No, seriously. Give me some.
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The next day, Arsene found himself walking through the bustling streets of Konoha Village once again. It was an unusual sight for someone like him, who preferred solitude and training in the outskirts, far from the distractions of the village. Yet today, he had a specific goal in mind. With the Chunin Exams looming closer, Arsene was missing one crucial thing—a trump card. He already had several techniques at his disposal, but what he needed now was something to cover his glaring weakness: Genjutsu.
There was only one person who could help him solve that problem.
Arsene made his way through the village, arriving at his destination with deliberate strides. He knocked on the door in front of him and waited, the seconds ticking by until he heard a voice from inside.
"Give me a second!" called the familiar voice of Sarada Uchiha.
A few moments later, the door swung open, revealing Sarada's confused face. She blinked, staring at Arsene in surprise. "Oh... do you want something?" she asked, her voice laced with curiosity. It wasn't every day that Arsene sought someone out—especially not her.
Arsene wasted no time with small talk. "Great, we can skip the pleasantries. I need to bribe you," he said flatly, walking past her and into the house without waiting for an invitation. Sarada stepped aside, watching him with a raised eyebrow. Typical, she thought. Arsene wasn't exactly known for his manners.
Back of Hokage Rock – The Training Begins
A few minutes later, Sarada and Arsene found themselves at the back of Hokage Rock, a secluded area on the mountainside where the towering faces of all seven Hokages loomed overhead. They were on the far side of the mountain, away from the tourists and the hustle of the village.
Sarada wiped the sweat from her forehead, her breath slightly uneven after the climb. "Whew, this place is far... now, mind explaining how this is supposed to help?" she asked, looking down the cliff below them. The drop was dizzying, and Sarada couldn't help but feel a knot of anxiety in her stomach. What's he planning?
Arsene, standing at the edge of the cliff, turned to her, his expression as blank as ever. "Oh, simple," he said, wiping a trickle of blood that seeped out from behind his eye mask with a napkin. "In exchange for you giving me what I asked for, I'll help you learn how to properly use your Sharingan."
Sarada's eyes widened slightly. The Sharingan... It was one of the things she had been struggling with, especially in terms of improving her control and unlocking its full potential. But before she could ask what he meant by "help," Arsene walked up to her without warning and, with a casual push, shoved her off the cliff.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Sarada's scream echoed through the mountainside as she plummeted downward, her mind a chaotic swirl of thoughts and panic. I'm going to die! He's trying to kill me!
For a brief, terrifying moment, Sarada couldn't think straight. The ground rushed up to meet her, and all she could hear was the roaring of the wind in her ears. But then, something clicked in her mind. Focus! I have to stop this fall!
In the split second of clarity, Sarada formed hand signs as fast as she could, her eyes narrowing in concentration. It felt like time slowed down around her as she focused her chakra. "Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!" she shouted, releasing a large fireball from her mouth. The flames blasted downward, creating a powerful burst of air that slowed her descent just enough.
She hit the ground with a thud, rolling to a stop, her body aching but miraculously unharmed. "Hah... I'm alive... haha..." she muttered between gasps, her heart still racing from the adrenaline. Her body felt weak, not from exhaustion, but from the sheer fear she had just experienced.
As Sarada slowly got to her feet, she saw Arsene standing a few feet away, looking completely unbothered. He stared at her with a bored expression, as if waiting for her to finish catching her breath. "My stuff?" he asked, yawning slightly as if the whole ordeal had been a minor inconvenience to him.
Sarada's initial shock quickly turned to frustration as she realized what had just happened. "Your stuff?" she repeated, her voice filled with rising anger. He just threw me off a cliff and now he's asking for his stuff?!
Arsene, still unfazed by her outburst, reached into his backpack and pulled out a small mirror. He held it up in front of her, tilting it so she could see her reflection. At first, Sarada didn't understand, but as she looked closer, her eyes widened in amazement. Her sclera was now white, but her irises glowed a brilliant red, with two tomoe in each eye.
"Sharingan..." Sarada whispered, staring at her reflection in awe. The two tomoe in her eyes marked her progress toward unlocking the full power of her Uchiha bloodline.
Arsene, however, didn't share in her excitement. "My stuff, woman?" he repeated, this time with a hint of impatience. Sarada sighed, reaching into her ninja pouch and pulling out a scroll, which she tossed at Arsene.
"Fine, fine. Here," she said. "It's the Strength of a Hundred seals, just like you asked. But it's going to take at least three years to be of any use, you know?"
