Chapter 139: One-handed Seal
If you ask what the difference is between Shisui's Total Concentration Breathing and normal breathing, it's like this—normal breathing is eating slowly, bite by bite, for sustained power, while Total Concentration Breathing is like taking a huge bite all at once for a sudden burst of strength.
The difference is that mastering Total Concentration Breathing is much harder than simply taking a big bite of food. Opening your mouth wide and chewing is easy; Total Concentration Breathing, however, is not just about gulping air.
The practice is more like sprint training—building explosive strength through continuous, focused effort.
When Shisui first learned it on Friday, he couldn't feel any real difference from his usual state. He tried concentrating his breathing more and more, but there wasn't much change.
That didn't change until the fifth day.
"Flame Breathing — Total Concentration, Phoenix Sage Flower Claw Crimson!"
Shisui gripped four kunai in his right hand, Chakra condensing in his palm. In an instant, all four blades were engulfed in flames, then shot forward at high speed.
Boom! Boom!
The kunai, wreathed in fierce fire, looked like miniature fireballs as they struck the ground, exploding on impact and leaving small craters.
"Hand seal-less release? Shisui, how did you do that?" Obito asked curiously from nearby.
Obito had once tried condensing flames in his palm to attack Guy during a practical exam. If you classified it strictly as Ninjutsu, it could barely be called a seal-less technique, since it required Chakra Nature Transformation. But in truth, Obito's attempt was little more than a basic flame technique—ordinary fire, no added effects—and trying to increase its power by adding more Chakra risked burning himself.
If ranked by ninja learning standards, Obito's move would be at best D-rank—not even close to the seal-less Phoenix Sage Flower Claw Crimson Shisui had just performed.
"It's not truly seal-less," Shisui explained. "It's just a trick using Total Concentration Breathing."
"Normally, condensing Chakra in the throat to release Fire Release is safer and faster. Using the hands is slower and riskier…"
In the ninja world, there's a Chakra pathway system and 361 points throughout the body, but the difficulty of condensing Chakra for Nature Transformation varies depending on the location.
The reason most Fire Release techniques are expelled from the mouth is simple—using the hands or feet is inefficient and carries a higher risk of self-injury.
This differs between nature types as well. For example, Lightning Release often involves condensing Chakra in the hands or arms before release.
"By using Flame Breathing, I can speed up Nature Transformation. I also reduced the number of shuriken to lower the total flame requirement, and in the end, I still formed one seal," Shisui said, raising his left hand. He had just formed the seal with one hand.
The essence of hand seals is to guide the flow of Ninjutsu. With a series of adjustments and the boost from Flame Breathing, Shisui had barely managed to cast Phoenix Sage Flower Claw Crimson with just one seal.
"You can even form seals with one hand?" Obito was wide-eyed.
Slap!
Mugetsu tapped him lightly on the head with two fingers.
"You've clearly forgotten what I taught you before," Mugetsu said, ruffling his hair. "The essence of forming seals is to guide Ninjutsu. Once you understand a technique well enough, you can not only form seals with one hand, but also reduce their number—or even release the jutsu without any seals at all."
His words jogged Obito's memory.
Mugetsu had spoken before about single-handed seals and seal reduction. He'd even demonstrated Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique with a full set of seals and again with just one.
That day, Obito had gone off excitedly to try it, only to discover that forming seals with one hand didn't make him faster—it just caused the jutsu to fail. After several days with no progress, he'd given up, figuring it was better to train normally. After all, he'd never heard of any famous ninja being known for single-handed seals.
"Hehe, I was just testing to see if Shisui remembered what you taught him, Mugetsu-sensei," Obito said, forcing an innocent smile.
Shisui: …
"That's a good application," Mugetsu said. "Although the power and range are less than a normal Phoenix Sage Flower Claw Crimson, the release speed is faster—and at close range, it could catch someone completely off guard."
If an opponent charged Shisui, thinking he had no time to cast, a one-handed, single-seal Fire Release could be almost impossible to dodge.
"Mugetsu-sensei, can you explain one-handed seals again?" Obito asked eagerly, clearly wanting to copy Shisui's trick.
