29

"Sealing Technique!"

Nara Shintaku slowly uttered the words.

"Use sealing techniques to suppress the activity of natural energy, while supporting the physical and mental energy to better counteract its violent characteristics!"

At the same time.

In the secondary research room...

"That's right, it's the Sealing Technique!" Orochimaru exclaimed, his excitement mirroring Nara Shintaku's.

---

The next day,

Nara Shintaku woke up and headed out for breakfast.

He ran into Orochimaru, who looked elated. Clearly, he hadn't slept all night. The moment he saw Nara Shintaku, Orochimaru eagerly grabbed him and said, "Shintaku, I've got a new plan. Can you take a look?"

"This plan combines all the inspiration I've gathered!"

"This is my best work yet!!"

Orochimaru was practically bursting with excitement.

Curious, Nara Shintaku took the document and began to read it.

He scanned through it and nodded.

It was a solid idea.

Orochimaru had also thought of using the sealing technique, but his approach was different from Nara Shintaku's.

Orochimaru chose to imitate the sealing method used for Jinchūriki, treating Jūgo, with his sage-like powers, as a human-shaped tailed beast. He used the sealing technique to lock away most of the power in Jūgo's body fluids, allowing only a small amount to gradually seep out.

These seeping energies would slowly transform the host, allowing them to adapt to the sage-like power, much like a Jinchūriki learns to coexist with their tailed beast.

"Not bad, right?" Orochimaru beamed when he saw Nara Shintaku nodding. A proud smile spread across his face.

"After hearing what you said yesterday, I was inspired!"

"I thought about it—couldn't the transformation of a Jinchūriki into a tailed beast be similar to becoming a sage?"

"If a Jinchūriki can adapt to their tailed beast's power, then I can use the sealing technique to regulate Jūgo's power and create a stable method for the host to slowly adjust to it!"

Orochimaru was practically brimming with enthusiasm, fully convinced that his plan was extraordinary.

It had to impress Nara Shintaku!

"Not bad," Nara Shintaku said after reviewing the plan, his voice calm and measured.

Orochimaru was stunned.

Just "not bad"?

This was the culmination of years of research and the brilliant insight he had gained from their conversation last night! Wasn't it enough to astonish Shintaku?

"Is there a problem with my plan?" Orochimaru asked, his brows furrowing.

"No problem, but I have another plan," Nara Shintaku paused, "a better plan."

"A better plan?"

Orochimaru's frown deepened.

He instinctively doubted it.

He had been studying Jūgo in secret for years and had only now come up with this plan. No matter how talented Nara Shintaku might be, could he really have come up with something better after just one night of thought?

"Are you serious, Shintaku?" Orochimaru asked, staring at him intently. "You should have seen the Curse Seal I included at the end of my plan."

"I've figured out how to make it work!"

"And I developed two variations: the Heaven Curse Seal and the Earth Curse Seal!"

Orochimaru couldn't believe that Nara Shintaku's plan could surpass his. It was the pride of a researcher speaking.

Nara Shintaku didn't respond with words. Instead, he walked back to the main lab.

After a moment, he returned with a scroll and handed it to Orochimaru.

"Take a look."

Orochimaru accepted it, still filled with doubt.

But once he started reading, he couldn't tear his eyes away.

Nara Shintaku's method also involved a sealing technique, but his approach was completely different.

Instead of mimicking the Jinchūriki model, he focused on simulating Sage Mode.

He used the sealing technique to support the physical and mental energies, helping to neutralize the natural energy. With this method, the violent characteristics of the natural energy were fully subdued.

The natural energy was completely tamed!

"Your idea…" Orochimaru muttered thoughtfully. "You're abandoning Jūgo?"

"Yes," Nara Shintaku confirmed. "If Jūgo can achieve this, and the three great Sage Lands can, then I believe I can create a technique to do the same."

"I see." Orochimaru fell into contemplation.

Their ideas were fundamentally different.

Orochimaru didn't want to give up on Jūgo. He saw Jūgo as a natural filter, much like the tailed beasts. To him, Jūgo was a tool to be used.

But Nara Shintaku had a different perspective. He didn't want to rely on external tools like the tailed beasts. Instead, he wanted to develop the ability to harness natural energy independently.

This was the key difference between them.

"Your plan is more ambitious, but not necessarily better than mine," Orochimaru argued, shaking his head. "The difference between humans and beasts is that humans can use tools."

"Whether it's Jūgo or the tailed beasts, they're tools."

"Why not use them since they exist?"

Nara Shintaku didn't refute him.

He calmly replied, "We'll see which is better after testing both."

"There are still four days before we return to the village."

"That's enough time to create a first version of each."

Orochimaru was taken aback by this, but then he chuckled. "You're right. We'll know who's right once we compare them."

He returned the scroll to Nara Shintaku, and the two stopped debating.

After a quick breakfast, both the main lab and the backup lab went into full operation.

---

In the main laboratory, Nara Shintaku's body glowed with a faint azure light.

"After thinking it through, I believe the Blood Armor Technique is the most suitable for this."

He smiled softly to himself.

"I never thought this technique could be applied in so many ways."