Chapter 188
Ebisu was troubled.
He and Guy had been teammates ever since graduating from the Ninja Academy.
He had watched with his own eyes as Guy steadily became stronger, leaving both him and Genma further and further behind.
That feeling was painful.
Especially after personally witnessing the battle between Guy and Minato Namikaze.
Only then did he truly realize…
No matter how hard he trained, he was still gradually becoming the one holding Guy back.
Although Guy had never once said such a thing, and Ebisu firmly believed Guy never thought that way…
Ebisu himself couldn’t help feeling miserable.
Actually, Genma felt exactly the same.
Both of them shared the same determination.
They wanted to become stronger, just like Guy.
To keep up with him, they secretly added extra training every single day.
Unfortunately…
The results were painfully limited.
Perhaps even…
Impossible.
Previously, Ebisu could still comfort himself.
After all, Genma was right beside him.
They were comrades facing the same struggle.
Whenever they felt discouraged, they could still comfort each other.
At least…
Neither of them had been left behind alone.
But everything changed after Genma displayed his talent for the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Ebisu panicked.
He truly panicked.
The one companion who had always stood beside him…
Who understood exactly how it felt to chase after Guy’s back…
Had suddenly discovered a path of his own.
Genma had shown extraordinary aptitude for the Flying Thunder God Formula.
He was now personally receiving guidance from Minato Namikaze.
What did that mean?
It meant that although Genma’s current strength was still far behind Guy’s…
He had already found a road leading toward becoming an elite shinobi.
A road leading toward top-class Space-Time Ninjutsu.
A road leading toward an even greater future.
But what about himself?
He was still standing exactly where he had always been.
This left Ebisu, who had always prided himself on being an elite ninja, feeling both anxious and helpless.
He didn’t want to fall behind.
He didn’t want to someday watch Guy and Genma fighting side by side…
While he could only remain in the rear, doing support work.
Or worse…
Not even possess the qualifications to stand on the same battlefield.
He was afraid.
Afraid of becoming Guy’s burden.
Afraid that during some future life-or-death mission…
His own weakness would drag Guy down.
Or even cost Guy his life.
Kikyō Pass.
The Land of Waves.
The Land of Rice Fields.
How many times had it already happened?
Again and again…
Guy had always been the one standing at the very front.
Protecting both him and Genma.
Ebisu wanted to protect Guy too.
Instead of hiding behind him every single time danger appeared.
But…
He couldn’t find his own path.
Taijutsu?
He had tried.
The results were mediocre.
His physical talent simply couldn’t compare with a monster like Guy.
Powerful Ninjutsu?
Leaving aside whether suitable techniques even existed…
His Chakra reserves alone were already his greatest limitation.
At present, he could only cast C-rank Fire Release techniques several times.
He hadn’t even mastered any B-rank Fire Release yet.
Even if he did…
He estimated his Chakra would only be enough for perhaps two uses.
After that…
He would become completely useless.
Instead of helping, he’d only burden his teammates.
He had spent countless nights thinking.
Searching desperately for a path that belonged to him alone.
Yet he found nothing.
Until today.
While flipping through the exchange catalogue…
He finally found it.
A path capable of compensating for his weaknesses.
A path that would truly allow him to help Guy.
That path was…
Fuinjutsu.
Combined with sealing scrolls.
The idea struck his mind like a bolt of lightning.
Instantly splitting apart the frustration that had accumulated in his heart for years.
Not enough Chakra?
Then seal enough low-level Fire Release techniques into scrolls beforehand!
If one wasn’t enough…
Then prepare ten.
If ten wasn’t enough…
Then prepare a hundred!
As long as enough techniques were sealed in advance…
Running out of Chakra during battle would no longer matter.
He could become a walking arsenal of Ninjutsu.
During ordinary days…
He could continuously invest his spare Chakra and time into preparing sealing scrolls.
Other shinobi used their own Chakra to perform techniques during battle.
He…
Would simply open a scroll.
And instantly release the Ninjutsu he had prepared long ago.
If quality couldn’t make up the difference…
Then quantity would.
Not only that…
It would also perfectly compensate for his greatest weakness.
