"The Uzumaki clan has long since vanished. Now, only I remain."
"Even if I pass on the sealing technique to you, no one will come to object anyway." Kushina's cheerful and lively demeanor had completely disappeared, her mood abruptly shifting to one of sorrow.
Her eyes dimmed as she recalled the destruction of Whirlpool Country.
"Aren't you going to comfort her? Look what you did—made her cry," Satori Hyuga remarked.
It was the first time Minato Namikaze had seen Kushina look this heartbroken.
She had even earned the playful nickname "Red Pepper" in class—a clear reflection of her fiery, assertive nature. Seeing this fragile side of her now left Minato flustered.
"Please don't be sad, Kushina-san. If you'd like, you can think of me as family," Minato offered gently.
Minato kept speaking gently until he finally coaxed a smile from Kushina again.
Watching from the side, Satori's mind began to drift elsewhere.
In his past life, the story went that Kushina had almost been kidnapped by the Cloud Village, only to be rescued at the last moment by Minato.
Now with his interference, maybe things wouldn't progress to them becoming family after all.
If they became family… would they end up married?
As these thoughts swirled through his head, Kushina had already begun teaching the sealing techniques.
True to her status as the princess of Whirlpool Country—and a former student of Mito Uzumaki—Kushina was well-versed in sealing techniques, from the simplest to the most advanced.
She picked up a ninja scroll with serious focus while Minato leaned in closely to study diligently.
One taught earnestly, the other learned earnestly. They worked together seamlessly.
[Finally, I'm getting into sealing techniques!] Satori cheered inwardly, keeping a composed exterior as he stood opposite them, focusing intently on the lesson.
His own clan also had some knowledge of sealing arts—the Caged Bird Seal itself being proof of that.
Yet precisely because of the Caged Bird Seal, the Hyuga Clan had restricted and hidden its sealing arts.
Satori had never received formal training before, making this his first true exposure.
Before long, he too was drawn deeply into the lessons.
In the ninja world, most ninja specialized in either ninjutsu, genjutsu, or taijutsu.
Even more advanced were techniques such as sealing arts and Sage Mode.
Sealing techniques, in fact, held surprising power.
Even some powerful ninjutsu incorporated foundational principles of sealing arts.
Take Tsunade, one of the Sannin, who mastered both the Yin Seal and Hundred Seal techniques.
The most powerful sealing technique was the Six Paths: Planetary Devastation, which imprisoned Kaguya Ōtsutsuki within the Moon itself.
Indeed, mastering sealing techniques could definitely lead to great strength.
Meanwhile, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, was feeling quite troubled as he observed the scene through the Telescope Technique.
Kushina's sealing technique clearly stemmed from the same traditions passed down in Konoha—fortunately not identical, but about seventy to eighty percent similar.
After all, both originated from the knowledge and secret arts of Whirlpool Country.
Now Kushina was willingly revealing them to others. If enemies caught wind of this, it could threaten Konoha Village.
But fortunately, she was only covering the basics—not anything particularly advanced.
"Forget it. Just have Anbu keep an eye on things. As long as she doesn't disclose any advanced sealing techniques, it should be fine."
Hiruzen Sarutobi pondered for a moment before dispatching an Anbu member.
After arranging everything,
Hiruzen Sarutobi turned his gaze back toward the crystal orb in front of him, shifting his attention to Minato Namikaze and Satori Hyūga.
He knew Minato—a genius among ninja without clan affiliations, exceptionally gifted. That's why Hiruzen had promoted him to the Elite Class.
This was all part of his political strategy—to balance the power dynamics within the village.
Ninja without clan affiliations, shinobi from small clans, and those from prestigious families—
he maintained a balanced, impartial stance toward all.
Except for the Uchiha clan.
For the Uchiha clan, Hiruzen followed the ideology of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, even applying even stricter suppression.
"This is Satori Hyūga, the prodigy of the Hyūga Main House. His Iron Fist technique is intriguing—it bears some resemblance to Tsunade's Chakra-Enhanced Strength."
Hiruzen observed Satori with a careful gaze as he offered his evaluation.
As for Satori learning sealing techniques, Hiruzen didn't really care.
If it were a Branch House member, he might have sent someone to intervene.
But a Main House member learning sealing arts wouldn't cause much impact.
A Main House member wouldn't even consider learning sealing arts just to remove the Caged Bird Seal from Branch House members anyway.
Plus, the Caged Bird Seal was extremely complex, linked to neural pathways and even the soul.
Without advanced knowledge of sealing techniques, there was no way one could break the Caged Bird Seal.
"So, did you get it?" Kushina asked Minato enthusiastically.
Minato nodded, his eyes sparkling brightly, clearly having absorbed much from the lesson.
The confident expression on his face also appeared genuine, which surprised Kushina a bit.
When she studied under Grandma Mito, she hadn't grasped things this quickly.
This caused Kushina to see Minato in a new light.
This little fool—turns out he wasn't so bad after all.
"Hey, wait a second. Could you explain the Five Elements Seal's attribute transformation principle again?" Satori interrupted as Kushina tried to flip the page, unabashedly asking.
He no longer cared about saving face—the previous explanation had been too brief, and he hadn't understood it at all.
Minato Namikaze was truly destined to become the Fourth Hokage, with exceptional comprehension and strong learning ability.
In that regard, Satori felt slightly inferior.
But he wasn't particularly bothered by it.
His advantage lay in his mature soul, modern mindset, and worldly knowledge.
And not only that—he also possessed extensive understanding of the ninja world.
In Satori Hyūga's opinion, as long as he worked hard silently and trained discreetly, he would definitely live to see the end.
Perhaps through dedicated training, he might even become one of Konoha's top fighters.
"Hah! So you actually need my help too, Satori Hyūga!" Kushina burst into laughter, her eyes sparkling with smug satisfaction.
"You said your self-created jutsu were unbeatable. Why are you learning my sealing techniques now?"
Satori knew this would happen.
However, faced with such important knowledge, he wasn't afraid to swallow his pride for knowledge.
If he couldn't obtain these sealing techniques from Kushina, then acquiring them elsewhere would probably be even harder. [Chakra Flow Visualization]
As for the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, that went without saying—unless he was willing to sacrifice himself for the village, perhaps in exchange for some knowledge of sealing techniques.
The other option was tracking down Orochimaru.
But he had no connection with Orochimaru whatsoever, nor did he know if Orochimaru had already started human experimentation or gone rogue.
Wouldn't that be charging headlong into a tiger's den?
His Byakugan was no trivial asset—what if Orochimaru simply ripped them out on sight?
"Kushina, I was wrong! Please, teach me!" Satori Hyūga swallowed his pride and immediately begged Kushina, who was much younger than him in this life.
Gaining something after a bit of humiliation? That was practically a windfall.
In Satori's eyes, it was a fair deal.
Kushina hadn't expected Satori to cave in so quickly. She wasn't vindictive by nature, so she forgave him instantly.
Meanwhile, Minato Namikaze watched in shock. Only now did he realize how little he actually knew about Satori Hyūga.
All that talk about pride and dignity—somehow, it didn't hold much weight with Satori.
At the same time, an idea surfaced in his mind.
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