The 50th year of Konoha's founding marked a pivotal chapter in the history of the shinobi world. It was a year of great upheavals and unforgettable events — the conclusion of the Third Great Ninja War, the fierce Battle of Kikyo Mountain, the tragedy at Kannabi Bridge, and even the death of the Third Raikage, who fought valiantly against thousands of Iwagakure shinobi until his very last breath.
Yet, in the grand scope of history, none of these events carried an influence as profound as the death of a single woman — Nohara Rin, the unspoken love of Uchiha Obito.
Her death would later drive Obito into darkness, transforming him into a monster who killed his teacher, his comrades, and countless innocents — and somehow, despite it all, still ended up being "redeemed."
Just thinking about that made Tahara Rokuro feel sick.
Of course, all that hadn't happened yet — or perhaps was only just beginning. Either way, for the five-year-old Rokuro, such distant tragedies had nothing to do with him. Without his ninja tools, he couldn't even beat a genin. Even if he wanted to intervene, he lacked the power to do so.
Eventually, Uchiha Ashikaga was persuaded by Rokuro and brought the optimized storage seal to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Though not the strongest Hokage, Hiruzen's reputation as "The Professor" was well earned.
He was a master of all five elemental styles and deeply versed in sealing techniques — so the moment he saw Rokuro's improved seal formula, he immediately recognized its potential.
"Ashikaga, well done! I've long known your talent for fūinjutsu was extraordinary, and now it's finally borne fruit. This optimization not only lowers the difficulty of making storage scrolls but also reduces the cost tremendously. This is a major contribution!"
Holding the seal formula that Rokuro had drawn, Hiruzen even tested it several times himself, grinning so broadly his old face nearly bloomed with joy.
"Are you sure you want to contribute this technique to the village?"
Ashikaga knelt on one knee.
"Lord Hokage, as a member of Konoha, I am willing to do anything for the village. If this improvement can help Konoha develop further, it would be my greatest honor."
"Haha! You've truly lived up to my expectations — a worthy inheritor of the Will of Fire!"
A single innovation had pleased Hiruzen so much that he forgot to light his pipe.
Sensing the timing was right, Ashikaga pressed her own request.
"Lord Hokage, I would like permission to study the sealing scrolls of the Uzumaki Clan. If I can learn and refine their advanced fūinjutsu, I believe I can make an even greater contribution to the village."
"The Uzumaki clan's scrolls, hmm? You do have remarkable talent in sealing arts… Very well, I'll allow it."
Hiruzen quickly formed hand seals and summoned a scroll with the Summoning Technique — the original sealing compendium of the Uzumaki clan. He handed it to Ashikaga.
"You have three days. Take it home and study well. I expect great things from you."
When Ashikaga later brought the scroll to her son, Rokuro unrolled it and frowned almost immediately.
"There's no Reaper Death Seal. Looks like this isn't the full scroll. Hah — classic Hiruzen, always keeping a hand hidden."
He grumbled internally but didn't mind too much — it was exactly what he expected.
Over the next three days, Rokuro used his photographic memory to memorize every line of the scroll, and in doing so, stumbled upon something astonishing.
"A gravitational formula… a repulsion formula… and even an advanced space formula! Incredible!"
"The Uzumaki clan really was on par with the Uchiha and Senju — their knowledge base is insane!"
"What is it, son? Did you find something interesting?"
From the kitchen, Ashikaga peeked out curiously. Rokuro excitedly shared his discovery, but his mother merely tilted her head.
"That's not so surprising. High-level sealing techniques often involve gravity, repulsion, and spatial forces. For instance, barrier seals use repulsion — that's how they deflect external attacks."
"And techniques like the Four Symbols Seal use gravity and spatial compression."
Ashikaga's tone was calm, but her understanding ran deep. She might not have had the raw talent of the great sealing masters, yet her knowledge was broad and profound.
Rokuro, however, realized his mistake — he had assumed these forces were rare and complex, when in reality they were merely fundamental components of advanced fūinjutsu. Still, they were leagues above the formulas he had worked with so far.
What mattered most, though, was how these three basic forces — gravity, repulsion, and space — were tied to some of the most legendary jutsu in the ninja world.
Repulsion formed the basis of Shinra Tensei, gravity powered Banshō Ten'in, Chibaku Tensei, and spatial manipulation birthed techniques like Flying Thunder God, Kamui, and even Kagerō.
In other words, the late-stage powerhouse ninjas all fought using these very forces.
Even the final boss, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, wielded them with terrifying mastery.
"Mom, I just thought of a few new jutsu concepts — can I run them by you?"
He eagerly described the mechanics of Shinra Tensei, Banshō Ten'in, and Chibaku Tensei.
Ashikaga's eyes widened in awe.
"Those sound incredible — especially that Shinra Tensei. A full-range, omni-directional burst? That's the perfect counter to most ninjas. Unless one has extreme durability or regeneration, they'd be finished in an instant. But can you really create such a technique from just basic repulsion formulas?"
"Haha, it won't be easy… but I think it's possible."
No one else could have done it — not even Uzumaki Mito, the matriarch of the Uzumaki clan herself.
Her mind was bound by traditional sealing logic; she never realized that seal formulas could decode and replicate jutsu.
Or perhaps she had, but saw no need to.
After all, hand-seal ninjutsu was faster — once mastered, one could unleash a jutsu in half a second, while formula-based jutsu were cumbersome and slow. Thus, over time, spell-based techniques were abandoned, surviving only as massive sealing arrays for restraining tailed beasts.
But Rokuro was different.
In his past life as a programmer, he was used to building systems from code — understanding logic, debugging functions, and refining processes.
He also had foresight, knowing exactly how powerful those "god-tier" jutsu from the Fourth Great Ninja War would become.
In essence, Rokuro had both the right vision and the complete theoretical framework.
All he needed now was time — time to refine his formulas step by step.
As he had told Ashikaga — it would be hard, but it was far from impossible.
And knowing just how devastating those techniques would be, Rokuro was more motivated than ever.
"Mom, give me another five million ryō! I need to buy more chakra metal — this time, I'm going all in!"