The Stage Was Set (Please Bookmark and Vote!)

What was the Scroll of Seals!?

That was the village's highest secret, containing records of every Forbidden Jutsu!

Only successive Hokage and the handful of people granted permission were allowed to view it!

I have to find Menma as soon as possible! This mistake can't be allowed to continue spiraling out of control!

Iruka clenched his fists tightly as he thought to himself.

Meanwhile, the Menma Iruka had been worrying about was leisurely preparing to open the Scroll of Seals in a forest not far from the area where he had agreed to meet Mizuki. He intended to carefully study the high-level ninjutsu, secret techniques, and even Forbidden Jutsu recorded within.

That dimwitted Naruto from the Original Work had only learned one Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu.

Menma, in this life, wanted as many as he could get!

But just as Menma had guessed from the start.

Since Sarutobi Hiruzen had boldly allowed Menma to take the Scroll of Seals away, there was no way he would have left it completely unguarded.

The Anbu trailing behind him were one part of the arrangement.

The crafty Sarutobi Hiruzen had also prepared another measure on the Scroll of Seals itself.

And that measure made Menma's state of mind as spectacular as could be.

The scroll had only unfolded through its first section, then refused to budge. No matter how hard he tugged at it, he could not open it any further.

Menma's expression remained unchanged, but his heart sank. He cursed inwardly.

How could that old bastard possibly be so at ease about letting me take the Scroll of Seals out? So he already set up a Sealing Jutsu on it. I can't see any of the later contents at all!!

This should have been one of Sarutobi Hiruzen's safeguards.

Naruto in the Original Work had gone numb just from seeing the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique and never flipped further through the scroll, so he naturally had not triggered this Sealing Jutsu.

But Menma was different. He had his sights set on the Flying Thunder God Technique and the Reaper Death Seal!

The former was a first-rate technique whether for combat or escape!

As for the latter, Menma was simply interested in the so-called Shinigami and wanted to study it.

But now, it had all come to nothing!

Sarutobi Hiruzen gave him no chance at all!

The last technique he could see was the Rasengan!

Remote surveillance through the Telescopic Jutsu.

Close-proximity tracking by several elite Anbu directly under his command.

And on top of that, the special sealing arrangement within the Scroll of Seals.

The Third Hokage truly had no need to worry about anything going wrong. Menma was the one suffering for it. It was not as though he had not anticipated this from the start, but people were always prone to wishful thinking. Once they got something, they would inevitably start hoping for more.

Never satisfied with what one had, always craving more—it could be called a common human failing.

Forget it. I expected this from the beginning anyway. If I can't see it, I can't see it. At least I didn't come away empty-handed!

Menma let out a soft breath and adjusted his mindset.

At least it was not just the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.

There were still several A-rank ninjutsu—the Rasengan, Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu, and even a sealing technique—the Five Elements Seal!

These were all high-value techniques.

For Menma, this trip had already been worth it!

Time is a little tight. I need to hurry!

Menma raised his head and glanced at the moon, half-obscured by dark clouds. After murmuring those words under his breath,

he lowered his head and began earnestly studying those techniques. He did not necessarily need to master them all in such a short time; as long as he could memorize their core principles, that would be enough. The same went for the Rasengan, a Hand Seal Jutsu.

Menma roughly remembered how Jiraiya had taught "Naruto" to learn the Rasengan in the Original Work, but his memories were not that clear.

He might have overlooked certain details.

Now, the Scroll of Seals contained his father Namikaze Minato's most detailed records, along with his personal insights. As long as Menma memorized all of it, mastering the Rasengan would only be a matter of time!

Time passed second by second.

In the shortest possible time, Menma forcibly imprinted the core principles of each of the few A-rank and above techniques into his mind.

Of course, the first one he mastered was still the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu.

It had to be said that, in this regard, Menma seemed to have perfectly inherited the exact same talent as the protagonist of the Original Work.

He had practically mastered the technique completely after only one look!

Of course, the technique itself was not difficult. Its hand sign was only "Ren." Generally speaking, any ninja with a decent level could learn it, but being able to learn it did not mean they could actually use it.

Never mind the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu—even the ordinary Shadow Clone Jutsu placed high demands on a ninja's Chakra!

Generally speaking, clones evenly divided the original body's Chakra!

Though after mastering the technique to its highest level, one could control how much Chakra the original body assigned to the clones.

Even so, it was not something ordinary ninjas could bear.

To put it bluntly, this technique depended entirely on one's resources!

Those with abundant Chakra could use it easily. Those with pitifully little Chakra—sorry, this technique was simply never meant for them!

Under normal circumstances, although the ordinary Shadow Clone Jutsu was only B-rank, it was still a technique only Jonin could use.

But for Menma, it was no problem at all. Even without counting the Nine-Tails' Chakra, with the Nine-Tails no longer interfering, the Chakra he could use himself already amounted to dozens, even hundreds of units!

A mere Shadow Clone Jutsu was easy for him!

It's about time. I should go meet that adorable Teacher Mizuki sooner rather than later!

After estimating that the time was about right,

Menma closed the Scroll of Seals again. Then, as though nothing had happened, he slung the enormous scroll over his back and sprang toward the Assessment Delivery Point he had agreed upon with Mizuki.

The distance was covered in a single leap.

By the time Menma arrived,

Mizuki's upright figure was already waiting in the clearing. The instant he saw Menma truly appear carrying the enormous Scroll of Seals, an uncontrollable flash of wild joy appeared in the Villain Mini-Boss's pupils.

He had not been all that confident to begin with.

At most, he had thought the odds were fifty-fifty.

The only advantage was that even if it failed, he believed he would not be exposed. He could push all responsibility and risk onto Menma alone. The Nine-Tails Fox doing something against the village—wasn't that perfectly normal!?

In Mizuki's eyes, his preparations had been flawless and foolproof!

And now that he had seen the most perfect possible outcome,

Mizuki naturally could not suppress the joy in his heart.

"Teacher Mizuki! This is the mission target—the Scroll of Seals. That means I've completed the mission, right?"

Before Mizuki had officially turned on him,

Menma stepped forward with a normal expression, walked directly into Mizuki's close proximity, set down the Scroll of Seals, and said.