Seals

This chapter hasn't been edited

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"Fūin!"

Suddenly, the ink started glistening with a blueish hue. A cloud of smoke was released and the stone plate was successfully sealed; A kanji character for 'Seal' appeared right in the center of the scroll.

"Success!"

I couldn't help but smile from ear-to-ear as I lifted the scroll up for further examination. The joy I felt after successfully sealing an object for the first time overtook any other emotion I was feeling earlier, improving my mood.

On the side, Rasa's eyes were fixated on the scroll, an incredulous expression plastered on his face; He swiftly snatched it off my hands.

His face gradually grew confused as he frantically stared at the sealing formation I had written, as if something wasn't quite right. This made my expression turn a little sour; I mean, it worked right?

Suddenly, his head made a sharp turn and he stared at me with fervent eyes.

"Gaara, where did you learn this."

Hearing those words, I got a bad feeling. My brain was running at full throttle as I started to map out all of the possible reasons for this outcome in my head. In the end, I decided to take the conservative approach.

"You said you wouldn't ask any questions though."

Hearing this, Rasa seemed to snap out of his trance, immediately shifting his focus back to the scroll.

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I sat silently for an hour until finally, he spoke again.

"This is preposterous. I have never seen such an efficient way of writing a sealing formation. In all honesty, the level of this seal is probably on par, or higher than this world's leading seal masters."

Hearing this, I became immensely shocked. I was supposed to be a beginner at Fūinjutsu! What does he mean by on par with the masters? Thankfully, he subsequently explained himself.

"By that, I don't mean that you can start writing incredible seals already. What I'm saying is that your 'language' is extremely advanced. Here, take a look at this scroll."

Rasa rummaged though his drawers once more and took out another scroll, the then opened it and showed me the contents. Inside, was a sealing formation similar to mine, but it had some differences.

Taking a closer look, I was stunned. This was definitely the Enclosing-Technique, but it was written in a completely different way!

The structure of this seal made it require at least ten times the amount of chakra when compared to mine, and to top it off, it would probably less effective, with less storage space.

"Who wrote this? It's an insult to Fūinjutsu! Such a low level of efficiency is simply absurd."

Hearing my comments, Rasa seemed to have taken a big blow as he placed a hand on the desk for support. With a dead expression, he opened his mouth and let out a desolate sigh.

"I made that. And I'm considered one of the world's top twenty sealing masters, mind you."

Hearing this, I became puzzled. If he wrote this, does it means that this is the gold-standard of Enclosing-Technique scrolls? But that doesn't make any sense... Unless...

"If what you say is true, it means that my sealing methods are considerably superior to the ones commonly used around the world. Basically, if I write a seal using my 'method', it's quality will be greater."

Rasa nodded at my words, and rolled the scroll back up before handing it over to me.

"If you don't want to tell me where this is from, I don't mind, but I want you to at least become the world's leading Fūinjutsu master. The village would benefit greatly and it should be possible with your potential."

Hearing his words, my opinion of him grew exponentially. It felt like a weight was lifted off my back when he said I didn't have to state the source.

"For now, I don't mind teaching you the common methods of sealing, so you can compare them and maybe learn something. After all, these have been passed on through generations of Shinobi; They must be worth something."

"That would be great, thank you."

"Don't mention it. It's the least I could do."

After our discussion, Rasa finished up some important paperwork and we jumped straight into sealing lessons. He expanded upon the basics which I learned in the academy's library, and I ended up reinforcing my knowledge on the methods, history and applications of Fūinjutsu.

Overall, it was a greatly productive morning.

Before I left for lunch, he gave me some scrolls with his personal notes and research on the subject so that I could reflect on them in my on time. Bowing in thanks, I took my leave.

Me and Shira were meant to meet Kiyo for lunch right about now, so I went over to our designated meeting spot where she was already waiting. Greeting her, I immediately got to the point, and explained what happened to Shira, hiding some details of course.

"What? He overworked himself and got internal injuries? That idiot!"

Not waiting for me, she dashed away in the direction of the hospital. Sighing, I followed her.

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Kiyo opened Shira's door with great force, inevitably waking the Genin up from his nap. I stood in the corner as she told off the poor guy, watching him repeatedly noddimg his head in depression.

I chose to keep Shira's technique a secret for now. I don't know if that's what he wants, but the main reason is his safety. I'm unsure of what some people would do, were they to hear of a technique similar to the Eight-Gates existing.

And to top it off, it's in the hands of a thirteen-year-old kid with no background whatsoever. It spells disaster to me.

When they were done, I explained to Shira how he ended up in the hospital, and he thanked me for bringing him over. Seeing Kiyo getting distracted with some flowers, I leaned in closer and whispered in Shira's ear.

"I saw you perform that technique. We'll talk about it later, when she's gone."

Hearing this, Shira gulped hard and nodded frantically.

"Anyways, I brought some food. Since this reckless idiot right here got injured, we sadly can't go have lunch like we planned originally."

Suddenly, a cloud of sand entered through the door and revealed a bunch of fresh rice balls, coupled with some green tea. Shira's eyes lit up, and I gave everyone their share.

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Once Kiyo left, I went straight to the point, not wasting any time. Of course, I can't just say that I know what technique he was using, since it's meant to be his personal secret.

"What was that technique? Your strength increased exponentially every time you said that weird word. Activation? Yeah, I think that was it."

Shira seemed to have accepted his fate, choosing to let out a deep sigh before explaining himself.

"Well, I already taught you the silent fist. As you know, using this art, one is able to close their opponents Tenketsu[1] in order to gain the upper hand in battle."

"One day, As I was training, I realised the importance of oxygen when it comes to fighting power and stamina. What if I could increase my lung capacity? My blood would carry more oxygen to my organs, and my body would technically operate at a much higher level."

"So you developed a technique that would increase your lung capacity, speed up your metabolism, and grant you great power? You're crazy! Did you not think of the possible repercussions?"

Although I sounded angry, in my head I was very pleased. If he can train in this technique he will be a great fighter in the future. Hearing my words, Shira nodded with determination. He had an unmistakeable look in his eyes.

Drive. He was motivated.

"All right, I won't say anything about this to anyone, but I want you to exert more caution when training in this technique. Can you do that?"

"Yes!"

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[1] 'Tenketsu' or pressure points, are the main sections through which chakra travels in a person's pathway system.