After a brief introduction to sealing techniques, Mito began the formal lesson.
Each of the three students was taught a mantra one by one—its meaning, its function, and how it related to chakra. The core mantras corresponded to chakra attributes: fire, water, earth, wind, lightning, yin, and yang.
But those were just the basics.
Beyond them were dozens of specialized symbols and categories: time, space, guidance, node, output, input, close, open, cycle, block, fusion, connection, conversion, quantity, energy, spirit, life, death, positive, negative, reverse, big, small, up, down, east, south, west, north, seal, release, stop, move...
And more.
To make things even more complex, each mantra had variations—subtle alterations in form that drastically changed their meaning. It was a lot to take in.
"Just like combining water and wind forms ice release," Mito explained, "you can combine these base mantras into new effects. Combine 'seal' with 'fire' and you get a basic fire-sealing formula. But even that isn't enough. You still have to define the amount of fire, the method of sealing, the input and output channels, the trigger conditions..."
She paused, letting that sink in.
"Think of it like a machine—it needs an on/off switch. Sealing techniques, even if powered by chakra, need a trigger spell to activate them."
"The key," she continued, "is chakra flow. You must establish a proper path for chakra to circulate through the seal and activate key components. The most common layout is concentric circles—circles within circles—forming a complete system."
"And if you're not using your own chakra to activate it," she added, "you need a storage medium—like a sealing scroll—with built-in chakra reserves. Those are rare and expensive."
She sipped her tea, voice calm and patient.
"In special cases, like a tailed beast seal, the sealed being itself becomes the power source. The seal draws chakra from the beast to sustain itself. And because the beast is trapped, it can't undo the seal from the inside."
"But don't worry about that for now," she said with a smile. "Your task is to memorize all the base mantras and understand their functions."
By the end of the day, Maki was slumped over the tatami mat, her brain swimming with symbols and meanings.
Her thoughts were a chaotic storm of ghostly glyphs and swirling seals.
This was worse than studying English back in school.
At least English had a limited alphabet!
"This is impossible," she muttered, face buried in the mat.
If it weren't for her obsession with summoning and explosive tags, she would've never signed up for this torture.
Next to her, Hitomi wasn't doing much better. She stared blankly at the messy characters in her notebook, baffled.
Nobody told her sealing arts required drawing skills.
Even the slightest error meant failure. Every line had to be precise.
She glanced at Naori's notebook. The characters were neatly written, every stroke elegant and perfect.
Hinata buried her head in her arms and bit her lip.
So tired.
I'm gonna cry.
...I am crying.
Sniffling nearby, Maki smelled the salt in the air and glanced over.
Yeah. Definitely tears.
"Sharingan is cheating," Maki grumbled. She hadn't seen Naori activate hers, but she knew she'd used it. Somehow.
Meanwhile, Mito looked at the trio with a serene smile, sipping her tea without a care in the world.
Class ended at last.
Maki didn't wait a second longer—she bolted out the door like her life depended on it.
No way was she staying for dinner at the Senju compound.
She needed peace. Silence. And a place to erase every cursed glyph from her memory.
Naori packed up her things slowly, eyes trailing after Maki.
She chuckled softly.
I've never seen her like that before. She's kind of cute when she's miserable~
It took Hitomi a while to leave—stumbling out like a sleepwalker, emotionally defeated.
She was broken.
By the time Tsunade returned, drenched in sweat and dirt, the sun had already dipped below the horizon.
"Grandma, where is everyone?" she called, tossing her gloves down.
"They've gone home," Mito replied, not looking up.
"How'd they do?" Tsunade asked, only half-interested. Sealing had never been her thing—she'd peeked in once and decided strange power techniques were way more exciting.
Mito gave her a brief glance.
"They did very well. Better than you."
Then she wrinkled her nose.
"You stink. Don't get too close."
Tsunade froze, eyes wide.
Grandma doesn't love me anymore??
She huffed.
This was all that girl's fault.
"Grandma!" Tsunade suddenly declared. "I want to learn too! Whatever they're learning—I'll learn it all! Let's see who's stronger!"
"Oh?" Mito raised a brow. "It's not impossible."
"Then teach me now!"
"But don't quit halfway."
"I won't!"
"Really?"
"Don't underestimate me, Grandma!"
Mito chuckled. "Alright then. I'll teach you."
She began repeating the same material she had taught Maki and the others. But halfway through the lesson, Tsunade's eyes began to glaze over.
"Aaaagh! Get out of my head!" she yelled, tossing her pen aside in frustration.
Mito calmly sipped her tea. She wasn't in a rush. She still had time. She needed patience. Still, a vein twitched on her temple, and her mouth was a little dry from explaining so much.
"We had a deal, Tsunade," she reminded gently.
Tsunade stayed quiet. She really wanted to run away.
"Sigh… Maki is smarter after all," Mito added.
But there was no escape.
Tsunade silently picked up her pen, sat down, and stared at her notes in silence for a long moment.
"…Grandma, I'm hungry."
"Then let's eat first."
"Okay!" Tsunade leapt to her feet and bolted from the room like lightning.
Mito smiled helplessly.
---
The next day, lessons in sealing techniques resumed.
Not much had changed from the day before.
Except Naori… was slacking off.
Not because she was lazy, but because the material was simple for her. Mito hadn't given Naori any advanced material—she was waiting for Maki and Hitomi to catch up.
After the lesson, Tsunade told Mito again that she wanted to learn sealing seriously.
For that, Mito knew who to thank: Maki.
As expected, Tsunade got frustrated halfway through again, but Mito wasn't surprised. Tsunade's competitive nature would push her forward. Slowly, but surely, she was making progress.
Time passed quietly.
Mito occasionally gave the students a day off, and even Tsunade welcomed the break. Balancing daytime ninja missions with nighttime sealing lessons was tough—even for the Senju and Uzumaki clans' strong physiques.
On their days off, Maki and Naori often hung out together. Hitomi, always a bit more reserved, struggled to find an opportunity to join in.
After a month, summer break came to an end.
The three girls had essentially mastered the basics of sealing.
With school resuming, they could finally breathe.
They'd survived study hell.
Mito allowed them to skip weekday lessons now, asking only for one session each weekend. The rest of their time was their own.
Schoolwork?
That didn't even count as real studying anymore.
---
As Maki walked to school, her steps were light and cheerful. From time to time, she let out soft, happy hums.
Naori walked beside her, also humming the same tune. Her pockets were stuffed full, bouncing slightly with every step.
Today was another sunny day.
They both paused at the edge of the riverbank.
Down below, bathed in golden sunlight, Tsunade stood ankle-deep in water, scooping up garbage. She looked hardworking… and oddly radiant.
True comrades share both glory and grime.
"…It stinks," Maki said flatly, wrinkling her nose despite the distance.
"It really does," Naori agreed. Even from far away, the odor seemed to reach them—if only in spirit.
"Perfect," Maki said with a sly smile, then turned and walked off with a bounce in her step.
"Hehe~" Naori giggled brightly, her laughter echoing across the riverbank.
"…Damn it," Tsunade muttered, freezing in place.
Of course those two were here. Where Naori was, that smug Maki was never far behind.
They'd seen her.
The side she didn't want anyone to see!
"You two! Hurry up!" she roared at Jiraiya and Orochimaru.
Orochimaru calmly stepped further away across the water, wisely keeping his distance.
Jiraiya, startled by Tsunade's yell, lost his balance and plunged into the river with a splash.
A large vein throbbed visibly on Tsunade's forehead.
______________________
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