Chapter 32 - S

Sasuke's no seal master. He can't wield seals and make them crawl as bugs with a snap of his fingers towards his enemies or draw complex seals on the fly, able to counteract and disarm an attacker as Orochimaru told him the Uzumaki clan could in battle. Fuuinjutsu is not easy to learn as it's always been more of an esoteric study than a science. Even if there are still techniques and procedures, it's not consistent. One needs to feel them, or so the Uzumaki said, to give the right power to the words.

He doesn't understand that. That's why he can't create new formulas and is barely able to understand them. However, there were two methods Orochimaru used to instill patience in him. One was meditation; the other was seals.

Thanks to his Sharingan he can recreate them exactly as they were shown to him, but his own replications have never been as powerful as Orochimaru's or even Kabuto's. He's not gifted at making them and sometimes he wonders if Naruto, with his Uzumaki blood, has that gift.

Still. He can draw working seals and that's enough. Besides, he doesn't think these people are going to need a really powerful barrier. One that can do what he needs to is plenty.

"Here's the blood, kid," a man called Martinez says, giving him a bucket with barely disguised distaste.

He looks inside and grimaces. Sometimes having a good nose is not good. The blood is more solid than liquid at this point; it coagulated. It'll be harder to work with it but not impossible. He glances at where the skin he cut from the biter is boiling with some blood, almost ready, before continuing crushing the coal he got from them.

Is not going to be quality ink, but it'll work. He knows that to make a barrier against someone, something, one needs to get as much of the sample as you can get mixed with the ink. There are ways to do it with a more complex seal and just a drop of blood but he doesn't think he can make it. The one he's currently planning to do is complex enough. Four seals are placed in the exact cardinal points of the place to ward it and one, a more complex one, at the center to sustain the other four.

It'd be easier if he was alone, but there are three people guarding him while he does everything currently. Merle, Martinez, and a woman called Rowan. Plus Milton. The researcher guy seems to be interested in his work after the Governor explained to him what he's set to accomplish. Apparently, he got really curious when he heard no one could enter his room after all the unexplained methods they used. He's tried to talk to him about whatever he's doing but after not receiving answers, he's stopped, content to just watch.

When every 'ingredient' is ready, he puts them inside a pot with what remains of the biter's blood, stirring the mix gently with a chakra-conducting kunai. Already knowing that trying to incorporate his own chakra is going to take a while to accomplish.

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"So, what are you going to do, some kind of black magic?"

It's the woman who talks. Milton is busier trying to write in his small notebook all the scribbles he's doing on the floor. They haven't said anything while he was writing the other four as he was quick to finish and move to the next but with this one, he needs to be careful and their patience seems to have reached its limit.

Without his Sharingan to give him a mental picture of the seal and the exact movements they were used, he needs to rely on his memory. It's good, almost photographic even. But it's not perfect. And the one he's making is the center that will power the others and is where the main function is written. This one is important.

"Shut up," he says quietly. It's the first phrase he's said in hours but he doesn't want to lose concentration. The ink is thicker than he's used to; the brush is not one of good quality and he's using his chakra to keep the strays bristles from painting where they don't need to. However, now making the seal is more of pride than because of the deal. He needs to prove to himself he doesn't need the Sharingan to do everything.

He finishes a large glyph around the matrix that's meant to sustain the seal and not make explode everything inside. Then two more so it'll be able to let the air go in and out. Before he finishes with what he doesn't want to enter: the infection.

A small sigh goes past his lips. He closes his eyes and sits back on the ground, posture slouching as he tries to stop the dizziness that comes from using his chakra in the brush. He stays that way for a couple of long minutes until he's sure the ink is dry. He can feel the curiosity around him but he ignores it.

Suddenly, he sits straight again. Doctor Milton is the one that startles the most, his notebook slipping from his hands. Sasuke catches it. Not to be kind. He just doesn't want his work to be damaged.

"Thanks," he says, receiving his notebook with a breath of relief. "So, um, that's it?"

"No."

Sasuke grabs a kunai from one of the pockets in his pants and slashes part of his palm, deep enough to make some blood pour, not more. He taints the other hand with it and presses the now bloody palm against the dry seal, using his chakra to activate it. The seal glows faintly and he can feel it sucking his chakra to reach the other four more seals. Once he reaches them, he can hear a soft 'click' inside his head. Then there's a barrier standing around the town. It's not really notorious but if one is looking at the sky or one has a greatly developed peripheral view, then it's hard to not miss it.

Luckily it only stays there for a couple of seconds before it flickers out of view.

He hears some gasps as he clutches the cane to stand up. The gazes of his guards are up to the sky, trying to catch a glimpse of what they've seen.

It's Merle the one that notices him first. "Where ye goin', kiddo?"

"My part of the deal is done."

"Ye still need to go to the Governor for the teachin' stuff."

"Two days from now." He looks over his shoulder. "He knows where to find me."

He keeps walking away, ignoring how Merle repeats his words in a mocking tone loud enough for him to hear. He obviously wants to taunt him and make him lose his calm for defeating him twice. But Sasuke doesn't care for his wounded pride. His legs are trembling and he's leaning more weight on the cane than he should. He needs to return to the house quickly and pass out for a couple of hours.

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