Chapter 19: Dual Polarity Seal
"Haah!"
"Hup!"
"Long live youth!"
Even before Yusuke could see Guy, he heard his vigorous shouts echoing from afar during training.
As Yusuke approached, a blindingly green figure came into view—Guy, doing push-ups at a ferocious pace that could only be described as inhuman.
Rather than interrupt, Yusuke quietly stood to the side, waiting. Once Guy hit his one-thousandth push-up, he instantly appeared next to Yusuke with a shunshin technique.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Guy beamed, "Yusuke-kun! Are you here to spar in taijutsu? Perfect timing—I just finished warming up! Let's have a man-to-man, fist-to-fist, soul-crushing brawl of passion!"
Choosing not to comment on Guy's overly suggestive phrasing, Yusuke shook his head. "No, I was just passing by, on my way to talk to Kakashi about something."
Anyone else would've easily seen through the lie. After all, Guy trained in a remote part of the village, and there was no way Yusuke would "pass by" here en route to Kakashi. And he had clearly been standing around, waiting.
But Guy, ever the straightforward soul, believed him without question. "What do you need Kakashi for?"
"Gotcha."
Yusuke smirked inwardly, though his face stayed neutral. "Oh, it's nothing serious. I've just been a bit busy lately, and I was thinking of asking Kakashi to help train my student in taijutsu."
He sighed and added, "You know how it is. Among our peers, aside from myself, Kakashi is probably the best in terms of hand-to-hand combat."
At that, Guy's face suddenly leaned in way too close, startling Yusuke.
"Yusuke-kun, think carefully. There's someone whose taijutsu is even better than Kakashi's!" Guy's eyes sparkled as he stared Yusuke down.
"Is there?" Yusuke feigned confusion, then shook his head. "Nope, pretty sure Kakashi's the best."
"I'm talking about me—Guy! My taijutsu definitely surpasses Kakashi's!" Guy pointed proudly at his face.
Yusuke gave him a scrutinizing once-over. "You're not bad… but Kakashi still seems more reliable."
"Yusuke-kun, don't worry. Leave your student's training to me, Might Guy! If you're not satisfied, I'll let you punish me however you see fit!" Guy declared, pounding his chest.
"You're absolutely sure?"
"Absolutely!"
"Sigh... Alright then, I'll reluctantly put my trust in you this once."
"Thank you, Yusuke-kun!"
"No need for thanks—we're friends, after all."
With his student's training plan settled, Yusuke returned to Orochimaru's lab, focusing fully on developing a cursed seal capable of holding massive amounts of Yin chakra within the human body. Kabuto was by his side.
A week passed before they knew it.
During this time, Kabuto's rapid progress and deep understanding of ninjutsu even stunned Orochimaru.
At first, Kabuto only knew the basics of ninjutsu. But under the deliberate guidance of two masters—Orochimaru and Yusuke—he made shocking strides. Within just a week, Kabuto was already contributing meaningfully to the development of the forbidden technique.
"Yusuke-kun," Orochimaru said, eyes gleaming with admiration as he looked at Kabuto, "I must admit I'm a little envious of your assistant. Would you be willing to part with him and let me have him as my aide instead?"
Kabuto froze mid-task, a chill crawling up his spine. He looked nervously at Yusuke.
Despite having worked alongside Orochimaru for a week, Kabuto still couldn't get used to his eerie presence. Every time Orochimaru stared at him, it felt like dozens of venomous snakes were slithering over his skin.
"Orochimaru-sama, you must be joking. It took me a long time to find someone as suitable as Kabuto—I can't let him go," Yusuke replied firmly.
Hearing that, Kabuto let out a quiet breath of relief.
"What a shame," Orochimaru said, licking his lips unsettlingly.
"But aren't you supposed to be attending the Fourth Hokage selection today?" Yusuke asked.
Waving a hand dismissively, Orochimaru replied, "I've no chance of becoming Hokage. In terms of political maneuvering, both Danzo and I are no match for Sensei. Why waste time on something so futile? Only forbidden jutsu excites me now."
The Hokage election wasn't a public vote—it was decided through ballots cast by the Konoha elite. Only high-ranking officials and renowned clan heads had voting rights.
Even among regular shinobi, only jōnin were eligible to vote. But most jōnin were affiliated with a faction or family, meaning the election was more of a political battleground than anything else.
Originally, Orochimaru already had the odds stacked against him. And to make things worse, his main supporter, Danzo, had been conveniently dispatched by Hiruzen on a diplomatic mission to the Hidden Rain Village during the critical phase.
