On the open sea, Gengetsu Hōzuki dragged the severely wounded Kaguya Kōtetsu onto a large plank left behind by the exploding ship.
“Haa… Haa…” Gengetsu gasped for breath, his eyes briefly losing focus.
It had been terrifying.
He did not dare drift back towards the Uzumaki coast.
His only choice was to support the barely living Kōtetsu as they drifted northward.
Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that their overwhelming advantage would collapse in a single instant.
Nearly the entire three-hundred-strong invasion force had perished between the battlefield and the explosions at sea.
Only Gengetsu and the critically wounded Kōtetsu remained.
He had become a commander without an army.
A bitter smile appeared on Gengetsu’s lips as he glanced towards his unconscious companion.
Suddenly, he remembered the elderly man who had given the signal from within the enemy formation.
Gengetsu refused to believe that the Uzumaki Clan possessed such a terrifying commander.
If that old man had truly been an Uzumaki, their clan would never have suffered so many casualties during the Hōzuki and Kaguya Clans’ previous raids.
“I heard that the Uzumaki recently formed an alliance with the Senju.
Could that old man have belonged to the Senju Clan?” Although the Hōzuki Clan operated across the sea, the Senju were currently recognised as the most powerful shinobi clan in the world.
Naturally, the marriage alliance between the Senju and Uzumaki had not escaped the Hōzuki Clan’s intelligence network.
“No wonder… No wonder the Uzumaki suddenly acted so differently this time!” Gengetsu’s eyes narrowed.
“The Senju Clan must have intervened.
That old man was probably a commander sent to support them!” Having reached this conclusion, his expression abruptly became anxious.
“No!
I must contact the reinforcements immediately.
Now that the Senju Clan is involved, the planned follow-up attack must be called off!” Suppressing the excruciating pain throughout his body, Gengetsu released a piercing cry.
Whoosh!
A black speck soon appeared high in the sky before rapidly diving towards the sea.
It was the ninja hawk that had previously flown away to hunt for food.
Using the Hōzuki Clan’s Secret Technique: Voice of the Demon Beast, Gengetsu conveyed a coded message: Our entire force has been annihilated.
The Senju Clan has intervened.
Abandon the frontal assault and switch to assassination.
Primary target: the Senju commander.
The ninja hawk shot through the sky like a streak of black light and gradually disappeared into the distance.
Back at the Uzumaki compound, Shigure swallowed one of the Body-Strengthening Flowers.
His Strength and Constitution Attributes instantly increased by fifty points each, soaring to 151.
Shigure’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
“Holy crap!
This… This thing is completely absurd!” Overwhelmed with joy, Shigure stared fixedly at his attributes.
He was so excited that tears nearly welled up in his eyes.
The Body-Strengthening Flower truly deserved its reputation as the ultimate treasure coveted by taijutsu specialists.
A single flower had increased two of his Attributes by fifty points!
If he consumed all sixty flowers, wouldn’t he become the strongest shinobi in the entire world?
Unfortunately, one problem immediately extinguished much of his excitement.
He had already spent all his World Points.
“Why does this always happen to me?” Shigure pounded his chest in frustration.
“Was I born with rotten luck or something?” He had obtained eighty World Points earlier, only to spend them all without the slightest hesitation.
Now he wanted to throw himself against a wall.
His Strength and Constitution Attribute Caps were both only 160.
After consuming one flower, both Attributes had already reached 151.
What did that mean?
It meant that even if he consumed another Body-Strengthening Flower, those Attributes could only rise to 160.
That was their current limit.
Most of the flower’s effects would be completely wasted.
Shigure stared awkwardly at the remaining flowers before hurriedly placing them back inside their jade boxes.
“From now on, I’m definitely keeping some World Points in reserve.
Definitely!” After confirming that none of his other Attributes had changed, Shigure closed the panel.
He picked up the Comprehensive Guide to Basic Fūinjutsu and left his room.
Shigure clearly remembered that First Elder Uzumaki Ryōta had personally promised to teach him.
He stopped an Uzumaki clansman on the street and, under the man’s guidance, soon arrived at Ryōta’s residence.
“Oh?
Ryōta, my boy, you’re only just getting back?” Shigure happened to encounter Ryōta as the First Elder returned home.
He approached with a broad smile and casually greeted him.
“Ryōta, my boy?” Ryōta’s footsteps abruptly stopped.
His body trembled slightly, and his expression became distinctly unpleasant.
“Does Elder Shigure require something?” Ryōta exerted every ounce of self-control to suppress his irritation.
“Uh… I came to ask you about sealing arts.
You haven’t forgotten your promise, have you?” “…” Naturally, Ryōta could not go back on a condition he had personally offered.
He simply had not expected Shigure to seek him out so quickly.
After a distinctly unenthusiastic welcome, the two sat facing each other across a low table.
Ryōta explained that fūinjutsu depended upon circulating chakra through precise pathways and forming specialised hand seals to produce specific sealing effects.
These chakra-circulation patterns and hand-seal sequences formed the foundation of the Uzumaki Clan’s sealing arts.
Shigure privately interpreted the process as using chakra to touch the world’s underlying laws, though that was merely his own theory.
Ryōta began explaining the most fundamental concepts in painstaking detail.
Shigure listened attentively from the opposite side of the table.
Unfortunately, he remained completely lost.
He could not tell whether there was something wrong with his comprehension.
Ryōta had already explained everything as clearly as possible, yet Shigure still could not understand a single thing he was saying.
This was becoming rather embarrassing.
Once Ryōta finished explaining the foundations of sealing arts, Shigure maintained the appearance of someone who had been listening carefully and gave a faint nod, as though he had understood everything.
Taking advantage of the pause, Ryōta lifted his cup and took a sip of tea.
“Well… Ryōta, my boy,” Shigure began without the slightest trace of embarrassment, “could you repeat that explanation?” Pfft!
Ryōta immediately sprayed out the tea he had just sipped.
Even the corners of his mouth began twitching.
“Which part did you fail to understand, Elder Shigure?” “Hmm…” Shigure glanced between the book and Ryōta before slowly shaking his head.
“You should probably start from the beginning.” “From the beginning?” Ryōta stared at him in disbelief.
“Are you saying you didn’t understand any of it?” “Ahem!
How could that be possible?” Shigure replied solemnly.
“I merely wish to verify my understanding.” “…” Ryōta was already beginning to regret his promise.
If he had known that Shigure possessed absolutely no talent for sealing arts, he would never have offered to teach him personally.
He had brought this suffering entirely upon himself.
Ryōta began explaining everything from the beginning for a second time.
Unfortunately, Shigure still felt as though the man were speaking an entirely different language.
He could not understand a thing.
Just as Shigure began suspecting that he truly possessed no aptitude for fūinjutsu, two hours quietly passed.
“Haah… It appears the Uzumaki Clan’s sealing arts truly aren’t something just anyone can learn.” Shigure decided to give up.
At that exact moment, a line of text suddenly appeared within his mind.
Shigure, who had been preparing to abandon his studies, instantly adopted a strange expression.
[Discussed sealing arts with a Fūinjutsu Master.] [Obtained Basic Fūinjutsu Fragments ×5.] Shigure’s expression froze.
Add to library.
Send some Power Stones.