A Sage's Pursuit of Power

Karin was very happy going to school. Yes, very happy. And this was only her second week.

Perhaps the Kusagakure ninjas were so terrible that Karin had rarely experienced such normalcy. Her time at the Konoha school was giving her a taste of a normal childhood.

Karin's enrollment wasn't a big deal. Plus, Aoba felt that the higher-ups in Konoha had relaxed their scrutiny of him, so the enrollment went smoothly.

However, because Karin's foundation was quite weak, she didn't enter the same grade as Sasuke and Naruto but was instead placed one grade below them.

This was actually what Aoba wanted. He didn't want Karin to get too close to the "Konoha Twelve." Those kids either had family legacies or were jinchuriki, attracting too much attention.

Karin would inevitably be involved in his experiments in the future, and having too many eyes on her wouldn't be beneficial.

In her class, there weren't many of the elite family children. There were more ordinary ninja kids, so her school life was quite joyful.

Moreover, unlike Naruto, Karin wasn't a top student like Sakura, but her grades were still excellent.

Perhaps because she knew how precious her current life was, she studied diligently, and her grasp of theoretical knowledge was solid.

After reviewing Karin's homework, he was very satisfied.

"Alright, that's enough for today. The kids outside are your friends, right? They've been waiting for a while. Go play, and remember to come back for dinner."

"Got it, got it. You're more nagging than Mom," Karin said, waving her hand as she dashed out the door to join her friends.

Behind Aoba, Yumi watched Karin's figure with slightly misty eyes.

"Aoba, thank you so much."

"Heh, no need to be so formal. Honestly, watching a child grow up healthy and happy is a reward in itself."

"Your mindset really doesn't seem like that of a ninja."

"Heh, what exactly is a ninja? Who defines that? I believe everyone has their own answer. As long as you stay true to yourself, that's the right path."

"You're really different from other ninjas I've met."

"Maybe so. Alright, let's continue. You're going to be my assistant."

After returning home from missions, Aoba would immediately dive into his laboratory.

He had been studying sealing jutsu for some time. His learning ability was quite strong, thanks to his mental prowess and the basic abilities from his past life. He quickly got a handle on sealing jutsu.

In the world of Naruto, sealing jutsu had a wide range of applications.

The most common use was for sealing materials in scrolls. However, these scrolls didn't require the user to perform the sealing technique. In reality, the seals were pre-drawn on the scrolls. The user only needed to infuse chakra to activate or close them, which was a simple operation.

Moreover, these scrolls were quite expensive and easily damaged. After a few uses, they would be discarded.

After understanding the basic logic of sealing jutsu, Aoba didn't delve into more advanced sealing techniques. Instead, he needed a sealing technique that didn't exist in this world.

He wanted to seal the life force and blood from Karin's blood draw into a potion that could be used anytime.

This required a small but very precise sealing technique. He referenced many existing sealing techniques and tried to develop a suitable one himself.

This wasn't a simple task. It was more challenging than developing ninja body techniques. Fortunately, Aoba had ample materials.

Orochimaru was indeed the "Ninja Aladdin." He had a lot of good stuff. Aside from techniques like the Shiki Fūjin, which only Hokage understood, he had almost all of the recorded sealing techniques in Konoha.

Aoba had failed several times before but had gained a lot of experience. The technique was almost complete, and now it was time for the final testing.

On the table in front of him was a complex sealing formula. In the center was a metal cylinder the size of a syringe, containing Karin's blood.

At this point, the life force in the blood had been successfully sealed. However, the technique was still too complex and large, not meeting his goal.

His requirement was for the technique to be concentrated into a container the size of a syringe. This way, it would be more convenient for injection or direct consumption and easier to carry.

Aoba placed his hands on the cylinder and infused his chakra. After a moment, the sealing formula on the table began to slowly move, like a living thing, crawling up the metal cylinder.

The intricate and complex formula appeared on the metal cylinder. Aoba operated carefully, while also attentively sensing the changes in the blood inside the cylinder.

The process wasn't complicated but required a significant amount of chakra and precise chakra control. He soon found himself sweating, and at this point, the formula had only compressed halfway.

Yumi promptly handed him a soldier pill, which he took and consumed. The chakra replenishment allowed him to persevere and complete the initial compression of the sealing formula.

Yumi wiped the sweat from Aoba's forehead with a towel, and he eagerly picked up the metal cylinder, carefully sensing it.

"It seems to be a success. But we still need to test it."

Aoba used a kunai to cut his arm and then took the blood from the cylinder and drank it.

After a few seconds, the wound on his arm began to heal. However, he noticed that the healing speed wasn't as fast as he had imagined.

The wound took about thirty seconds to completely heal.

The effect was acceptable, but the speed didn't meet his expectations. From his memory, Karin's recovery ability should allow her to heal through severe injuries in under ten seconds.

He pondered and, looking at the remaining blood, thought of a possibility.

"It's the blood. This sealing technique forcibly locks the life force within the blood. When it enters the body, there is a release process. This process slows down the wound recovery."

Finding the cause made solving the problem easier.

At this point, the development of this potion was essentially successful. Even with the unresolved final issue, it was already an extremely valuable restorative item.

A potion with no side effects and fast healing properties—such a good thing was something everyone would want.