Chapter 223: Restrictions (Cough Cough)
"Hmm? What's going on here?"
Tsunade looked utterly bewildered. Since when did Naruto's ridiculous jutsu cause actual physical damage instead of just psychological trauma?
Moreover, Jiraiya had definitely screamed, "No, Naruto!" just now, indicating he was truly terrified of Naruto using that move. It wasn't a misunderstanding.
However, Tsunade quickly dismissed the thought. Naruto's subsequent actions showed that even he had no idea why Jiraiya had collapsed.
"Pervy Sage, stop acting! I'm not falling for it again!"
Seeing Jiraiya lying there unconscious, Naruto directly released his Shadow Clones, and his original body clasped his hands into the Tiger seal.
Terrifying, absolutely terrifying.
In a strike fueled by resentment, the sound of tearing fabric echoed from the point of impact. Even after suffering such an "assault," Jiraiya remained in a dead faint.
"Huh?"
The moment Naruto heard the 'rip', he realized something was terribly wrong, but it was too late. Things seemed to be taking a turn for the worse.
"Something's wrong! Something is very, very wrong here!"
Naruto felt his stomach churn. He hastily withdrew his hand and held it up in front of his face. Then...
Just as one might habitually do when a finger is injured, Naruto subconsciously popped the "injured" finger into his mouth, a very common, instinctive way to use saliva for "disinfection."
"..."
The onlookers were left completely stunned.
"Aaaagh!!!"
"Bleegh..."
This time, Naruto couldn't hold it back and vomited directly. Even though nothing had truly happened, just the thought of it made him retch. He threw up all the Ichiraku Ramen he had just eaten.
"Hey, wait..."
Tsunade tried to stop him, but it was too late. A physiological reaction like vomiting cannot be halted mid-air; Naruto vomited directly onto Jiraiya's body.
Thankfully. By some miracle, Naruto didn't vomit into the hole Jiraiya had just ripped open with his 'One Thousand Years of Death'. Otherwise, something even more horrifying would have occurred.
After finishing, Naruto collapsed weakly to the ground. Only then did he realize that Jiraiya, who had been vomited upon, still hadn't budged.
Could he really be dead?
Naruto remembered how his 'Sexy Jutsu' used to make Sarutobi Hiruzen have massive nosebleeds, and the 'Harem Jutsu' was several times more powerful than that.
Harem Jutsu > Sexy Jutsu.
Sarutobi Hiruzen > Jiraiya'
Therefore...
"Pervy Sage, don't die! Please don't die!!!"
Naruto began wailing like a child, grabbing leaves off the ground to help wipe the mess off Jiraiya's body.
"Uh, Naruto, instead of howling like a ghost here, why don't you go to the Medical Department and find a few medical ninjas?"
"Huh? You mean Pervy Sage isn't dead yet?"
Naruto wiped his tears and snot, then smeared his hand on Jiraiya's clothes.
"Just look at his nose to see if he's dead or not."
Tsunade pointed at Jiraiya on the ground. She had considered going over to check on him a moment ago, but now she had absolutely no desire to get close.
"Oh, right."
Naruto realized his mistake, quickly rolled Jiraiya over, and reached out to pinch Jiraiya's nose.
"I meant for you to check if he's breathing, dammit!"
Tsunade nearly lost it. Did no one teach these basic common sense skills, or was he just not listening in class?
"Oh, oh."
After confirming that Jiraiya was indeed still breathing, Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. "Then I'll go get the medical ninjas! I'll be right back!"
With that, Naruto vanished into the trees in a flash.
"So, in the end, it never occurred to him that 'you' are a medical ninja?"
Orochimaru walked forward with a smirk.
"Stay right there."
Tsunade turned and snapped at Orochimaru: "Stop laughing. First, explain clearly, what did you do to Jiraiya?"
"It's a bit difficult to explain clearly, but Shiromo-kun should understand. This thing isn't harmful; for Jiraiya, it might even be beneficial."
Orochimaru shrugged innocently.
"Hmm?"
Tsunade remembered now, Orochimaru had indeed said as much to Shiromo earlier. It was just that Naruto's antics had been so distracting she'd almost forgotten.
"That's right. This was a concept I proposed during a casual chat with Orochimaru a while back. I didn't expect him to actually create it."
Seeing Tsunade's gaze turn toward him, Shiromo nodded in confirmation.
"So, what is it? Is it really a Cursed Seal? Why would Jiraiya need a Cursed Seal?"
Tsunade now understood that Cursed Seals were essentially Senjutsu chakra and natural energy, so she hadn't reacted too emotionally upon hearing the term. In the past, the Cursed Seal was seen only as something that turned people into violent monsters.
"By the definition of a Cursed Seal, it does count as one. However, this seal provides no power. It's more like a 'restriction' or a 'seal' in the literal sense. Orochimaru's previous seals used natural energy to grant power to the user. This one does the exact opposite: it uses natural energy to impose a limit."
Shiromo provided the explanation.
"A limit? How could that possibly be a good thing?" Tsunade asked with a frown.
"Limits aren't necessarily bad. Much like how a country's laws limit crime."
"Then what does this Cursed Seal limit?"
"Mhm."
"What?"
Tsunade cleaned out her ear, feeling as though she had misheard.
"Ahem."
"?"
"Heh."
Tsunade couldn't hold back a burst of laughter, which was quickly followed by an expression of being stuck between crying and laughing. Everything was clear now.
Why Jiraiya had been so resentful, tragic, and desperate while confronting Orochimaru.
Why Jiraiya had rambled for so long without mentioning a single key detail.
Why did Jiraiya react with such horror and pain upon seeing the 'Harem Jutsu'.
"So what's the point of this, I mean, what's the benefit?"
Tsunade felt that this world was truly getting stranger by the day.
"The benefit, of course, is that it allows Jiraiya to discard redundant, distracting thoughts."
After answering Tsunade, Orochimaru turned his gaze to Shiromo: "Shiromo-kun, do you remember that person you mentioned?"
"Stop being a riddler. You're talking about Kashin Koji, aren't you?"
Shiromo rolled his eyes.
"Who is Kashin Koji?" Tsunade asked curiously.
"In a potential future, he's a clone of Jiraiya. Think of a clone as a Shadow Clone that doesn't disappear and has a different personality, but is identical in every other way."
"I assume Orochimaru is trying to say that Kashin Koji can enter Sage Mode on his own with great proficiency. Yet Jiraiya, the original, cannot; he requires the assistance of the Great Toad Sages and even then, it's not a perfect Sage Mode. The discrepancy likely lies in their personalities and levels of focus. So, Orochimaru wants to use this 'method' to help Jiraiya enter a Perfect Sage Mode."
Shiromo laid out Orochimaru's reasoning. This logic was essentially half-right and half-wrong. After all, Kashin Koji's genes had also been adjusted and optimized.
(End of this chapter)