Naruto: The Medical Shinobi

The group pondered the implications of Natsurama Senju's words. With this seal, they can now sell even the secret seals of their clan at a premium price in the market without any risk. They can all recover the cost in just one year if they want to, if they have any good seal in the family, which most of the clans do.

The potential for profit and increased influence was clear to everyone present. This new development positioned the village as a key player in the seal market, enhancing its reputation and fostering stronger ties with neighbouring clans and villages while safeguarding its intellectual property.

Danzo contemplated his own consideration. He has too many secrets to keep, and all the personal seals he created were something he did not want others to see. Encrypting them would be a logical step, even if he does not want to sell them. They wouldn't be simple for any other grandmaster to break this way.

"Natsurama-san is right," said Homura Mitokado.

"I am confident that Daimyo and the leaders of smaller ninja villages will be willing to pay a higher price for some of our seals," he continued.

Hiruzen asked, ""I think so too. It's beneficial to all the grandmasters of our village who have secret family Fuinjutsu seals as well as the village as a whole. Even I have a few seals in the forbidden scroll that I could not give to anyone in fear of the seal falling into the hands of the enemy, but now the situation has changed."

Hiruzen finally asked, "All right, we can share the cost between those who agreed to this deal. Those not in favour of this deal, please raise your hand."

No one raised their hands, including Danzo, which surprised everyone, as everyone knew that Danzo and Hiruzen very often had clashes of ideals. Hiruzen nodded in approval, pleased that everyone was on board with the decision. The burden and the gains, too, were now shared equally among all involved.

Hiruzen said, "So, I will have my secretary collect the amount from your office and do the other formalities."

Everyone started leaving, and only three elders remained. Danzo spoke, "Did you find any hidden bases of Orochimaru?

Hiruzen looked at Danzo and thought, "This sly bastard, he had off-the-record dealings with him. He had the gall to ask me about his bases, even though he should have known about them as he was aware of his experiments."

Hiruzen replied, "I did locate some bases, but they were either completely deserted or all of the people there, including the experiments, had already died or died afterwards."

Danzo said, "So none of his experiments survived. What a shame."

Hiruzen found something strange about his comment, as if he were hiding something. But he did not bother asking; he was hiding too much even before Orochimaru. His secrets even had secrets. Danzo was not going to share his secrets even if he asked.

Danzo thought, "So only one kid survived those experiments, if I believe Hiruzen. I was lucky to find him on time, or he would have died too. I have to wait for him to grow a little for any potential change to manifest. It would have been nice if more subjects had survived; that way, I could have more data on the 1st Hokage's bloodline."

His focus then shifted towards the two open scrolls lying on the table. 

Danzo asked, "Is the unencrypted scroll yours?"

Hiruzen understood his intentions and replied, "No. I borrowed it for a demonstration. Now that it has served its purpose, I can now return it back to its owner."

"Can you let me have a look?" Danzo asked.

Hiruzen replied, "No... I am afraid I cannot do that. I still have to keep my word. I am not one to break the trust Dan has put in me or go against the secret Jutsu Act."

After saying that, Hiruzen rolled up both scrolls on the table. Danzo's expression did not change, but inside he was cursing. He was eager to examine the contents of the scroll before it underwent encryption, revealing his strong curiosity and motives. And now the window has closed. He could have tried looking at the regular seal with Sharingan. But he had to do that alone.

Hiruzen said, "You can ask the original owner of the scroll, but considering the history you have with that clan, I doubt you will do that."

Without saying anything, Danzo got up and walked away, leaving Hiruzen and the other two elders by themselves.

Following Danzo's departure, Koharu Utatane questioned, "Was it necessary to bring up his history? You know how much he despises it."

Hiruzen replied, "I also don't like it one bit when he goes behind my back and does things, but he still does it. Even now he is doing it."

