several square recesses, perfectly matching the size of those cards.
Once Natsuhiko put on the machine, he felt his inner chuunibyou spirit ignite. However, he quickly suppressed it and explained to Kushina, "Because the real tool for performing jutsu isn't these cards."
"This Duel Disk is the key to transforming those cards from something rotten into something magical."
Indeed, the "Duel Disk" Natsuhiko mentioned was quite similar to the ones seen in "Yu-Gi-Oh!"—although it currently didn't have a transforming function; it was in its development phase.
However, the small game Natsuhiko mentioned earlier wasn't an imitation of the gameplay in "Yu-Gi-Oh!". He simply wanted to make rune drawing practice less daunting for young ninjas. Still, he didn't intend for them to become hardcore card game enthusiasts, spending too much time on this game. Otherwise, they wouldn't even pass Vice Principal-sama's test.
Therefore, instead of the intricate rules of "Yu-Gi-Oh!", Natsuhiko opted for the simpler and easy-to-learn "Hearthstone" as a template. Using characters from the Warring States era, he crafted a card game called "Gekinin" to capitalise on the popularity of a card game sweeping through the Ninja World in the "Boruto" series.
Kushina was somewhat surprised to learn that the Duel Disk was related to those cards. "So, these two things aren't weapons?"
She had been curious about the grotesque shaped machines from earlier, but because they resembled weapons, she didn't dare to ask. Unexpectedly, they were related to the game Natsuhiko mentioned.
Kushina's words made Natsuhiko want to laugh. "If they were really weapons, why would I put them next to those cards?"
"Probably... to save space?" Kushina suggested weekly. "After all, they really look like weapons."
"How could they..." Natsuhiko's immediate reaction was a rebuttal. How could these things be weapons? "I summon the Duel Disk to be in offence mode to launch a direct attack on the opponent?"
However, prompted by Kushina's words, Natsuhiko subconsciously looked at the Duel Disk on his wrist.
Huh, you know, it really looks like one!
Setting aside preconceived notions, Natsuhiko suddenly felt that the Duel Disk resembled the Ojama Duel Blade that appeared in the "Yu-Gi-Oh!" Devil Beast World. Alternatively, it could be compared to an open-bladed Eastern staff. The only difference was that they were held, while the Duel Disk was worn on the wrist.
Why didn't I think of this before? With the knowledge gained from thousands of episodes of "Yu-Gi-Oh I watched!", I should have noticed!
Due to habitual thinking, Natsuhiko only considered it as a toy and never thought about weaponizing it.
Reminded by Kushina, Natsuhiko's imagination ran wild. The Duel Disk combined with the Ojama Duel Blade—was there potential? What If actual combat Ninjutsu was depicted as a rune formed on the cards and chosen according to the situation...
What if a chakra-infused metal blade was added to the edge of the Duel Disk, no, directly using chakra metal to create a chakra blade...
Or just make it in the form of an armguard to enhance shield-breaking capabilities...
...
An unprecedented weapon took shape in Natsuhiko's imagination.
At this moment, Kushina was unaware that her casual remark would lead to the birth of an entirely new profession in the future. They would wield the terrifying weapon known as the Duel Disk for actual combat, creating a new battle method where they played cards and fought simultaneously, terrifying the entire Ninja World.
Because they were seen as deviant from the righteous path of card games, walking in the shadows.
To distinguish them from ordinary card game players, people later referred to them as... Dark Duelists.
(End of Chapter)
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