Kill an Elder of the Sarutobi Clan! Obtaining the Sarutobi Secret Techniques and the Scroll of Seals!

Under cover of night, Su Nuo silently left the Hokage Office.

He had not been idle at all.

With Hyuga Shin's Byakugan and the cover of Kurama Clan Genjutsu, Su Nuo moved at incredible speed, sneaking toward the Sarutobi Clan's settlement like a ghost.

Along the way, he avoided all of Konoha's patrolling Anbu and smoothly reached the area where the Sarutobi Clan resided.

When it came to Fuinjutsu, there was one clan that could not be avoided—the Uzumaki Clan.

First Hokage Hashirama Senju had signed a friendship treaty with the elders of the Uzumaki Clan. Konoha had even kept the Uzumaki symbol on its ninja uniforms.

First Hokage Hashirama Senju's wife, Mito Uzumaki, was also a member of the Uzumaki Clan, as well as the First Jinchuriki.

The Second Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was Kushina Uzumaki, who was also a member of the Uzumaki Clan.

But by this time, the Uzumaki Clan had already been wiped out, and the Land of Eddies had fallen as well.

What exactly had happened?

—Because the other clans feared the Uzumaki Clan's Fuinjutsu, many countries and clans launched invasions against the Land of Eddies.

What? What about Konoha? Where were you?

Where had Konoha gone at a time like this??

Was this how a friendship treaty was signed? Watching the Land of Eddies perish and the Uzumaki Clan be exterminated?

"The Shinobi World has never lacked clan exterminations..."

Su Nuo looked at the Barrier Jutsu surrounding the Sarutobi Clan's settlement. He activated the Byakugan again, saw through the energy within, and used his own Barrier Jutsu to sit down cross-legged and search for a weak point in the barrier.

"And Konoha's Fuinjutsu is even more terrifying the more you think about it. The Sarutobi Clan excels at Fuinjutsu... and when the Land of Eddies was destroyed, the Hokage of Konoha was Hiruzen Sarutobi."

"Hmph..."

"What difference is there between peace-lovers standing by and watching at a time like this and the people who invaded the Land of Eddies?"

For the sake of justice, they should have sent troops.

For the sake of the treaty, they should have sent troops too.

Even for the sake of kinship, they should have sent troops...

"Crackle!"

Su Nuo stood up. A hole had already opened in the barrier before him, and he immediately walked inside.

The Byakugan remained activated.

"It really is prosperous..."

"With this population and territory, they can still maintain a clan barrier of such quality."

"Hiruzen Sarutobi must have lined his pockets quite a bit during these decades in power."

"And Fuinjutsu isn't even the Sarutobi Clan's main hereditary art."

The Sarutobi Clan's hereditary art—at least when Konoha had just been founded—was Fire Release.

As for why Fuinjutsu had been added now, and why the Sarutobi Clan's knowledge system had become so rich and comprehensive... Su Nuo could only sneer.

Su Nuo strolled along leisurely.

The Sarutobi Clan probably never could have imagined that someone would be so brazen as to kill his way into the clan grounds of the current Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Before long, Su Nuo locked onto a secret chamber that might contain secret technique manuals.

The door to the secret chamber was tightly shut, and it was covered in sealing runes as well.

Su Nuo squatted down and carefully observed the runes.

"As expected, they're simpler than the ones guarding the Scroll of Seals. I should need about an hour to decipher them."

He checked the time. It was not yet one in the morning.

After all, Konoha had a curfew. However, the curfew was quite flexible. There were night markets during peacetime, but during wartime, everyone had to return home early.

The Kurama Clan had just been massacred, so the curfew had naturally begun early. That was why Su Nuo had left so early as well.

He had already made a round, and there was still plenty of time.

A hole had been torn open in the barrier.

Su Nuo stepped into the secret chamber containing the manuals.

"Sarutobi Fire Release, Sarutobi Sealing Technique..."

"Actually, when it comes to Fuinjutsu, the Uzumaki Clan was the most capable. But Kushina Uzumaki is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki..."

"A treasure like that can't be touched yet."

"Besides, the Sarutobi Clan's Fuinjutsu probably has some connection to the Uzumaki Clan. Even if it isn't top-tier, it's still first-rate..."

Su Nuo quickly skimmed through the various records concerning Fuinjutsu and memorized them rapidly.

After browsing for an hour and a half, Su Nuo went to inspect the Sarutobi Fire Release, including the Sarutobi Clan's Fire Release: Great Flame Technique, passed down through the generations.

It could continuously spit enormous fireballs from the mouth, with extremely high temperatures and a considerable blast radius.

"No wonder the Sarutobi Clan was already a major clan before Konoha."

"This is an upgraded version of the Uchiha Clan's Great Fireball Technique."

You know how war works.

It was all about firepower.

There was no need to talk about anything else. After a dozen or so fireballs, everyone would behave.

Although there was a joke that the Great Fireball Technique had never actually killed anyone by burning them to death,

it had only been used against experts.

Fire Release was quite effective for bullying the weak.

"And... Sasuke Sarutobi's Five Elemental Ninjutsu."

Sasuke Sarutobi, Hiruzen Sarutobi's father, was an absolute genius—the first genius in the entire Shinobi World to naturally possess five nature transformations.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's five chakra nature transformations had also been inherited from his father, Sasuke Sarutobi.

Uchiha Fugaku had even admired Sasuke Sarutobi so much that he named his second son Uchiha Sasuke.

"There's nothing special about it."

"Boring."

Su Nuo tossed Sasuke Sarutobi's ninjutsu back.

It was merely a quantitative change.

Its only use was serving as the foundation for a qualitative change.

The various Kekkei Genkai in the Shinobi World were actually upgraded versions created by combining different elemental releases.

Su Nuo had obtained what he wanted, and it was already past two in the morning.

He thought for a moment, stroked his chin, and let out a sinister laugh.

Then he walked toward the depths of the Sarutobi Clan's settlement...

Looking at the elderly Sarutobi Clan elder sleeping soundly,

Su Nuo spoke softly.

"Release."

Pfft!

Blood sprayed everywhere!

Bright sunlight.

It was accompanied by bursts of birdsong.

But even more prominent was the clamorous noise.

Hyuga Shin frowned.

"Ugh..."

After waking up, he felt as if his head were splitting. Faint images flickered through his mind, but no matter how carefully he tried to recall them, he could not see anything.

"Hiss."

Hyuga Shin rubbed his head and subconsciously went to wash up.

Then he went out to eat breakfast.

He did not plan to make it himself. He knew how... but Hyuga Shin was not short of money now, so he simply went out for breakfast.

Everyone else was discussing what had happened the previous night.

Hyuga Shin was stunned.

What did they mean, "Several elders of the Sarutobi Clan were killed"?

What did they mean, "The Scroll of Seals had been stolen??"

Hyuga Shin finished his breakfast worriedly, then left the clan grounds and, in accordance with his agreement with Uchiha Miya, continued to engage in combat practice in the woods.

At that moment, beneath the bed in Hyuga Shin's house, a book completely sealed by a bizarre Yin Release sealing technique lay there quietly. The form of this sealing technique was entirely different from any sealing technique known to Konoha.

If anyone was to blame...

They could blame the fact that hardly anyone could cultivate Yin Release...

"Have you heard?"

Uchiha Miya leaned against a tree and looked at Hyuga Shin.

Hyuga Shin nodded. "Mm... I heard. But I only know that it happened."