Even Kushina, who carried vast sealing knowledge of her own, widened her eyes when she saw the intricate ofuda spiraling across Hoshiko's chest.
"This… this is such a complicated sealing formula?" she murmured in disbelief. If even Kushina was astounded, then Uchiha Shigure, standing beside her, could only be more alarmed.
"Are you alright, Hoshiko? What happened? Who would place something like this on you?" Shigure asked, panic threading his voice.
The little girl shook her head, confusion in her innocent eyes. "I… I don't understand either…"
Shigure frowned, staring at the delicate lattice of chakra woven into her body. "This sealing technique… it's ancient. Only someone with knowledge equal to the legends could inscribe it. Could it be that only Granny Mito knows how to undo this?"
Kushina clenched her fists with determination, her usual fiery spirit erupting. "Then let's go find Grandma Mito right now! Don't worry, Hoshiko—you have me! I'll definitely help you."
"Agreed," Minato said firmly, nodding. "We have no time to waste."
Together, the small group made their way toward the sealed compound where the matriarch of Uzumaki lived—a residence more tightly hidden and guarded than even the Hokage's office. Elite shinobi surrounded the area at all times, not merely because she had once been wife of the First Hokage, but because she was the Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails itself.
Thanks to advance word from the Third Hokage, their party was permitted inside.
Uzumaki Mito was once hailed as the most beautiful woman of Konoha. Now her lustrous crimson hair had turned silver white, strands tucked neatly into twin buns. Age pressed wrinkles into her regal face, but the violet diamond mark etched onto her brow glimmered with spiritual strength, and her white ceremonial robes made her appear as unyielding as a shrine's guardian.
"Mother-in-law!" Kushina cried, dashing forward to embrace her. Mito received her warmly, her smile hinting at the closeness between them.
"Minato… and this is Kakashi, the son of White Fang." Mito's gaze settled then on Shigure and the little girl timidly holding his hand. "Hmm? And these two children?"
"I'm Uchiha Shigure," he said with quiet respect. "And this is my sister, Hoshiko."
"Uchiha… is that so?" Mito's expression softened with curiosity. "How peculiar. You remind me of Hashirama… there's a familiarity, as though our blood resonates."
When Shigure stepped closer, it was as if something inside both of them stirred. A strange energy pulled between them, her bloodline reaching for his, her strength flowing into him, and in return, his own refined life force touched her.
Mito looked down at her trembling hands in astonishment. "Incredible… I shared my lifeblood, yet you returned it magnified. My body—feels younger, my chakra steadier. For some years yet, death will not claim me…"
"Mother-in-law, don't say such things!" Kushina protested desperately. "You will live for many, many more years!"
Mito chuckled softly. "Silly child. Death is not the enemy of life, but its natural completion. Now—tell me. What has happened that brought you here today? Does it concern the boy, or this little sister?"
Shigure pulled back Hoshiko's garment, showing the intricate marking across her body. "Lord Mito, I beg you. Someone has sealed Hoshiko. Please… help her."
Mito bent closer, eyes narrowing as she studied every swirl of chakra. Silence lingered for a long moment before her voice came low and grave.
"…Impossible. To think such a sealing technique still exists…"
Hoshiko's face paled. "Grandma Mito… am I going to die?"
"No, child," Mito soothed, shaking her head. "But this… Yin–Yang Sealing Technique is no trivial matter."
Shigure stiffened. "Yin–Yang Seal?" In his studies, he had heard of the Yin Seal… of the Five Elements Seal… but never this.
Mito raised her gaze to him, deeply serious. "The seal carved upon her locks away her twin natures of chakra—the Yin aspect and the Yang aspect. It's an Uzumaki art nearly lost to history. I myself carry the Yin Seal upon my brow—it allows me to store chakra, extend my life, and keep the Nine-Tails pacified. Hoshiko's situation… is as if two halves of such a seal have been stacked upon her at once."
Her words struck like heavy stones.
"In other words…" Shigure swallowed, realizing the cruel truth. "Unless both Yin and Yang halves of the seal are undone… she will never be free."
Mito nodded sadly. "The Yang aspect, as far as I know, has no practitioner remaining. Uzushiogakure has long since been destroyed, its masters perished. As for the Yin aspect—only I and Tsunade possess its form. Yet only Tsunade has advanced it into complete mastery… the Hundred Healings Technique."
"Then—unless we find Tsunade…"
"Even then," Mito sighed, "she can only release the Yin portion. That alone would allow Hoshiko to use ninjutsu once more. But Tsunade… after losing her loved ones, no one knows where she has gone."
Shigure clenched his fists. "Who would do this? Who would use such an ancient technique on a child?" His frustration burned, but yielded no answers.
"Is there truly no way besides Tsunade?"
Mito's stern expression softened into a smile. "There is another way. You—Uchiha Shigure. The 'little monkey' speaks of you often. If your talent is as prodigious as he claims, I can teach you the Yin Seal myself. If you can expand upon it, master it, and develop the Hundred Healings Technique… you may free her."
Shigure looked at Hoshiko, who stared back at him with frightened yet hopeful eyes. He breathed deep, then bowed his head resolutely. "Then I'll do it. I'll learn from you, no matter how long it takes. If that's what it takes for Hoshiko to live as a ninja, I won't waste a second."
Mito's smile deepened. "Very well then. Let us begin."
The training commenced immediately. Mito carefully laid the groundwork, reviewing foundational sealing scripts. Shigure's hands traced the patterns, adapting instantly. His learning pace stunned even her.
"Exceptional," she murmured. "Then next—the Yin Seal itself."
He placed his palm to his forehead, molding chakra with the precision she described. In a breath's span, the beginnings of the violet diamond manifested faintly. Within hours, he etched it clearly into his skin.
"Incredible. To form it so quickly…" Mito's eyes glittered with surprise.
But Shigure pushed further. He did not merely settle for creating the chakra reservoir—he began experimenting with its release. Compressing chakra, drawing it back out, refining the flow. Each cycle swelled the seal brighter.
"The Yin Seal is like constructing a bag to store your chakra," Mito explained. "But what you attempt is far trickier—not only creating your bag, but controlling when to empty it… and even extending that control to others. That is the step toward the Hundred Healings Technique."
Night fell, shadows crept across the walls. Yet Shigure remained, practicing each release until the flow smoothed like water. Finally, in the dead of silence, the diamond glowed steady upon his brow—flawless, complete.
Mito, watching from across the chamber, whispered in awe. "This boy… he was supposed to take months, even years… Yet he has done it in a day. His gift for seals rivals even the greatest." She felt a tight warmth in her chest, the same stirring Hashirama often inspired.
"Hashirama… the young truly are formidable."
And deep beneath the dim lights, Shigure opened his eyes—the Yin Seal shining, the first step toward saving Hoshiko at last.
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