The Scroll of Sealing

Konoha was one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages and the strongest of them all. That wasn't just because it had deep roots and several Kage Level shinobi—at the very least, the Third Hokage, Jiraiya, and Tsunade, with Shimura Danzō being no pushover either.

It was also because Konoha had a number of shinobi that other villages couldn't match!

Whether in the number or quality of its jonin, chunin, or genin, Konoha stood far above the other villages.

Even so, a jonin was extremely valuable in Konoha Ninja Village, and held an exceptionally important position.

Having jonin babysit rookie genin who had just graduated from the Academy was absolutely not something that happened often.

Once a jonin took charge of a genin team, they could no longer take A-Rank or even S-Rank missions. Team missions were carried out as a team.

So, under normal circumstances, they could only accept D-Rank missions, or, at most, B-Rank Missions. This greatly held the jonin back, and meant there were fewer of them available to take on the village's commissioned missions.

Moreover, these jonin team leaders were generally expected to guide their genin in training. They couldn't just leave them to their own devices, which wasted even more of the jonin's time.

As a result, there couldn't be many teams led by jonin. At most, there might be two or three in a graduating class, and that was only because those children had special backgrounds that warranted a jonin leading them.

But Ueno Kei was an exception. The Third Hokage had personally brought him back to the village, so there was no doubt about his standing, and he might even have been a little special because of it.

Still, none of that changed the fact that Ueno Kei was an unusual case. Normally, a student like him, graduating from the Ninja Academy, would be assigned to an ordinary shinobi team. In other words, Ueno Kei's future team leader would have to be a chunin.

In fact, after Ueno Kei entered the Academy, the staff responsible for such matters had privately asked the Third Hokage about it. For students like Naruto and the others, they couldn't say for certain who would lead their teams six years later.

But they could be sure that their team leaders would be jonin. Which jonin would be assigned to them would be decided in the year they were due to graduate.

Ueno Kei was different, though, so it was hard to decide whether to classify him as the sort of graduate randomly assigned to an ordinary chunin-led team. After all, the Third Hokage had personally brought him back to the village. So, after giving it some thought, the Academy staff—

decided they should ask the Third Hokage.

The Third Hokage's reaction had surprised the shinobi who went to ask him. He pondered for a while, gave no other instructions, and simply said, "Leave it for now."

The shinobi was baffled, but knew better than to ask questions, so he said nothing more.

He had no idea that, by then, the Third Hokage had already made up his mind to put aside his last lingering doubts and take Ueno Kei on as his student. There was no need to consider Ueno Kei's team assignment after graduation.

Because it was no longer necessary.

Once the Third Hokage realized the Ninja Academy couldn't teach Ueno Kei much more, he had already begun making plans for his future.

Today was only the first step.

The Third Hokage looked at Ueno Kei warmly, wearing a faint smile. He showed none of the authority of a Hokage, only the kindness of a teacher.

Ueno Kei, on the other hand, was far from calm. It was like a terrorist who had ordered a single grenade online, only to open the package and find a miniature nuclear bomb inside.

The surprise of that contrast would have left any terrorist dumbfounded.

That was exactly the expression on Ueno Kei's face now: disbelief as he stared at the Scroll of Sealing in the Third Hokage's hands. Even as a rookie, he was a Konoha shinobi. How could he not know what the Scroll of Sealing was? (Naruto in the original story was an exception. That idiot didn't know many things that should have been common knowledge.)

It was a scroll containing the ninjutsu recorded by successive Hokage. Everyone in the Ninja World knew that. Some people joked that getting Konoha's Scroll of Sealing was the same as getting an entire shinobi village.

That was an exaggeration, but it still showed just how valuable the Scroll of Sealing was.

The First, Senju Hashirama; the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama; the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen; and the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato.

Aside from the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, who had held the position for only a short time and had relatively few techniques recorded in the Scroll of Sealing, the other three Hokage had added every technique they knew whenever they had the time.

Aside from techniques outsiders couldn't learn, like the First's Wood Release, every technique known to a Hokage was recorded in the scroll. It even contained some of the Ninja World's more secret forbidden techniques.

The most astonishing of them all was the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. The title of Professor of Ninjutsu was no empty boast.

The Third Hokage knew ninjutsu using all five chakra natures, and the sheer number of techniques he had mastered was enough to leave other shinobi speechless. In terms of strength, he might not have matched the First. (Of course, many people in the Ninja World believed that the Third Hokage at his peak could have stood on par with the First. But who could say without a fight?)

But when it came to mastering and studying techniques, if the Third Hokage called himself second, no one would dare call themselves first. Not even his favorite student, Orochimaru, whose talent for techniques was considered monstrous, could compare with the Third Hokage.

That showed just how valuable the Scroll of Sealing was.

It was like the national defense research center of a country from Ueno Kei's previous life, with all its core techniques stored inside.

It was no wonder Ueno Kei looked the way he did.

Ueno Kei's face flushed red. He tried to rein in his excitement, and in the end, his maturity won out. He couldn't completely hide how thrilled he was, but his expression grew a little calmer.

"Teacher Sarutobi... This is..." Ueno Kei asked hesitantly, still uncertain.

The Third Hokage smiled faintly. He understood how Ueno Kei felt. After all, there weren't many shinobi who could resist the temptation of Konoha's Scroll of Sealing.

"Kei, the Ninja Academy can't teach you much ninjutsu. Usually, they only teach the Three Body Technique, how to use chakra, and other basic knowledge. You don't need me to explain what this is. You'll train here for the next few days. Learn whatever techniques you can from it, but your first Anbu mission should be in three days. Remember, know your limits!"

The Third Hokage spoke in a firm tone, his expression unchanged. He knew how mature Ueno Kei was and wasn't worried he would do anything reckless. Besides, he would be there to keep an eye on him. Otherwise, he wouldn't have handed Ueno Kei the Scroll of Sealing so casually.

Ueno Kei had been ninety-nine percent sure, but it was only after hearing the Third Hokage say it himself that he could truly believe it.

The first Anbu mission was indeed in three days. When the team had dispersed today, their captain, Akamatsu, had told them as much, including the meeting place and time.