"Sharing knowledge of this level would be foolishness. For others, of course." Setsuna smirked. "But not for you. You won't fully grasp the essence of this technique yet. But no one's stopping me from helping you understand and explaining it. Though, even for me, this is an extraordinary level." He looked at the scroll with doubt. "Even for Ashina, this level is astonishing. If he had such knowledge, why then did he…?" He trailed off into his thoughts but quickly snapped back. "Alright, forget what I said. If it weren't for the technique's requirements, I'd think there was some kind of trap in it. But dojutsu are only possessed by a few clans—no more than three, maybe more—but Ashina's no fool and would never let them see this technique."
"Yeah, yeah, old man. I get it—it's a rare case when the Clan Head shares one of his own creations. But we both know there's no such thing as free cheese except in a mousetrap, right?" These conversations had been going on for months.
"Of course." Grandpa was glad his grandson wasn't fooled by the Clan Head's generosity. "As I understand it, and you do too, he did this so you'd be personally grateful to him. And so you'd stay in the clan longer. He wants to make you his granddaughter's personal bodyguard. Old geezer."
"But we'll leave," Okami said confidently.
"Of course we'll leave. He won't be able to tie us to one place and turn you into a guard dog. I won't allow it. And we'll go far, Okami—no returning to the city of a thousand nights. It's time for intensive training in various conditions. A journey across the world awaits us. Because after we leave, Ashina will truly make us outcasts and try to bring you back at any cost. We'll have to go into hiding for the next five years or so. As for the technique, we'll work on it throughout the journey. It's too complex, even for me. And you're not even close to meeting the minimum requirements for it yet."
Okami let out a tired sigh. His head was already swimming with new possibilities, and now there were intensive training and a nomadic life in the style of Jiraiya to deal with.
---
The day after the attack, the three of us were escorted by a group of fifteen straight to the Clan Head's residence. I didn't understand why such a large escort was needed when the attack had already happened, and the element of surprise was gone. No point waving fists after the fight's over.
Standing in the office and waiting while Mito talked with her grandfather, he turned his attention to us after about five minutes. Was it disrespect to show us our place, or did he simply forget himself? Unclear.
"Okami." He looked at Kotetsu and me. "I'm glad I wasn't wrong in my choice. Or in you. This attack…" Ashina sighed wearily. "I didn't expect betrayal from someone I personally raised. Ugh, no need for you to know. The important thing is you and Mito are safe." He didn't mention Kotetsu. Another strike against you, dear Clan Head. "After consulting with those I trust, including your grandfather, I've decided to grant you the right to learn and freely use one fuin, of any level. A list will be provided to you. When you make your choice, I will personally teach you that fuin. You have my word."
"Thank you, Ashina-sama." I bowed, though I didn't like it. I had no choice. The gift was valuable.
"No need. Mito's life is worth a thousand times more." His satisfied smile betrayed his true attitude. He was just giving me a carrot. But the stick is always close to the carrot.
"You're free to go now. The scroll will be delivered to you tomorrow. Study and grow stronger for the clan's sake, Okami Uzumaki! Mito-chan, go with Okami. For now, you're safer with him."
Sure, sure. He was working crudely, and it was obvious how he was buttering me up. Giving a seal of any level was unheard of. And leaving his granddaughter in my hands? If I were a naive kid who didn't understand these moves, I might've believed in Ashina's kindness. But I didn't. I understood: it was all to keep me in the clan after the war. But freedom is worth more.
Kotetsu, Mito, and I left the office. The old man stayed behind.
---
*Third-Person Perspective. Clan Head's Office.*
"Why, Ashina?" Setsuna asked without much respect, watching the door close behind them.
"What are you talking about, my old friend?" Ashina looked tired and didn't want a long conversation.
"I appreciate your gift, but what you've granted is too…"
"Valuable? I know. But for my granddaughter, I'm ready to do even more. You should understand."
"Ashina." Setsuna narrowed his eyes and released killing intent. "I'll never believe that a privilege granted only to a few in the clan's history, by you and previous Clan Heads, was given to my grandson just because he killed thirty lowlife kidnappers."