Arsene shrugged as he caught the scroll, uninterested in her warning. "Doesn't matter. I'll figure out a way to modify it." He unfolded the scroll, his eyes already scanning the contents, his mind whirring with ideas.
Meanwhile, Sarada couldn't take her eyes off the mirror. She stared at her newly awakened Sharingan, a sense of pride welling up inside her. She was now one step closer to becoming like her father, Sasuke Uchiha.
"Oh, wait!" Sarada said, snapping out of her thoughts. She turned to Arsene with newfound energy, forming a few quick hand signs. Suddenly, the familiar sound of crackling lightning filled the air, and blue electricity sparked around her hand. "Chidori!" she exclaimed. "And it's gone!"
The lightning faded just as quickly as it had appeared, leaving a faint electric charge in the air. Arsene raised an eyebrow, intrigued by the sudden demonstration.
Sarada grinned, excitement bubbling up inside her. "The Chidori gives the user tunnel vision, right? You need fast reactions to counter that, which is why it's best for Sharingan users!" She clenched her fist, feeling a surge of confidence. "And now, I am one!"
Before she realized what she was doing, Sarada impulsively hugged Arsene, overwhelmed with the excitement of her progress. Arsene stood completely still, his arms at his sides, as if he had no idea what was happening. After a few awkward seconds, Sarada's eyes widened, and she quickly stepped back, her face flushed with embarrassment.
"...Let's... not talk about what just happened," she mumbled, looking away.
Arsene rolled his eyes, unfazed by the brief moment of affection. As Sarada nonchalantly walked away, he turned his attention back to the scroll. "Perfect. Now, study time..." he muttered to himself.
Arsene's Focus – The Strength of a Hundred Seal
As Arsene sat down and opened the scroll, his mind immediately began analyzing the contents. The Strength of a Hundred Seal was a powerful technique that had been used by both Lady Tsunade and Sakura Uchiha, and it was said to originate from the time of the Sage of Six Paths.
The seal stored massive amounts of chakra within the user's body, allowing them to release it in battle when needed, greatly enhancing their physical abilities and healing capabilities. It was a technique that could turn the tide of battle in an instant. However, it required meticulous preparation and an immense amount of chakra to be truly effective.
Arsene's eyes scanned the ancient text, his mind already working on ways to modify the seal to suit his needs. Three years, huh? That was the average time it took to store enough chakra, but Arsene was anything but average. If he could find a way to accelerate the process, he could turn the Strength of a Hundred into a formidable trump card for the Chunin Exams.
As he studied the scroll, a small, rare smile tugged at the corner of his lips. This is going to be interesting.
..
A week had passed since Arsene had last seen Sarada, and during that time, he had retreated to the solitude of his home, deep in thought and experimentation.
The quiet of his secluded house was filled with the faint scratching of ink on his skin, the rhythmic movements of a brush gliding over his arm as he inscribed intricate black symbols, numbers, and letters in neat, precise patterns.
This was Fūinjutsu, the art of sealing jutsu, a discipline Arsene had come to admire deeply. It was one of the most complex and underappreciated fields of study in the shinobi world, but to Arsene, it was a treasure trove of untapped potential. Where most shinobi found the calculations and formulaic nature of Fūinjutsu too tedious, Arsene reveled in it.
Fūinjutsu can do anything, he thought, the brush pausing momentarily as he admired the swirling patterns on his forearm. If you can understand the numbers, the words, and the mechanics, it's like programming reality itself.
Most students had dropped the subject by their fourth year at the Academy, finding it too difficult and obscure. Arsene, however, was the only one who persisted. It wasn't about popularity for him—this was about control, precision, and mastering a tool that could bend the rules of ninjutsu itself.
At the center of his current experiment was the Strength of a Hundred Seal—a powerful technique first mastered by Lady Tsunade and Sakura Uchiha. The seal worked by creating a storage system for chakra, forming a "box" where chakra could be gradually stored over time.
Once enough chakra was collected, the user could release it all at once, causing a dramatic burst of power. It was one of the most potent ways to bolster one's strength and healing abilities in battle.
But Arsene wasn't interested in waiting three years for the seal to reach its full potential. I don't have that kind of time. He needed to modify the system—make it faster, more efficient, and, above all, more versatile.
The symbols on his arm shimmered faintly in the dim light of the room, the ink blending into his pale skin. Arsene had already crafted the initial "box" in the form of a black rhombus on the palm of his hand. It was both a homage to the original users of the seal and a matter of convenience for him.
