In the courtyard of the Senju Residence...
To experience the "fun" Sealing Jutsu tools mentioned by Kushina, Mito got up and walked towards the stone table. Seeing this, Kushina sighed in relief and followed, opening the box to show her grandmother.
"Grandma, do you recognize these?"
Kushina looked up, asking proudly. People who didn't know might think that she had invented these two strange machines.
Mito glanced at Kushina lightly and picked up one of the machines to examine it. Her slender fingers gently touched the rough wooden shell of the machine, from the disk-shaped core to the semi-circular plate extending from the disk, not even letting go of the slightly concave square card slot on top...
At the same time, thin chakra threads quietly seeped out from her fingertips, sneaking into the tiny gaps in the machine's outer shell, exploring its secrets.
Soon, Mito raised her two long eyebrows slightly, showing that she had gained something. Through the chakra thread's exploration, she first determined the materials used inside the machine. However, there was nothing noteworthy—just ordinary chakra-conductive materials. The main material was a special oak wood produced by their Senju Clan, known for its good chakra conductivity. These materials were durable, inexpensive, and could be reused.
However, they couldn't withstand excessive chakra and had a relatively low upper limit, making them cheap. Therefore, they were generally used in the production of simple or temporary barrier arrays. Of course, compared to other chakra-conductive materials, they were still valuable for ordinary ninja.
So, these materials didn't catch Mito's attention.
What truly surprised Mito was the densely packed rune technique formulas on these ordinary materials. The sheer number of runes made even the experienced and knowledgeable Mito feel a bit overwhelmed, and the machine in her hand seemed a bit "hot".
Was this thing really just a teaching tool and not some ancient world-ending weapon?
Back when she assisted her brother-in-law in forging the Sword of the Thunder God, they didn't use this many rune technique formulas even in that. Even though these were basic and simple rune technique formulas, due to their vast quantity and complex arrangement, the formed technique formula circuit turned out to be unusually intricate, making it difficult for her, a Sealing Jutsu Master, to fully understand in a short time.
However, Mito quickly determined that the numerous rune technique formulas weren't there to deliberately encrypt or appear profound. Through the exploration of these unfamiliar rune technique formulas' arrangement, she felt a sense of order, a sense of beauty.
Whose ancient Sealing Jutsu Sect's design philosophy was this?
Mito couldn't help but think so. After all, this application of runes was completely different from the mainstream Sealing Jutsu she had learned over the years. The prevailing Sealing Jutsu took a simplified route, combining runes with seals and lowering the threshold of Sealing Jutsu usage by transforming many runes into the form of hand seals. This was why many Sealing Jutsu nowadays used hand seals for activation. If it weren't for the need to unfold and release the unmanageable rune technique formulas at the end of the technique, many Sealing Jutsu would look no different from ordinary hand seal Ninjutsu.
This was the direction Sealing Jutsu took for evolution to adapt to the ninja's battle methods, continuing to extend its existence. However, the design philosophy of the rune technique formulas on this machine went against the trend, following the Ancient Road of expressing everything with rune technique formulas.
Moreover, it seemed to have gone even further than the predecessors on this path...
"So, that path is not dead yet. Interesting..."
Mito unconsciously murmured. She had forgotten how long it had been since she found Sealing Jutsu "interesting." After years of continuous learning, Sealing Jutsu had become an instinctive part of her body, fused with her. Even when she learned new knowledge, she found that it was already included in her framework, and there was no emotional fluctuation.
However, the rune technique formulas on this machine caused a faint trace of excitement in her relatively calm soul. It felt as if she had returned to the time when she first learned Sealing Jutsu, discovering the beauty of something new every day.
"Grandma, Grandma..."
Hearing Kushina tentatively calling her, Mito ignored her, at the moment she was immersed in the continuous analysis of the rune technique formulas on the machine, constantly gaining the pleasure from acquiring new knowledge.
