On the training ground, Amane's tightly closed eyes suddenly snapped open, a beautiful smile curling on her young, tender face.
It's done!
This Cursed Seal, which had been planted in her shortly after her birth, had finally been completely analyzed by her from scratch after several months!
From now on, as long as Amane made the necessary preparations for drawing the seal, she could remove it in an instant! Or, if she wanted, she could now plant this Tongue Binding Seal on others!
Amane's hands itched with anticipation. When she was first thinking about how to lift the Tongue Binding Seal, her original idea was to see if she could seal it. However, the more she researched, the more she discovered that this technique shared remarkable similarities with Sealing Jutsu, so Amane boldly reorganized her thoughts.
Instead of Sealing it on top of the existing foundation, she attempted to analyze it. The result of doing so was that although the Tongue Binding Seal was called a Cursed Seal, its essence was almost identical to Sealing Jutsu, and now Amane had even learned it.
It wasn't surprising when she thought about it. Cursed Seals appearing in the original work were even rarer than Sealing Jutsu, and judging by the Tongue Binding Seal and the Self-Exerting Curse Seal contributed by Danzo himself...
The former detects speech and then imposes paralysis to block the target's words and actions, while the latter binds the target's physical movements through contact.
Perhaps Sealing this kind of Cursed Seal effect into an enemy's body and then setting conditions for when it unseals is the essence of so-called Cursed Seal Jutsu.
Amane's mind suddenly began to race.
Could she apply the Tongue Binding Seal to the Adamantine Sealing Chains?
Originally, besides binding and Sealing, the Adamantine Sealing Chains could also be used as an indestructible weapon or even for deploying Barriers.
The development potential was already quite high, but unlike the Rasengan, it was primarily used for Sealing purposes.
So, could some techniques be carved or sealed onto the chains of the Adamantine Sealing Chains to make them more versatile and widely used?
[I really want to start training!]
Amane glanced at the two people beside her, as well as the large number of Ninjas she could detect even without using the most basic Sensing Technique; she knew she could only wait for the next opportunity to sneak in some practice.
In her mind, she couldn't help but imagine her Adamantine Sealing Chains binding an opponent's body, while simultaneously various Chakra runes crawled from them to cover the enemy, setting one restriction after another.
Or perhaps there was no need to be so rigid; could she use this to directly imprint Ninjutsu attacks onto the chains, or enhance and change the nature of the chains to strengthen their offensive capabilities?
If some Uzumaki Clan Members knew about Amane's thoughts, they would definitely complain. Because even without mentioning the Sealing effect, the power of normal Adamantine Sealing Chains was enough to crush the vast majority of enemies. Now she actually wanted to develop Ninjutsu conduction?
But Amane, who knew the script, understood that the standard for T1 level in the later stages was "Gundam," and T0 level was related to the Six Paths.
Although the Uzumaki Clan had powerful Chakra and vigorous vitality, they weren't as easy to "cheat" with as the Uchiha.
The Gundam was given once the Mangekyo was awakened, along with two special abilities.
Then there was Wood Release; with a massive amount of Chakra, one might also be able to pilot a Gundam. But judging by the slow progress of her Earth Nature Transformation training, the growth ceiling for Wood Release might not be very high for her.
[Sigh... in the end, I still have to find my own way.]
It was difficult, and she had no ideas yet. But Amane felt a surge of infinite motivation.
Great power concentrated in one's own body—this was something many had fantasized about. Now, she was truly stepping forward on this path!
[But now I should think about how to go back, and how I should deal with Ding myself.]
Now, through the multiplied experience of Shadow Clones, Amane had overcome the hanging sword of the Cursed Seal in about half a year since leaving. If they weren't currently in Mei Terumī's territory in the Land of Water, Amane would have found a way to get rid of Ding without a second thought, then reported intelligence to Danzo herself, dealing with him while looking for an opportunity.
But the current situation had become somewhat complicated.
Actively plotting to kill Ding was too difficult given her status in this base.
