Scroll of Seals

Naruto ran out of the classroom and made his way to the cliff face of Hokage Rock, where the heads of every past Hokage had been carved.

At that moment, he was lying atop the stone head of the Third Hokage.

The afternoon sunlight was just right—bright enough, but not scorching—and a pleasant breeze drifted through the air.

Naruto was staring blankly at the vast white clouds overhead when someone suddenly blocked his view.

Mizuki had also come to Hokage Rock and stood beside the reclining Naruto. "There you are, Naruto. I've been looking everywhere for you."

Naruto sat up and glanced at Mizuki.

"I went too far with what I said earlier. I apologize."

Seeing that Naruto did not answer, Mizuki scratched the tip of his nose and revealed why he had come.

He really did look like a good teacher who knew how to admit his mistakes.

But this was merely Mizuki's gradual manipulation of Naruto.

Naruto also played along and exchanged a few perfunctory words with Mizuki.

"Teacher Mizuki..." Naruto put on a sorrowful expression. "Is there really no way for me to become a ninja?"

Faced with Naruto's question, Mizuki suddenly glanced at the red-painted building beneath Hokage Rock for some reason.

That building was the Hokage Office of the Hidden Leaf Village.

"There is a way. I'll tell you a secret—a secret that can make you a powerful ninja."

At Mizuki's words, a trace of concealed sharpness flashed through Naruto's eyes.

But the next moment, Naruto looked at Mizuki with innocent, bewildered eyes, quietly waiting for him to reveal this so-called secret.

While Mizuki was manipulating Naruto, Naruto was also manipulating Mizuki.

Mizuki had looked toward the Hokage Office because the Scroll of Seals was hidden there.

Naruto had chosen to space out on Hokage Rock because the Hokage Office was directly below it.

Naruto knew that his appearance would definitely draw the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi's attention.

At this very moment, the Third was probably using that crystal ball enhanced with the Telescope Technique to watch Naruto, and had likely been doing so for quite some time.

Once Mizuki drew Naruto, a Jinchūriki, into his conspiracy, Mizuki himself also came under the Third's surveillance.

In his previous life, online debates had endlessly discussed how Naruto, a Ninja Academy student who could not even proficiently use the basic Three-Body Technique, had managed to so easily steal the Scroll of Seals guarded by Kage Level ninja.

The most reasonable guess was that the Third had gone along with Mizuki's scheme in order to test Naruto's character as a Jinchūriki, as well as his sense of belonging toward the village.

After all, the Scroll of Seals contained the unsealing technique for the Nine-Tails. One mistake could lead to another Nine-Tails' Rampage.

Yet the Third's actions at the time were strange. He had clearly used the Telescope Technique to locate Naruto after he took the Scroll of Seals, but he did not tell the ninja searching for Naruto where he was.

Instead, he returned alone to the Hokage Office, held his crystal ball, and watched Naruto's every move through the Telescope Technique as though he were an outsider.

The Third Hokage's "indulgence" worked in Naruto's favor. As long as he could get his hands on the Scroll of Seals, the forbidden techniques within would turn his plan to defect from Konoha from more than just an idea—

—into something he could put into action.

That night, at the Hokage Office.

Naruto found the Scroll of Seals in the office. The scroll, guarded by every Hokage throughout history and recording a series of powerful forbidden techniques from the Hidden Leaf Village, had been carelessly placed in the bottom corner of a bookcase...

Naruto opened the Scroll of Seals slightly and took a look. The first forbidden technique recorded on it was the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.

That matched Naruto's memories from his previous life.

After confirming that the Scroll of Seals in his hands was genuine, Naruto rolled it back up, slung it over his back, and left the Hokage Office.

Even after leaving, Naruto had not encountered any ANBU ninja who should have been guarding such an important administrative building, nor was the Scroll of Seals protected by any barrier ninjutsu.

Naruto had obtained the Scroll of Seals with absurd ease.

That only made Naruto more certain that the Third had deliberately allowed him to take it.

The Third was surely hiding somewhere right now, fiddling with his crystal ball and observing Naruto's movements.

With the Scroll of Seals on his back, Naruto ran toward the forest within the village. It was the meeting place Mizuki had arranged with him after he successfully stole the Scroll of Seals.