Most of the influential parties had already been swayed by Hiruzen. With the Third Hokage personally endorsing Namikaze Minato, Orochimaru never really stood a chance.
"You skipping your own candidacy today must be a real blow for Danzo," Yusuke remarked.
Orochimaru glanced at the scroll in his hand and said, "Yusuke-kun, let's focus on our work. I'm quite eager to complete this jutsu as soon as possible. No need to waste time on trivial matters."
"You're right," Yusuke replied with a light chuckle, saying no more as he redirected his attention to the development of their technique.
"By the way," Orochimaru suddenly turned to Yusuke, as if recalling something, "if you had participated in the vote, who would you have cast your ballot for?"
...
At that time, during the high-level Konoha meeting to vote for the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze won by a landslide. Orochimaru didn't even bother to show up; the only one present on his behalf was Danzo, whose face was so dark it looked like ink would drip from it.
When the Third Hokage officially announced Minato as the Fourth Hokage, the village erupted in celebration. The villagers naturally favored the charismatic Minato over the eerie Orochimaru.
To help stabilize Minato's position, Hiruzen also lent his full support. After Minato took office, the Third took on a large portion of administrative duties and rolled out several popular policies that catered to the interests of multiple factions, greatly boosting Minato's reputation.
Over the following months, rumors concerning the Uchiha Clan began to swirl around the village. Whispers claimed that the current "Blazing Blade," Uchiha Yusuke, had already surpassed the clan head, Uchiha Fugaku, becoming the clan's top fighter.
Yet, Shisui the Teleporter, who had become a jonin at an even younger age, was dubbed the true genius of the Uchiha Clan. Many believed he would one day surpass even Yusuke.
Of course, these rumors were all part of the Third Hokage's carefully laid plan. The idea was that once Shisui defeated Yusuke, he would inherit both titles—"Strongest Uchiha" and "Uchiha's Greatest Prodigy"—consolidating his status as the most influential member of the clan.
Uchiha Fugaku found these rumors extremely troublesome. To him, it was clearly a ploy to sow discord within the clan—attempting to pit him, the clan head, against Yusuke, while also driving a wedge between the two brightest stars of the Uchiha.
As both Yusuke's student and Shisui's close friend, Itachi shared his father's concerns. He, too, believed someone was orchestrating a divide-and-conquer strategy against the Uchiha.
Meanwhile, Yusuke, engrossed in the development of a forbidden jutsu, had only heard the rumors in passing and paid them little mind. The research into sealing Yin Release chakra into a curse mark had reached a critical stage!
"Yusuke-kun, I believe we've finally achieved the effect we were aiming for," Orochimaru said, his sinister face alight with fanatic glee.
Yusuke, with heavy dark circles under his eyes, couldn't hide his excitement either. He grinned and said, "Indeed. This jutsu is practically perfect in my eyes—not only can it contain a vast amount of Yin Release chakra, but it's also remarkably stable!"
"Then allow me to apply the seal for you myself," Orochimaru said with a grin, licking his lips.
Yusuke waved him off and pulled out a syringe. "No need—I'm not in the habit of being bitten by men."
The syringe held a special fusion solution created with Hashirama's cells. By combining the powerful Yang chakra within those cells with advanced sealing techniques, they had developed a curse mark capable of storing Yin chakra within the body for on-demand use.
It had to be said—Senju Hashirama's cells were truly the cornerstone of Konoha's scientific advancement. Without them, many forbidden techniques would be impossible. The ones Orochimaru had were, of course, "borrowed" from Danzo.
Yusuke removed his shirt and injected the fusion liquid into the left side of his chest. He then formed a complex hand seal.
"Dual Polarity Seal!"
A yin-yang symbol resembling twin fish materialized on his chest, though it appeared dim and inactive.
"How does it feel, Yusuke-kun?" Orochimaru asked.
"The seal was a success. Right now it's empty, but once we infuse it with Yin chakra, it'll be good to go," Yusuke replied, pulling his shirt back on.
Orochimaru nodded with satisfaction. He had no plans to use the seal just yet—it would come into play only after performing Living Corpse Reincarnation, to patch up the soul-related weaknesses that would follow.
"Oh, and to thank you for your help, I have something quite interesting for you," Yusuke said, pulling out a scroll from his robes and tossing it to Orochimaru. "Same unlock sequence as before. Just don't mess it up—the contents will self-destruct if you get the sequence wrong, and I only have one of these."
"Oh? Something you consider interesting?" Orochimaru said, his eyes gleaming with curiosity as he studied the scroll.
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