"I'll take them all!"
Shien stretched out his right hand like a claw, then clenched it tightly. He wasn't stupid enough to choose just one. Whether it was the future or the present—he refused to give up either.
As for studying? With a cheat like the Clarity Elixir in his hands, he had absolutely nothing to worry about.
When it came to sealing techniques, the hardest part was learning them—and that happened to be the one thing he feared the least.
As for crafting ninja tools? If he were an ordinary ninja, or even a minor clan member, that would've been a nightmare.
After all, these specialized ninja tools weren't like regular weapons. To carry the effects of sealing techniques, they required special materials—things like chakra metal. And such precious materials? Ordinary people couldn't even dream of getting them.
But Shien wasn't an ordinary person.
[Rich lady.jpg – Hungry? Here's food!] With just a few sweet words, he could get whatever he needed.
That's why he dared to say it—he was going to take everything.
"Fine," Uzumaki Kushina said, raising her fist with a dangerous smile.
"But don't expect me to go easy on you. If you slack off even a little…"
She wasn't exactly known for her gentle personality. If Shien didn't study seriously, she'd beat him up without hesitation.
"I have a tiny bit of talent in studying," Shien said solemnly.
"And more importantly, with the beautiful and kind Sister Kushina guiding me, how could I possibly fail?"
He laid it on thick with the flattery. Hey, if it helped him learn sealing arts, who cared if it was a little shameless?
"Shien, you really do have a gift for sealing techniques—you saw through my strengths with one glance. Still… I'm not that amazing…"
After a few sweet compliments, Kushina's lips curved upward so much she could barely hide her smile.
Ah, women—forever creatures of contradiction.
Because Shien's tongue was so sweet, Kushina agreed that once they got back, she'd design a custom sealing formula just for him.
Now he finally understood the difference between her and the regular sealing division. They could use sealing techniques. She could create them.
That was the gap between the Uzumaki Clan's sealing knowledge and ordinary ninjas who merely knew how to apply seals. No wonder Shien valued this opportunity so much.
Unfortunately, Kushina's sealing mastery still fell short of the previous Jinchūriki, Uzumaki Mito. She had been the pinnacle of sealing arts—able to treat the Nine-Tails like a pet. Even the "Shura of the Ninja World" hadn't dared make a move on Konoha while she lived.
But Mito had long passed away, and there was no way to learn directly from her. So Shien could only settle for the next best option.
When Kushina began teaching him the basics, Shien finally understood why—despite Konoha inheriting the Uzumaki clan's knowledge—their sealing arts had stagnated for decades.
It was just too damn hard!
The seal script looked like a mass of tadpoles crawling across the page—it made his scalp tingle just looking at it. And the tiniest difference in stroke or angle could completely change the function of a seal.
Of course, this was sealing knowledge, not sealing jutsu. If it were the latter, it'd be far easier to grasp.
Sealing arts were like pre-written programs, while sealing knowledge was the ability to write those programs. The difference in difficulty was night and day.
Even Shien's head was spinning. They said a desperate man could do anything— except math.
And sealing theory wasn't much easier than that.
So he did what he did best—he cheated.
Gulp!
Shien pulled out a bottle of Clarity Elixir from his ninja pouch (he'd stocked up ever since learning medical ninjutsu) and drank it down.
Instantly, his mind cleared like a cloudless sky. Sage Mode (Study Edition) activated!
This didn't make him smarter, per se, but it allowed him to focus completely—blocking out all distractions. His learning efficiency skyrocketed.
"Huh?"
Kushina immediately noticed the change in his aura but didn't comment.
After several hours, Shien finally had a basic understanding of sealing.
Sealing arts were essentially the manipulation of rules. To master them meant to leverage those rules—but the more complex the rules, the harder they were to handle. Like comparing simple arithmetic to advanced calculus—both were math, but the gap in difficulty was astronomical.
By now, Shien had at least gained some practical understanding.
"One-Line Seal Formation!"
After weaving a long series of hand signs, Shien pressed his right hand onto a captured lucky test subject—a sparrow.
Chirp!
The bird froze instantly, turning stiff like a puppet.
But the chakra consumed was comparable to a C-rank jutsu.
That was the terrifying thing about sealing arts—they were powerful, but incredibly chakra-hungry.
Now he understood why only the Uzumaki Clan was truly feared for their sealing prowess.
Raw power could break bricks!
Their massive chakra reserves combined with rule-level sealing techniques made them terrifying—no wonder they'd been annihilated.
"Not bad," Kushina said evenly, glancing at the immobilized bird.
"You've got some talent for sealing. You're only a tiny bit slower than I was back then."
Her tone was calm, but inside she was shocked.
She'd taken over a week to learn that demonstration-level seal herself. And this guy wasn't even an Uzumaki! His speed was absurd.
"Of course," Shien replied smoothly.
"I could never compare to you, Sister Kushina. I only learned it so quickly because your teaching was so good!"
He flattered her again—because honestly, he didn't even know whether his pace was fast or slow.
Under Sage Mode, his memory retention was near-perfect, and his reasoning skills were boosted. He'd actually grasped the technique long ago but deliberately slowed down to hide it.
After all, the anime had never specified exactly how fast sealing could be learned—only that it was difficult.
So this level of performance shouldn't be too outrageous, right?
"I'll have Kakashi bring you some books later," Kushina said.
"Take them home to study. I'll finish designing your seal array first, then give you further guidance."
It wasn't every day she met someone with such talent in sealing arts—especially someone connected to Minato.
Besides, with the Uzumaki Clan nearly extinct, even their most precious techniques no longer mattered much. As long as the student wasn't an enemy of Konoha, she didn't mind passing them on.
"Thank you, Sister Kushina!"
Shien's voice dripped with sugar.
For the sake of learning sealing arts, he'd call her anything she wanted—and if he had to cling to her thigh, he'd hold on until she bruised.
He was making out like a bandit.
The Third Hokage could decide whether sealing knowledge was taught, but not how much.
And clearly, thanks to Minato's influence—and Shien's sweet-talking—Kushina had decided to teach him everything she knew.
This was high-level knowledge, the kind that could start wars between villages.
By the time Shien left the training field with an armful of books (courtesy of errand boy Kakashi), it was already night.
Tomorrow would be the start of the Chunin Exams.
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