A full two hours passed before Mito finally lifted her gaze from the scrolls. With a strange hint of resentment, she said to Izuna, "I can't believe you dared to practice such a dangerous technique. Even the members of that clan can't perfectly control Sage Chakra. One small mistake could lead to mental collapse, or even death."
A faint smile played on Izuna's lips. For some reason, he could hear the worry hidden beneath the complaint in her voice.
Seeing the smile on his face, Mito's heart gave an unruly leap. She tossed the scrolls back to him and, after a long silence, said, "Our Uzumaki sealing techniques can suppress runaway chakra, depending on the user's ability. D-do you want to try?"
In the original story, aside from Senju Hashirama, whose training methods were unknown, Madara and Sasuke Uchiha had both awakened their powers through the Sage of Six Paths. Naruto, Jiraiya, and Kabuto had all learned it at one of the three great sage regions. The fact that Mito could point out the flaws in Izuna's self-study of Sage Art showed she was indeed very knowledgeable in this area. Although many speculated that since Tsunade trained at Shikkotsu Forest, her grandfather Hashirama must have as well, this was never confirmed. It was possible that Hashirama also had Mito's help in his Sage Art training.
Izuna answered with a small smile, "Let's begin."
At his smile, Mito pouted and told him to wait a moment. She then moved about three meters away, knelt down, and formed a hand seal Izuna had never seen before.
Mito closed her eyes and began to concentrate her chakra. About five minutes later, a surge of chakra erupted from her body, creating a sealing formation that glowed with a crimson light on the ground, centered on the cross-legged Izuna. From the perimeter of the formation, four long, whip-like bands of light rose up from four directions and connected to Izuna's limbs. Izuna himself felt no obvious discomfort.
Then, he heard Mito's voice from across the clearing. "You can begin."
Hearing this, Izuna formed the hand seals to generate Sage Chakra.
Just like before, as he began to gather Sage Chakra, his body was gradually corroded by natural energy, transforming into the grotesque, inhuman appearance of the Sound Five. But as soon as the transformation began, Mito's chakra flowed through the crimson light whips and into Izuna's body, suppressing the rampaging natural energy and restoring him to his human form.
Izuna, his eyes closed in concentration, was unaware of any of this. He continued to gather Sage Chakra, trying to control its power for his own use.
The higher the concentration of Sage Chakra he refined, the more frequently his Cursed Seal transformation occurred. Seeing this, Mito could only continuously expend her own chakra to suppress the natural energy. The principle behind this sealing technique was similar to the method Yamato used to prevent the Nine-Tails' energy from going berserk when Naruto was training to create the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken. However, Izuna was on a completely different level from Naruto at that time, and Mito had to expend far more chakra and effort to restrain him.
Time passed from morning to high noon. Finally, beads of sweat dotted Mito's forehead, and her rosy complexion gradually turned pale. Her chakra was nearly depleted.
"Argh!" Unable to maintain the hand seal to channel her chakra, Mito let out a soft cry and braced herself on the ground with her hands, panting softly.
The sealing formation beneath her and the chakra whips connected to Izuna's body vanished. He naturally felt the change and immediately opened his eyes to look at her.
Seeing her pale face, Izuna didn't hesitate. He rushed over and knelt, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Are you alright?" he asked, his voice filled with concern.
A stray lock of red hair, damp with sweat, was stuck to her face, giving her a touch of disheveled beauty.
Shaking her head, Mito struggled to speak. "I just... ran out of chakra. I'm... I'm fine."
Izuna gently tucked the stray hair behind her ear and used his sleeve to wipe the sweat from her forehead. "Rest for a while. That's enough for today."
At this intimate gesture, Mito pressed her lips together. After a fierce internal struggle, she ultimately did not refuse. With a forced composure, she nodded and turned her head to the side, avoiding his gaze.
