Chapter 35 – A sealed jutsu

Arriving at the Hokage tower late at night, most of Raito's anger had dissipated. As he approached the office, he saw shinobis, wearing Chūnin flak jackets, moving around—some in groups, while others worked individually. Everyone gave the young Raito a look, but didn't stop him. 

The Hokage's office was strangely quiet today. Raito couldn't see Mariko, who always sat at the front desk and gave him a small smile, nor the figurine that adorned the table. 

Turning left, Raito noticed people scrutinizing papers, just as they had done earlier.

Waving a casual greeting, Raito thought for a while before taking out a scroll from his jacket. Unsealing the food boxes, he arranged them on a side table, offering a variety of refreshments. 

People glanced at him, offered smiles, and then returned to their work.

Upon entering the office, Raito called out to Hiruzen, who leisurely enjoyed a smoke.

With a lazy turn, Hiruzen placed the pipe on the table, producing a talisman.

It was the same one Raito had used in the academy exams, which he had given to Hiruzen for study.

"Raito-kun, do you know what this is?" Hiruzen inquired, exhaustion evident in his voice as he waved the talisman.

"That's my seal work?" Raito questioned, his tone laced with skepticism. Was this some kind of trick question?

Hiruzen pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration then placed the talisman on the desk and answered. "You sealed a jutsu in a piece of paper." 

Raito looked at Hiruzen's face, trying to gain more information, since 'Observe' cannot show him then said. "From the way you speak, I guess it is really, really good or really, really bad." 

Hiruzen sighed, acknowledging the complexity, "Raito, you know from the academy, the 'Flying Thunder God' of the Fourth Hokage."

"Yes, the movement technique."

"No," Hiruzen sighed, "It is a Fūinjutsu, and it was made by the Mito-sama and later by Tobirama-sensei." 

"Fūinjutsu? But the academy books said that it was a movement technique." Raito slowed down as he saw Hiruzen's seriousness.

"It was brought to Konoha by Mito-sama from the Uzumaki village. There were many more." Hiruzen disclosed. "They were her half-creations, left for future generations to take them to a higher stand."

Raito shook his head and said. "We weren't taught that in the academy."

"There are a lot of things you weren't taught." Hiruzen sighed. "Do you know the word 'Uzushiogakure'?"

Raito blinked his eyes and with 'Fast Thinking' activated. The files on the small village, east of Land of Fire appeared in his mind. "Yes, the village that got destroyed during the Second War."

"The whole country was destroyed." Hiruzen remarked, turning sideways to glance at the picture of Mito-sama. He added, "Because of Fūinjutsu and their alliance with us in the war." 

A bit dumbfounded, Raito asked for clarification, "Fūinjutsu?" 

"Yes, Fūinjutsu."

"Since you've researched it yourself, you know Uzumaki were known to be the masters of Fūinjutsu."

Raito nodded and vaguely guessed where this was going. 

"The Uzumaki clan resided in the Uzushiogakure."

There was a long pause as Raito stiffly nodded his head. "Naruto, Uzumaki, they…"

"They were the allies of the Hidden Leaf, from the point of establishment of Konoha itself. We share a long and deep history with them, and when Mito-sama married Hashirama-sama, our bonds strengthened. They bestowed upon us vast knowledge of Fūinjutsu; Explosion Seals, Reinforcement Seals, Supporting Seals, Telescope jutsu, Bijū Sealing techniques, the Flying Thunder God, and many others. All were gifts from the Uzumaki clan. There are still many more under research, but only a few have surfaced till now."

After a prolonged silence, during which Raito absorbed the weight of the new information, he finally spoke up, "Jii-chan, how did their country get destroyed?"

"…Raito." Hiruzen hesitated, appearing reluctant to answer . 

"Jii-chan, if you don't tell me I will find it on my own." With strong determination, Raito stared back at Hiruzen. 'Because I have quest about it.'

Hiruzen engaged in a brief staring contest with Raito, contemplating the implications of revealing the information. He eventually sighed, "What I am about to tell you is village Class-B secret, known to a specific percent of the ninja in the village. Do you still wish to know?" 

[Ruined Island – Quest 2] 

"I do." Raito declared resolutely. 

Hiruzen tapped his table before activating a large-scale Fūinjutsu. "Before you know what happened, I want to ask you if… you understand what war is." 

Raito nodded and said. "It is a large scale attack between two or more global parties, where-"

Hiruzen raised his hand, interrupting Raito. "It's a vessel for reasonable killing, where common sense is altered. War is a place where destruction is wrought to create peace and lives are taken to protect. It's where death is truth, and life is but a fleeting thought." 