Mito, who thought she had thoroughly mastered Sealing Jutsu, discovered a completely new world at the opposite end of her research direction. This feeling was indescribable. To use Natsuhiko's past experiences as an analogy, it was like clearing the Johto region in Pokémon Gold and Silver, thinking that there wasn't much content left in the game, only to find out that there was a whole new map of the Kanto region, with eight gyms waiting to be explored...
With her extensive knowledge of Sealing Jutsu, Mito quickly grasped many details inside the machine. However, her expression became subtle as she gradually analysed the rune technique formulas. This was because she found that most of the rune technique formulas engraved on the outer layer of the machine were only for achieving a simple function she was familiar with: chakra diversion.
Chakra diversion involves using rune technique formulas to split a flow of chakra into several pathways on a material, reducing the material's requirements for carrying chakra. Since this method significantly lowered the demand on materials, it was widely used and wasn't considered a particularly unique design.
However, the chakra diversion circuit on this machine refreshed Mito's understanding of the concept. She had never seen someone create so many pathways and control each one intricately. The design was so elaborate that it seemed to squeeze out every bit of performance from the materials, making it excessively meticulous.
What surprised Mito even more was that the purpose of the chakra diversion design on the machine wasn't to cast more powerful techniques. Instead, it was intended to reduce the toll on the materials during Chakra Flow, extending the machine's lifespan. Coupled with the fact that the machine used durable and inexpensive materials...
Mito couldn't help but wonder:
Was the designer of this machine planning to pass it down as a family heirloom from generation to generation? Otherwise, they wouldn't have so fanatically increased its durability. Even the major ninja clans preparing to pass down their Clan Land barriers for generations hadn't reached such an extent!
After all, the more rune technique formulas there were, the higher the chances of problems arising, making it not worth the trouble when the time came.
Mito rubbed her slightly swollen temples, feeling somewhat puzzled. Of course, she couldn't comprehend it. All of this was attributed to Natsuhiko inheriting the traditional virtue of the Chinese people that has a history of more than five thousand years!
Poverty sometimes limits people's imagination. However, it also sometimes prompts people to unleash powerful subjective initiatives. Squeezing out all the performance of materials and designing intricate chakra diversion circuits to extend the machine's lifespan were just basic operations carried out by Natsuhiko, who was used to being poor, to save money.
For Uzumaki Clan Princess Kushina, who grew up in luxury, where they casually used sealing tags and threw them away, this was unimaginable. Natsuhiko always understood that shoes were just decorations.
However, Mito didn't dwell on it for too long. She decided to temporarily ignore this part of the design and explore deeper into the machine.
However, her exploration quickly encountered obstacles. She found that crucial components deep inside the machine were equipped with a shielding array, making it impossible to explore their mysteries through chakra means.
Mito was momentarily stunned, then shook her head with a bitter laugh. In her excitement, she had forgotten the anti-theft designs present in almost all rune creations.
In this case, the method of forcibly disassembling and deciphering wouldn't work either.
Having her exploration blocked, Mito finally recovered and saw Kushina, who had been bored on the side, not daring to disturb her thoughts.
Pondering, she opened her mouth and asked the question she most wanted to know now.
"Was this made by that child called Natsuhiko?"
Kushina was startled by her unexpected question but managed to recover after a moment. Thinking about her grandmother's question, Kushina scratched her head and replied, "Um... I didn't ask, but I guess so."
Not getting a definitive answer, Mito glared at Kushina disdainfully. "Look at you, not bothering to figure out such an important thing, just playing around!"
She hit the nail on the head! Unable to refute, Kushina could only stick out her tongue, trying to play it off.
Pa!
Mito didn't pamper Kushina. She lightly tapped her on the head with her finger. Seeing Kushina covering her forehead with teary eyes, Mito chuckled and couldn't help but sigh. Thinking that the person who might have created this machine was likely a child around Kushina's age, Mito finally felt the concrete sense that her era had passed.
(End of this chapter)
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