Morning Rituals and Training
The moment my eyes flutter open, I notice the room is still dark. The weight on my limbs tells me my seals are still active, pushing my body just enough to ensure every movement, every breath, strengthens me.
Weighted seals, another small advantage of fuinjutsu in the making.
After studying the chakra suppression seal, I realized that it could do more than just block or contain chakra, it could manipulate physical forces too.
By tweaking the seal's formula, I created a weighted seal that increases resistance without disrupting my body's natural movement.
Unlike traditional weights, which throw off balance and strain joints, this seal distributes pressure evenly across my body, forcing my muscles to work harder while improving chakra control.
It's a passive yet constant form of training, adaptable to my growth, and far more efficient than strapping on external weights.
I sit up, taking a deep breath as I immediately move into my daily meditation.
Chakra control is everything, and I've found that starting my day with control exercises helps refine it further. I cycle my chakra slowly, feeling the faint resistance where my coils are slightly strained from training.
Good. That means progress.
After thirty minutes of stillness, I roll my shoulders, dispelling the sluggishness that clung with the sleep.
Time for physical training.
A quick glance at the clock and I knew it's earlier than most academy brats would bother waking up, but I don't have time to waste. I slip out of my room, making my way to the small training area I've set up in the backyard.
Starting with basic stretches, I move into agility drills, short bursts of speed, rapid directional changes, and footwork precision.
Speed means nothing without control, and I need to be able to maneuver flawlessly even with weighted seals.
Then comes the strength work.
Throwing punches with the seals active. Kicks. Squats. Balance drills on wooden posts with additional resistance seals pulling me down.
I focus on keeping my form perfect despite the strain. Training the body is just as important as training the mind, and I refuse to neglect either.
Next up, combat training.
No sense having strength if I can't use it. I go through my katas, refining every movement.
I visualize opponents, imagine counterattacks, feints, weaknesses to exploit. I may not have formal instruction in advanced taijutsu yet, but I'm already thinking ahead.
And finally, Fūinjutsu.
My real weapon.
I sit at my workspace, ink and parchment ready. I've long since memorized the structure of the most common storage seals, so I experiment, trying to push beyond the basics.
Storage seals are the bread and butter of sealing techniques, but I'm not satisfied with the basic designs. I need to innovate.
As I finish a test scroll, I lean back, tapping my brush against the table.
Fūinjutsu is underutilized. Not in the shinobi world, every competent ninja knows the value of storage seals, explosive tags, and barrier formulas, but in civilian life? Almost untouched.
That's a wasted opportunity.
I roll up my latest prototype and smirk. Why should I limit myself to shinobi contracts when there's an entire market ripe for the taking?
The shinobi villages monopolize combat-use Fūinjutsu, but everyday applications?
There's no widespread civilian sealing industry. Sure, a few merchants here and there use storage scrolls, but they're either imported from high-level craftsmen or ridiculously expensive.
Which means if I step in? I control the market.
The possibilities were clear in my mind like a well drawn seal pattern.
1. Storage Seals for Daily Use. Small, affordable storage scrolls for merchants, nobles, and civilians.
Farmers could store excess grain. Business owners could keep inventory compact. Nobles could store clothes, documents, and valuables without requiring an entire caravan.
A simple storage seal could replace entire warehouses.
2. Mass-Produced Shinobi Gear Seals. Standardized weapon storage seals for genin and chūnin.
Most low-ranked shinobi carry kunai pouches, shuriken holsters, why not replace those with a single compact storage seal?
Less weight, more convenience. If I mass-produce them, I could create a standard issue shinobi storage system.
Though that would put me in the limelight…something I wasn't keen on, so…thoughts for later.
3. Sealed Housing & Security Locks. Residential security seals. Theft-proof homes. Sealed locks that only open for the rightful owner. Fireproof seals to prevent disasters. Barrier seals to keep out intruders.
Imagine selling these to nobles, feudal lords, wealthy merchants. They'd pay obscene amounts for security.