His lack of Chakra endurance.
Imagine it.
While Guy pinned down a powerful enemy at the front…
He could take out over a dozen scrolls from the flank.
Each one containing Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique or Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique.
Then activate them all simultaneously.
What kind of battlefield would that create?
Or…
If the team needed large-scale Ninjutsu to cover a retreat…
He would no longer worry about exhausting himself after casting only two Fire Release techniques.
Instead…
He could simply keep releasing the Fire Release techniques sealed inside his scrolls.
Creating continuous waves of fire suppression.
The more Ebisu thought about it…
The more excited he became.
His fingers even trembled slightly.
As for why he had never seriously considered this path before…
There were two reasons.
The first was fixed thinking.
In his mind, Fuinjutsu had always been an extremely profound field.
Something only specialists or members of clans like the Uzumaki could truly master.
It felt far beyond his reach.
The second reason…
Was money.
Take the ready-made Water Sealing Method scroll Guy exchanged in the Land of Waves.
One single scroll required forty war merit points.
Forty points sounded insignificant.
But converted into money…
That was four hundred thousand ryō.
Four hundred thousand ryō.
Consumed after a single use.
No matter how much war merit he accumulated…
He simply couldn’t afford such extravagance.
And that was already considered inexpensive because it came from the Hidden Mist battlefield.
Under normal circumstances…
Its exchange price would be around fifty war merit points.
Once used…
It was gone forever.
If he relied entirely on purchasing completed sealing scrolls before every battle…
Even an elite Jonin wouldn’t be able to sustain such expenses.
No amount of savings could withstand that kind of consumption.
But…
What if he learned Fuinjutsu himself?
Like the Fire Sealing Method and Water Sealing Method study scrolls listed in the exchange catalogue.
If he mastered those techniques himself…
Wouldn’t he be able to produce his own sealing scrolls?
A standard low-grade blank sealing scroll only cost ten war merit points.
That price…
Was completely affordable with both his current savings and future earnings.
More importantly…
Blank sealing scrolls weren’t disposable.
After the sealed technique was released, the scroll itself could still be reused after being prepared again.
By purchasing blank scrolls and personally sealing techniques into them…
The overall cost would immediately decrease dramatically.
He could even establish a steady production cycle.
With the techniques mastered…
And blank scrolls in hand…
Ebisu suddenly raised his head.
Behind his sunglasses, his eyes locked firmly onto the entry labeled…
Fire Sealing Method.
Exchange Cost.
Two hundred war merit points.
Then…
His gaze shifted toward the Low-grade Blank Sealing Scroll.
Ten war merit points each.
He quickly calculated everything in his head.
He currently possessed four hundred and fifty war merit points.
Exchanging for the Fire Sealing Method would cost two hundred.
That would leave him with two hundred and fifty points.
Spend all of them on blank sealing scrolls.
He could obtain twenty-five.
Twenty-five blank sealing scrolls.
If every single one successfully stored a C-rank Fire Release technique…
Then he would possess twenty-five instantly deployable Fire Release techniques.
Whether Great Fireball Technique…
Or Phoenix Sage Fire Technique.
Even if, during a fierce battle, he could only successfully activate half of them…
That would still amount to more than a dozen Fire Release techniques unleashed continuously.
Enough to create significant battlefield pressure.
Enough to seriously interfere with powerful opponents.
Perhaps…
Enough to completely change the course of a battle.
More importantly…
This wasn’t merely about the twenty-five scrolls before him.
It represented a path.
A road that belonged solely to Ebisu.
A road where he could continue growing stronger.
A road that would finally allow him to play an irreplaceable role on the battlefield.
He no longer needed to dream about suddenly obtaining enormous Chakra reserves.
Nor did he need to chase after impossible A-rank Ninjutsu.
All he had to do…
Was steadily cultivate Fuinjutsu.
And patiently continue producing sealing scrolls.
By doing that…
He could maximize his own value.
He could finally keep pace with Guy.
Even if only barely.
As for what the future would bring…
He no longer wanted to think about it.
Because at least right now…
Especially after Genma had begun learning the Flying Thunder God Technique…
“This…”
“Is my only way out!!!!”