Chapter 60: Learning the Sealing Technique
On Sunday afternoon, after finishing his disciples' training, Mugetsu headed to the Main District—not home, but directly to Minato's place.
The night before, while Kushina and Minato were having dinner at his house, they mentioned that they had nearly perfected their version of the braised pork with preserved vegetables. They planned to officially make it the next afternoon and invited Mugetsu to watch if he had the time.
When he arrived, the two had just finished boiling the pork belly and were preparing to coat it in soy sauce.
As Mugetsu stepped forward to help, Kushina stopped him.
"Mugetsu, just watch. If we mess up a step, let us know. No need to help," she said.
Kushina often freeloaded meals at Mugetsu's place, so Kushina felt a little embarrassed letting him lend a hand again.
Minato brought out a fruit plate, poured him a glass of water, and smiled gently.
"Mugetsu, no need to lift a finger today. Just play the role of invigilator."
Clearly, both of them had decided they should do this by themselves this time.
"Then I'll take the lazy route," Mugetsu said with a smile.
"You should poke a few small holes in the pork rind before adding the soy sauce. That way, it'll absorb more flavor and turn out more porous when deep-fried," he reminded them.
Kushina and Minato blinked in realization—small detail, but easy to forget.
With Mugetsu's guidance, they moved through each step: deep-frying, slicing, prepping the sauce, steaming...
By the time they finished, the sky outside had already turned dark.
"This dish is delicious, but seriously troublesome," Kushina sighed. "Mugetsu, you must be starving, huh?"
Compared to everyday dishes, braised pork with preserved vegetables was far more involved—boiling, deep-frying, steaming, all for a single dish.
"Not really. I was just standing around," Mugetsu replied casually.
As they spoke, Minato brought out the finished dish and placed it on the table.
"Time for Teacher Mugetsu to grade our hard work," Minato joked.
"You've been at it for hours. You two should taste your own handiwork first," Mugetsu said, waving them off.
"Then let's eat together," Kushina said, her stomach making the decision for her.
They quickly served rice, muttered a casual "Let's eat," and dug in.
"That's it! Fatty but not greasy!" Kushina exclaimed as she took a bite, her eyes lighting up with satisfaction. She quickly followed it with a mouthful of rice.
She felt a strong sense of accomplishment. Time well spent, and she'd learned a truly delicious dish. While she still thought Mugetsu's cooking was better, she also believed no one in the world could match him—so being a little below that level was perfectly fine.
"When Jiraiya-sensei comes back, I'm definitely making this for him," Minato said while eating.
He was clearly pleased with the result and wanted to share it with his teacher.
"Very high completion. No major flaws," Mugetsu praised after tasting it.
He wasn't just trying to be polite. The dish, after all, wasn't complicated to begin with. With his supervision, it was only natural it turned out well.
Then came the awkward silence.
The dish was gone.
The three stared at the empty plate.
"…Oops. I forgot to make anything else," Minato said, scratching his head.
"I was too focused... completely slipped my mind," Kushina admitted, smiling sheepishly.
"I'll stir-fry a couple of dishes," Mugetsu said, standing up.
"That's not right! You're the guest. We can't let you cook," Kushina protested, though her tone wasn't exactly firm.
"Should I go home, cook, and bring it over instead?" Mugetsu asked, amused.
Minato stood up without a word and began washing vegetables.
Kushina hesitated a moment longer, then finally gave in. The taste of Mugetsu's cooking was too much to resist.
"Mugetsu, aren't you interested in sealing techniques?" she asked while lounging at the table. "Have you been learning anything new lately? I could teach you a few tricks."
After all the free meals, Kushina genuinely wanted to do something in return.
"I've just been going through a bunch of theory books. Got anything you recommend? Preferably something I can find in the library," Mugetsu replied while heating oil in the wok.
"If you haven't started practicing yet, how about I teach you an introductory technique from the Uzumaki clan?" Kushina offered. "It's also a good way to test your sealing aptitude. If you can learn it in a day, you're a sealing genius. A week means you've got talent. More than a month... probably not worth investing too much time."
Mugetsu glanced back. "How long did it take you to learn it?"
"One day," Kushina answered proudly, waiting for his reaction.
"Then that makes you a sealing genius."
"Not really~" Kushina replied with a smug grin she couldn't hide. "I've just learned most of the Uzumaki clan's techniques, that's all."
After dinner, she handed him a scroll and went to wash dishes, leaving Minato to explain the technique.
Mugetsu listened attentively—more seriously than usual.
"This sealing technique's called One-Finger Seal," Minato explained. "It creates a quick seal that blocks chakra. The binding power's weak though, so it's not very practical for combat. It's mainly for training."
Maybe it was Minato's clear teaching... or maybe Mugetsu had sealing talent—because it really did seem simple.
Still, he kept a neutral face, asking only the occasional question.
---
On Monday, Kotetsu arrived early at the Ninja School. Seeing that Izumo hadn't shown up yet, he nodded with satisfaction. He placed a novel on the desk and opened it.
When he sensed Izumo was about to enter, Kotetsu quickly tucked away his textbook and left the novel on top.
"Kotetsu? I thought you didn't need to review. Why're you here so early reading?" Izumo asked, still looking exhausted from studying until 1 a.m.
Kotetsu held up the book with a grin.
"Review? Nah. This is a new ninja novel—really good."
Izumo glanced at the cover and smiled.
"Reading to relax, huh? Not a bad idea."
So Kotetsu likes reading novels… Izumo thought. I'll buy him a bestseller tomorrow. That should keep him busy for two weeks. My first place is secure.
Kotetsu, on the other hand, gave him a concerned look.
"You look awful. Don't tell me you stayed up late studying? That's not healthy—and definitely not great for the exam."
"Nope," Izumo replied coolly. "Played games with my cousin and lost track of time."
"Games to relax, huh? Also not bad," Kotetsu nodded, satisfied.
Great, he's into gaming. I'll make sure he's playing something different every night for the next two weeks. That first place is mine.
"What novel? What game?" Anko, who had just walked into the classroom, perked up.
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