I exhale slowly. It's ambitious. But ambition has never scared me.
What was that saying again? If your dream doesn't scare, then you're not dreaming big enough.
Yup. That's it.
The Risks?
There's the supply chain issues since sealing ink and quality paper aren't cheap, and I'll need a reliable source.
Market Entry will pose a challenge since civilians don't understand Fūinjutsu. I'd need to educate them on why they should want it. Which means marketing
I'll consult with Hina on that.
Then there was the Opposition. If I succeed, I might step on the toes of established merchants, or worse, the village elders. After all, who doesn't want more money?
What'd you think they'd do when they notice the money going places not under their scrutiny, or worse still, not under their control.
I get the shivers even imagining it.
The pressure.
As for the Rewards?
Monopoly on a New Industry.
High Demand, High Profit, Specialized Market.
Long-Term Stability Outside Shinobi Work.
Shinobi life is dangerous. I have no intention of dying for a paycheck. If I can establish this business early, I'll have a fallback plan.
…
As I finish rolling up my notes, I hear a knock.
"Murakami, you in?"
Tetsuo. A merchant's son I'd done work for before. I open the door to see him grinning, already holding a small coin pouch.
"You got more storage seals?"
I chuckle. "You burn through them that fast?"
"Nah, but word's spreading. My old man's friends want some. Good quality, cheaper than importing from the Iron Country."
I hum thoughtfully. "I could make more. But if demand is increasing, I might need to raise prices."
Tetsuo groans. "C'mon, man. You know I'm giving you free marketing."
"Mm. True. But you're also proving there's demand." I smirk. "Which means I can charge more."
He glares at me, but he still tosses the pouch over. "Fine. But don't get greedy."
"No promises."
As he leaves, I glance at the coins. Small-time deals for now, but this? This is just the beginning.
I roll up my sleeves and get back to work.
…
It had been a little over three weeks since we returned for the second term, and things hadn't gotten any easier. If anything, they'd become more demanding.
The first term of the Academy had been relatively manageable, establishing a foundation, going through the basics, and getting used to the rigorous physical training.
The second term? That was a whole different beast.
It seems the village is under pressure regarding this war.
Every week, the instructors upped the difficulty.
More advanced taijutsu drills, stricter expectations for chakra control, and an increase in the number of practice hours. It wasn't unexpected considering the status quo.
After all, we were in war times, and even though we still had time, the Academy wasn't designed to babysit weaklings.
You either adapted or got left behind.
And I wasn't keen on being left behind.
That's where balancing the Load came in.
Juggling everything was a nightmare, though.
Between Academy classes, personal training, and my business, it felt like there weren't enough hours in the day.
My small fuinjutsu business had started picking up again since my first commission. Some of my regular clients, mostly merchants and a handful of shinobi, had been waiting for new seal batches.
While I wasn't mass-producing anything crazy, I had built a reputation for making decent-quality storage and reinforcement seals. The catch? No one actually knew it was me creating them.
Early on, I realized that revealing my identity could cause more trouble than it was worth.
As a civilian Academy student, the last thing I needed was unwanted attention from the wrong kind of people, whether it was competitors, opportunists, or even certain shinobi looking to exploit my skills.
So, I set up my business in a way that kept me completely anonymous.
Ishida-san often came by with new requests and payments from external clients and he never asked questions, and in return, I made sure he was always supplied with quality work.
"The seal master prefers to remain unknown," he'd say whenever someone inquired about the creator.
I'd cautioned Hina on the importance of my secrecy, so she'd casually wave off curious buyers, claiming, "He doesn't like being bothered. Just leave your order, and it'll be handled."
It worked well enough. Most people didn't care as long as they got their seals. The few who were curious never pushed too hard, and the secrecy gave my work an air of mystery that actually helped business.
At first, I thought about scaling back to focus more on my training, but I quickly realized I needed the extra income.