The rhombus shape was aesthetically pleasing, yes, but more importantly, it allowed him quick access to the seal whenever he needed to manipulate it. And black, well... black was simply his color of choice.
The process of creating the "box" was straightforward enough—by focusing his chakra into the rhombus over time, it would gradually become a permanent storage unit for the chakra.
Once complete, Arsene would be able to draw on that stored chakra to amplify his strength and endurance in battle. The technique was known to constantly drain the user's chakra, which in turn stimulated chakra production, causing it to grow dramatically over the years.
But waiting wasn't an option for Arsene. He needed results now. So, he began working on something entirely new: turning the "box" into a "machine."
Arsene's Plan – The Sealing Machine
The idea behind the "machine" was deceptively simple—transform the Strength of a Hundred Seal from a passive storage system into an active tool that could perform tasks on its own.
By applying Fūinjutsu principles to the seal, Arsene believed he could design it to manipulate his chakra autonomously, even without his direct input. The machine wouldn't just store chakra; it would use it.
As Arsene sketched out new designs on the parchment in front of him, his mind raced with possibilities. The current model of the Strength of a Hundred Seal required the user to manually draw chakra from the box, but Arsene's machine would be able to direct chakra flow automatically, reducing the need for him to micromanage his chakra reserves in battle.
The result? Arsene could theoretically perform jutsu with minimal chakra loss, increasing his efficiency tenfold. While the seal wouldn't be capable of handling offensive jutsu—things like fireballs or lightning attacks required too much precise manipulation—it would excel at auxiliary jutsu.
Healing. Sensory. Detection. Barrier creation. Anything that could aid him on the battlefield without requiring raw destructive power could be offloaded to the machine, freeing Arsene's mind and body to focus on more critical tasks.
He imagined it like a computer system, one that ran in the background, quietly managing his chakra without his conscious involvement. The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. If I can perfect this, it'll change the way I fight entirely.
The room around him was filled with blueprints and notes, sheets of paper covered in complex diagrams of chakra flows, sealing patterns, and theoretical jutsu models. Arsene's desk was cluttered with scrolls, books on Fūinjutsu, and the original notes on the Strength of a Hundred Seal. He'd been working on this for days now, refining the concept, adjusting the formulas, and making sure every detail was perfect.
The Design Process
The first step was to expand the "box" into a system that could channel chakra on its own. Arsene carefully inscribed new symbols around the rhombus on his palm, each one representing a different function of the machine.
One set of seals controlled chakra input, while another set controlled output. He added additional seals to regulate the flow of chakra, ensuring it wouldn't overload or deplete too quickly.
He was particularly focused on developing the chakra regulation seals. If the machine couldn't manage chakra flow efficiently, it would be no better than the original seal.
But if he could strike the right balance, the machine could potentially keep him supplied with chakra indefinitely during combat, allowing him to use support jutsu without worrying about his reserves running dry.
Arsene's brow furrowed in concentration as he etched the final symbols onto his skin, his brush moving with practiced precision. He was methodical, making sure every line and curve was perfect, every stroke of ink infused with chakra to bind the seal to his body.
The design was almost complete. What remained was testing.
Trial and Error
Arsene stood up, rolling his sleeve down to cover the seals on his arm. He flexed his fingers, feeling the faint hum of chakra resonate through the symbols. He could already sense the system beginning to regulate his chakra flow, though it was far from perfect. There were still kinks to work out—occasional fluctuations in chakra output that could disrupt the machine's function during combat.
But Arsene wasn't discouraged. If anything, this was part of the process. Fūinjutsu was about precision, about trial and error. It was like solving a puzzle where the solution was constantly changing based on the variables you introduced. And Arsene enjoyed solving puzzles.
He focused his mind, sending a small amount of chakra into the rhombus on his palm. The black symbol glowed faintly, and Arsene felt the flow of chakra moving through his arm, directed by the seals he had placed there. The sensation was odd—like a second heartbeat pulsing through his body, but it was working. The machine was regulating the chakra, just as he had designed it to.
He smirked slightly. Not bad for a first attempt.
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[Auther: Usually, the borderline. The thing above me is a straight line but I was feeling autistic and did that...I have no idea why I bothered to talk about that.
Ahem, now for an actual thing to talk about, this entire chapter, I explained how Arsene thinks, and I'm not kidding...this is a bit a mere fraction of the process, it took forever.
Creation is hard, cheer me up!
Creation is hard, cheer me up!
Creation is hard, cheer me up!
Creation is hard, cheer me up!
Creation is hard, cheer me up!
Creation is hard, cheer me up!
Creation is hard, cheer me up!