Chapter Eleven: Selecting Scrolls

Seeing the mountain of scrolls, Moriyue remembered the way the Hidden Cloud Village operated.

While the Hidden Cloud Village was internally quite united, with very few rogue ninjas in its entire history, making it the village with the fewest rogue ninjas among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, the Hidden Cloud Village's operational style could only be described as swift and overbearing.

They had completely different faces for their own people and outsiders. Although Moriyue was targeted by some, it was only talk. Those who practiced Nintaijutsu already had explosive tempers, and this was only because Moriyue was from the same village. If it were an outsider, they would have just punched them.

The Hidden Cloud Village was that strong externally. If you have something we want, we want it. If we don't have something, we'll steal it. Resources gone? Simple, steal! Technical bottleneck? Simple, steal from others. Not enough Ninjutsu or Forbidden Jutsu? Simple, steal from whoever has it.

Moriyue seriously suspected that the reason the Hidden Cloud Village had the fewest rogue ninjas was that they were caught and beaten by the Raikage before they could get far after defecting.

The Hidden Cloud Village was like the bully of the ninja world. If you have something good, you'd better hide it well, lest you attract the attention of the Hidden Cloud Village. They even went as far as kidnapping the princess of Konoha's Hyuga Clan; they were truly pirates of the ninja world.

Understanding all this, Moriyue could accept why there were so many scrolls before him. Good heavens, the Hidden Cloud Village must have stolen quite a lot. With this inventory, the Hidden Cloud Village's own Ninjutsu probably wouldn't even account for a tenth of it.

"Teacher Yuzu, can I really look at them freely?" Moriyue rubbed his eyes, unable to hide his joy.

"Of course... you can't." As if to retaliate for Moriyue's strange address, Yugito Nii shook her head.

Seeing Moriyue's expression change from ecstatic to despair, Yugito Nii felt much better and continued, "Including my share, you can take two scrolls. Don't be fooled by the large number of scrolls here; there aren't many suitable for you. Many Forbidden Jutsus are fundamentally impossible to succeed, and some are just incomplete. Don't get your hopes too high."

Yugito Nii gave Moriyue a heads-up. Although there were many scrolls here, there weren't any overly powerful Ninjutsu. After all, those Ninjutsu were held by the Raikage and the various major clans. The Ninjutsu left here could only be considered ordinary.

But this was for Ninjutsu. As for Forbidden Jutsu, those families with fame and status wouldn't touch them, which was why many strange Forbidden Jutsus were left here. Moriyue might just find something useful.

"Two? Alright, thank you very much!" Moriyue wasn't greedy at all. Yugito Nii bringing him here was already a great favor, and now she was giving him her quota. Although Yugito Nii might not need these scrolls, he remembered this kindness.

"Take your time picking. I'll wait for you at the entrance." Yugito Nii turned around stylishly, crossed her arms, and leaned against the stone wall, closing her eyes.

After thanking Yuzu again, Moriyue turned and walked towards the bookshelves that stretched as far as the eye could see. He was going to choose scrolls.

He directly bypassed the shelves of Ninjutsu scrolls. No matter how good the contents were, they weren't suitable for him. Looking at them would only increase his troubles. The Chakra in his body was too unstable, making it impossible to normally execute Ninjutsu, unless there was a Forbidden Jutsu that could stabilize his Chakra.

"Hmm? Nintaijutsu?" Moriyue bypassed the shelves of Ninjutsu scrolls and arrived under a bookshelf labeled "Nintaijutsu." Each scroll was well-preserved and even had thoughtful annotations.

"Nintaijutsu: Lightning Light Armor: Activates the Chakra within the body, attaching it to the surface of the body in a flowing manner to form a lightning armor. Compared to ordinary Lightning Armor, it has stronger resilience, but its drawback is the lack of the burst power of ordinary Lightning Armor."

"Nintaijutsu: Sword Leap Flame: Combines Fire Release with a katana to form a blade of flame, belonging to Fire Release Nintaijutsu, and possessing some characteristics of Wind Release."

"Nintaijutsu: Flowing Wind: Uses one's own Wind Release Chakra to envelop the body, surrounding the body with the power of wind to reduce resistance and greatly increase movement speed."

"..."

The Nintaijutsu, with their varied effects and different activation conditions, made Moriyue's eyes blur. He had only seen such things in fantasy novels, and seeing the descriptions with his own eyes made him feel a sense of unreality.

"These Nintaijutsu are good in effect, but they require high control over Chakra. My Chakra is like an untamed wild horse, making it difficult to achieve such precise changes. Are there any simpler and more brutal ones..."

Although these Nintaijutsu looked good, Moriyue was not swayed. What suits oneself is the best. It might be useful, but the prerequisite is that it can be used.

Therefore, Moriyue directly excluded those that required precise control. No matter how dazzling the subsequent descriptions were, he wouldn't look at them. Finally, after a long period of selection, he managed to find a few Nintaijutsu that suited him.

"Nintaijutsu: Crushing Break: Condenses Chakra to a single point, forming spikes of different attributes based on the Chakra nature."

"Nintaijutsu: Lightning Torture: Stimulates the power of lightning to strengthen the body, using the power of lightning to activate muscles. During activation, one must constantly endure the pain brought by the lightning. This technique can permanently improve the practitioner's physical fitness."

"Nintaijutsu: Reversal: Reflects close-combat attacks inflicted by the enemy back to the opponent (partially). This technique requires high physical strength from the practitioner, and the reflected damage is limited. After multiple experiments, it was determined that this technique has low practical value and is not recommended for practice."

Looking at the three scrolls in his hands, Moriyue honestly wanted all three.

Crushing Break could be used for offense and defense; the condensed spikes could be used for both. Lightning Torture could permanently strengthen his body, and using it in combat could catch the opponent off guard. Reversal was even simpler and more brutal; it was direct damage reflection. If you hit me, you'll also feel pain; hitting me is hitting yourself.

His original plan was to take two. One for Nintaijutsu and one for Forbidden Jutsu. If he encountered a useful Forbidden Jutsu, he would take two Forbidden Jutsus. Now, before even seeing any Forbidden Jutsu, he was already having trouble.

"Damn it, why can't I choose them all? If I could secretly take one more..."

Shaking his head, Moriyue was still worried that the Hidden Cloud Village had ways to detect it, so it was better to play it safe.

After much hesitation, Moriyue temporarily decided on Nintaijutsu: Lightning Torture. The effect of Reversal was very good, but it required high physical aptitude. He would definitely come back here, and during this time, he could use Lightning Torture to improve his physical fitness.

A growth-oriented skill was never a bad deal. It was just that he didn't know why no one chose this Ninjutsu.

"I really want to take them all. Crushing Break, Reversal, wait for me, I will definitely come back." Moriyue reluctantly looked at the remaining two scrolls and put them back in their original places. To avoid being discovered, he even deliberately tucked the two scrolls behind other scrolls.

"Next, I'll go check out the Forbidden Jutsu. I've been looking forward to it for a long time."