Gisei Shiraishi was so comfortable that a strange, embarrassing sound escaped his mouth.
Then the hand left his chest.
Instantly, Gisei plummeted from heaven straight to hell. The physical sense of loss left him completely bewildered.
He looked at Mei and stammered, "This... this is... Life Force?"
"Impossible. How could such a thing exist? What did you just do?"
At that moment, Gisei's expression was a colorful mix of shock and confusion; he couldn't comprehend what had just happened.
In the original story, he knew that Chiyo of the Sand Village could use Reanimation Ninjutsu. But that was a forbidden technique that converted one's own life force into someone else's, and the price for using it was death.
What Mei used on him just now was definitely not that kind of suicide move; it seemed more like an innate ability.
The ability to manipulate life force?
Gisei's gaze instantly became feverish, and he stared at Mei with a shameless, greedy smile.
"It is truly surprising that Lady Mei possesses such an incredible ability. Can I learn this?"
Mei smiled ambiguously. "Who knows? So, are you willing to raise a few more butterfly seeds now?"
"I just replenished all the life force you lost, after all."
Hearing that she still wanted him to raise more butterfly seeds, Gisei's expression gradually cooled down.
"Even if you replenished my life force, my chakra volume cannot support so many butterfly seeds at the same time. At most, I can only raise one more."
"Since I asked you to raise them, I have definitely thought of a solution for you."
Mei tossed a scroll to him.
Gisei caught it and examined the contents carefully. Drawn on the scroll was a diagram of a human model, densely marked with countless acupuncture points.
Having studied medical ninjutsu for two years, Gisei was no stranger to human anatomy. After carefully observing the marked points, an answer gradually formed in his mind.
Continuing to read further down, it seemed to be some kind of Sealing Jutsu.
Gisei hadn't even started learning Sealing Jutsu yet, so he couldn't make heads or tails of it. He could only close the scroll and look up at Mei.
"The acupuncture points marked on the model seem to be double points, but I don't understand the Sealing Jutsu part."
"Even if you understood the Sealing Jutsu, you couldn't cast it on yourself."
"Then what was the point of showing me this scroll?"
Mei didn't answer him. instead, she vanished and instantly reappeared outside the main hall.
"Follow me."
Gisei followed her out to the square.
At some point, the square had been covered in black formula markings. Ten people stood around the perimeter, and among them, Gisei saw his grandfather, Yukihito Shiraishi.
"Casting this Sealing Jutsu requires extremely high chakra control. One needs to raise at least three butterfly seeds to possess such precision."
"Go sit in the middle of the square. I will have them cast the Sealing Jutsu on you."
Gisei exhaled a breath of foul air but didn't move immediately.
He wasn't a fool; he could see that Mei had prepared this long ago, and her motives were definitely not simple.
"Why do this for me?"
"I told you I wouldn't harm you. I just hope you become stronger quickly."
"Can't you really tell me the favor you want me to do?"
"I definitely won't tell you now."
"What if I refuse?"
The smile vanished from Mei's face. She stared at Gisei and said, word for word, "Then I'll kill you."
Is it really like that?
Gisei understood that he had no room for choice. He walked frankly to the center of the square and sat down cross-legged.
"Take off your clothes and lie down."
Mei's cold voice came again.
Gisei sighed and began to strip.
The ten people around the square began to form hand seals, and the black formula markings gradually lit up. After waiting for about five minutes, Gisei noticed the black markings seemed to come alive, climbing onto his body like snakes.
They began to take shape, aligning perfectly with the acupuncture points marked on the scroll.
The formation speed of the seal was agonizingly slow. Gisei waited from dark until dawn, and from dawn until it was dark again.
It took nearly forty hours for the Sealing Jutsu to be completed.
After it was finally finished, Gisei put on his clothes and looked at Mei. "I think we need to understand each other a little more."
Seeing the completion of the Sealing Jutsu, a smile appeared on Mei's face again. The two returned to the main hall.
"What do you want to know? I will tell you everything I can right now."
"What exactly is that Sealing Jutsu used for, and what exactly are you?"
"You came looking for a Sealing Jutsu last time to solve your chakra volume issue, right? This technique can allow you to hold an unimaginable amount of chakra."
"As for me... of course, I am a butterfly."
Gisei took a deep breath. "I don't feel an increase in chakra. And you say you are a butterfly, but all the ninja butterflies here are transformed from humans. Who exactly is the human you transformed from?"
Mei laughed, instantly appearing in front of him and extending her hand.
Gisei paused for a moment before extending his hand as well.
When their hands clasped together, a massive amount of chakra transferred from Mei's hand into his body.
This chakra was too massive; Gisei felt like his body was about to burst. His chakra pathways couldn't bear the load, and some tiny pathways began to rupture.
Gisei's eyes widened into circles. "What are you doing?"
"Quiet. Try to guide the chakra to the acupuncture points covered by the Sealing Jutsu."
Gisei did as he was told. It took him over an hour to finish guiding the flood of energy.
After finally calming down, he was covered in cold sweat. "This is... a Sealing Jutsu that stores chakra inside acupuncture points?"
He quickly sat cross-legged on the ground and began to carefully sense the seals inside his body.
One, two... He didn't open his eyes until he counted to three hundred, staring at Mei in shock.
The chakra from just now only filled three acupuncture points. If all the acupuncture points were filled...
Gisei simply dared not imagine how much chakra he would possess.
Nor did he dare imagine how he could survive with that much power inside him. If he really undid the seal, just that amount of chakra from earlier would be enough to make his body explode.
If all three hundred acupuncture points were unsealed at once, he feared he would instantly turn to ash, without even dregs left behind.
This was simply not a chakra volume a human could withstand, and he absolutely couldn't control such an amount. Even if his chakra control became freakishly strong, it would be impossible.
Mei tossed another scroll to him. "This is the manual for using the Sealing Jutsu. From now on, use your ability to absorb chakra to take from others, and then guide it into the acupuncture points to seal it."
"If you want to use the chakra inside the seals, you can undo them one point at a time. As you get stronger, you'll be able to unseal more points."
The corner of Gisei's mouth twitched. "How do I control such a massive amount of chakra after unsealing?"
"That's why I told you to raise more butterfly seeds. The chakra control ability brought by the butterfly seeds can perfectly solve this problem."
"You really have thought things through for me quite thoroughly. Is sealing such a massive amount of chakra in my body related to the favor you want me to do?"
"Of course. This is already the simplified version."
Simplified version...
Gisei really didn't know what to say.
"There is one more question you haven't answered me. Who is the person you transformed from?"
"Your ancestor, of course."
Gisei began to take deep breaths, forcing down the urge to curse.
"I don't know what favor you want me to do, but presumably it requires a massive amount of chakra."
"You should know that the moment all the seals are undone, I will die. So you are treating me as a tool?"
Mei narrowed her eyes and smiled. "You're not that stupid, after all. Don't worry, I said I wouldn't harm you. After all, your aptitude is quite good."
"In the future, you can find some people with special constitutions and bring them to me. I'll cast the seal on them, and then let them die in your place. Isn't that nice?"
Gisei paused for a moment, gradually understanding the implication.
He said thoughtfully, "Are you asking me to teach the secret technique to others?"
To manipulate this amount of chakra, one must have freak-like chakra control. This kind of control is only possible by inheriting the secret technique of the Butterfly Users.
But is this really okay?
The secret technique is the foundation of their clan's existence. If he teaches it to others, how can he continue to play the game?