Summon from Blood Blockade Battlefront (Part 1)

"Huh?" Kushina's question was so on point that Hagoromo was left speechless.

In fact, before doing this, Hagoromo had never thought he and Kushina would get away with it. This was a very serious matter. It was equivalent to stealing state secrets, and the most confidential kind at that.

For example, just for example, even if they could transform and sneak into this office without alerting anyone, steal part of the ninjutsu from the Sealing Scroll, and then leave safely, the Hokage would still uncover the truth sooner or later...

Rather than that, it was better to be open about it like this. This was basically "confessing for leniency."

Besides, that kind of infiltration was impossible.

That was why Hagoromo had undertaken this operation with the fearless resolve to rot in prison for the rest of his life.

"...Forget it. Now that things have come this far, it's impossible for us to back out." Kushina had already figured it out herself without needing Hagoromo to explain.

"This scroll has a seal on it. Ordinary people can't just open it, or they'll trigger it... No, it's not a seal. What is this? A curse?"

Kushina was still in no hurry to open the Sealing Scroll. Instead, she began studying the seal outside it.

"Whatever. It won't be enough to stump me."

"Release!"

The one was all, and all was one. This was the legendary mastery of all arts. A Sealing Technique master like Kushina was difficult to stump. It was a qualitative leap born from sheer quantity, a realm ordinary people could hardly reach. Hagoromo had also learned many Sealing Techniques from Kushina. In terms of quantity alone, he had mastered quite a few, but he was still far from being able to apply them flexibly.

After undoing the seal, Kushina spread the entire Sealing Scroll open at once and said quickly, "Read it, hurry. Memorize as much as you can."

Hagoromo needed no reminder from Kushina. His eyes were already shining as he stared at the Sealing Scroll.

If he had to say which ninjutsu interested him most, the first was naturally the Space-Time Ninjutsu, the Flying Thunder God... so he passed over it.

That was right. There was nothing wrong with that. For an S-rank ninjutsu like the Flying Thunder God Technique, so powerful, so complex in principle, and so difficult to learn, Hagoromo naturally had no hope of recording it all in a single sitting.

No one knew when the Hokage would notice what was happening here. Hagoromo could not spend all his time on just that one ninjutsu.

He could only commit these things to memory. He could not leave anything written down on paper...

In fact, his guess was completely correct.

When Kushina broke the seal outside the Sealing Scroll, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had already gone to bed at the Sarutobi Residence in Konoha, abruptly sat up in bed.

"Hiruzen, what happened?" The Hokage's wife beside him was startled awake as well.

"Someone has tampered with the seal on the Sealing Scroll!"

As he spoke, the Hokage quickly dressed, then hurried out of the bedroom.

"Hokage-sama!"

The moment the Third Hokage stepped out of the house, an Anbu ninja appeared before him.

"Deploy personnel immediately. Surround the Hokage Office Building."

"Yes!... Third Hokage, did something happen?"

"Don't ask questions. Go do it immediately!"

After issuing the order, the Hokage rushed toward the office building in a panic.

At that moment, the Hokage realized the inadequacy of his own ninjutsu. If he had a surveillance ninjutsu that worked in real time, he would know what was happening in the Hokage Office right now, instead of being completely in the dark and knowing only that someone had opened the Sealing Scroll... All he could do now was pray that the Sealing Scroll had not been stolen.

Because of this, the Hokage began considering inventing a surveillance ninjutsu like the Witch's. Hmm, how about calling it the Telescope Technique?

Such a ninjutsu could play a crucial role at crucial moments. Like now, if the Hokage had it, he would immediately know what was happening in the office. Normally, it could be used for peeping... Ahem, wrong. For surveillance—surveillance to protect Konoha's safety.

Wearing combat gear, the Third Hokage raced through Konoha's streets, with the Hokage's personal Anbu following behind him across the rooftops on either side.

In less than ten minutes, the group had surrounded the Hokage Office Building.

Inside the Hokage Office at that moment, Kushina suddenly said, "Hagoromo, we've been surrounded."

"I know, Teacher Kushina," Hagoromo said.

He had noticed it too. Though his sensory abilities were not as strong as Kushina's, with so many people suddenly appearing, anyone who was not an idiot would know that the Hokage had arrived with others... Yet even as he spoke, his eyes never left the Sealing Scroll. In these brief one or two minutes, he might still be able to memorize a few more ninjutsu.

The commotion outside naturally caught the attention of the ninja guarding the Hokage Office Building. One ninja quickly came out, and only relaxed after seeing that the Third Hokage was leading the group.

"Hokage-sama, did something happen?"

The Hokage silently glanced at him. That was supposed to be his question.

"Has anyone entered my office during this time?"

Since the guards had not been reduced, the Hokage felt a little more at ease for the moment. It meant there was a strong chance that the Sealing Scroll had not yet been taken away.

"Well... Lady Kushina came here not long ago." Although the ninja did not understand what had happened to cause such a huge mobilization, he quickly reported what he knew.

"Kushina?!" Upon hearing that name, the Hokage felt both surprised and unsurprised. If it was Kushina, she really might be capable of sneaking a look at the Sealing Scroll.

Of course, if he had to describe how the Hokage felt at that moment, he was much more relieved than before. After all, it was far better for Kushina to have secretly read the Sealing Scroll than for some unknown person or enemy to have done so.

"But she is still in serious trouble this time," the Hokage thought.

"Has she left?" the Hokage asked again.

"No. Lady Kushina arrived less than twenty minutes ago and has not left yet."

Hearing this, the Hokage did not say anything further. He walked directly into the office building. However, now that he knew Kushina was the culprit, he did not bring too many people inside.

The Third Hokage walked in front, with two Anbu ninja behind him. After reaching the third floor, he pushed open the office door without hesitation.

The first thing the Hokage saw was four Anbu ninja collapsed on the ground. Then he saw Hagoromo still bent over the Sealing Scroll, before finally shifting his gaze to Kushina's face.

"Um, Third Hokage..." Kushina gave an awkward smile and said, "It's so late. Have you eaten?"