Chapter 15: Addicted to Fuinjutsu
The next day, Masahiko attended the funeral for the clansmen who had sacrificed their lives. He watched as new tombstones were added to the Uzumaki cemetery and as families, having lost their loved ones, cried in anguish.
"It's not the first time, but... I really do hate attending these funerals," Masahiko murmured to himself.
After the funeral ended, Masahiko went straight to the Clan Head to ask for the clan's secret sealing jutsu.
"All of the Uzumaki clan's Fuinjutsu are recorded on this scroll. Second Uncle, you must keep it safe." As if he had been expecting this, the Clan Head pulled a scroll from his robes and handed it to Masahiko.
It turned out that the Second Elder had already given him a full report of the war that morning. The Clan Head was now aware that his Second Uncle's strength had improved to a level just shy of a "Clan Head." He had figured Masahiko would want to start learning Fuinjutsu.
Masahiko accepted the scroll. "I'll keep it safe. Are you still worried about your Second Uncle?"
'It's because it's you that I'm worried...' the Clan Head thought. But he said aloud, "Of course, of course. Just a reminder."
Masahiko saw his insincere expression, ignored him, and returned to his home with the scroll.
"Now then, before I start learning Fuinjutsu, I have to deal with this injury on my right arm. Otherwise, I really am going to have to change my name to 'Uzumaki the One-Armed'..." Masahiko muttered, looking at the scroll in his hand.
Given the severity of his arm's injury, it would normally take at least three or four months to recover. After all, his constitution was inferior to Naruto's (when he first used the Rasenshuriken), and he didn't have a medical-nin like Sakura to heal him.
"But, if my constitution isn't enough, I'll just use points to make up for it!" Masahiko muttered. He unwrapped the bandages on his right arm, opened his status panel, and decisively added 10 points to "Tai."
Sure enough, accompanied by an unbearably itchy pain, a new layer of skin grew over his right arm. He flexed it, still felt some soreness, and decisively added 5 more points. This time, his right arm was completely healed.
"It recovered so fast... I'd better bandage it up again. I'll take it off in two months," Masahiko thought. "It'll be too hard to explain otherwise..."
After re-bandaging his arm, Masahiko unrolled the Fuinjutsu scroll.
"Four Symbols Seal, Five Elements Seal, Eight Trigrams Sealing Style, Evil Sealing Method, Fire Sealing Method, Reverse Four Symbols Sealing..." Masahiko first browsed through all the jutsu.
"No Dead Demon Consuming Seal? My big nephew Clan Head wouldn't hold back on me... which means this jutsu hasn't been invented yet. I wonder who created it. It must be worth a lot of Witness Points..."
"The first person to use it was Namikaze Minato. And all of Minato's sealing jutsu were taught to him by Kushina... Does that mean one of Kushina's elders invented it?"
"In this era... Kushina's grandmother? Or grandfather? How am I supposed to find them... Forget it. I'll just keep a close eye on Tobirama. He develops a lot of forbidden jutsu."
After letting his mind wander, Masahiko finally settled down and began to study Fuinjutsu.
His talent for it was quite good. In just one day, he had grasped the basics. This was because a new entry had appeared in his status window:
Sealing Jutsu: LV1 (1/10000)
Masahiko resisted the immediate urge to add points and decided to study on his own first.
About two months later, he had learned two of the simpler seals: the Fire Sealing Method and the Evil Sealing Method. His Fuinjutsu stat had also reached Level 2.
After that, in order to learn the Five Elements Seal, Masahiko had to spend one Witness Point on his Lightning Release and one on his Water Release, just to be able to use them.
Perhaps because he now had a supply of Witness Points, Masahiko hadn't been proactively learning other ninjutsu. He became so addicted to researching Fuinjutsu that he completely forgot about the points.
In the blink of an eye, five years had passed.
In these five years, Masahiko had learned every Uzumaki sealing jutsu except the Yin Seal. His Fuinjutsu stat had surpassed even his Wind Release, reaching LV5.
Only then did he suddenly realize five years had gone by.
For the people of the Warring States Period, where the average lifespan was less than 40, five years was a very long time.
But for Masahiko, five years had passed, and... he was now 31 years old.
Of course, he still maintained his Transformation Jutsu, appearing to everyone as a 48-year-old.
Having been secluded for five years, Masahiko had paid no attention to world affairs. Now that his training was over, he immediately sought out the Clan Head to ask about the current state of the ninja world.
"Second Uncle! You're finally out of seclusion! Your body... is it... still holding up?"
Masahiko never expected that would be the first thing the Clan Head said to him.
He shot him a glare. "My body is perfectly fine! I'll still be fine even after you're gone!"
"Er, my apologies, Second Uncle. It's just that... last year, the First Elder resigned from his position. He said his health was failing, and now he just rests at home. And recently, I can see that the Second and Third Elders also have the intention to retire, but they're holding on because the First Elder's position is still vacant."
"Of course, it's not just our clan. The older generation of shinobi in other clans has also basically stepped down. It's the young people's world now. After all, even I am almost 40. The generation above me is getting old..." the Clan Head slowly explained.
'If I didn't have the system, I'd be 54. I'd probably be on the decline, too,' Masahiko thought. He said, "Don't you worry. Your Second Uncle can still hold on for a few more years. Has anything major happened in the ninja world?"
"If we're talking major events... aside from the usual clan skirmishes, one truly massive thing happened. Two years ago, the Senju and Uchiha clans fought at the Battle of Kazama Valley. Senju Butsuma and Uchiha Tajima both died in battle. Now, Hashirama and Uchiha Madara are the heads of the two great clans."
"All the other clans thought this was their chance, with the two great clans having lost their strongest leaders. But who would have thought that Hashirama and Uchiha Madara would both break through the 'Clan Head level' and prove to be every bit as strong as their fathers... This is the foundation of a great clan. Every generation has geniuses like that."
"But because of this, our relationship with the Senju is even closer. Mito marrying Hashirama wasn't a bad deal after all." As he mentioned this, the Clan Head ground his teeth, clearly still a bit upset about his daughter's marriage, even after five years.
'So much has happened? Hashirama and Madara are already at the peak of the Warring States? No one could possibly imagine that they're going to get even stronger. The new era is coming soon!' Masahiko thought.
'But... in these five years, as I've been getting younger, I haven't exactly been standing still, either.' Masahiko looked at his own status window and smiled with satisfaction.
Name: Uzumaki Masahiko
Age: 31 Years (-)
Nin: 245 (+)
Tai: 118 (+)
Jutsu: 1570 (+5.5) (+)
Academy Basic Three: LV10 (100000) (Maxed)
Shuriken Jutsu: LV10 (100000) (Maxed)
Earth Release: LV3 (30458/100000) (+)
Wind Release: LV4 (116764/200000) (+)
Fire Release: LV3 (29985/100000) (+)
Water Release: LV2 (10000/20000) (+)
Lightning Release: LV2 (10000/20000) (+)
Fuinjutsu: LV5 (200000/400000) (+)
Special Talent: Sensory Perception
Overall Evaluation: Peak Jonin
Witness Points: 34