After a moment of silence, he continued, "The way he asked me about his bases and the way he was disappointed that no one survived. If he did not already have the fruit of Orochimaru's labour, he hoped that some of those poor souls had survived so he could obtain it."

Koharu said, "You may be right. I always wonder what he would be like if that cripple Senju hadn't met Tsuki."

Hiruzen replied, "I wonder that too."

Both Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado left after that. Hiruzen looked at the scroll and called, "Fox.".

An ANBU appeared. Hiruzen gave him the scroll and said, "You can give it back in your free time. Also tell me that deal he talked about is under approval." 

Fox replied, "Yes, Lord Hokage," and flickered away.

Back at Ryu's house. Kakashi flickered outside his home. Kakashi knocked on the door, and Dan opened it.

Kakashi, what a surprise. What brings you here? If you have come regarding that stolen seal, don't worry about it. It was a protected seal and will be useless after it is used for a second time. 

Kakashi replied, "Yeah, I got to know about it from Lord Hokage. But I still wanted to apologise; it was taken from me."

Dan reassured, "Don't worry about it. If you want, you can have another copy of the stolen seal."

Kakashi hesitated for a bit. He did want that seal but did not want to ask for it again as it was a gift, and he felt grateful for the previous one. It paired well with his Sharingan, as the feedback from it enhanced the activating mechanism further and protected him well from the onslaught of Orochimaru's snakes when they attacked him from all directions. 

Dan took the one scroll that was not encrypted and said, "You can have that one. Hiruzen told me it saved your life. I hope you may never have to use it again, but if you do, may you find it useful."

"Thank you for your generosity." Kakashi replied.

Dan replied, "Don't be like that. You helped Ryu. That was the least we could do for you."

"By the way, how did it work in real battle?" Dan asked.

"Yes, it was amazing. 360-degree autonomous protection. It paired well with my Sharingan as well. The attacks were stopped before they even came near me."

He continued, "The deal you talked about with Lord Hokage regarding the seal trade is underway. You will know when it is finalised."

Just then a bell rang. Ryu, who was listening to Dan and Kakashi talk, opened the door.

"Mother Yuki," Ryu exclaimed happily.

"Yuki, what a surprise!" Dan said.

"Kakashi," Yuki said.

"Greetings, Dr. Yuki," Kakashi said.

Kakashi turned to Dan and said, "The Lord Hokage's office will contact you once the deal is finalised."

Kakashi said, "Again, thank you for the seal." and left.

Yuki asked, "What was the conversation about? Did you give him a seal?"

"You heard about Orochimaru stealing the seal?" Dan asked

"Yeah. I was not surprised. I already knew he was into shady business." Yuki replied.

Dan then explained about the [Encoder seal] Ryu had crafted and how he used it to encrypt the [ReflexGuard] before giving it to Kakashi as a gift and how it saved his life but ended up in Orochimaru's hand. He explained the benefits of the [Encoder seal] also.

After listening to all the explanations, Yuki said, "That is a good innovation that has very practical application."

"Yes, that's why we actually sold the seal to the entire Fuinjutsu council and got rich overnight. The decision was made to make sure the seal could be widely used for everyone's benefit. I also need money. I don't know the specifics yet, but I have left it in the hands of Hiruzen, and I trust him with the management." Dan said.

"Oh, you trust him now?" Yuki asked with a hint of scepticism.

"Yes, he has proven to be helpful recently." Dan said

Yuki enquired, "What will you do with the money?" Dan disclosed, "I traded it for ownership of a company rather than receiving cash."

##PoWeR StOnEs##

Thank you, Sukhman Singh and Joel Ramos, for supporting me on Patreon.

I apologise for the delay in new chapters over the past few days due to personal commitments, but I am making up for it by uploading two chapters today. I was occupied with attending a wedding and celebrating my daughter's birthday. She and my niece both turned two last Monday. My schedule has been packed with numerous commitments and events recently. I hope you all understand.

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Latest chapter on Patreon—Chapter 161: Gari of the Explosion Corps.