Hokage's Office. Jiraiya hesitated, then spoke. "Sensei, Uchiha Jin possesses exceptional ninjutsu talent." Jin hadn't asked him to keep it a secret, and Jiraiya didn't feel the need to do so. Though he was increasingly disillusioned with Hiruzen's actions, he hadn't yet decided to break ties. He needed to inform Hiruzen. A talented ninja was different from an untalented one.
"What?!" Hiruzen narrowed his eyes. "He hid his talent throughout the Academy?" Concealing his abilities from the start… this boy was dangerous. An Uchiha with such talent… he couldn't be allowed to remain. He could cause unforeseen harm to the village.
Jiraiya, oblivious to Hiruzen's thoughts, scratched his head. "Not exactly."
"What?!" Hiruzen was confused. "What do you mean? Yes or no?" First, he'd said Jin was talented, now he was contradicting himself.
"He's a genius, on par with the Second Hokage," Jiraiya said, presenting the notebook Jin had given him. He'd reviewed it several times while washing dishes at the yakitori restaurant, and he was astonished. Could an Academy student really have created this? His research abilities surpassed even Orochimaru's, comparable only to Tobirama Senju.
"The reason is here," Jiraiya explained.
Hiruzen glanced at Jiraiya. He'd created a compelling mystery. No wonder he wanted to write a novel. He casually flipped through a few pages.
"Sealing jutsu?" The contents piqued his interest. Creating a regular jutsu was difficult; sealing jutsu was even harder. He frowned as he continued.
"This is a haphazard mess," Hiruzen muttered. The seals were familiar, but haphazardly combined, lacking originality. To him, the jutsu was useless—slow to activate and requiring over one hundred hand seals due to the multiple combined seals. The only effect was preventing the opponent from using ninjutsu.
"A useless jutsu," Hiruzen concluded. Jiraiya scratched his head. At first glance, he'd had the same reaction. But the later pages were different.
"Sensei, look further," Jiraiya urged. The true contents began in the second stage.
Hiruzen, trusting his student's judgment, continued reading. Chakra was channeled through seals, accumulating power, strengthening the seals, and enhancing the body. This was unexpected.
"Ingenious," Hiruzen commented, genuinely impressed. The design was crude, but the approach was unprecedented. "So, that's why he couldn't use ninjutsu." The first-stage seal prevented him from using ninjutsu.
This made Jin more problematic. He couldn't be killed, but he couldn't be ignored.
"Jiraiya," Hiruzen said, his gaze intense. "Would you remove Jin from Team Seven?"
Jiraiya's smile faltered, his expression serious. He braced himself, his hands on the table. "Sensei, Uchiha Jin is my student." He was making his stance clear.
Hiruzen rubbed his temples. This was complicated. He'd wanted a talentless Uchiha, not a genius. He wanted to bridge the gap with the Uchiha, not empower them. The good news was Jin wasn't popular within the Uchiha clan. He could still be manipulated.
As for the jutsu…
"Release the first two stages as a reward for completing missions. The third stage… add it to the Scroll of Seals, but tell Jin not to disseminate it widely." It was a technique that could bolster Konoha's strength.
"Yes, sir."
...
Ninja Equipment Exchange. A large scroll displayed available jutsu; you could exchange merit points for them. Dan Katō was drawn to a particular entry:
Sealing Jutsu: Foundation Training – enhances physical strength; there's a risk of temporary ninjutsu inability.
It also included a partial explanation of the technique.
"Tsunade!" Katō called.
Tsunade, her expression somber, approached. "Dan, what is it?"
"Look at this. It's similar to your Strength of a Hundred Seal," Katō said, pointing to the Foundation Training.
Tsunade examined it, her brow furrowed. "Though similar, their principles are different. Mine focuses on storage; this uses sealing jutsu." Her extensive knowledge of sealing jutsu allowed her to understand its mechanics.
"Combining the body with seals… the creator is a genius." She was impressed by the creator's ingenuity. The difficulty wasn't excessively high.
She read the creator's name.
"Uchiha Jin!"
Tsunade wasn't the only one who noticed. A white-haired man—Hiruko—also saw it. He examined the scroll.
"This will significantly improve my abilities."
"Truly worthy of the Uchiha name," he murmured, thinking of the Uchiha's legendary talent, their famed Sharingan. "How enviable." He watched Tsunade and Katō leave.
He clenched his fist. "You ignored me again, Tsunade."
...
The border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire. Sakumo Hatake studied a map marked with red dots—locations where Sand ninjas had been encountered.
"They're scouting routes." Their intentions were subtle, but he'd detected them. The Sand ninjas were approaching Konoha.
"A decapitation strategy?" If they succeeded in finding a hidden route, they could strike the rear during a full-scale war, inflicting devastating losses. But their efforts were in vain. Sakumo had discovered their plan.
A puff of smoke, a ninja in a green flak jacket appeared, carrying a large scroll. He produced two jutsu scrolls from his sleeve. To quickly strengthen the front-line ninjas, scrolls were sent to the leaders.
"Thank you for your hard work." Sakumo accepted them, opening the new jutsu scrolls. Konoha hadn't updated its jutsu in a while. The Scroll of Seals required significant achievements for access, and he knew all the other available jutsu. He read the title.
"Foundation Training?"
"Uchiha Jin."
...
Hakan, though elderly, remained agile. Standing on a rooftop, he could see much of the village. "This was all built by Madara-sama."
Yet the Uchiha had no place here. He'd realized that Tobirama had always resented them. Age brought clarity. Tobirama's actions had always been to treat them as potential enemies. But the Uchiha had been blinded by the Military Police's power. The leadership actively suppressed the Uchiha. Even if he could control the Uchiha, he couldn't ignore the sentiment within the clan.
"What if we'd left with Madara-sama?" They'd chosen security over loyalty.
"Boom!" A puff of smoke, Fugaku appeared beside Hakan.
"Fugaku." Hakan's expression turned serious. "Grand Elder, look at this." Fugaku's voice was heavy as he handed Hakan the scroll. "Did the village assign any missions to the Uchiha?"
Hakan unfolded the scroll, puzzled. It contained a single jutsu.
"An unusual technique." He didn't understand what Fugaku was implying, until he saw the name.
"Uchiha Jin!!!" Hakan's eyes widened.
"Impossible!"
...
A damp, shadowy basement. Orochimaru entered the laboratory to find Jin, surrounded by shadow clones, working diligently.
"Jin, you're rather famous lately."
Jin looked up, puzzled. He'd been on D-rank missions with Jiraiya during the day and training here, helping Orochimaru with his research at night. He wasn't aware of any fame.
"Your jutsu is spreading through the village. The third stage is in the Scroll of Seals."
Jin nodded. "Not surprised."
"You're not surprised at all?" Orochimaru watched Jin, intrigued.
"Orochimaru-sensei, you said my jutsu represents change. I understand the impact," Jin said, smiling. "I'm sure you'll protect me."
Orochimaru chuckled. "Of course." He was curious to see Jin's potential.
"Good," Jin said, returning to his work. He was focused on his research, inspired by the Hashirama cells. He input his theory into Deduction.
[Deduction Successful]
[Eight Deductions Completed. New User Period Ended.]
[Please check details.]
Jin: (⊙_◎)