"Projection jutsu... Duel Disk... Reusing sealing tags..."
In the courtyard of the Senju Residence, Mito continuously muttered to herself after hearing the introduction about Duel Disks from Kushina.
She finally understood why "Natsuhiko sensei" designed such intricate rune technique circuits and slowed down the wear and tear of materials.
It was all to reduce the Early-Stage costs of learning Sealing Jutsu, allowing more students to afford the course.
According to Kushina, this method could reduce the material costs of practising basic rune technique formulas to only 1/4.
Mito froze in her place after discovering this because she knew that with just this, Natsuhiko, this youngster, was already destined to have a significant place in the history of Sealing Jutsu.
Sealing Jutsu, with its distinct approach compared to regular Ninjutsu, had high learning difficulty, deterring many ninjas. However, it was an essential first gate technique for Konoha, involving village barrier protection, the creation of explosive tags, and even control over Tailed Beasts.
Increasing the number of skilled technicians and mastering Sealing Jutsu had always been a significant challenge for Konoha. Otherwise, the Academy, which usually only taught Three-Style Jutsu due to budget constraints, wouldn't allocate significant funds to offer basic Sealing Jutsu courses. The purpose was to identify students with innate talent for Sealing Jutsu, who could later be assigned to advanced classes.
And now, Natsuhiko's method reduced Early-Stage costs to only 1/4. This meant that the cost for training one student could now be used to train four students simultaneously. It was evident how significant this was for Konoha.
No wonder Biwako was in such high spirits and even generously talked about expanding student enrollment for the Sealing Jutsu class that required huge investments.
For Biwako, who discovered the talent in Natsuhiko, Hiruzen might not dare to speak loudly to her in the future, even if he did before. Although he didn't dare do that before either...
After some careful consideration, Mito now understood the good intentions of Natsuhiko, this youngster.
However, a new question arose: while she understood the logic, why present it in the form of a card game? Obviously, with that approach, they could create simpler, lower-cost machines.
The only one who could answer this question was probably the reason that initially sparked her interest in these "teaching tools"...
Ah, simply for the fun of it.
"All these intricate designs come together as a product just for the sake of having fun?" Mito shook her head helplessly, feeling a bit out of sync with the youngster's thought process.
Unaware of Mito's comments, Kushina, on the side, enthusiastically continued to promote the game.
"Yeah, this game is so much fun! Grandma, do you want to try it?"
"Well, let this old lady see how enjoyable this thing is." Mito chuckled at herself.
After speaking, she followed Kushina's guidance and put the Duel Disk on her wrist. Then, she took a card handed over by Kushina and slowly placed it in the card slot of the Duel Disk.
"Adaptation is not chaos, storytelling is not nonsense..."
With the voice lines from the card, a silhouette of a man holding a staff behind his back appeared in front of her, with a left hand forming an awning.
Upon closer inspection, one could find that this man bore a striking resemblance to the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Grandma, look quickly! This must be Sarutobi Sasuke, the father of the Third Hokage!" Kushina pointed at the illusory shadow, shouting excitedly.
Seeing the silhouette of an old acquaintance, Mito was somewhat surprised, and her spirits couldn't help but rise.
With great interest, she circled around the illusory shadow of Sarutobi Sasuke, then smiled and said, "It's quite realistic, but how did Natsuhiko manage to create Sarutobi like this?"
"Erm..." Kushina recalled and relayed what Natsuhiko had said. "I remember Natsuhiko saying that although the Academy had history classes, students didn't pay much attention to them."
"So, he wanted to use these character cards to connect history, making students remember the sacrifices of the seniors for the village, and appreciating the hard-won peace we have now."
Of course, Natsuhiko also said something about free-riding on a big IP, but Kushina couldn't understand it, so she didn't mention it.
"Remembering history... Natsuhiko has a good heart." Mito chewed on Kushina's words in her mind and couldn't help but show a pleased expression. Her impression of Natsuhiko sensei, whom she hadn't met, was getting better and better.
Not only did he make Sealing Jutsu unique and groundbreaking, but more importantly, he also possessed astonishing insight. He was a true successor to the Will of Fire.
If that guy were still alive, he would probably be pulling Natsuhiko's hand, asking, "Youngster, are you willing to pass on the flame to my family?"
