Choosing a Forbidden Technique from the Scroll of Sealing

In the forest, Aburame Shibi swallowed hard and stared dumbfoundedly at Hyuga Satoru, who stood beside him with a bow and arrow raised.

"Wu, that move was brutal!"

From over a kilometer away, he had fired three arrows in succession and slaughtered several Sand Ninja. Even Shibi couldn't help but be shocked by such a record.

Especially the second arrow—it had flown into the group of Sand Ninja and pierced through three of them in one shot!

Hyuga Satoru put on a pale face as though he had overexerted himself, stored the metal bow in his Storage Scroll, and shook his head.

"Teacher Shibi, this isn't the time to discuss that. My Chakra is nearly at its limit. We should leave quickly."

"Mm."

Aburame Shibi nodded. After roughly cleaning up the traces around them, he hurried away with Hyuga Satoru.

At the inn.

The innkeeper, Red Pigeon, was restless as she paced back and forth. When she saw the two approaching, her eyes lit up and she immediately walked over.

"How did it go?"

"It's already over," Hyuga Satoru said.

Over?

Red Pigeon's eyes widened. What did he mean, over? Had the mission been completed? Had the Iwa Ninja taken the supplies back? What exactly had happened? Her mind was full of questions.

"The mission has been resolved. Red Pigeon, once we return, I'll report your contribution to the Hokage."

Having completed the mission, Aburame Shibi was in much better spirits. He nodded to the innkeeper as he spoke.

"It's... resolved already?"

Red Pigeon stood there with her mouth open, still full of doubts. Hadn't they said the Sand Village was involved behind this matter? Was it really over just like that?

Neither of them even had a speck of dust on them. It was as if they hadn't fought the enemy at all. Had they simply taken a stroll around the scene and completed the mission?

Seeing Red Pigeon's confusion, Aburame Shibi smiled. "Wu was truly indispensable to this mission. Otherwise, it would've been troublesome. But because of the mission's confidential nature, I can't tell you the details."

Red Pigeon looked at Hyuga Satoru beside him in puzzlement. Such a young ninja didn't even seem to be a Chunin yet, did he?

Could he really have played such a major role?

After saying goodbye to Red Pigeon, the two set off on the journey back to Konoha Village.

On the road, Aburame Shibi said gravely, "Wu, because this mission involved two great nations behind the scenes, it'll definitely be raised to S-rank once we report back to the Hokage."

S-rank?

Hyuga Satoru's eyes lit up. The minimum reward for an S-rank mission was one million Ryo!

That was a massive fortune!

"Oh, right."

Aburame Shibi paused, then continued.

"After we return, I'll discuss it with the Hokage and have him give you a chance to select a forbidden technique from the Scroll of Sealing. You should think carefully about which forbidden technique you want."

A sealing technique?

Hyuga Satoru smacked his lips. The Scroll of Sealing recorded nothing but powerful forbidden techniques, and there was one particularly famous technique on it that he had coveted for a long time.

After several days of travel, the two finally arrived at Konoha Village.

The moment they entered the village, Aburame Shibi wasted no time and immediately took Hyuga Satoru to the Hokage's Office to report the mission.

After hearing Aburame Shibi's report, Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes gradually brightened. He said "good" three times in a row.

If Aburame Shibi's report was true, then after this mission, the Hidden Stone Village and the Sand Village would become bitter enemies. Seven elite ninjas and supplies worth over one hundred million Ryo—given what he knew of that old stubborn fool Ōnoki, there was no way he would let this grudge go unavenged!

In that case, Konoha would temporarily become the safe side.

Even if the situation in the Ninja World grew chaotic again and war broke out, the first to fight would be the Sand Village and the Hidden Stone Village. Konoha, on the other hand, could sit back and watch.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stroked his beard, his gaze toward Hyuga Satoru growing increasingly appreciative. The originally complicated situation had instead been turned into one most favorable to Konoha through his meddling.

Hyuga Satoru gave an awkward smile.

In truth, his starting point hadn't been Konoha Village at all. The reason he had let Yamato return alive was because he knew that, at the start of the Third Shinobi World War, the Sand Village had stubbornly attacked Konoha first. Stirring up conflict between the Sand Village and the Hidden Stone Village should greatly delay the outbreak of the Third Shinobi World War.

At least for now, the overwhelmed Sand Village probably wouldn't have the energy to trouble its big brother.

That would give him more time to develop!

Time was what he lacked most.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded and said in a deep voice, "I now have a general understanding of the mission's course. This mission will be upgraded to S-rank. In addition..."

He looked at Hyuga Satoru, paused for a moment, then said, "Because of your outstanding performance in this mission, you'll be rewarded with one opportunity to select a technique from the Scroll of Sealing. I hope you won't waste it."

Hyuga Satoru's eyes lit up. It's here. It's finally here...

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a scroll from a drawer and handed it to Hyuga Satoru.

"This is the catalogue of techniques in the Scroll of Sealing. Choose one you like, and later I'll take you to where the actual Scroll of Sealing is kept."

Hyuga Satoru quickly scanned through the catalogue and soon picked the technique he wanted.

"This one."

He pointed it out to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"This one?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help frowning. "Why would you choose this technique? This opportunity is extremely important. Once wasted, it'll be difficult to get another one."

When Aburame Shibi saw the technique Hyuga Satoru had chosen, he couldn't help becoming anxious as well and hurriedly advised him.

"Wu, this technique has extremely demanding requirements for its practitioner. Are you sure you want to choose it? It would be such a shame to waste this opportunity."

Hyuga Satoru looked firmly at Hiruzen Sarutobi. "I've already decided, Lord Hokage. I choose this technique."

"Very well, since you've made your decision." Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed. "But I must remind you: to practice this technique, you need a massive Chakra reserve. Before you've fully mastered it, remember not to force yourself to use it, or your life may be in danger."

"I understand, Lord Hokage."

Hyuga Satoru nodded solemnly.

The technique he had pointed to in the Scroll of Sealing catalogue was the signature cheat skill of the future prince.

Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!

Not long after leaving the Hokage's Office, they ran into Uchiha Rin and Anko, who had been waiting for the two to return.

"Your mission is finally over. I've waited so long that my body's practically rusted up." Uchiha Rin rolled her shoulders a few times and spoke impatiently.

Hyuga Satoru smiled and scratched his head. "There were some unexpected changes during this mission, so it was upgraded to S-rank. It delayed us for quite a while. Once the reward is exchanged, I'll treat everyone to a meal."

"S-rank?"

Uchiha Rin's mouth fell open in shock, wondering if she had heard wrong.

"You and Teacher Shibi completed an S-rank mission by yourselves?"

"Mm." Aburame Shibi nodded and said gravely, "Not only that, Wu played the leading role in this mission."

Uchiha Rin stared at Hyuga Satoru in astonishment. No matter how confident she was, she knew perfectly well that with her own strength, she wouldn't be able to play any role in an S-rank mission.

Anko was shocked as well. Her mouth hung open, then she seemed to think of something and asked worriedly, "The mission was so dangerous. No one got hurt, right?"

Aburame Shibi shook his head and looked helplessly at Hyuga Satoru. He truly couldn't understand why Hyuga Satoru had wasted such an important opportunity on the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.

After all, among the forbidden techniques in the Scroll of Sealing, the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique wasn't particularly powerful, and its requirements for use were exceptionally harsh.

But Hyuga Satoru was already impatient. After bidding them farewell, he immediately ran to the forest where he usually trained. He had a very devious experiment to try.