Scroll of Seals

The atmosphere in the room instantly became tense.

The Anbu captain stood in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi's desk, gripping his katana as he watched Shu warily. A trace of cold sweat seeped from his forehead beneath the mask.

This kid's chakra reserves were far beyond reason.

And those strange Sharingan eyes...

He absolutely could not be treated as an ordinary child!

He silently warned himself, instinctively tightening his grip on the sword hilt.

Just then, Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly spoke. "Zō, stand down."

Zō hesitated. "But..."

"Enough. It's only a misunderstanding. As long as we clear it up, there's no need to make things so tense," Hiruzen Sarutobi said gravely.

"Yes!"

Zō could only comply. Several Anbu vanished in a flicker, but instead of concealing themselves as before, they retreated to the eaves outside the window, remaining on guard.

Seeing that Shu had no intention of attacking, Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed. "I can tell you have a lot of grievances against me, Shu."

"I never wanted to get involved in this bullshit. I was worried that before the Uchiha's situation improved, my intolerance for idiots would flare up and I'd crush those fools to death first."

Uchiha Shu sneered, his tone teasing. "But from what you said just now, as long as there's no evidence, they're innocent until proven guilty... is that it?"

As soon as he said that, the atmosphere grew heavy.

After a long while, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally sighed. "I'm sorry... I can't give you an explanation. This matter is indeed suspicious, but we cannot completely rule out the possibility that spies were involved. Given my position, I cannot act on mere suspicion. You should understand that better than anyone."

Shu gave a derisive snort. Though he disdained it inwardly, he knew Hiruzen Sarutobi was speaking the truth.

Without conclusive evidence, no amount of raging would mean anything.

But if you insist on playing it this way, then I guarantee that even after every Anbu member is dead, you won't find a shred of evidence connecting me to it!

Hiruzen Sarutobi had clearly seen through Shu's thoughts as well.

He did not dare gamble on whether Shu could really accomplish that, but judging from Shu's attitude, he clearly had tremendous confidence.

That confidence might have come from his Mangekyo eye technique.

Even without that Mangekyo, Shu's demonstrated strength alone was enough to make him take the boy seriously.

"And regarding Shisui's eye technique... you were right. I did have such thoughts, but it seems I did not consider things carefully enough."

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head. "But no matter what, I don't want the conflict to escalate."

Shu raised a brow. "So you turn a blind eye to certain acts of suppression against the Uchiha?"

"Like I said, I cannot act based on suspicion alone. And certain people happen to be very experienced in this sort of thing."

There was a hint of shame in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes. "What happened this time was a failure on my part as Hokage. I only hope that, no matter what, this matter can end in this room."

"As compensation, I can authorize you to choose one suitable Ninjutsu from the Scroll of Seals. In addition, this mission's rating will be raised from C-rank to A-rank. How does that sound?"

"A-rank? Who are you looking down on?"

Shu took out a scroll and unsealed Kakuzu's corpse.

With a bang, Kakuzu's face slammed heavily into the floor.

Then Shu hooked his foot under him and flipped him over, raising his chin at Hiruzen Sarutobi. "S-rank rogue ninja, Kakuzu. He was no worse than you at using all five transformations."

"This is... Earth Grudge Fear? It seems your strength is even more outrageous than I expected."

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at Kakuzu's body, his tone carrying deeper meaning. At a glance, he recognized Takigakure's Earth Grudge Fear.

Only two broken mask fragments remained. There were no wounds on his body, nor any signs that he had struggled...

A complete and utter crushing defeat?

How despairing had that been?

Though the title of strongest Hokage was somewhat exaggerated, his discerning eye as the Professor of Ninjutsu was the real deal.

He had heard of Kakuzu, the bounty hunter. Rumor had it that Kakuzu had even fought the First Hokage.

But regardless of whether that intelligence was true, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew he could not make a battle-hardened ninja completely give up resisting the way Shu had.

This once again reshaped his understanding of Uchiha Shu's strength.

"Then it seems this mission can indeed be rated S-rank. How about we settle it as S-rank?"

"Not interested. I was just showing off."

Shu put away the corpse and sneered. "One Ninjutsu? Are you brushing off a beggar? How am I supposed to lead a team in the future if you do this? People will think I can't afford to train! Don't you understand the principle of sharing the spoils? Add another one! One for each person!"

"This..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked conflicted.

Seeing him hesitate, Uchiha Shu clicked his tongue impatiently.

"Kill you, and the Scroll of Seals will be mine anyway."

"Then one for each person!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed his forehead with a headache, but inwardly he quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

The Scroll of Seals was something he, as Hokage, could let anyone view with just a word.

Only four Ninjutsu. It was not much of a loss.

But before he could feel relieved, Shu crooked a finger at him. "I want Flying Thunder God, Impure World Reincarnation, Eight Gates, and the Spirit Transformation Technique."

"How do you know about those techniques?" Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression turned stern. "The others are manageable, but Impure World Reincarnation..."

"I've already made concessions!"

Before Hiruzen Sarutobi could finish, Shu cut him off. "I want that technique. Otherwise, I guarantee the entire Shimura clan will be hanging neatly from Konoha's gates by tomorrow morning! Just as you said, innocent until proven guilty~"

"Fine, fine, fine..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt like he was about to fucking collapse!

That idiot Danzo caused trouble every damn day, and he, the Hokage, had to clean up after him!

And Uchiha Shu was no saint either. Instead of going after Root, he went straight for Danzo's home the moment they disagreed...

Being Hokage was like being a useless husband. Someone, please hurry up and usurp this shitty position!

Soon, an Anbu ninja brought over an enormous scroll. He was about to hand it to Hiruzen Sarutobi when Shu raised a hand and intercepted it first.

"Let me see what's going on here!" As he spoke, he yanked open the scroll and quickly scanned it. "Why are the words blurred?"

"There's a seal on it." Hiruzen Sarutobi looked speechless. He had known this kid would not be that obedient.

A seal...

Shu snorted. Sure enough, Naruto obtaining the Scroll of Seals in the original story had been entirely the Third Hokage's tacit approval.

Hiruzen Sarutobi snatched back the scroll irritably. After repeatedly warning Shu not to misuse Impure World Reincarnation, he formed several hand seals with both hands, revealing the few Ninjutsu Shu wanted. The other Ninjutsu remained blurred.

Shu watched clearly from the side with his Sharingan activated. Then he copied Hiruzen Sarutobi and formed several hand seals, but nothing happened.

"The hand seals for every technique are different."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed. Sure enough, this kid was not honest in the slightest.

Hearing that, Shu stopped wasting words. With his Sharingan active, he copied and memorized the techniques at the same time, then casually rolled up the scroll and slung it over his back.

"Alright, if there's nothing else, I'll head back first."

"Leave the scroll behind!!!"