"Now, now, rein in your Killing Intent, Setsuna." Ashina smiled. "I could send him off to some battlefield for striking her neck—that was dangerous. You don't treat a princess like that, don't you know? But know this: I mean no harm to your grandson. Setsuna, my mood's already sour after Tatsuki's betrayal—it's like a kunai in my back—and now you're accusing me of something. Respect is due, after all. I am the Clan Head." By the end of his statement, Ashina released his own Killing Intent, dozens of times heavier than Setsuna's.
"I understand, Clan Head. May I be excused?"
"Permitted."
Setsuna didn't need a fight. He'd learned what he wanted.
Ashina waved his hand, dismissing his chief medic.
After Setsuna left, Ashina, the Uzumaki Clan Head, sat pondering his plan for Setsuna's young protégé. The plan to tie him to the clan was simple but not without its charm.
"Totsuki."
"Yes, Clan Head." A shinobi with short red hair and a faceless mask appeared, kneeling before Ashina's desk.
"Have you found him?"
"Yes, Clan Head. He didn't get far. I, along with twenty shadows, apprehended them at the border of the Lands of Earth and Fire. He didn't resist."
"He got that far… How long ago he betrayed the clan. Tell me, Totsuki, why did your father betray me?"
"I don't know, Clan Head."
"Understood, understood. You know the procedures. Report on my desk tomorrow."
"Yes, Clan Head."
Totsuki, the new head of intelligence, vanished. He had to interrogate and execute his own father. Traitors were always treated with the utmost severity, even if it was a parent.
Left alone, Ashina sighed wearily, lamenting that he'd have to update the barriers ahead of schedule and search for new vulnerabilities.
The Clan Head had much work ahead.
---
Kotetsu, after checking my shoulder where the shark-like swordsman had wounded me, concluded that the wound was healing quickly, noting that my natural regeneration was excellent. The perks of being an Uzumaki in full display—not Hashirama's cellular regeneration, but still impressive.
After a hearty breakfast and noting that Mito was deep in thought, I headed to my daily training.
Arriving at the training ground, I activated my weights and began expending chakra. For now, I had to do this by launching ninjutsu into the air and far away. But I hoped that would change soon. The weights, by the way, were only used during training. The old man forbade wearing them constantly in daily life. As he explained, doing so would ruin my foundation and cause injuries. The style he was teaching me required speed and strength, and losing one of those aspects would make me a failed student. I was still growing actively and wouldn't stop until my twenties, so I had to wear the weights only during training. Sigh, I really wanted to be like Might Guy and Lee, wearing them all the time.
"Katon…"
"Suiton…"
"Raiton…"
After half an hour of playing an elemental mage, I began training my body.
Push-ups to failure, squats, core exercises. Standard workouts multiplied by quantity. Thousands of repetitions were tough but doable for my body. I was a kind of superhuman. All this was to correct my balance. Right now, it was stuck at thirty and seventy—thirty for physical energy and seventy for spiritual. Balancing it would improve my chakra control qualitatively, as the old man said, and enhance my techniques, which were already strong due to the sheer amount of chakra I poured in. Unfortunately, for now, it was quantity over quality.
So, I had to train my body to exhaustion, push it, and think. If no unique event—like awakening the third tomoe of the Sharingan, which would boost control—happened soon, I might be able to multiply myself and combine ninjutsu with a clone in about three weeks.
But I hadn't solved the small problem of my growing reserves, which increased every month. And they'd keep growing until I was eighteen or twenty, then less intensely than in my youth. The fuin I'd receive would solve the issue of chakra expenditure. Sitting for hours throwing ninjutsu was a ridiculously stupid solution. How does Hashirama train? He's truly a God of Shinobi, and his reserves must be monstrous. I had no ideas about the growing reserves. Unfortunately, control was suffering.
After three hours of intense training with weights, I was drenched in sweat and resting. After drinking some water, I noticed the old man behind me. He usually didn't visit me these days, as he was at the hospital.