As for the option of finding an opportunity to act directly, Amane felt that if she were to face Ding one-on-one, based on the combat power he had shown so far, she might have a chance. But this was inherently a very dangerous action, and escaping the base afterward would be incredibly difficult.
Find a way to use someone else's hand to poison him? Don't be ridiculous; he's from Root. Amane had poisoning skills too, but they were from the same school.
After thinking it over, perhaps only by throwing the situation into complete chaos—like Orochimaru's Konoha Crush or Pain's invasion—would Amane have the operational space to escape or kill Ding directly.
In other scenarios, an accident happening while Amane was out on a mission might work, but then Ding would remain a hidden threat.
[The former relies too much on luck; as for the latter, if I take the risk of being slightly suspected, maybe...]
Participating in the assessment.
This option surfaced in Amane's mind.
Two months had passed since Mei Terumī took the three of them as disciples. During this time, given their efficiency and strength, completing three c-rank missions was naturally a simple matter.
So, at Ringo Yuriko's strong suggestion and with Amane's plan to get more opportunities to sneak away, they went for the battlefield assessment.
The content of the assessment was to defeat an expert one-on-one.
Although Amane was young, she had received elite education after all, and her perspective was very broad. She immediately judged from the battle between this expert and Ringo Yuriko that he was a Jonin.
They clearly didn't intend to let these children pass and go to the battlefield, but rather wanted them to stay and study in this base.
[Thinking carefully, now is the time to wait. What would happen if I left right now anyway?]
The conditions were far from meeting expectations. Just because she had unraveled the Tongue Binding Seal, she was getting a bit restless; Amane felt she should reflect on herself.
[Let's wait. Yagura's Genjutsu hasn't been lifted yet, and I really want to see if Mei Terumī is truly capable or if Obito has just finished playing around.]
After thinking about all this, Amane's mood calmed down.
"What exactly did you think of in just one short minute that your state of mind would fluctuate so much?"
Mei Terumī watched as Amane emerged from her concentration training with a slight curl of her lips. Then, that happiness vanished shortly after, replaced by a slight furrow of her brow as if she had fallen into some worry.
And now, Amane's expression had returned to calm.
This series of changes piqued Mei Terumī's curiosity, so she quickly asked.
"I just suddenly got a flash of inspiration, but thinking about it further, I feel there are some significant problems to solve,"
Amane said with a smile.
"Oh? Tell me about it. Have you mastered the Lightning nature Chakra transformation?"
One month after Mei Terumī's personal guidance, Amane mastered the Water nature transformation right in front of her. This talent made the future Fifth Mizukage praise her from the bottom of her heart and further believe that Amane had the talent to learn Bloodline Limits.
But in fact, the Water nature transformation was learned within two weeks of Mei Terumī's guidance, achieved by her main body without using Shadow Clones, showing just how high Amane's talent was.
Amane then picked up a piece of iron wire; as the corresponding Chakra flow was injected, the wire emitted a dazzling light.
Mei Terumī nodded approvingly.
[One Nature Transformation a month; this girl's talent is truly strong. Although she and Nakamura both said she doesn't have a Bloodline Limit lineage, it might be recessive.]
This wasn't rare, especially in this country with so many Bloodline Limits. Who could really say for sure if their ancestors didn't have a few illegitimate children?
"Then what are you worried about? Is it friendship?"
Mei Terumī felt that since Amane had already mastered the Lightning Nature Transformation, the thing that could make her show worry and then turn calm must be the Little Apple beside her.
Ringo Yuriko, who was nearby, had her eyes slightly closed, appearing as if she were still undergoing concentration training, but her ears twitched almost imperceptibly.
Meanwhile, Ye appeared much more composed, watching the events unfold with a smile.
[Why has the tone suddenly shifted so strangely? Would it normally go from training to romance like this?]
In the middle of training, she suddenly became the center of gossip; is this the world of girls?
This sudden and magical shift made Amane fail to notice the immense sense of weakness descending upon her at first.
Amane, who was considering how to reply, simply performed a "falling asleep instantly."