Chapter 83: Torao!
Genichi and Uzumaki Ina stayed on the island of the Land of Whirlpools for a total of three days. Besides the ruins of the Village Hidden by Whirling Tides, there were actually other small villages on the island, inhabited by the former populace of the Land of Whirlpools. Of course, they were not members of the Uzumaki clan.
Genichi had wanted to see if any documents had been scattered among the "common folk." Unfortunately, these villagers were as afraid of ninja as they were of tigers, and he gained nothing. They could only return to the Land of Fire.
In a small coastal town, Genichi rented a house, and he and Ina temporarily settled down. As for his original plan to go to the Land of Water, he was in no hurry now. Part of the reason for this trip was to train in peace. Now that he had obtained so many sealing technique documents, he could study them properly.
Secondly, Genichi planned to capture a sea bird here on the coast to be his first summoning animal. He had made this decision after hearing from a boatman on his way back before about a fierce bird of prey in the vicinity called a "Tiger-Headed Eagle," which was strong enough to snatch fishermen from their boats and carry them into the sky.
Time flew by. Summer turned to autumn, and autumn to winter. Before they knew it, Genichi and Ina had been living in the coastal town for six months.
The new year was approaching, and Ina had decorated the house to be very warm and festive.
Under the eaves, Genichi was leisurely sipping tea in a lounge chair. In the courtyard, Ina's body was blooming with a brilliant chakra glow. One by one, sealing formulas flashed with a golden light. They were connected together, like chains.
This was the Golden Chain Seal (Kin sa Fūin) that they had obtained before. But it was not in the form of substantial chakra chains like the Adamantine Sealing Chains (Kongō Fūsa). Instead, it was a chain of talisman-formulas, looking like golden willow branches dancing in the air.
Under Ina's control, they rapidly wrapped around and bound Genichi's shadow clone opposite her.
"Not bad. The chakra suppression power has grown much stronger," the shadow clone commented with a nod. After nearly half a year, Ina had gained a good grasp of the Golden Chain Seal.
However, just from its appearance, the Golden Chain Seal was inferior to the Adamantine Sealing Chains. This might be a problem with the sealing technique itself, or with the caster. The Golden Chain Seal was derived from the Adamantine Sealing Chains, or you could say it was a weakened version, with the difficulty of learning and casting requirements greatly reduced.
One had to know that even within the Uzumaki clan, not everyone was like Kushina, Ina, or Karin. Otherwise, the Village Hidden by Whirling Tides would not have met such an end back then. Just like the Senju clan, not everyone possessed the vast chakra of Hashirama Senju. It was just that as a whole, this clan's chakra capacity was much greater than that of other ninja clans. The same was true for the Uzumaki clan; its members were generally long-lived and had powerful life force. But people like Kushina and Ina were also in the minority.
"Ina, the essence of chakra is the combination of spiritual and physical energy," the shadow clone instructed her. "Therefore, the strength of a sealing technique depends not just on the output of chakra, but also on your spiritual will."
"You must treat these chains as your own arms, as the materialization of your will."
"Besides maintaining them with a large amount of chakra, the stronger your will, the stronger their binding power will be, and the harder it will be to break free."
"Your chakra volume is not a problem. The key is that your willpower is not sufficient."
Ina was a little ashamed. "Yes!" A ninja's spiritual will was very important. Chakra volume depended on a person's physical constitution, but the strength, toughness, and effectiveness of that chakra depended on the ninja's spiritual will. This was a point that Genichi had felt especially deeply recently while developing his Heavenly Water, Boundless (Tensui Mukai) and studying numerous sealing techniques.
Seeing Ina's ashamed expression, the shadow clone thought for a moment and offered some guidance. "Ina, this sealing technique, and the Adamantine Sealing Chains (Kongō Fūsa) in the future, are the powers you will rely on to survive."
"You need to use them to protect everything you hold dear."
"The situation in the shinobi world is very unstable right now. I'm afraid another Great Ninja War is about to break out..."
Ina's expression was one of shock. "A Great Ninja War!"
"Will you have to go to the battlefield too, Lord Genichi?"
The shadow clone nodded. "Of course."
"I am also a ninja of Konoha. If the village is invaded, I will inevitably have to go to the battlefield to protect it."
Ina quickly said, "Lord Genichi, I will go with you."
The shadow clone chuckled lightly. "Then you'll have to work harder. I don't want to bring a burden along!"
Ina said solemnly, "Yes!"
"I will work even harder!"
As she spoke, she clapped her hands together and let out a soft cry. Her red hair floated up, and the red ponytail behind her head also began to rise. The chains on the shadow clone's body instantly tightened, their suppressive effect rising by a level.
"Very good!" the shadow clone praised loudly. The next moment, with a poof, the shadow clone burst apart, having been suppressed by the sealing technique to the point where it could no longer be maintained.
On the lounge chair, the real Genichi watched with a smile. People really did need a goal.
"Well done, Ina!" Genichi was not stingy with his praise.
Ina was a little shy. "I still need to continue to work hard, Lord Genichi."
Genichi nodded. "Of course." With this level of sealing strength, a chunin would find it very difficult to resist. But a jonin was a different story. However, Ina still had a lot of potential to be tapped.
Just then, a cry came from the sky. It wasn't sharp, but rather sounded like a tiger's roar.
Genichi and Ina both looked up and saw an eagle circling in the air. It was a Tiger-Headed Eagle.
Genichi's figure vanished from the lounge chair and appeared on the roof. He then beckoned. The next moment, the Tiger-Headed Eagle flew down from the sky, landing beside him with a gust of wind.
Ina also leaped up onto the roof. She looked at the eagle and said, "Lord Genichi, Torao has grown a lot!"
Genichi smiled and nodded, reaching out to stroke the eagle's feathers. This Tiger-Headed Eagle was over two meters tall, with a wingspan of now over four meters, and a length of over two meters. A few months ago, when he had just tamed it as a summoning animal, Torao had been just over a meter tall, with a wingspan of only two meters.
During this time, Genichi had continuously infused Torao with his chakra, allowing it to grow rapidly. Unfortunately, to this day, Torao still couldn't generate its own chakra, let alone gain intelligence and the ability to speak. But Genichi wasn't in a hurry. He would just nurture it slowly.
After injecting another burst of chakra into Torao, Genichi leaped onto its back.
Torao immediately let out a long cry, then spread its wings and took to the air, the wind from its wings sending Ina's hair flying.
In the air, Torao shot almost straight up into the sky. Genichi's feet were stuck firmly to its back, and the fierce wind blew his long hair straight back.
When they reached a high altitude, Torao's speed finally slowed, and its flight became stable. At this moment, Genichi's gaze stretched far into the distance, and his heart was filled with joy.
After circling in the air for a moment, Genichi began to direct Torao towards the sea. This was a project he carried out every time he infused it with chakra: he and Torao would go hunting in the sea together to foster their combat rapport.
Unless absolutely necessary, Genichi did not want to crudely control Torao with his Sharingan.
(End of Chapter)
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