"How's your training going, grandson?" Setsuna approached and began examining my body with iryonin-jutsu. I want to learn that too, but alas. His words about starting iryonin-jutsu training at fifteen might've been a mistake. Though the old man rarely erred. I hoped he was right this time too.
"Great, old man. My balance is nearing equilibrium. But the growing volume keeps interfering, and I don't know what to do."
"Got it, got it." Sitting beside me, he placed a hand on my head. "I haven't come up with anything solid about the volume yet. I had the same issues at your age. It'll resolve with time. Here, take this."
He handed me a massive scroll.
"This is the list of all fuins, their names, and descriptions. I won't help you with this. Choose wisely. This is your independent decision, and you'll have to take responsibility for it."
"Alright. I already have a rough idea of what I need."
"I hope so. I'll wait for you here. I have more news."
"What kind, old man?" I looked at him questioningly.
"Not good news, but first, choose. Then we'll deal with it."
Nodding, I examined the list of seals. Bad news could wait. The list was enormous. Looking at the first interesting title, I read:
Fuinjutsu: Sealing Light Technique. Description: A fuin for sealing firelight. An offensive fuin to blind the opponent. Radius: five meters. Sealing time: five minutes. Unsealing time: ten seconds.
Hmm, interesting, but not useful. A flashbang with such a small radius and time—needing to seal it first and then unseal it—is useful against regular people. A shinobi would kill you in ten seconds if you're sitting there channeling chakra into a scroll. I think this fuin is used by stealth operatives and intelligence.
Next.
Fuinjutsu: Triangular Fire Barrier. Description: A barrier fuin requiring three people with large reserves. Withstands high-level ninjutsu attacks for thirty minutes.
A good fuin, but the requirement of three people is interesting. Could be used with shadow clones.
Or this one.
Fuinjutsu: Curse Tongue Eradication Seal. Description: Prevents the bearer from disclosing information about the seal's caster. If they do, their body is paralyzed, and they're unable to speak.
I recall Danzo used this seal. Where did he even get it? Did the Uzumaki give their knowledge to everyone?
And so on—dangerous but useless to me personally. I was looking for that one thing. And I found it quickly, without even opening a third of the scroll.
"This one." Showing the title to the old man, I saw no surprise or disappointment.
"I'll disappoint you, grandson." He smiled. Oh no, don't tell me I can't take this. I knew it. "Or maybe I'll please you, but I know this fuin."
"What?! Old man, you never said you knew the Hundred Strength Seal! Why didn't you give it to me?" I was genuinely outraged.
"You never asked, and you don't have the control for it." He said it with a stone face, the old secretive bastard.
"But I never saw it on you. Isn't it usually on the forehead?"
"Not necessarily. With control, you can place the seal anywhere. Only idiots or those who want to show off their strength and clan affiliation put it on their forehead. This seal is unique to our clan. It's quite useful, especially if no one knows about it. Look." He lifted his shirt to show me a spot below his navel, almost at the pubic area. "I placed it here because it's less noticeable and can always surprise an opponent, if you catch my drift."
He winked at me, and I just shook my head at this old pervert. What a day. Now I needed to find another option.
"So, choose another seal. I was going to have you create this seal later as a fuin exam, but now I'll give you something tougher. I'll draw this one for you today. Normally, someone who wants it needs high control and must do it themselves, concentrating a huge amount of chakra over a long period. But I understand your problem, and we'll bypass it. We'll need two hours after dinner."
Even better. Why do I keep complicating my life? Back to the scroll. I hadn't finished reading it when I found what I thought I wanted. Good thing the old man knows a workaround—my control wouldn't have been enough anytime soon, but I was thinking long-term, knowing the seal's usefulness. The chance to learn any seal is valuable, and I don't know if I'll get it again.
Unrolling the scroll to its full length, I considered a few options. There were sealing types that could seal an opponent's chakra, barriers that withstood multiple attacks. But nothing crucial or interesting. Some seals were so complex I couldn't even fathom how they were created. To use those, I'd need five more years of study. I needed something to boost me now. But I didn't see anything like that. Everything here, I think, the old man could teach me or show an equivalent. So what to do?
