Sealing Jutsu Sensei

As the crowd of children dispersed, Anko, who had been standing in the background, felt her blood boil with excitement after witnessing the red-haired girl's creative breakthrough that surpassed the idea of a great villain. She was eager to jump in and fight zombies for three hundred rounds.

Then she remembered—she hadn't had any game time today...

"Right! If I ask that big sister from earlier, maybe I can get a little more time to play!"

Unable to resist her itch to play, Anko didn't want to give up—or perhaps she was just procrastinating to avoid doing her homework.

In any case, she began looking around for Nono.

Soon enough, she found Nono standing next to an older man in a white lab coat.

"Big sister! My game console broke and suddenly won't let me play anymore!" Anko complained first, hoping to get away with her act by playing cute.

But how could a five-year-old's lie fool a seasoned shrine maiden like Nono?

Nono, however, didn't expose her fib. Instead, she squatted down and gently said, "The game console isn't broken. It stopped because you've already been playing for an hour, so it automatically paused."

"Don't you remember the importance of balancing work and play?"

"Entertainment and relaxation to help improve the efficiency of work and study, but if you only focus on playing and neglect everything else, wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?"

"That's why my boss, the creator of these game consoles, added an anti-addiction feature to them."

As Nono spoke, she gestured toward Natsuhiko, indicating that he was her boss.

Natsuhiko waved with a smile and greeted the purple-haired girl.

So this guy is the big villain who designed the anti-addiction system...

Why does he seem familiar?

Anko stared at Natsuhiko, who was smiling and muttering to herself.

"Ah!"

She suddenly remembered and pointed at his white hair, exclaiming, "You're the white-haired villain who almost stole my tomato beef noodles last time!"

She looked around and noticed that the other golden-haired villain from that time wasn't here today.

It took Natsuhiko a moment to recall what she was talking about.

That time, when he and Minato had gone to Double Happiness Ramen, they had indeed almost accidentally taken a little purple-haired girl's noodles.

Seeing Nono's puzzled look, Natsuhiko scratched his head awkwardly and said, "That was just a misunderstanding…"

Then, while gently patting Anko's head, he added with a smile, "Little one, you can mess around with tomato beef noodles, but you shouldn't speak recklessly."

Seeing that Natsuhiko seemed easy to talk to, Anko quickly seized the opportunity and pleaded, "Big brother, since you owe me for that tomato beef noodles, can't you let me play a little longer?"

Natsuhiko couldn't help but laugh, as it reminded him of when he used to beg his parents for an extra half-hour of computer time as a kid.

Those games were so fun back then.

But now, when he could play whenever he wanted as an adult, they didn't seem as enjoyable anymore.

Perhaps what you can't have is always the best.

Not wanting to diminish the little girl's sense of this experience, Natsuhiko gently refused her cute request.

"If I could, I'd love to help you, little one..."

"But unfortunately, even as the creator, it would take me a lot of time to change the settings in the console, so I can't help you."

Natsuhiko, who had just snapped his fingers to ban Kushina's account, responded sincerely.

Seeing the little girl's face fall, Natsuhiko added, "What's your favourite food?"

"Dango and red bean soup," Anko replied, still a bit upset.

Natsuhiko said, "Well, when you eat dango, you don't just eat dango; you also have tea with it, right?"

"That way, the dango doesn't get too overwhelming, and the joy of eating delicious food lasts longer. Don't you think so?"

"But..." Anko said, puzzled, "I always eat dango with red bean soup; double the joy, and it never gets overwhelming!"

"But doesn't that make you gain weight?" Natsuhiko asked.

"No way!" Anko said proudly. "I have a special ability where I can eat as much as I want and never gain weight!"

Natsuhiko was speechless, feeling that this little girl was truly hard to deal with.

—And that dango with red bean soup combo... why does it feel oddly familiar?

Natsuhiko started to feel like the little girl looked more and more familiar.

So he asked, "Little one, what's your name?"