Not just for supplies, but because I wanted more access to training resources, weights, better shriuken and kunai, even chakra paper when I could afford it.
So, every night, after classes and training, I spent at least two hours working on commissions. It was exhausting, but necessary.
Some days, I barely got five hours of sleep.
Still, progress was being made. My body had gotten stronger, and I could now last longer during physical drills. My reaction time was improving, though I was still nowhere near some of the prodigies in the class. But most importantly, my chakra control was getting better.
Which led me to today's lesson.
Jutsu Practice
"Instructor's coming," someone murmured as the kids who were gathered together and chatting quickly hurried to their seats and sat.
The door slid open, and in walked Shinno-sensei, one of the senior instructors at the Academy.
Unlike some of the other instructors, Shinno-sensei had a more no-nonsense approach to teaching. He didn't tolerate laziness, and he definitely didn't go easy on us just because we were kids.
"Alright," he said, eyes scanning the room, "we're moving outside. Time to test your progress with the three fundamental jutsu. Follow me."
Finally.
We made our way to the training yard, where small practice stations had already been set up. Shinno-sensei split us into groups, each focusing on a specific jutsu. I got placed in the group practicing the Clone Technique first.
I sighed. Out of the three basic jutsu, this was the one I struggled with the most.
Still, no point in complaining.
Soon it was my turn and I stepped forward as my turn came up. Taking a deep breath, I went through the hand seals—Ram → Snake → Tiger—and pushed my chakra outward.
Poof.
A single, wobbly clone appeared beside me. It flickered unsteadily, its form barely holding together. A second later, it vanished.
I exhaled through my nose.
Not great.
"Again," Shinno-sensei instructed, arms crossed.
I nodded.
The problem wasn't power, I had enough chakra. The problem was chakra control.
The Clone Technique required precise chakra molding, not just dumping power into it. Too little, and the clone wouldn't form. Too much, and it'd destabilize.
I tried again, adjusting the flow of chakra—
Poof.
This time, the clone lasted a few seconds before flickering out.
A little progress.
Shinno-sensei nodded slightly. "You're improving. Keep working on your control."
It wasn't much, but I'd take any progress I could get.
Next up was the Transformation Technique.
This one, at least, I could do decently. I formed the seals—Dog → Boar → Ram—and a puff of smoke surrounded me. When it cleared, I had transformed into Shinno-sensei.
"Hmm." He inspected my form, nodding slightly. "Height's off by a few centimeters. Adjust that."
The fuck did he know that?
Not like I'm gonna complain.
I dispelled the jutsu and tried again, focusing more on the fine details. This time, when the smoke cleared, I had gotten the proportions right.
Shinno-sensei grunted in approval. "Better."
I let out a breath. Two jutsu down, one to go.
The final test of the day was the Substitution Technique.
I was paired up with Tetsuya, a fellow civilian student. He wasn't great at chakra control, but he was decent with taijutsu. We were given wooden kunai, and our goal was to time our substitution to avoid being hit.
Tetsuo threw the kunai. I moved to form the seals—Ram → Boar → Ox → Dog → Snake—but I was too slow.
The kunai smacked against my shoulder.
"Oof," Tetsuo winced. "You okay?"
"Yeah," I muttered, rubbing the spot. "Again."
I knew the issue. Substitution wasn't just about knowing the jutsu, it was about reaction speed. And just now, mine wasn't great.
This time, I preemptively gathered my chakra, preparing for the moment he threw the kunai. The second it left his hand—
Poof!
I switched places with a training log just before impact.
Not perfect, but at least I got it to work.
Shinno-sensei gave a short nod. "Passable. But you're using too much chakra. Work on efficiency."
I bit back a sigh. "Yes, sensei."
It wasn't the best performance, but at least I hadn't completely failed.
By the time classes ended, my body felt a bit heavy, my muscles sore from the earlier physical training. But I still had more work to do.
After a quick stop by my small workshop to finish up some sealing commissions, I made my way back to the orphanage.