Chapter 5: The Nine Syllable Secret Hand Seals!

The third period class began swiftly.

Ryusei Futaki continued from the previous lesson, but halfway through, he shifted from theory to practice.

That is, chakra refinement!

Ryusei explained it in great detail, starting with focusing the mind as the first step in chakra refinement.

The method was to place a leaf on the forehead.

This technique was well known to Genichi Yashita; Iruka had also taught Naruto and the others in the same way.

And in the decade ahead of him, the process of chakra refinement always began with this step.

Genichi Yashita followed the procedure step-by-step, but compared to other students who were not from ninja clans, he grasped it immediately upon first instruction.

Thus, Genichi Yashita became the brightest star in the class.

At the end of the lesson, Shizune looked at Genichi with admiration and exclaimed, “Genichi, you’re amazing!”

“I used to take three days just to refine chakra,” Shizune said.

Genichi smiled and replied, “That doesn’t necessarily mean much. I’m just better at concentrating.”

“The two most critical factors in chakra are the body and the mind,” he explained.

“I only have a slight advantage when it comes to mental focus.”

His humility was genuine.

Without having drawn on his future knowledge, Genichi felt he might not have been able to master chakra refinement through sheer talent alone.

Though he worked hard to cultivate the image of a genius, he never truly believed he was one; he remained grounded.

For the following week, Ryusei Futaki continued teaching chakra refinement until every student in the class could successfully refine chakra, marking the end of that chapter.

During this period, Genichi dedicated himself to mastering hand seals.

Under Shizune’s watchful eye, he progressed from awkward attempts to near fluency, almost perfecting a new seal each day.

Within a week, Genichi unleashed all the hand seal knowledge and techniques he had acquired from his future decade.

Of course, this was just on the surface — a performance for Shizune’s benefit.

Most of his time was actually spent contemplating deeper aspects.

For instance, simplifying hand seals.

If he still relied purely on speed and dexterity, then what was the point of having traveled through time?

Though not as extreme as Jiraiya’s infamous foot seals, simplifying hand seals was a crucial and feasible area of research.

There was also single-handed hand seals.

Genichi recalled that Hakuton Haku and the Eternal Bandit Girl had demonstrated single-handed seals.

During the battle involving Uchiha Itachi, Kakashi, and Asuma Sarutobi, single-handed seals were likely used as well.

Haku was in a normal state, while the Eternal Bandit Girl had to rely on single-handed seals due to being resurrected and missing an arm.

Besides his future-enhanced proficiency, Genichi still only understood the basic twelve hand seals superficially.

In addition to those twelve, there were the Nine Character Mantra Seals, beginning with the chant “Rin, Byo, Sha, Sha, Kai, Rei, Za, Zen.”

Genichi remembered using some of these—for example, Might Guy’s Daytime Tiger seal was the “Sha” character, and during the Second Hokage Senju Tobirama’s water-style jutsu against Sarutobi Hiruzen, the “Zai” character was used.

Unfortunately, the textbook mainly covered the basic twelve seals, and the Nine Character Mantra Seals were only listed at the end without detailed explanations.

Unlike the basic twelve, which each had annotations.

On the day the chakra refinement course concluded, Genichi approached Ryusei Futaki after class.

“Teacher Ryusei!”

Ryusei stopped and turned, smiling upon seeing Genichi.

“Genichi, do you have another question?”

Genichi bowed slightly before speaking, “Yes, I’m sorry to trouble you.”

Ryusei glanced at the notebook in Genichi’s hands and asked, “About hand seals?”

He already knew Genichi had been practicing seals and was becoming quite skilled.

He held great hope for the intelligent and diligent Genichi, so he was always patient and enthusiastic.

“Yes, Teacher Ryusei,” Genichi nodded.

“I have been studying the detailed explanations of hand seals. The textbook says seals exist to better perform ninjutsu by helping channel chakra and convert it into ninjutsu.”

“So, Teacher Ryusei, does ‘better performing ninjutsu’ mean enabling the ninja to more effectively carry out nature transformation and shape transformation?”

Ryusei was surprised. “You actually know about nature and shape transformations?”

Genichi smiled faintly. “My grandfather was also a ninja and left behind some notes that mentioned these concepts.”

That explained it.

Ryusei nodded in realization and said, “Knowledge of shape and nature transformations is beyond the scope of what the ninja academy teaches.”

“But your understanding is very accurate.”

“Nature and shape transformations of chakra form the foundation of ninjutsu. Every ninjutsu depends on these two, or rather, chakra becomes ninjutsu through these transformations.”

“And hand seals help ninjas perform these transformations more efficiently and rapidly.”

Genichi pondered, “Teacher Ryusei, does that mean if a ninja masters nature and shape transformations well enough, they can reduce or even eliminate the need for hand seals?”

Ryusei chuckled, “Genichi, you’re not wrong in thinking that, but it is extremely difficult.”

“Even the Third Hokage couldn’t perform ninjutsu without hand seals.”

“Of course, many jonin can reduce the number of seals.”

Then, with a serious tone, he added, “Genichi, I know you’re very smart, but since you haven’t started learning ninjutsu yet, focus on mastering the hand seals first. When you become a chunin, you can consider trying to shorten or eliminate them.”

Genichi nodded obediently, then, holding his notebook, asked about the deeper meanings behind the twelve basic seals.

After flipping through Genichi’s notes, Ryusei’s expression grew complex.

“Hmm, your understanding is all correct.”

“Very good, exactly like that.”

He truly had no words to add.

Genichi nodded, relieved he hadn’t gone astray.

At that moment, Ryusei noticed Genichi had notes on the Nine Character Mantra Seals.

He said, “Genichi, you only need a basic understanding of these. They’re rarely used in ninjutsu.”

Genichi scratched his head. “Teacher, I’m very curious about these nine seals, but the textbook has no annotations about them.”

Ryusei thought for a moment and said, “Come find me after the first class this afternoon, and I’ll give you more information.”

In truth, Ryusei himself did not have detailed notes on the Nine Character Mantra Seals and didn’t fully understand them either, as they were hardly ever used.

But seeing Genichi’s intelligence, he decided to help.

Genichi beamed. “Thank you, Teacher Ryusei!”

Ryusei smiled encouragingly. “Keep it up, Genichi. Don’t waste your talent!”

“Yes, sir!”