"Grandpa." I looked him honestly in the eyes. "Please help me choose."
"No."
"Please!"
"No."
"Stubborn old man."
"Yes."
Hmm, fine. If I couldn't persuade the old man, I'd have to go through the scroll again.
After twenty minutes of careful review, I picked one option that could potentially be useful. The rest I either knew or were too complex for me. Another third were outright useless. Why would I need a fuin to seal air, for example? Not ninjutsu, just air. And there were plenty like that. Who even comes up with these?
"Channel chakra," the old man advised with a tired sigh.
I looked at him questioningly and then realized.
Channeling chakra, the scroll extended, revealing a single fuin that had been hidden.
"Hmm," the old man mused thoughtfully. "I knew Ashina wanted to tie you to the clan and his granddaughter, but I didn't think he wanted it this badly to give you such a dangerous and valuable technique."
I agreed with Grandpa's words. This fuin was too costly for such a gesture. Saving Mito wasn't about gain for me. Seeing the fear in the girl who played Jenga with me, I just wanted to protect her. But this…
Fuinjutsu: Elemental Body Technique. Description: By applying a seal to the body, consisting of 256 individual components, the user must infuse each component with specific elemental chakra, giving it a so-called "hue." The hue allows the user to transform one part or the entire body into the chosen element. The user can only choose elements they have an affinity for.
Requirements: High control, large chakra reserves, dojutsu.
It was as if it was made for me. At the end was a note:
Experimental creation of the Clan Head. Ashina Uzumaki.
---
After we recovered from the shock, the old man led me somewhere I hadn't been before. We headed to the southern part of the clan. Passing near the Clan Head's residence, we approached a low white building.
I had huge questions about this seal, but asking the Clan Head was pointless. I thought I was insignificant in the grand scheme of Ashina's plans. But now, seeing what he'd given me, I suspected they'd try every means to keep me in the clan. After a brief talk, the old man said he'd figure out what to do and asked me not to tell anyone about this. Not even Kotetsu. Such knowledge isn't given to those they plan to let go.
As we neared the building, my sharp nose, enhanced by chakra, caught the smell of medicine and corpses. Only certain places smelled like that: a hospital or a morgue.
I looked at the old man, but he didn't explain. A bad feeling crept over me.
Entering the building and descending the only staircase leading down, I wondered who we could be visiting. It couldn't be… I don't believe it.
Opening the door, the old man led me to a metal table where a body lay, covered with a white sheet.
"Who is it, old man?" His face was grim.
"Look and understand." He pulled back the sheet, revealing the face of the deceased.
Akihiko.
---
*Third-Person Perspective. Setsuna Uzumaki.*
Watching his crying grandson, Setsuna felt bitterness. But let him cry now rather than die later. This world is cruel, and death stalks them everywhere. There was no one the Shinigami wouldn't claim. Even him. Let him feel the pain of loss now so it's easier later, Setsuna thought. Because he knew that one day, he too would leave, abandoning Okami alone in this cruel world.
"Who did this?" his grandson asked, looking at the body.
"It was the Kiragiruzu, but, Okami, know that…" Setsuna wanted his grandson to understand that death was everywhere and affected everyone, but he didn't want him to drown in vengeance.
"How did she die?"
"Water techniques. As a medic, she shouldn't have been sent into direct combat, but during the attack when they tried to kidnap the princess, her commander, who was responsible for their group, rushed into the thick of it. Their group was killed. All of them. Her body was found when those scavengers tried to steal it."
Okami was silent. Setsuna gave him time to accept reality. The girl who raised him from infancy to age five lay dead before him.
"I'll kill them. I'll kill them all. I'll personally wipe out every one of those bastards."
Closing his eyes after witnessing the transformation in his grandson's eyes, Setsuna cursed the day the Uchiha came into existence.
Cursed eyes. The eyes—mirrors of the soul—reflected all of his grandson's hatred. The Sharingan responded with its evolution. Three tomoe, a fully matured Sharingan, shone in Okami's eyes.
---