"Anko! Mitarashi Anko!"

It really is you!

Anko and you still dare say you haven't gained weight?

So was that tubby version of you in Boruto, an actor?

Natsuhiko grumbled internally.

But thinking about Anko's fishnet outfit in the future, he kindly asked, "Anko, you're about to start school, right?"

"So while it's not possible now, once you start school, there will be ways to earn extra game time."

Anko was half-happy, half-worried when she heard this.

After all, once school starts, not only would it cost money to play, but she wouldn't have as much time either.

But with the chance to play more, she didn't want to let it slip away, so she asked, "So how do I get this extra game time?"

Natsuhiko smiled and said, "Well, of course... by studying hard!"

"Starting next semester, the Ninja Academy will implement a point system. Your attendance, class performance, and exam scores will all affect how many points you earn each month."

"And the school will open a points store where you can exchange points for various things, including extra game time cards for the arcade."

"So, little Anko, if you really want more game time, spend more time studying and try to earn as many points as you can."

Anko was a bit baffled by Natsuhiko's words.

Why did wanting to play more games end up meaning she had to spend more time studying?

Was the game time she earned this way even meaningful?

Unfortunately, Natsuhiko didn't seem to notice Anko's confusion and continued enthusiastically promoting, "And I highly recommend you put extra effort into taking elective sealing jutsu classes since there are plenty of opportunities to earn points there."

"—By the way, the person teaching this class is me."

Hearing this, Anko, whose mind was already overloaded, immediately took a few steps back and looked at Natsuhiko with a wary expression.

So... so, this guy is the culprit behind all my recent exhaustion, that hateful Sealing Arts teacher!

If it weren't for Orochimaru-sensei insisting that I join his ridiculous Sealing Arts research group, I wouldn't have to grind away at Sealing Arts every day!

What shocked Anko even more, was the white-haired villain with whom she nearly feuded over food, the boss of the anti-addiction system inventor, and the teacher who forced her to study Sealing Arts every day...

Turns out! It turns out they were all the same person!

At only five years old, little Anko suddenly realised that she had already found her lifelong enemy!

Anko's reaction left both Natsuhiko and Nonō confused, their faces blank.

Natsuhiko was just about to ask why she was having such a big reaction, but before he could, Anko had already grabbed her backpack straps and turned to run toward the main gate.

"Wait, where are you going?" Natsuhiko asked.

"I'm going home to do my Sealing Arts homework!" Anko shouted back as she ran.

Yes, even though she had realised Natsuhiko was her nemesis, she still had to study Sealing Arts, which would earn her more points next semester.

And her enthusiasm for learning Sealing Arts had never been higher!

Hearing Anko's words, Natsuhiko also let out a sigh of relief, a confident smile spreading across his face.

He hadn't expected his points incentive plan to work so quickly, making Anko fall in love with Sealing Arts so soon.

But wait...

In the next moment, he realised something: Anko hasn't even started school yet, so why does she have Sealing Arts homework?

...

A few days later, in the courtyard of the Senju estate.

Under a lush pomegranate tree, Natsuhiko sat cross-legged on a cushion, his eyes closed, his expression calm, as if he were asleep.

Only Mito, Kushina, and her infant clones nearby knew how complex the chakra activity inside him was.

Because on a stone table beside him, above a spread-out scroll, there was a projection of an intricate model of the human meridian system.

The chakra, represented in blue on the projection, moved like a well-trained army, flowing along the meridian system in a complex and orderly manner, seemingly engaging every tiny detail of the meridian network.

And inside Natsuhiko's body, his chakra was moving in the same way as the projection.

This chakra was generated from his cells, transported through the meridian system, and finally gathered near his forehead.

At the same time, part of the chakra is continuously transformed into runes, tiny sealing symbols weaving together like threads. These runes form a container to store chakras and allow more chakras to be placed inside.

It was clear that Natsuhiko's current experiment was the first step in constructing the Yin Seal.

(End of chapter)

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