In his mind, he pictured the perfect scene: In battle, he would calmly draw four kunai, form a single seal with one hand, and send four flaming blades hurtling toward the enemy before they could react. They'd be struck, engulfed in explosions, and reduced to nothing—while he casually slipped his hands into his pockets and turned away.
Seeing something that cool, Rin would definitely look at me with admiration and say, 'Obito, you're amazing, right?' he thought, lost in his own fantasy.
"What needs to be taught, I've already explained before. I'll go over it again today, but you still need to familiarize yourselves with the Ninjutsu and practice a lot. Just listening won't be enough," Mugetsu said.
How to explain forming hand seals with one hand? It was like asking a right-handed person to write calligraphy with their left hand—or with both hands at once. A teacher couldn't physically guide your hands for you.
Still, one-handed seals had significant value in real combat. If you were wearing a long robe, you could completely hide the hand forming the seal and release a jutsu in secret.
It might sound sneaky, but it was extremely practical. If your seals weren't visible, even if a perceptive opponent sensed you were about to use Ninjutsu, they wouldn't know which type.
Experienced ninja could often tell the element of a jutsu just by watching the seals—Fire Release, for example, usually ended with the Tiger seal.
"Mhm, mhm, I'll practice more," Obito said, nodding rapidly like a pecking chick.
"Shisui, can you share how you managed it?" Obito turned to him.
"I don't have any secret to share," Shisui said with a straight face. "I actually forgot what Mugetsu-sensei taught."
"Huh?" Obito stared in disbelief—then remembered his own words from earlier.
"Haha, I forgot! How could you forget, Shisui? You just used it," Obito quickly backpedaled.
Shisui was only teasing. Seeing his teammate's hopeful expression, he decided to help.
"To break through with hand seals, constant Ninjutsu practice is essential. And since your current level isn't enough, you'll need Breathing Technique to assist. Practice them together," Mugetsu instructed.
With that, Obito began his one-handed seal training.
His first attempt was clumsy. He formed the seal with one hand and threw the shuriken—but no flames appeared.
When Obito and Shisui tried to troubleshoot, Shisui fell silent. He'd never encountered that kind of failure before. Why would someone throw the shuriken before the flames even formed? Normally, the fire was expelled first, then the shuriken launched.
Unable to figure it out, Shisui suggested, "Why not practice with two hands first to get used to it, then try one hand?"
"Good idea!" Obito agreed immediately.
With two hands, the Ninjutsu worked perfectly—a dozen flaming shuriken slammed into the ground.
Memorizing the feel of the two-handed sequence, Obito tried again with one hand.
This time, flames appeared—but from his palm, almost burning him.
"Haha, I was thinking too much about how Shisui moved his hand and forgot the steps," Obito said sheepishly.
Shisui seemed to realize the real problem.
"Forming seals with one hand is harder than with two, and it needs more focus. Don't let your mind wander," Mugetsu reminded him.
Doing something one-handed that normally required both naturally increased the difficulty.
Two hours later, Obito had become more skilled at condensing Chakra in his palm, but his single-handed seals were still unsuccessful.
When training ended, everyone went home—except only Shisui actually went home. The others regrouped at the South Border Forest later.
Changing shoes at the entrance, Shisui stepped inside and poured himself a glass of water.
He didn't bother saying "I'm home." No one would answer. He lived alone.
A glance at the calendar told him it was October eighteenth.
Tomorrow was his birthday.
But he had no plans to celebrate. The only person who knew the date was his uncle, who was away on a mission.
He also didn't intend to tell Mugetsu or the others. If Mugetsu knew, he'd probably do something, but Shisui didn't want to trouble him over something so trivial.
Mugetsu was already busy—teaching the first grade all day, giving them extra lessons morning and noon, then rushing to the South Border Forest after school. At night, he'd been injured while forging ninja tools.
Seeing all that, how could Shisui bother him about a birthday? It wouldn't make him stronger. It wouldn't benefit either of them.
"It just means I'm another year older," Shisui murmured, sitting in the courtyard and gazing at the bright moon.
After some thought, he decided to practice instead.
But perhaps because his mind was distracted, two of his four shuriken failed to catch fire.
"So that's how it is…" Shisui finally understood the cause of Obito's failed releases earlier that day.
Meanwhile, Mugetsu had gathered his disciples—excluding Shisui.
"Do you know what day tomorrow is?" Mugetsu asked.
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