"Kill thousands, and you will be called a hero. The more you kill, the greater your fame will be."

His voice was slow and at the same time the calmness gripped Raito's heart.

"Do you understand the causes of war?"

"That-"

"Forget what you've read in books." Hiruzen shook his head and continued. "Hunger, poverty, land, revenge, nationality, fortune, and so on. These are just the sparks that ignite the flames."

"The fundamental drive behind war is simple—desire. Just because someone desired something, they became the catalyst for the deaths of hundreds and thousands of people."

"War only brings destruction." Hiruzen sighed and turned around, exhaling. "Stopping it has been my longest goal."

Raito felt the cold wind behind his back as he absorbed the harsh reality of war.

"During the Second Shinobi War Konoha was in trouble. Not only the border, but we also had our village surrounded on all sides. Our strongest were on the battlefield, doing their utmost to protect us, but the power of many against one always favors the many. We were surrounded and in imminent danger. We thought that it was the end of our village. But then, the brothers and sisters from Uzumaki clan came to our aid. They sent their strongest members and killed hundreds of thousands of enemy ninja despite their small numbers. 

Although, the Uzumaki had a several villages, the clan itself had no more than a few thousands. They swooped in like the wind, utilizing devastating jutsu, aiding in the healing of our people, and wiping out our enemies, but after two nights of defending, a piece of news came, which shook the Uzumakis and us to the core. 

The Uzushiogakure, the home village of the Uzumaki clan, had been attacked by an alliance of hidden villages. When we heard this, we urged them to go and defend their own village. Do you know what they said?" 

Hiruzen looked at Raito, who was in tears and nails digging to his skin. With a determined shake of his head, Raito waited for Hiruzen's words. 

"We are comrades. We leave no one behind in danger, even if it means we put ourselves in danger." 

"Then with our ninjas returning from the front lines, we were able to successfully defend our village. But for the Uzushiogakure, we received the news that… everyone in the village had perished. Our village lay in ruins, almost half of our forces were dead, and the remaining half bore varying degrees of injuries. The Uzumaki ninjas left the Leaf Village to pursue the killers. 

I know, I was there… as the new Hokage at that time. I asked them to stay, but they asked me for one thing and one thing only… to just let the survivor of the Uzushiogakure live peacefully in Konoha." Hiruzen pressed his finger firmly against the table, leaving a deep dent. 

"That's stupid, stupid… killing everyone because they are too powerful. Stupid." 

"After it was all over, we went to see the aftermath. What we witnessed terrified us. Only three thousand or so ninjas of the Uzumaki clan had annihilated almost a hundred thousand enemies. In the steep mountains on the western part of the island, their bodies were scattered around, with the enemies. The ashes of the hundred thousand enemies never reached their homes." Hiruzen eyes turned cold as he ended. 

"Just a few thousand going against hundred thousand…" Raito murmured. 

"In the Third Shinobi World War, Minato, known as 'Yellow Flash', Kushina as 'Red Death', and 'Sannin' went on a killing spree, killing thousands from Kumo, Iwa, and Kiri. Minato used the 'Flying Thunder God' from the Uzumaki Clan, which was researched and improved by Mito-sama, and Tobirama-sama and himself, to kill a whole army of Iwa Shinobi single handed. Kushina with her unholy swordsmanship and Fūinjutsu skills destroyed the Kiri." 

"Flying Thunder God is from Uzumaki clan?" . 

"Yes." Hiruzen waited as Raito went into daze.

Inside his mind palace, Raito started correcting all the files on 'Flying Thunder God'. If only he could see the seal with his own eyes, "What a pain."

"We call them heroes, because they killed, because they survived, and martyr to those who died."

"Follow me." Hiruzen stood up and led the way into his training room, then through a small door at the corner of the room.

Raito followed Hiruzen in a daze with a question in his mind: 'What is he hiding all the way here?'

Inside, another door awaited, candles flickering on its sides. Opening it, Raito found himself in a long, narrow room. Candles adorned the space after every few steps, and a wooden table clung to one side of the room, curiously devoid of seats. Potted plants and portraits of the Hokages with their wives adorned the room, though the absence of a second Hokage's wife left a noticeable gap. Towering photo frames in a corner awaited the images of future Hokage's families.

"No one cleaned this room for the past years. No one changed the candles, nor did anyone extinguish them. From the very first day of its creation, the sole purpose here has been the creation of seals." Hiruzen explained, a hint of pride mixed within.