Izuna lifted her in a princess carry and gently set her down to rest against a tree. Through the memories transmitted from his shadow clones, Izuna knew that they had all dissipated shortly after Mito had started helping him train. It was like trying to look left and right at the same time; refining Sage Chakra required immense concentration. At a certain point, his focus could no longer be split among the clones. In that time, they had found no clues about the Two-Tails.
Glancing at Mito resting by the tree trunk, Izuna created another set of shadow clones to resume the search.
"Mito," Izuna began, sitting down beside her after sending out the clones. His form of address had changed. "Do you believe in a dream... of creating a village where all ninja can live together in harmony?"
Hearing him use her first name, Mito's body trembled slightly, even with her eyes closed in feigned rest. When she heard the question that followed, her brows knitted together. She couldn't help but ask, "Is such a thing even possible?"
***
Izuna couldn't help but smile. He hadn't been some kind of Casanova in his past life and was far from adept at interacting with women. So he simply fell back on the distant dream Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara had discussed in their childhood.
"It was a dream my idiot older brother and another idiot had when they were kids," he said. "I wasn't really interested at first, but the more I experience the cruelty of this Warring States Period, the more I understand their ideal."
As he spoke, Izuna recalled how he, as "Tobi," had killed several members of the Uchiha's Despair Corps to sow discord between the Shimura and the four northwestern clans.
A flicker of pain crossed his eyes as he bit his lip. "I... I'd also like to end this age of war."
Uzumaki Mito stared at him, feeling she understood him a little better now.
"And you?" Izuna asked, turning to look at her. "Do you have a dream?"
Uzumaki Mito lowered her head and thought for a long time before speaking slowly. "When I was very young, my grandfather told me I had a great talent for sealing techniques. I've lived my life as the heir to the Uzumaki, and my purpose has been to protect our clan. I suppose... that's my dream..."
She paused for a moment. "Just a short while ago, Senju Yuma, the head of the Senju clan, came to see my grandfather. He requested an alliance, sealed with a political marriage. My grandfather agreed and decided that I would..." She paused again, glancing at Izuna with an unreadable expression. "And then I was kidnapped by you."
Though Izuna had already learned all this using his Sharingan, hearing it from Uzumaki Mito herself left a bitter taste in his mouth.
A thought stirred in his heart. He reached out and took her hand. Izuna shifted closer until their shoulders were touching.
Uzumaki Mito's heart pounded in her chest. Her first instinct was to pull her hand back, but Izuna held it tight. She tried several times, but couldn't break free.
After a few fruitless attempts, Uzumaki Mito gave up. She said nothing, her heart racing as they remained like that. The silence lasted until dusk, when it was finally broken by a loud growl from her stomach.
*Grrrrowl...*
Hearing the protest from Uzumaki Mito's belly, Izuna couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.
Uzumaki Mito's face turned as red as her hair. "What's so strange about it?" she huffed. "I haven't eaten since this morning!"
She had spent the whole night agonizing, then slept for only a short while before helping Izuna with his Sage Art training. Before that, she had expended a great deal of Chakra and energy. It was a wonder her stomach had waited this long to complain.
"There's still a bit of field rations left." At that, Izuna stood up, finally releasing her hand, and began rummaging through his ninja pouch.
As the feeling of his touch vanished, a pang of emptiness shot through Uzumaki Mito. She immediately shook her head, clasping her hands to her chest and repeatedly reminding herself, *Uzumaki Mito, you shameless woman, what are you thinking? He said he wanted to kill Grandfather!*
"This stuff doesn't taste great. I hope it's not too much for the Uzumaki princess, is it?" Izuna teased, handing her a dry piece of flatbread.
"I'm not that delicate!" Uzumaki Mito retorted. As if in a fit of pique, she began stuffing the flatbread into her mouth in large bites.
Izuna stood nearby, watching with a smile. He handed her a water canteen. "Slow down, don't choke."
"Cough, cough, cough!"
No sooner had he spoken than Uzumaki Mito began to cough violently.
-----
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