There was just one thing that bothered him: his age.
Ten years old. Eisawa Shiraishi said he started training at ten, and it seemed that most clan members only began their training at that age too.
But he was only six this year. Thinking about the terrible consequences the larval stage could lead to, a fine layer of sweat appeared on his forehead.
"Uncle Eisawa, you yourself only started practicing the secret technique at ten. I'm only six this year, will I..."
"Very sharp. But don't worry, you're the only seedling left in the family, I won't harm you."
As he spoke, Eisawa took off his shirt, then formed hand seals with both hands. Slowly, layer upon layer of black formulas began to appear on his skin.
Gisei looked at those formulas in shock and lost his voice: "Sealing Jutsu?"
"You actually know Sealing Jutsu?" Eisawa was a bit surprised, but then said indifferently, "Indeed, it is Sealing Jutsu. This is a seal developed by your grandfather, used to suppress the loss of life force. However, it is not yet complete, and the effect is not ideal."
Suppress the loss of life force...
"Don't tell me you're about to die. That joke isn't funny at all."
Gisei's voice was a bit strained, and his expression became very strange.
He had always acted like he didn't care much about the clan, but the man in front of him was his last relative in this world. If he died too...
Then he would truly be all alone.
"This isn't a joke, it's a fact."
Eisawa smiled and reached out to pat his head. "But death doesn't mean the end. It's just a change in life form."
Dead is dead. As someone who had died once, Gisei had a deep fear of death.
Changed life form... don't think just because I'm small you can trick me like a child...
He remembered that time in his previous life when he was lonely and waiting to die, and all sorts of feelings welled up in his heart.
"Is it because of Danzo?"
An extremely sinister voice came from his mouth. Eisawa was startled, and his eyes became complex.
"It has nothing to do with Danzo. It's the Sealing Jutsu I used on myself after fleeing from battle."
"I was already heavily injured, and the butterfly seed in my body started to become restless. After sensing a life crisis, it began to desperately drain my life force. I had no choice but to use this Sealing Jutsu."
"I thought I could at least last until you became an adult. Who knew the effect of the Sealing Jutsu wouldn't be ideal."
"I didn't intend to let you know originally, but you really don't have much ninja talent, and the clan's secret technique inheritance cannot be broken, so I can only teach you some things in advance."
"As for the problem of you being too young and lacking chakra, I will transfer chakra to you every night from now on, so don't worry too much."
"Will transferring chakra to me make your condition worse? Also, did you really flee from battle? How exactly did my parents die? You never drank before, but now that your body has become like this, you get drunk every day. Are you really not planning to tell me anything?"
Gisei fired off a bunch of questions like a cannonball and wanted to continue, but Eisawa stopped him.
"This really isn't like you. You never took the initiative to ask about these things before. Just continue being yourself."
"Grow up safely in Konoha's peaceful environment, then marry and have children, and pass down the secret technique. This is your responsibility. Everything else is already over."
"What if I don't do that?"
"What you want to do has nothing to do with me. From the moment I fled battle, my responsibility has been you. This was also your parents' dying wish."
"Parents' dying wish... so you really didn't flee from battle."
"It depends on how you look at it. Regardless of whether it was for responsibility or something else, it doesn't change the fact that I left your parents behind and escaped back alone."
The two looked at each other, then fell silent.
After a long while, Eisawa finally spoke: "If I transfer chakra to you every day, I probably have five years left. I will hand over everything of the clan to you during this period."
"If you don't transfer chakra, how long can you live?"
"Eight years."
"You don't need to transfer chakra to me. I will work hard on my cultivation from now on."
Eisawa frowned. "I should have told you that the butterfly seed in the larval stage only acts on instinct. Right now, let alone cultivation, keeping your life is the most important thing."
"And I haven't finished speaking yet. The clan secret technique doesn't just have benefits; there are also many drawbacks."
Gisei remained silent.
Eisawa said helplessly, "Letting you know about this now is just to prepare you mentally. Besides, death isn't the end."
"When I passed on the secret technique to you, you should have heard your mother's voice. I will become an existence like that in the future too, so don't be sad. You should be happy."
Indeed, he heard his mother's voice during the inheritance of the secret technique, but that was a butterfly. Could it be...
Thinking of a certain possibility, the expression on Gisei's face was extremely colorful. But can a human really turn into a butterfly, into a summoning beast?
Taking out a ninjutsu scroll from his chest pocket, Eisawa handed it to him and said, "Memorize this ninjutsu well. It absolutely cannot fall into the hands of outsiders."
Cocoon Binding Jutsu!
After reading it carefully once, the corner of Gisei's mouth twitched. "A suicide ninjutsu?"
That's right. In his opinion, the Mushi Mayu no Jutsu (Insect Cocoon Technique) was a suicide ninjutsu.
Transfer all the chakra in the body to the butterfly seed inside within an extremely short time, while simultaneously forming a thick cocoon on the body's surface.
After absorbing all of the user's chakra, the butterfly seed will break out of the cocoon inside the body and become a butterfly, then devour everything of the user.
