C15 The Rewriting of the Seal

"Right! I promised to go back early to hang out with Sasuke. I've got to head out now."

"Damn it! You—"

In a panic, Neji instinctively slapped his thigh, hitting the exact spot where he'd previously jabbed himself with a needle. The pain made Neji sharply inhale, nearly causing him to collapse.

Uchiha Itachi glanced at Neji's thigh and pulled a small bottle from the pouch strapped to his leg, offering it to Neji.

"Here, take this. It's a potent medicine for wounds."

"You've got a bit of a heart, after all."

Neji snatched the medicine from Itachi's hand and sat down, rolling up his pant leg. He looked at the wound, then at the medicine, but hesitated to apply it. Finally, he sheepishly met Itachi's gaze.

"Heh, uh... how do I use this? I'm clueless here."

"Ah..."

With a soft sigh, Itachi retrieved a roll of bandages from his bag, crouched beside Neji, and began to dress the wound.

Though Itachi initially seemed annoyed, he bandaged Neji with utmost care and precision.

Minutes later, the job was done. Itachi handed the medicine back to Neji and packed away the bandages.

"All set. Keep the medicine for later use. I'm off."

With that, Itachi turned and strode away, seemingly eager to avoid any further delay that might lead to another call from Neji.

Neji didn't try to stop him this time. Instead, he gleefully rubbed his hands together, palms open, as a blue glow began to coalesce, slowly forming a card.

"Gulp—"

Neji swallowed hard, barely allowing himself to breathe, fixated on the card. But as it fully materialized before him, his face contorted as if he'd tasted something foul.

Special Card: Transcription Seal. This card seals another card within it in advance, setting a specific condition for activation. Once the condition is met, the sealed card triggers automatically, impervious to external destruction. Upon activation, the card shatters and takes three months to regenerate, with no possibility of using Chakra for early recovery.

"This... What the hell is this? A transcription seal? Itachi knew this trick at just ten years old? Damn it, I..."

Neji felt a stifling sensation in his chest, unable to breathe it out or swallow it down.

Neji recalled that Itachi had used the Transcription Seal twice in the original story. Once, he placed it on Naruto's eyes, with the trigger being the sight of his Mangekyo Sharingan, which activated a formidable technique and released Itachi from the Edo Tensei's control.

Another time, Itachi sealed his Amaterasu into Sasuke's eyes, set to activate upon seeing Obito's gaze, nearly resulting in Obito's death.

Undoubtedly, this was a potent ninjutsu, yet utterly worthless to Neji.

Neji's cards already possessed a semblance of the transcription seal's properties; he could play them at will, making the act of sealing one card into another redundant and absurd.

What's more, the card's three-month recovery period, with no option for Chakra-assisted healing, was a significant drawback.

"Oh, heavens! Why must you torment me so? With all the genjutsu at Itachi's disposal, you could've granted me any one of them! Or even a simple Fire Style jutsu! What use do I have for this?"

The more Neji stewed over it, the more incensed he became, flinging the card to the ground in frustration. However, moments later, he snatched it back up with his right hand.

"Ah, well, it's something, at least. I can still use it to bluff. It fits the story I told about creating cards with sealing techniques. This should be enough to keep up the ruse."

Neji quietly reassured himself, but a sudden thought made him reach out with his left hand, summoning the Four Symbols Seal card into his grasp. His mouth twitched as he discarded the transference seal card once more.

"I've already got sealing techniques! The Four Symbols Seal is way stronger than this junk!"

Exhausted, Neji returned home and immediately collapsed onto his bed, staring at the ceiling, feeling as if life had lost all meaning.

"Itachi, are you just bored or what? There's no need for the transference seal now. Why did you even bother learning it? Wait, where did you even get that seal from? It's driving me crazy!"

In frustration, Neji beat his chest and kicked his legs on the bed, accidentally hitting his wound. The sharp pain made him grit his teeth and sharply inhale.

The following day, Neji sat on the edge of the bed while Tenten, with cheeks puffed and glaring, carefully changed his bandages.

Tenten had come over early to check on Neji but inadvertently touched his wound, making him howl in pain.

Realizing something was amiss, Tenten pressed him for answers, but Neji stubbornly remained silent. Though visibly annoyed, she didn't push further and instead took the initiative to change his bandages.

"Look, Tenten, you don't have to do this. You're ruining your pretty face with that scowl. What a waste," Neji chided.

"Hmph! Cut the sweet talk! I can tell at a glance that this is a kunai wound," Tenten retorted.

"Damn, you can tell that too..."

Neji's surprise slipped out before he could stop it, but he quickly clamped a hand over his mouth. Tenten was already giving him an 'I knew it' look.

"Spill it, what happened?"

"Seriously? Tenten, you're so young yet so shrewd... Ahhh... Okay, okay, I'll talk! Just let go!"

Neji tried to deflect, but Tenten squeezed right where it hurt, and he broke out in a cold sweat.

"Out with it!"

"It's really not a big deal. I got caught in an illusion and stabbed myself to break free. I thought it was kind of cool at first, but I had no idea it would hurt this much afterward."

"Hmph! Serves you right!"

Tenten rolled her eyes at Neji and continued to carefully bandage his wounds, her movements noticeably gentler this time.

As Neji watched Tenten's earnest demeanor, something tender stirred within him, leaving him uncertain whether he was actually moved by the gesture.

"By the way, Tenten, why did you come looking for me so early? What's the matter? Surely you're not just bored?"

"Do you think I'm like you, with nothing to do all day? I'm here because I've deciphered that scroll from the other day. And then I find you've gone and done this to yourself."

"Deciphered? For real?"

Neji perked up, his interest immediately piqued.