"Amazing." Raito gasped as he stepped further into the room. 

[You have entered a 'Unique' Dungeon.] 

[Not having 'Senju', 'Uzumaki', 'Sarutobi' and 'Namikaze' bloodline has decreased your total stats by 20%.] 

[Fūinjutsu is boosted by 20%.] 

[Preservation Seal] 

[Fire Ignition Seal] 

[Fortification Seal] 

[Humidity Control Seal] 

[Temperature Control Seal] 

Dozens of seals adorned the room, each designed to exert control over every aspect of its environment. They functioned as custodians of this miniature world, keeping it suspended in a timeless state.

Raito moved from one seal to another, adding them to his directory, 'Info-Book'.

Hiruzen watched in fascination as Raito went to one seal after another. This scene had reminded him of himself when he was first brought to this small but amazing room by Mito-sama.

Kakashi silently joined Hiruzen, both of them watching Raito. 

"It's going to take time, right?" Kakashi asked lazily. 

"When I first entered this room with Mito-sama, I was even more… childish. This room is that fascinating." Hiruzen chuckled. "I hoped that you would be too."

"Sorry for that, Hokage-sama," Kakashi rubbed his head. 'I'm not exactly cut out for Fūinjutsu,' Kakashi admitted.

"Wow, so many new seal and also so much variety." Raito looked in joy then turned to Hiruzen.

"That's right. We all have different style by which we use sealing techniques. These seals are… Let's say, edited as new, stronger seals can replace them." Hiruzen explained from time to time. 

"That aside, Raito-kun, would you like to begin? Everything is ready and we're just waiting for you." Hiruzen placed the pot of specialized ink and a fine brush on the side. 

"Say Jii-chan, does Kakashi-sensei really uses a thousand jutsus?" Raito asked randomly as he injected chakra into the ink and brush.

After a moment of thought, Hiruzen turned to Kakashi. "What do you say, Kakashi?" 

"I use a variety of jutsus, but I have preferences." Kakashi answered. 

Kakashi placed a scroll on the wooden table then unrolled it, extending it to the other end. Raito gave Kakashi a slide glance then started his work.

Reading various Fūinjutsu books and using the powers of the Gamer, Raito had become more proficient than anyone at his level. And the little cheat, 'Fūinjutsu' had added to the skills, made his life a blast.

Standing on the right corner of the room, Raito held the brush in his hand, dipping into the ink. He began drawing character seals, with each seals consuming a small amount of chakra. 

His sealwork was straightforward. First, he divided the work into three parts.

Chakra Storage, Jutsu formula and lastly, Specification. 

Chakra Storage took the smallest space, forming a circular pattern. The more detailed the pattern, the more chakra it could store, but what could a demonstration require?

The Jutsu formula was simply an interpretation of jutsu in character seals or other forms, made possible by the gamer power. The Uzumaki clan who had created the Flying Thunder God and many others were the most amazing that Raito could think off. Even without the cheat powers, achieving the impossible would be unimaginable.

'I will call myself cheat, while others will call me genius.'

"You are nearly empty." Kakashi remarked. 

"Yeah, let's take a break for now." Finishing the last of the jutsu formula, Raito sat down and entered Meditation. 

Kakashi didn't stop but continued using his Sharingan. After what he saw, Kakashi seriously thought of wanting to give up and become a normal farmer for the rest of his life. 

In just 20 minutes, Raito was nearly fully replenished.

"Next is the specification." For this, Raito made a weird and complex seal then urged his mental chakra, which had a blue color into the weird pattern. The pattern was then quickly filling with black ink. 

Two hours had passed as Raito closed his eyes. The complex pattern disappeared and a blue spot appeared in the middle of the black ink. Raito let out a breath then stretched. "Now what we are going to do next is-" 

"There is more?" Hiruzen and Kakashi asked simultaneously. Their legs and eyes somewhat numb.

Raito entered Meditation again, refilling the chakra pool.

Taking out three scrolls, he arranged them on the larger scroll: one on top of the chakra storage, another on the jutsu formula, and the last on the specification.

Raito poured the chakra onto the first scroll, skillfully controlling the chakra so that it does not collide with other parts, at the same time, compressed the whole of the chakra storage into one seal. 

The same thing done to jutsu formula and specification. 

There were now three seals namely – 'Energy', 'Knowledge' and 'Technique.

The first big scroll was now empty and the three smaller scrolls held one seal each. 

