As Hui strolled through the streets of Uzushio Village, he observed his surroundings with curiosity. Accompanying him was Uzumaki Mina, the Uzumaki clan princess.
The meeting with Uzumaki Suihei had ended, and now Uzushio and the Konoha Anbu were working together to identify which villages the Anbu operatives in the Land of Whirlpools were from and what their true objectives were.
There was no need for Hui to personally handle such matters, so he left it to his subordinates.
Feeling a bit bored, Hui decided to explore Uzushio Village.
As for why Uzumaki Mina, the clan's princess, was his guide, it was partly due to Hui's status, and partly because Mina herself was quite intrigued by him.
"Would you like to try this place, Hui-kun? They serve excellent chicken here," Mina suggested with a smile, noticing Hui's gaze linger on a small restaurant.
Her eyes sparkled with curiosity as she glanced at the young man beside her, who was two or three years yunger than her. Though Hui appeared harmless, Mina knew of him well.
It wasn't just that Hui had earned a fearsome reputation across the ninja world, known as the Konoha's Ghost.
Mina had also heard about him through her correspondence with Uzumaki Mito, her aunt. Mito often praised Hui, further piquing Mina's interest. She had been curious about him for some time now.
"Sure, let's give it a try," Hui agreed, deciding to see if the chicken was as good as advertised. If it was, he thought, he could bring Tsunade here sometime—after all, she loved chicken.
They exchanged casual conversation as they entered the small restaurant. After ordering a dish of chicken, Hui found the flavor to be quite good—definitely worth recommending to Tsunade.
"Hui-kun, it's impressive that someone so young has already made such a name for himself in the ninja world," Mina said suddenly, glancing at Hui after they had finished eating.
She found it hard to reconcile the seemingly gentle boy before her with the legendary Konoha's Ghost who had terrified so many.
"Not at all, there's still much for me to learn," Hui replied modestly.
"I wonder… could I see a demonstration of your strength? I'm just really curious. If you're not comfortable with it, please forget I asked," Mina said, hesitating as she voiced her request.
She had long been curious about Hui's abilities and wanted to witness firsthand the power that had struck fear into the hearts of so many.
Hui paused, then smiled. "Of course, I don't mind. In fact, I've been wanting to see Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques for quite some time."
He agreed readily. He had been looking for an opportunity to observe the Uzumaki clan's famous sealing techniques, and now Mina had provided him with the perfect chance.
"Great! Please, follow me to the training ground," Mina said, leading the way.
The Uzumaki clan's training grounds were similar to those in Konoha. However, the area seemed rather quiet, with no one else present when Hui and Mina arrived.
"Shall we begin?" Hui asked, standing in the center of the training ground and inviting Mina to make the first move.
Mina didn't hesitate. After all, she was facing a Kage-level shinobi and couldn't afford to hold back. Swiftly forming hand seals, she sent several wind blades flying toward Hui.
It was a wind release jutsu, not a sealing technique. Though the Uzumaki clan specialized in sealing, it didn't mean that all their members only used seals.
Seeing the incoming wind blades, Hui casually responded with his own wind release jutsu, sending stronger wind blades to counter hers. His blades quickly shattered Mina's, continuing forward toward her.
Mina deftly evaded the attack, moving swiftly as she closed the distance between them. It seemed she intended to engage in close combat.
Truth be told, close combat wasn't always favorable for female shinobi, as they often had a physical disadvantage compared to their male counterparts.
Hui, at just fifteen, was already taller and more physically imposing than seventeen-year-old Mina. Not to mention, Hui's body had been thoroughly enhanced, with strength, speed, and reflexes that far surpassed ordinary humans.
As soon as they clashed, Mina immediately felt the terrifying power behind Hui's movements. Her expression changed, realizing she couldn't afford to waste time in a prolonged fight. She quickly activated her true specialty.
It was a sealing technique. As she leapt back, Mina formed a series of rapid hand seals, and Hui suddenly felt a strange force locking his body in place.
Glancing down, he noticed sealing marks had appeared on the ground beneath him.
He hadn't seen how the seals were placed, but the force was weak. With a simple exertion of strength, Hui broke free of the binding, shattering Mina's seal.
"Interesting!" Hui's eyes lit up. Even though he had broken free with ease, the seal itself intrigued him.
Mina was shocked.
Her binding seal, though not incredibly powerful, should have been enough to restrain most jōnin for at least a few seconds. Yet Hui had shaken it off instantly, further proving his overwhelming strength.
"What's this seal called?" Hui asked, clearly fascinated.
"It's called the Binding Seal. It restricts the movement of anyone caught within its range," Mina explained, before forming more hand seals to launch another jutsu.
Hui responded in kind, casting his own jutsu.
However, the ninjutsu was merely a distraction. Mina's true aim was to use the opportunity to prepare her next sealing technique. Hui sensed what she was doing but chose not to interfere.
He was more than happy for Mina to continue using sealing techniques against him—after all, that was exactly what he wanted to observe. However, it seemed that her seals required specific conditions to be used, as she wasn't casting them freely.
After their ninjutsu clashed, Mina rushed forward again, aiming a punch at Hui. But just as her fist was about to make contact, she switched to an open palm, grabbing hold of Hui's arm.
As soon as her hand made contact, sealing marks rapidly spread from her palm, covering Hui's entire arm in moments. He felt a strange force sealing the chakra in his arm, preventing him from channeling it.
However, Hui's physical strength was exceptional. With a quick shake of his arm, he dislodged Mina's grip, breaking free of the seal.
He raised his arm and could feel the odd energy from the seal weakening, and it would soon dissipate completely.
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