Gisei Shiraishi planned to turn the entire Butterfly Habitat Valley into a prison; the ninja butterflies living here were, after all, quite adept at taking care of people.
Mei walked out from the main hall.
"You came at the right time. The cursed seal you wanted has already been developed."
Mei tossed a scroll toward him. Gisei hurriedly caught it and began to examine it carefully.
After reading it, he fell into thought.
Cursed seals, as a concept, are simple in theory but difficult in execution.
In the final analysis, cursed seals belong to the category of fuinjutsu—sealing techniques. By sealing one's own chakra, blood, or spiritual energy and implanting it into another person's body, you create a cursed seal.
When you want to activate it, you only need to communicate with the seal implanted in the target to take complete control of them. It's quite convenient.
Walking over to a nearby cage, he opened the door and waved for the person inside to come out.
The ninja walked out trembling; he didn't dare disobey.
He had seen with his own eyes his companion being tied to an experimental table and toyed with until death. He knew very well that that would be his end, too.
But as soon as he saw this young boy, he couldn't control himself; fear had penetrated deep into his bones. In his eyes, this boy had become the spokesperson for the devil himself.
After the ninja stepped out, Gisei bit his finger according to the instructions on the scroll and began to draw a sealing array on the man's skin.
Once the array was drawn, he started forming hand seals and then slapped his palm onto the markings.
The sealing array began to contract, quickly twisting until it formed the shape of a butterfly.
Seeing that butterfly pattern, Gisei shot a glance at Mei.
Mei smiled innocently. "Personal hobby."
Gisei turned back and tried to activate the cursed seal.
The ninja suddenly rolled his eyes back, freezing on the spot like a statue.
Gisei controlled him to take two stiff steps forward, then frowned.
"This should count as a Blood Contract Cursed Seal. But it's a bit troublesome to control, and it's not very subtle; it'll be easily discovered by others."
"This is already the best version we've researched so far," Mei replied. "If you really want to achieve the seamless effect you described, it will take at least another ten years of research."
There was no other way. Gisei had to put away the scroll and make do with what he had.
He released the cursed seal, and the ninja scrambled back into his cage like a madman.
"I plan to use this place as a prison and establish a new research facility in Konoha. The conditions here are too primitive."
"Whatever you want. By the way, how many of your own seals have you filled?"
"Twenty-six. The four butterfly seeds I raised have fully matured, but I can only control twenty seals at most. You placed so many acupoint seals on me; how exactly am I supposed to manage them all?"
"Continue raising butterfly seeds. Raise five more."
Hearing this, Gisei's expression turned ugly.
With just four butterfly seeds, he could already clearly feel the drain on his vitality. If he raised five more without receiving a replenishment of life force from Mei, he would live for five years at most.
"Can you stop coming up with such lousy ideas? Even if I raise five more butterfly seeds, I can at most undo fifty seals, and my body won't be able to keep up with the strain."
"You are already researching cellular activation. Once that is completed, won't your body be able to handle it?"
It was true. If the research on cellular activation were completed, no matter how much chakra was in his body, he wouldn't be in danger of exploding and dying.
"Why do I have to raise five at once? Can't I take it slowly?"
"The human body needs balance. If you don't do this, you won't be able to use your Five-Attribute Release technique."
Hearing Mei mention the Five-Attribute Release technique, Gisei frowned.
The Five-Attribute Release was a ninjutsu he had developed himself.
Using Earth Release for shape transformation to create a spear, and then successively adding the nature transformations of Fire, Wind, Water, and Lightning... it was a long-range ninjutsu with unparalleled power.
If he used this move on Hanzo, even the "Demigod" would probably fall.
"Is there no limit to raising butterfly seeds?"
"As long as I am willing to transfer vitality to you, theoretically, there is no limit."
"How many can an ordinary person's body withstand at most?"
"Two."
Gisei took a deep breath. He understood that if he continued to raise them, he probably wouldn't be able to leave this woman. His mind spun through a few possibilities, but he didn't agree immediately.
Mei knew exactly what he was thinking just by looking at his face. She thought for a moment and changed the subject.
"Of course, you don't have to raise them. Anyway, you are already very strong now. I just don't understand why you hide your abilities like this."
"Who knows how many ninjas in the shinobi world have died due to intelligence leaks? You don't understand human possibilities, and no ninjutsu can ever be said to be perfect."
"Do you plan to hide for a lifetime?"
"Keeping one's talent hidden is also a remarkable talent."
"I'm just afraid that if you pretend to be a pig for too long, you'll really turn into a pig."
Gisei was speechless. Does she even know how to talk like a human?
No, this woman only looked like a human; essentially, she was still an anomaly. Staying with her for too long, he feared he would soon become an anomaly too.
"Alright, I'm going back. Let me think about the butterfly seeds."
...
When Gisei returned home, he unexpectedly ran into Anna Takemoto.
The now eighteen-year-old Anna had become a very beautiful woman. She had resigned from the hospital and begun to take over her family's affairs.
"Entering my house without a greeting is trespassing. I can call the police to arrest you."
A vein popped on Anna's forehead. Having grown up together, she still couldn't understand the way this lunatic thought.
Storming to the door, Anna began to pound on it violently.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Watching the door—which already had cracks appearing—Gisei felt black lines dropping over his head.
"If you break the door, you have to pay for it!"
"Pay? You currently owe my family more than fifty million ryo! My family has almost been hollowed out by you, and you still have the nerve to mention money?!"
Gisei: "..."
Eating someone else's food makes your mouth soft; taking someone else's things makes your hand short.
He had done quite a few missions in the past few years, but he still couldn't make up the deficit at all. Although the clan's businesses were quite profitable, basically all of it was spent on the clan members.
He also raised more than a dozen types of summoning butterflies. Relying on missions alone to fund them, who knew how long it would take to save up?
The first time he borrowed money, it was quite awkward; the second time, he became thick-skinned; the third time, practice made perfect; the fourth time...
Hmm... anyway, when he went to borrow money now, he just said two words.
"Give money."
Every time Masamasa Takemoto heard those two words, the fat on his face would tremble uncontrollably, and his teeth would grind loudly enough to be heard across the room.
"What are you looking for me for? Asking me to go to your house for a meal?"
Anna gave him a deep look and said faintly, "There is a kind of beast in the world that eats more than a pig and is worse than a dog. Do you know what beast it is?"
Gisei blinked his eyes innocently, trying to act cute.
Of course he knew Anna was cursing him, but unfortunately, his skin was thick enough now that he didn't take it seriously at all.
Since he started researching the Digestion Technique, his appetite had grown to a level unimaginable for ordinary people. Treating him to a meal was probably about the same as treating a hundred people.
Eating could indeed increase vitality, but wanting to achieve eternal life just by eating was a fantasy.
He had roughly calculated the data for the Digestion Technique: if he ate non-stop every day, he could probably increase his lifespan by three days.
Eating for a year could add three years to his lifespan, which seemed pretty good on paper.
But that wasn't the case at all.
What meaning is there in a life where all you do is eat, eat, eat?
The most critical thing was that his wallet couldn't hold up!
The money he spent on food every year was a huge expense. And this was only possible because of the Digestion Technique.
If he tried to do this without the technique, he would be waiting for a stomach perforation. Even if your digestion is good, your body will eventually fail to keep up, unable to eat even if you want to.