Placing a talisman paper on top of three, barely touching each, Raito manipulated his chakra and compressed the three into one single talisman, resulting in one talisman with blue and red spots and a 'Ghost' character.

[Sealed Jutsu – False surrounding] (Special Rare) 

A special sealing formula able to produce the sealed jutsu, 'False Surrounding'. 

Rating – 2/10

Effect – Cast False Surrounding

Made by – Yoshizawa Raito 

Owner – Yoshizawa Raito 

(Blueprint)

(Flaws)

(Modification)

Clicking on the flaws Raito was angered to death.

(Flaws)

1. Breaking the flow of the crafting process results in an imperfect item. 

2. Chakra consumption for activation is excessively high. 

3. Mental image experiences interruptions. 

4. The intention is unclear. 

5. Chakra storage is insufficient. 

6. Seal character does not match. 

…

Closing the tab in haste, Raito focused on regulating his breath

Hiruzen held the talisman in his hand and, after a brief pause, activated it.

What materialized was a lifelike image of Hiruzen, standing before him with a warm smile.

"It's good." Hiruzen remarked, attempting to touch the illusion but finding it intangible. 

Exhaustion in his face Raito gave a weak smile then said, "Jii-chan, I am going home." 

"Wait, Raito." Hiruzen halted him and handed over a bottle of water. 

"Yes?" Raito grabbed the bottle, looking confused. 

"Kakashi is going to try and recreated it." Hiruzen explained. 

"Recreate?" Raito asked, a bit dumbfounded. 

"He has Sharingan, after all, and he was once hailed as a genius, much like I praise you now." 

"Mm." 

"Raito, watch carefully, the magic of Sharingan." Hiruzen, standing beside Raito, said softly. 

Replicating Raito's actions, Kakashi swiftly replicated everything in a single fluid motion. His calligraphy surpassed Raito's in speed, and his ample chakra pool allowed him to complete it effortlessly. 

"One flaw down." Raito watched the tab in front of him and with a notepad cut the first number.

"Sharingan can remember everything the user has seen and also recall with clear vision." Hiruzen explained. 

"Another flaw down." Raito counted again. 

"Kakashi himself has excellent control over his chakra. Good chakra control is, of course, one of the requirements for Jōnin promotion." 

"Three." Raito counted, then closed his eyes. 

'I am comparing with the wrong group.' A thought popped in Raito's mind, and he opened his eyes.

The entire event didn't last even an hour before completion.

[Sealed Jutsu – False surrounding] (Special Rare) 

A special sealing formula capable to produce the sealed jutsu, 'False Surrounding'. 

Rating – 4/10

Effect – Cast 'False surrounding' 

Made by – Hatake Kakashi 

Owner – Hatake Kakashi

(Blueprint)

(Flaws)

(Modification)

"Let's try it." Hiruzen nodded towards Kakashi. 

Half Ram hand seal. "Activate". 

One Sarutobi Hiruzen was facing another with a serious expression. After enough time had passed, Hiruzen turned, and Kakashi deactivated the seal, handing it to Hiruzen. 

"Kakashi, can you see through it?" 

"Yes." Kakashi replied simply. In his Sharingan eyes, it just looked like a mass of chakra connected to the talisman with a string.

Raito watched the entire thing, his breaths heavy. After a few minutes of stupor, Raito took a few of the books from the bookshelf and walked away. 

"The kid's angry. Maybe we should have waited for him to go home." Kakashi remarked.

"No need, if he takes it as a lesson, he will grow up faster." Hiruzen paused for a long time before replying. "A gem is cut hundreds of times and polished thousand times."

Sitting on the toilet seat, Raito watched the entire video again and again… and again. He was just inches away from Kakashi's Sharingan eye. He wanted to cut or poke it with kunai or something, but it was just an image. In the end, he sighed, long and hard, before closing the recording.

In class, that feeling when you've excelled at a subject after a long time hard work, only to be toppled by a new student. Raito experienced something akin to that. 

"Only I can make them with the help of gamer powers." Raito reassured himself. "You will only know one, Kakashi." his voice dangerously low and filled with evil intentions.

Clenching his fist, he declared. "Sharingan, Byakugan, I have to find a way against you all." 

Bang! Bang! Bang! 

"Raito open the door. Damn! Open it." Naruto cried out. 

Bang! Bang! Bang! 

Raito pushed the door open and walked out. Naruto ran in and closed the door.

"Hey, I'll be going out. I may be a little late." Raito shouted for Naruto to hear before leaving the house.