To be honest, if not for Kushina, Mito would have had thoughts of taking him as an apprentice.
Why were other people's children so outstanding?
Thinking about this, Mito couldn't help but glare at Kushina unkindly.
Kushina had a confused face, not knowing what she had done wrong.
...
In the following time, out of curiosity, Mito slapped various cards on the Duel Disk. Twilight had illuminated the garden and the illusory shadows of brilliant and well-known characters appeared one by one in the courtyard.
If it weren't for the fact that the appearances and clothing of these illusory shadows mostly differed from their true bodies, Mito would have almost thought she had transmigrated through time, back to the tumultuous Warring States era.
Feeling emotional, Mito sat down at a stone table with Kushina, pulling her small hand and skillfully summoning the illusory shadows of characters with the cards. She alternated between gossiping about the embarrassing stories of these illusory shadows' true bodies and criticising the differences between them and the real characters, even having Kushina take notes for Natsuhiko to improve.
She suddenly remembered that she hadn't commented on the illusory shadow of Sarutobi Sasuke that she had summoned earlier and added, "Actually, I wanted to say earlier, Sarutobi isn't that tall, and his demeanour should be a bit more lecherous... Oh, why didn't you write that down, Kushina?"
Kushina's mouth twitched, "Grandma, even if I wrote it down, Natsuhiko wouldn't dare to change it for real!"
After all, this was the father of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen!
Don't want to stay in Konoha anymore?
Offending the village head and waiting to be exiled? It is not that easy!
Mito also understood Kushina's meaning, rolling her eyes suddenly.
Remembering history, huh?
But Mito also knew that her suggestion was not very realistic. Helplessly, she could only use gossip to vent her slight dissatisfaction.
"Tsk tsk, that old pervert Sasuke should thank himself for having a good son... Let me tell you, that guy actually handed me a love letter back in the day."
"Grandma, have you known the Third-Kage grandfather's father for that long?" Kushina asked eagerly.
Could it be that Grandma Mito had a hidden love triangle in her younger days, unknown to others?
Sarutobi Sasuke, the childhood sweetheart of Grandma Mito, losing to the heavenly Senju Hashirama, and watching the woman he loved fall into someone else's arms. To ensure the peace of the Ninja World and the continuation of the clan, he had to join the village established by Hashirama and be driven by him...
Kushina instantly envisioned tens of thousands of words of a tragic love story.
But Mito, in a melancholic tone, said, "No, I'm talking about something from a few years ago."
Kushina: "..."
That was just an old anecdote!
Perhaps because she saw the silhouettes of many old acquaintances, Mito was considerably sentimental . After dropping a bombshell, she became even more carefree, continuing to guide the way.
A long-haired elderly patient with cataracts appeared.
"Hyuga Tenjin looks quite authentic. Well, it makes sense; all members of the Hyuga Clan look the same. By the way, he also confessed to me."
Kushina: "..."
She didn't dare to ask when that happened.
A man with an ordinary appearance appeared.
"The old Clan Leader of the Mito Clan, I forgot his name. There's nothing special to say about him; he liked me too."
Kushina: "..."
A handsome man with spiky hair and wearing red layered armour appeared.
"Ah, even Uchiha Madara was conjured up by that Natsuhiko child? He's quite audacious. Let me tell you..."
Kushina, somewhat helpless, interrupted, "Let me guess, he also likes you, Grandma, right?"
"Pu pu! Wrong answer!" Mito, with a mysterious look, leaned close to Kushina's ear and said, "Actually, he likes Hashirama."
"Ah?!!"
Kushina was shocked by this earth-shattering revelation, her eyes rolling back, and her jaw almost dropping.
I didn't expect Uchiha Madara to be like this!
Wait a minute, Grandma has been saying that Grandfather Hashirama is playing both sides?, could it be...
"Hehe, I was just cracking a joke." Mito timidly tapped Kushina's forehead with her finger to bring her back to reality.
"Wuu, Grandma, how could you make such a joke!" Kushina pouted and panting with rage.
She had just imagined some indescribable scenes, as if awakening something strange, and now she couldn't go back.
Mito chuckled after succeeding in her mischief. She picked up another card, preparing to place it on the Duel Disk.
However, when she saw the introduction on the card, her hand suddenly stopped.
(End of this chapter)
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