Chapter 19: Sealing Jutsu
Chapter 19: Sealing Techniques
This solo forest trip turned out exactly as the old man had predicted—aside from getting more familiar with the forest, there was no real gain.
Survival in the wilderness, survival in the jungle, and casually strolling through a familiar forest were three completely different things. Due to limited visibility, the jungle was, in many ways, even more troublesome than the wilderness. The damp environment and complex ecosystem led to an abundance of bacteria, a convoluted food chain, and countless known and unknown creatures coexisting here. All of this made human survival in such an environment exceptionally difficult—even for a ninja.
This trip made Kazama realize exactly what he was lacking. Was it strength? No. Detection abilities? No. It was the methods for preserving food and supplies, the ability to adapt to the environment, and the skill to identify surroundings accurately. Even with the old man's teachings, Kazama, despite considering himself well-learned, was still far from the old man's level of experience—decades of accumulated wisdom made the difference. The phrase "You regret not reading enough books when you need them" couldn't be more accurate.
Sealing techniques must be prioritized. Whether it was for storing supplies, assisting in combat, or preparing for the large-scale battles in the later stages of the story, mastering sealing techniques was a necessity. Kazama had decided to follow the path of a long-range archer. The downside of creating one's own fighting style was the lack of references and pre-existing experience. How far he could go depended entirely on himself. He didn't want to wait until problems arose before dealing with them—addressing issues only when they appear was like patching holes after the damage was done, often too late to recover. Temporary fixes would never meet his own standards.
In the original series, Tenten was able to rank among the Twelve Konoha Genin mainly due to her mastery of sealing scrolls and weaponry. If she were stripped of her sealing scrolls, Kazama was certain that she would barely qualify as a Genin. Sealing scrolls functioned as both a portable warehouse and an endless source of ammunition. Whether it was for storing essential supplies or providing unlimited arrows, sealing scrolls would be a game-changer for Kazama's archery. Others might worry about running out of arrows, but Kazama could simply store a vast supply in sealing scrolls—this was an undeniable advantage.
Additionally, since he had committed to the path of long-range archery, this forest excursion had revealed another major shortcoming—his ability to remain hidden. Striking from the shadows with a well-placed arrow was an assassination; it could be a one-hit kill. However, openly shooting arrows in direct combat was a different story. With the reaction speeds of ninjas and the flight speed of arrows, most targets could evade them easily. Not to mention the wide variety of unpredictable ninjutsu available. To maximize the effectiveness of archery, assassination-style sniper tactics were the best approach for Kazama. And a sniper needed more than just precise shots—they had to remain undetected. A sniper who got spotted was no sniper at all. Once discovered, the element of surprise was lost.
In the forest, the most sensitive beings were wild animals. In the brutal law of survival, every creature had its own philosophy of existence. Kazama's careless intrusion was like shining a beacon in the dark, practically shouting "Come and get me!" No wonder he frequently encountered wild animals. If he could refine his concealment skills to the point where even animals couldn't detect him, his stealth abilities would become the enemy's worst nightmare. After all, when walking through the woods, who could predict when an arrow might suddenly pierce them? One could be on guard momentarily, but not forever.
The old man fully supported Kazama learning all kinds of ninjutsu knowledge. The more he learned now, the more survival skills he would have on the battlefield in the future. More skills meant a greater chance of survival—this alone made the old man extremely pleased. The very next day, the old man ventured out for half a day and returned with an enormous collection of books, nearly a meter high. Study them. If you finish these, you'll have mastered the basics of sealing techniques. Kazama didn't bother asking where the old man had obtained them; the old man had vast connections. Instead, he dived straight into the texts.
In his past life, Kazama had not been a top student, but he had managed to graduate from university. When it came to book-learning, he could focus when necessary.
He spent three days sorting through the books, picking out the main concepts, arranging them from easiest to hardest, and structuring them into a progressive learning sequence. Since sealing techniques required a solid foundation, it was obviously a subject governed by strict logic and structured rules. Understanding its principles would take time. The treehouse became his secluded study space. Apart from his morning and evening training sessions, all his remaining hours were devoted to drowning in the depths of knowledge.
Why was sealing jutsu so difficult? In Kazama's view, it was a subject that combined literature, mathematics, foreign language, chakra theory, and cartography into one discipline. Even with over ten years of formal education in his past life, Kazama still felt the immense challenge of deciphering sealing techniques. Given the ninja world's approach to knowledge, mastering sealing jutsu clearly required innate talent. No wonder so few people could learn it. At the very least, those who did had intelligence levels far above the average person.
Kazama didn't have extraordinary intelligence, but his accumulated knowledge from his past life was unexpectedly useful here. Others might get stuck on sealing techniques due to blind spots in their understanding. For Kazama, the biggest challenge was simply deciphering the text, since cultural contexts were vastly different between the two worlds. For example, the ninja world lacked any real study of functions or advanced mathematics. If such knowledge existed, only a tiny fraction of people had grasped it, and even fewer could apply it. Meanwhile, Kazama had struggled with math since childhood, battling it all the way through college-level calculus.
"Stand still, you two. Don't move." Kazama instructed the two small creatures beside him.
After studying for so long, he had finally made some progress—it was time to show off a little.
"Ikkai Raiten (One-Layer Lantern Formation)!"
Intricate symbols spread across the ground, radiating outward from Kazama as the focal point, forming a cone-shaped expansion that soon encompassed the area where the two small creatures stood. Just as they were about to move, they found themselves completely trapped. Though nothing physically restrained them, they could not step out of the formation. They could move their arms and shake their heads, but they were utterly unable to take a single step.
With the sealing formula complete, the two small creatures were effectively caged birds, struggling in vain.
"It worked." Kazama smiled slightly.
As expected, sealing techniques lived up to their name—the key was in the sealing itself. The Ikkai Raiten formation sealed off the space where the targets stood. When the jutsu was activated, it molded a fixed spatial area around its targets, like a perfect cast around their forms. Although they retained full control over their bodies, they simply couldn't move beyond the sealed area.
Of course, this was merely the basic version of the Ikkai Raiten. It had no additional functions beyond immobilization, and it required the caster to remain within the technique to maintain its effect. This placed certain limitations on its practical use.
Nevertheless, achieving results was a step forward. Future progress was only a matter of time. At the very least, this meant that Kazama had officially taken his first steps into the vast and intricate world of sealing techniques.