The Legacy of the Seals

The heat of the duel between father and son still hung in the air when the elder of the Uzumaki clan appeared, at the same time as always. Takeshi walked with firm, yet silent steps, wearing his red cloak with the ancestral symbol in gold on the back.

Since Riki had shown innate talent for the seals, the Uzumaki had decided to train him personally and Takeshi had taken on this task with solemnity.

In recent years, many mixed-blood descendants between the Uzumaki and Chinoike clans had been born in the Valley of Hell. The union of the two clans after years of exile and persecution was planned by the elders as a political and symbolic act: by uniting their blood, they also united the futures of these clans, because of this, very few pure-bloods remained within the clans.

Takeshi himself, with his vibrant red hair and intense blue eyes, betrayed his pure lineage, even more so because of his appearance, too young for his age, despite his red beard, tinged here and there with white strands, he appeared to be no more than thirty years old, although whispers among the elders claimed that he had lived since the Warring States Era or at least since the times that preceded the destruction of Uzushiogakure.

Seeing the elder approaching, Tekka stopped, still with the wooden sword in his hands, and greeted him with a slight bow.

"Elder Takeshi... Have you come to pick up Riki for training?"

"Oh, yes! I see you were teaching the young master kenjutsu, it's the Uchiha method..." Takeshi asked, stroking his beard with a slight ironic smile.

"Yes! I'm introducing Riki to the Uchiha style of defense, he needs to understand that, although defense is important, if he doesn't know when to attack... he will always be a target." — I see, I see... But what I don't know is whether Konoha would approve of an outsider learning the clan's combat style, which they consider their sharpest blade, or whether the Uchiha themselves would like this ancestral kenjutsu to be passed down so freely...

Tekka sighed!

He knew he wouldn't win this argument with words.

— Riki is also an Uchiha, Elder Takeshi. He answered with a shrug as he walked away toward the house. As he approached the door, without even turning his head, he said, — I'll be leaving in a few days, until then, we'll train every day.

Riki, still sweaty from the fight, just nodded.

There was sweat on his forehead, but his eyes were full of brightness and excitement.

After a few minutes to compose himself, Riki followed the elder along the rocky paths to the village's main building, the dark stone and rough wood structure that housed not only the elders and the historical records, but also the academy and laboratories in the basement.

On the way to the training basement, Riki crossed the corridors on the ground floor, where children his age studied under the supervision of tutors Uzumaki and Chinoike. People's eyes turned to him, and whispers followed him like an invisible tail:

"Look, there goes Riki..." whispered a black-haired boy.

The boy next to him replied. "How I wish I were in his place, and could train with the elder himself..."

"He's so handsome..." commented a girl, smiling with her friend at her side.

"Worthy of being the prince of the Valley." The last one replied.

"Prince of the Valley."

Riki had heard this so many times that he had become insensitive to the title that had initially caused him some surprise.

The truth was that he was the grandson of the last descendant of Ashina Uzumaki, and also the heir of the union of the latter with the daughter of the last Chinoike leader.

When his grandfather led the Uzumakis to migrate to the Valley, and after all the bloodshed that the move to the valley had resulted in, the elders of both clans decided that the solution to consolidate the union between the clans was marriage, and marrying the only heir of the Chinoike side and the last heir of the Uzumaki clan was the solution.

The fruit of this union was Akemi, his mother whom everyone called the "red princess". She was not the first child to be born from this union of clans, but her origins granted her a unique position in the valley. This explains why the men of both clans hate Tekka.

And now, this mixed blood ran through Riki, who unlike his mother, his existence evoked not hope, but fear!

Riki followed Takeshi and descended the spiral stairs that led to the basement, there, the walls were carved with patterns of an ancient fuinjutsu, after passing through two gates guarded by hidden explosive papers and sensory barriers, they arrived at the laboratory where the seal training took place.

The environment was silent, chakra lamps floated on the sides, illuminating open scrolls on stone tables, bottles with special ink, chakra papers and artifacts sealed in glass. The floor, covered in concentric circles of fuinjutsu, vibrated slightly with the accumulated energy.

Takeshi crossed his arms and observed the boy.

— Today... we will move forward.

— I am ready — Riki said, his voice firm. He knew what was coming.

Takeshi walked to one of the shelves and took out an ancient scroll, its edges corroded by time.

Opening it, he revealed a seal of absurd complexity. Riki had never seen a seal with so many overlapping layers of writing, forming something closer to a mandala than a seal.

— This is the "Tower of Chains Seal". An ancient technique, used to restrain bijū and dissidents. Very few Uzumaki have managed to activate it successfully.

— And do you think I can do it? Riki asked, raising an eyebrow.

Takeshi smiled slightly.

— I don't think so. I know! What you have... is not just talent, it is an instinct dormant in your blood. Your mastery over the phases of the Spiral Meditation is not something that can be taught. It is inherited. The old man replied. Riki wasted no time and knelt down on the training center, where a special ink and a brush were waiting for him. Takeshi placed the parchment in front of Riki and, for the first time, his fingers traced the seal with the dense black ink, made with special minerals. One mistake in the line was enough and the seal would not only fail… Takeshi watched him in silence, but inside, he thought: Maybe there is hope for the Uzumakis with this boy. "Watch carefully, Riki," the old man said, his deep voice cutting through the underground silence. "This seal requires more than just skill. Each curve must follow a continuous flow of chakra, and each stroke carries a command to the world." Riki knelt in front of the old man, his eyes fixed on every movement. Takeshi touched the surface of the table with his fingers and, in fluid gestures, began to draw the circular pattern. The spirals swirled around a core, and from the center radiated wavy lines that intertwined like serpents, each representing a layer of command: containment, isolation, resistance. The sealing script, written in an ancient language, seemed alive.

When the seal was complete, Takeshi channeled chakra into the center, and the ground vibrated.