"Loser, you should just stay home. If you run around at night and get bullied, you'll end up crying to Iruka-sensei again."
Sasuke coolly dodged Naruto's punch as he spoke, but his words only struck an even more sensitive nerve.
Damn you! I'll knock your teeth out!
Naruto turned and swung another punch at Sasuke's face. Sasuke dodged it just as easily, and then Naruto kept attacking while Sasuke continued to evade him.
This didn't arouse the slightest suspicion in Naruto.
In reality, Qiuyang watched Naruto muttering to himself as he swung his fists at empty air...
Clearly, he'd fallen into the illusion Qiuyang had specially woven for him—Genjutsu: Mirror Flower.
The victim temporarily lost all six senses, and their thoughts and desires were directly reflected in their brain, replacing reality.
Naruto's impression of Sasuke was that he was the school's top student, who easily trounced him in every one-on-one school sparring match.
So in the illusion, Naruto attacked while Sasuke dodged.
Was the future Hokage really this easy to catch in a genjutsu?
Qiuyang shook his head, amused. He figured the third fire-starting device he'd set up in the village had probably worked by now.
He quickly circled around behind Naruto and carefully removed the Scroll of Sealing from his back.
He didn't have much time left. It would be disastrous if the old Third Hokage pointed his crystal ball this way again.
With his heart pounding and hands trembling, Qiuyang unfurled the scroll that had inspired countless theories among Naruto fans.
He remembered that online discussions had mostly revolved around whether the Third Hokage had deliberately let Naruto see it, and what techniques the scroll contained.
Some said the Third Hokage had done it on purpose, to honor Minato. They figured it only contained Multi Shadow Clone Technique, Rasengan, and Flying Thunder God.
Others guessed it contained nothing but forbidden techniques, like Orochimaru's Impure World Reincarnation and One's Own Life Reincarnation, as well as Minato's Flying Thunder God and Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
And so on...
Now he could finally clear up those fans' years-old questions. Too bad he couldn't tell them the answers. Heh!
The first technique recorded in the scroll was, without a doubt, one of Naruto's signature jutsu: Multi Shadow Clone Technique.
Hmm...
Qiuyang glanced at Naruto, who was still enthusiastically swinging at the air, and marveled at how earnest the kid was. Otherwise, why would he start learning right from the first page?
As the Scroll of Sealing unfurled further, Qiuyang grew more and more astonished, a broad grin slowly spreading across his face.
As if sensing its owner's excitement, his dark eyes quietly turned scarlet, revealing three tomoe.
That was because the Scroll of Sealing didn't just contain all kinds of forbidden jutsu. It also held secret techniques that certain clans had never passed on to outsiders.
Qiuyang even spotted some information about the Uchiha Mangekyo...
It was practically an encyclopedia of its own!
Resting his chin in his hand, Qiuyang thought that the fans' theory about the old Third Hokage deliberately letting Naruto see the scroll was clearly wrong.
This was obviously a case of "the Third Hokage getting hit by Sexy Jutsu, carelessly losing his dignity, and the Scroll of Sealing falling into Naruto and Qiuyang's hands."
Qiuyang tamped down his excitement and estimated the time. He had only three minutes left, so how much he could remember depended entirely on his memory.
The scroll was a full five meters long when unfurled, and its contents were written in relatively small characters. That gave some idea of just how much it contained.
"Sharingan."
The three tomoe in Qiuyang's eyes spun rapidly like a windmill. He scanned the text line by line—no, twenty lines at a time, and even then he had to pick and choose.
Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique? Got it.
Flying Thunder God Technique? Got it.
The Second Hokage's Ocean Release and sensory techniques? Got them.
The First's various Wood Release jutsu? Hmm... I'm going to become an Otsutsuki someday, so I'll take those too.
As for Living Corpse Reincarnation and Dead Demon Consuming Seal, which required sacrificing one's life or consuming one's soul, he'd pass.
He didn't want to end up like Snake Auntie, turned into a crawling snake and vulnerable to genjutsu wherever he went.
The last part of the scroll contained some incomplete Sealing Jutsu from the Uzumaki Clan, collected by Konoha, along with the locations of several ruins.
Remembering how important it would be to have a Tailed Beast as a power bank later on, Qiuyang memorized those too.
By the time he'd memorized everything he needed, his time was nearly up. He quickly rolled up the Scroll of Sealing and tied it back onto Naruto's back.
Seeing Naruto still flailing around where he stood, Qiuyang marveled at the boy's boundless energy, then couldn't help rubbing his forehead.
Seriously, Naruto-kun, without the Nine-Tails' help, is your resistance to genjutsu really that bad?
You still haven't shown the slightest sign of breaking out on your own.
But then he remembered that whenever Naruto met Itachi, he was effortlessly dragged into a genjutsu, and he felt better.
Fine! I'll help you, then. Otherwise, the old Third Hokage will see you like this and everything will be over.
Qiuyang quickly formed the hand sign to release the genjutsu. "Release."
Then he leaped away several times, leaving the scene behind.
In the illusion, Naruto saw Sasuke give him a mysterious smile, then suddenly turn and run, disappearing into a grove.
Glaring in the direction where Sasuke had vanished, Naruto clenched his fist and shouted,
"Damn you, Sasuke! Just you wait. Once I've learned the jutsu in the Scroll of Sealing, I'll beat you in front of Sakura!"
Then he continued running toward the place Mizuki-sensei had told him about.
After that came the tearjerker of a story: Naruto learned Multi Shadow Clone Technique, beat up Mizuki, and rescued Iruka.
But Qiuyang definitely wasn't going to watch.
After obtaining the jutsu, he quietly slipped back into the village.
When he was close to home, he found a dark alley and dispelled his Transformation Technique, then returned to that gloomy little room as if nothing had happened.
He lay down on the bed as usual, but his heart still pounded like a war drum, betraying his excitement.
Hmm... So far, the operation had gone perfectly, and he hadn't noticed anyone following him.
Still, he was cautious and didn't immediately copy the jutsu he'd memorized with his Sharingan onto a scroll.
He'd erased every trace he'd left while setting traps, on the way to see Naruto, and on the way back.
But he was still worried that the old Third Hokage's crystal ball had never left Naruto.
Or maybe the old Third Hokage had looked away during that period, but would grow suspicious when he turned the surveillance back.
After all, Naruto couldn't possibly have run that far in just a few minutes.
All of these things could expose him.
For now, all he could do was pray.
Qiuyang pressed his palms together, his heart uneasy, and stayed awake in bed until dawn. Nothing happened during the night, and he finally let out a huge sigh of relief.
Over the next few days, he went about his usual routine. Then, on the fifth day, he went to the mission office and casually took a job gathering medicinal herbs.
After completing the paperwork, he left the village alone to carry out the mission.
Once he was sure he'd traveled far from the village, Qiuyang finally found a secluded valley and let out a series of joyful "Aaaah!" shouts, releasing all the excitement he'd been holding in for so long.
From now on, I, Uchiha Qiu Yang, won't have to hide and put up with this anymore.
So the first thing he needed to do was learn Rasengan, then find himself a cheap master.
Jiraiya.
Before you continue