Eisawa nodded. "This is the final destination of our clan."
Insane. He never expected the first ninjutsu he came into contact with to be a suicide ninjutsu.
"Our clan's concept of life and death is different from ordinary people. We have our own Pure Land. Every deceased clansman will be reborn there. You might not understand it now, but you will understand later."
The more he spoke, the more outrageous it became. Gisei felt his brain wasn't quite enough; he completely couldn't understand what Eisawa was saying.
This world has a Pure Land, and dead people all go to the Pure Land; he knew this. But does the Pure Land have territories?
As for rebirth, do you really think you're the Sage of Six Paths' own son?
"Cocoon Binding Jutsu. After the butterfly seed devours the user, it will inherit everything from the user. Even memories can be completely inherited. Then it will release the Summoning Jutsu and return to the summoning place to live there."
"Memories are completely identical?"
"I just told you that the butterfly seed raised in your body is equivalent to your second soul. Even if it doesn't inherit memories, all its memories are the same as yours."
"Rather than saying it completely inherits memories, it's better to say two identical souls merge with each other. When it returns to the summoning place, isn't that equivalent to rebirth?"
Crazy. Gisei really felt this uncle of his was a bit abnormal. Even if memories are the same, can a butterfly and a human be the same?
"A butterfly is a butterfly. A butterfly isn't a human, and a human isn't a butterfly. Can your brain be a bit more normal?"
Eisawa didn't refute, just looked up at the sky and started dazing.
Gisei continued, "So the 'Pure Land' you're talking about refers to the summoning place. But butterflies also die. Only when they die will they go to the real Pure Land."
"It's best if you think like that. It seems I don't have to worry about you taking things too hard. Well, people have different views on such things, no need to care too much."
"I will absolutely not use this ninjutsu. I won't die either. If possible, I even hope to live forever."
"Hahaha..." Eisawa laughed loudly, laughing so hard that he started coughing violently, tears streaming down his face.
"Live forever... if you can do it, then go ahead and do it. Just tell me when the time comes."
Once he had laughed enough, he continued, "Let's end this topic here. I hope your thoughts won't change. Next, I want to tell you about the drawbacks of the clan secret technique."
"So there really are side effects?"
"There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. To gain something, you must pay something. You want to become invincible just by sleeping? Is that possible?"
"Alright, I get it. So what are the drawbacks you mentioned?"
"Lifespan. During the Warring States period, the average lifespan of ninjas in our clan was less than forty years. Even after peace, it's less than fifty years."
Hearing this, Gisei couldn't sit still anymore.
Are you kidding me? You're telling someone who aspires to live until the grand finale that he won't live to see fifty?
"If you had told me this earlier, I wouldn't have learned any clan secret technique even if you beat me to death."
"That's why I'm telling you now."
"You're ruthless. What's the reason for the short life?"
"The butterfly seed doesn't just absorb chakra. To form a soul, it will definitely devour your life force. In the Warring States period, as long as a clansman reached Jonin level, they had to raise a second butterfly seed. This is the reason why they didn't live to see forty."
"Can you really raise more butterfly seeds?"
"Of course you can, and the more you raise, the stronger you become."
"The person who raised the most in clan records was the eighth clan head. He raised four alone, complete with all five nature transformations. He was also the clan's strongest."
"...How old was he when he died?"
"Twenty-seven."
"..."
Obviously, the more you raise, the faster you die. This eighth head definitely had a hole in his brain.
Gisei complained frantically in his heart.
Having all five nature transformations sounds very impressive. The Third Hokage also has five nature transformations and is known as the strongest Hokage, but his combat power is really lackluster.
However, the elderly Third in the plot shouldn't be the standard for judgment.
Gisei thought for a moment and asked, "What's the deal with having all five nature transformations? Can the butterfly seed actually add attributes?"
Seeing his good uncle nod, Gisei was shocked. The ancestors were so amazing; they could even play so many tricks just by raising a butterfly seed.
"Then what attribute am I now?"
"You are Lightning attribute, the butterfly seed is Water attribute."
"So I'm currently dual Lightning and Water attribute. Why not raise a Wind attribute butterfly seed?"
Suiton (Water Release) ninjutsu in the plot is really weak. If possible, he preferred Wind attribute; after all, he had been eyeing the Rasengan series for a long time.
"Water attribute chakra can nourish the body and let you live a few more years. If you really like Wind attribute, wait until you have a Jonin's amount of chakra and raise one yourself."
The more you raise, the faster you die. In this life, it's impossible to raise a second one.
Gisei rolled his eyes. "Water attribute is fine too, I'm not picky."
Eisawa smiled and said, "That's good then. You more or less understand the clan secret technique. Next, you need to learn the theoretical knowledge. You have to learn this by yourself. I'll organize the materials for you tonight, and you can take them to read tomorrow."
After speaking, Eisawa stood up and walked towards his room.
Looking at his back, Gisei hesitated again and again but still spoke up.
"You should probably quit drinking too. Your health is bad, don't push yourself."
Eisawa waved his hand without turning his head and entered the room.