Forbidden Technique

Unfortunately, Jiraiya ultimately still left Konoha, leaving behind only the words, "I'll leave Naruto in the village's care. I'll come back to see him when I have the time." After that, he left Konoha without looking back.

Standing by the window, Sarutobi Hiruzen lightly tapped his pipe, sending a little ash drifting away on the wind. Watching Jiraiya's figure disappear at the edge of his vision, he found himself filled with complicated emotions.

He might have to disappoint Jiraiya. Naruto was no longer merely the son of the Fourth Hokage—he was also Konoha Village's hidden ultimate power. The child's growth in the future would likely have to endure some hardships.

With that thought, he returned to his desk. After putting away a document he had finished reviewing, he began another round of work.

Too many Jonin and Special Jonin had been lost in Konoha. Therefore, to improve the quality of training for Konoha's Genin, Sarutobi Hiruzen planned to stop assigning fixed Jonin leaders to Genin teams, except for teams with exceptional potential. Instead, he would implement a rotation system until enough Chunin accumulated sufficient merit to be promoted to Jonin.

Just then, his personal guard entered with a bundle of documents. A cold draft blew in through the window, scattering the documents Sarutobi Hiruzen had just finished reviewing and set aside.

After the rustling sound of pages turning, the documents stopped on the final report summary.

Subject of investigation, name: Aoki Senba. A member of the Senju bloodline, with an appearance closely resembling the Second Hokage.

Experimental examination confirmed that the Chakra within his body was completely identical to that of an ordinary Senju. His innate Chakra attributes were Wind and Earth, with none of the fundamental conditions required to develop Wood Release. There was not the slightest trace of unusual vitality in his cells, either.

Without external intervention, there was no possibility of him bearing Wood Release.

The name at the bottom was Orochimaru.

Elsewhere, Senba, unaware that his bloodline had already been judged utterly ordinary, pushed open the courtyard gate and returned home as usual. He then calmly closed the door.

Ignoring his slightly trembling hands, Senba entered the room, set down the bundle behind him, and opened it.

Inside were merely some pastries favored by youths and several tens of thousands of ryo in pocket money. It was not much, but it was equivalent to the pay for an ordinary C-rank mission.

There was also a black box. Senba cut his finger, formed Hand Seals, and gently pressed it against the box. The box immediately opened automatically from both sides.

It was an alarm device. If someone tried to open it by force or with Sealing Jutsu, the contents inside would be destroyed at once. At that point, all that would remain would be a broken wooden box.

Once the wooden box opened, five ninjutsu scrolls, each as long as a palm, came into view. Senba placed them together with the ninjutsu scrolls Jiraiya had given Grandma Momoka, then examined them one by one.

"B-rank Ninjutsu, Super Strength Fist." "B-rank Ninjutsu, Needle Jizo." "B-rank Ninjutsu, Wind Release: Gale Palm." "B-rank Ninjutsu, Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet." "S-rank Ninjutsu, Water Release: Water Severing Wave." "A-rank Ninjutsu, Bringer-of-Darkness Technique."

The ninjutsu Grandma Momoka had prepared for Senba had been selected according to the actual amount of Chakra within his body. They were all relatively unique techniques that ordinary Ninja could not learn even after being promoted, unless they had made tremendous contributions and earned the right to study them from the Scroll of Seals.

However, techniques like Super Strength Fist and Needle Jizo, which carried such obvious personal styles, could not be learned without instruction from their creators. From this, it was clear that Tsunade had acknowledged Senba to some extent. Otherwise, she would not have placed her signature techniques inside the wooden box.

These ninjutsu were more than enough to serve as trump cards for a Special Jonin, let alone an Elite Jonin. Although several of them could not be revealed for the time being—or, more accurately, Senba was not yet qualified to cultivate them—he still felt as though happiness had enveloped him.

But these were not the main event. The ninjutsu occupied only half the wooden box. The other half was taken up by specially treated cloth. When Senba leaned closer, he could even smell the scent of medicine.

Based on the ninjutsu he had displayed before Grandma Momoka, Senba had roughly guessed what had been recorded inside.

A few minutes later, as he looked at the enormous piece of cloth spread beneath his feet, a flicker of excitement crossed his face. Sure enough, it was this technique.

"S-rank Ninjutsu, Flying Thunder God Technique (Incomplete)."

That was right. This was the space-time technique created by the Second Hokage and later brought to glory by the Fourth Hokage during the Third Shinobi War. When that yellow figure appeared on the battlefield, even Kumogakure's contemporary A and B combination could only retreat in defeat. He had even forced the other villages to issue an extraordinarily humiliating order: upon encountering Minato Namikaze, they could choose to abandon the mission and would not be considered to have failed it.

Such an order was unimaginable among that group of brainwashed Ninja. The best example was Konoha's sharpest blade, Sakumo Hatake. It was easy to imagine that after news of his suicide spread, the Shadows of the other villages had happily drunk several extra cups.

Of course, the unfortunate Mizukage of Kirigakure did not count.

What made Senba happiest, however, was that he could actually understand the complicated runes on the cloth. Although he understood only about one-tenth of them, this proved that he possessed outstanding talent in space-time techniques.

With that thought, Senba did not rush to study the runes on the cloth. Instead, he carefully folded it and placed it back inside the wooden box together with Water Release: Water Severing Wave and the A-rank Illusion Technique, Bringer-of-Darkness Technique, then stored everything away with care.

At that moment, Senba knew that biting off more than he could chew would do him no good. The most important thing was to first gain the ability to protect himself. If he had guessed correctly, as the village recovered from the wounds of the war, Genin like them would soon be sent out to carry out missions.

Thus, after taking care of everything, Senba left the house. He was going to find Uchiha Yue and Iruka, after which the three of them would go together to Konoha's training grounds to cultivate.

Elsewhere, the Hokage's Office remained shrouded in white smoke. Sarutobi Hiruzen handed the documents in his hand to the figure standing before the desk.

"We're all deeply saddened by Minato's sudden death. But for Konoha's future, those of us who are still alive must continue moving forward. Your current mission should be completed in another two days. After taking a few days to rest, you'll be responsible for this Genin class."

Unconcealed grief flickered in Genma Shiranui's eyes. After taking the documents, he carefully read through them while Sarutobi Hiruzen continued speaking.

"Your main purpose this time is to assess them while carrying out missions. This is also the first task of every team leader. After the Third Shinobi War and the Nine-Tails' Rampage, many squads were scattered. They need to be reorganized now, after which we'll select the individuals who deserve priority training and turn them into the backbone of Konoha as quickly as possible, easing the village's current predicament."

At this point, Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep drag from his pipe and slowly exhaled, further reducing visibility inside the Hokage's Office.

Genma Shiranui had no dissatisfaction whatsoever with the Third Generation's arrangements. He had been the Fourth Hokage's personal guard, not the Third Hokage's, so naturally he could not remain in the Hokage Building.

He nodded and put away the documents. Once his mission was complete, he would go meet his subordinates. However, the fact that both the Uchiha and the Senju Clan were in his squad stirred a trace of curiosity within him.