When Naruto arrived at the appointed place, he did not find Mizuki.

Naruto was not surprised. Mizuki was most likely putting on a show before the Third right now, pretending to be horrified that the very thing he had been entrusted to guard had been stolen.

Mizuki would then divert the ninja who were preparing to search the forest.

Without interference from any other ninja, taking the Scroll of Seals from a Ninja Academy student who could barely use the Three-Body Technique proficiently—

Mizuki must have thought it would be effortless.

That was fine too... While Mizuki's actions bought time for himself, were they not also buying time for Naruto?

Naruto completely spread the Scroll of Seals across the grass, and every forbidden technique recorded on it entered his field of vision.

He glanced at the introduction to the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique on the Scroll of Seals.

Naruto had long since learned the Shadow Clone Technique and had spent two years training through shadow clones, so he was certain he could easily use the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.

"Damn it, why does it have to start with the Clone Technique, the thing I'm worst at?"

But Naruto still pretended to complain. He knew the Third was definitely watching him through the Telescope Technique.

Naruto stood before the scroll, looking as though he were seriously studying the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.

In truth, his gaze was focused on the other forbidden techniques recorded in the Scroll of Seals.

Learning every forbidden technique at once was simply impossible. Naruto's true target was the space-time ninjutsu recorded within the Scroll of Seals—the Flying Thunder God.

Naruto wanted to claim the Scroll of Seals for himself, but with the Third watching him through the Telescope Technique, that was not realistic.

But if he learned the Flying Thunder God, Naruto could place a Flying Thunder God Mark within the Scroll of Seals.

When the time came to defect from Konoha, he could use the Flying Thunder God Technique to find the Scroll of Seals and truly make it his.

Furthermore, Naruto judged the Flying Thunder God to be like the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique: a ninjutsu he could quickly learn through his natural talent.

The Naruto of the original story had truly known nothing, yet he had still managed to learn the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, the technique he was worst at, in a single night.

But this Naruto had spent the two years since his transmigration preparing for the Flying Thunder God...

Naruto knew very well that he had enough talent for space-time ninjutsu as well.

After all, aside from the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique and the Rasengan, the original Naruto's specialty was the Summoning Technique used to summon toads.

Several hours passed like this, and it became late at night.

Naruto looked at the black Flying Thunder God Mark in the Scroll of Seals, which resembled carelessly scribbled handwriting.

Feeling the faint chakra within the mark, Naruto knew that he had initially grasped the Flying Thunder God.

Unfortunately, the current situation did not allow him to actually use the Flying Thunder God.

"Good!"

Suppressing the genuine excitement in his heart, Naruto rolled up the Scroll of Seals again and carried it on his back.

Then Naruto brought his hands together and began forming hand seals.

"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"

The next instant, an astonishing number of shadow clones filled the area around Naruto.

"Yeah! I did it!"

Naruto released the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique and shouted excitedly.

Immediately afterward, Naruto pretended that, because it was his first time using the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, his body could not withstand a ninjutsu that consumed such a huge amount of chakra in an instant. He collapsed to the ground from exhaustion.

At that moment, several kunai shot out from the depths of the dark forest, seizing the opportunity and targeting every vital point on Naruto's body!

The "weakened" Naruto looked at the incoming kunai in "terror" and threw all his strength into dodging.

But Naruto's movements were much slower than usual due to chakra exhaustion, and the kunai still pierced his body.

The only thing worth being grateful for was that Naruto's movements allowed him to avoid the vital spots the kunai had originally aimed for at the last second.

"It hurts!"

Tears welled up in Naruto's eyes from the pain as he looked helplessly toward the direction the kunai had come from.

Mizuki appeared before Naruto with a giant shuriken strapped to his back.

Mizuki no longer wore the face of a gentle teacher. He stared at Naruto with a gloomy expression and sneered. "I really didn't expect you to actually learn the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, Naruto."

"Teacher Mizuki... why...?"

Naruto revealed an expression of shocked disbelief.

Though Naruto appeared flustered and confused on the surface, he was calm beyond measure inside.

Next, he would use Mizuki to put on a fine show for the Third, who was currently watching through the Telescope Technique—a show about a Jinchūriki who wanted to become Hokage.