CHAPTER 33

Yuske knew about the seals that corresponded to the elements, they were mentioned in many manuals, but he had no idea which seals were responsible for the amount of chakra allocated, and in what order they should be applied. If the wrong sequence is used, it can take as much chakra as an S rank technique, but the ninjutsu itself will be far from the appropriate power.

Which seal was responsible for a particular role didn't really matter, what mattered was the confirmation of the fact that if someone, as in Madara's case, understood the seal to the proper degree - they were able to use a more potent version of the technique. Therefore, the understanding is the most important part in matters involving seals, and if it is sufficient, you can even do without the seals themselves, throwing away these 'crutches' over time.

From this comes Yuske's comprehension of seals as a equation, and especially gifted, talented, if you like, can achieve significant results without them, so to speak, 'solve the equation in their minds'. This is the only reasonable explanation that someone talented is able to use the technique by fulfilling the necessary "conditions" with one hand, applying only one single seal, or simply making a clap of hands.

Yuske believed that if they could do it, then he should be able to do it too, the main thing was to understand how it all worked and how seals really affected ninjutsu, and then it was a matter of proficiency.

In his opinion, most shinobi are far too ignorant, mistaking seals as an absolute necessity without even questioning their value, hence the firm belief that they can't do without them. Over time, it becomes an addiction for them, forming a kind of barrier to their comprehension of the actual essence of hand motions.

A large number of people have this barrier lingering in their minds for years, hence the situation where shinobi live in the shadow of ignorance until death, relegating their use of ninjutsu to mere hand seals.

* Hopefully I won't get used to the seals. Admittedly I have no idea how to take the first steps without them, at least without spending years of practice. – Yuske assumed that if someone practiced with chakra long enough and tried to understand how it affected the elements, they would be able to get by without using seals from the start, but for him, such a method was out of the question. He didn't have time for that, hence the need to try formation of techniques using hand seals first, and then figure out what exactly they actually meant.

If he manages to achieve the desired results with the use of seals, it will be crucial to find a way to do without them in the future, eliminating the need for them altogether.

With thoughts like these, he sat down right next to the edge of the pond and folded his right hand into a shape of a fist and placed his left hand on top of it with his opened palm down.

That's right, it was the Dog Seal. Each element had a seal closest to it. In case of water element this closeness was shown by the Dog.

* That would be right off the bat, the connection is even better than I expected. – Folding his hands in the shape of the Dog Seal, Yuske could even sense the elements hovering around him, and there was only one logical explanation for that - there were water particles in the air around him, but he didn't even try to manipulate them, assuming it would be a pointless endeavor.

Another thing was the kinship felt from the source in front of him, specifically the pond in the backyard, for Yuske felt that this entire water body was ready to respond in an instant.

He was no fool, hence realizing that it would be much easier for him to deal with the water that was already concentrated in one place, rather than trying to gather tiny specks of water particles from the air.

- It's time to see if the water element will be half as useful as I expect it to be.

Folding his hands again in Dog Seal shape, Yuske began to channel his chakra towards the portion of water in front of him. Gradually, the chakra began to concentrate at one point within the water, causing some fluctuations on the surface, and Yuske settled on trying to control it somehow first. With that thought, he considered starting to move the lump of released chakra, pulling it towards him then moving it from side to side.

Nothing happened at the beginning, but that was because Yuske was doing it all too slowly, nevertheless after a few seconds he noticed that every movement of his chakra was causing the slightest ripple. Eager to confirm his own hunch, he began to move the chakra faster, and by now it was rather noticeable that a certain amount of water seemed to stick to the energy he released, and was moving to the same point the chakra was placed.

Assuming that the water had somehow made a connection with his chakra, he decided to not just move it around in the pond, but to test that assumption, to start lifting it upwards.

The same instant he thought of the chakra moving in the intended direction, the water began to separate from the general mass and lift slightly. As the situation took such a turn, he decided to completely seize the area of water that his chakra was flowing into, and it rose above the surface of the water at the boy's eye level, forming a small ball the size of a basketball.

At that moment, a thought flashed through Yuske's mind, followed by a chain of logical reasoning, and it was decided to leave the ball of water alone.

Losing the link to the chakra, the water re-emerged back into the pond, causing a small splash from the fall.