Naruto Steals the Scroll

Click!

Naruto's Shadow Clone picked the lock on the door to the Hokage's Office.

The two Hokage Guards hiding inside immediately went on high alert, ready to deliver a fatal blow to the "enemy" coming through the door.

But they soon saw Naruto grinning with his usual mischievous expression, and they couldn't help relaxing.

As far as they knew, this was hardly Naruto's first prank in the Hokage's Office. He had even dared to draw a face on the Hokage Monument before.

So neither guard found "Naruto's" behavior surprising.

The two exchanged a glance, then revealed themselves and stepped in front of "Naruto."

"Hey, kid! This isn't a place for your pranks. Go home!"

Naruto's Shadow Clone had his head lowered and was about to splash the paint from the bucket in his hand around the office. At their words, he stopped abruptly, as though startled.

Then he slowly raised his head, a wicked smile curling his lips. "Are you talking to me?"

"Kid, you—"

"Adamantine Sealing Chains!"

The two Hokage Guards recoiled and tried to dodge, only to find themselves bound by several golden Chakra chains. They could no longer draw on a shred of their Chakra.

"That's the Uzumaki Clan's unique ability!"

"You're not Naruto! You're a Ninja from the Uzumaki Clan!"

The two guards talked over each other, piecing together the Shadow Clone's "true identity" on their own.

Naruto's Shadow Clone grinned. With a pop, he transformed into a masked Ninja with Red Hair—and, judging by her figure, a beautiful woman.

For Naruto, whose Transformation Technique had reached Masterclass and who had invented the Sexy Technique, transforming into a female Ninja was easy.

But to the two Hokage Guards, the masked woman before them had dropped her Transformation Technique and revealed her true appearance.

"You really are an Uzumaki Clan Ninja!"

"What are you doing here? Were you behind those two explosions a few days ago?"

Naruto's Shadow Clone burst out laughing at their guesses. Instead of answering, he placed both hands on the Hokage's desk, and a Sealing Barrier appeared.

The Scroll of Seals was hidden within the desk's Sealing Barrier. An ordinary person would have had no hope of opening it, let alone destroying it.

But Naruto's Uzumaki Clan Sage Body had reached Level 3, and his Fuinjutsu Talent was now Proficient.

Under his control, the Sealing Barrier soon came undone, and a huge scroll appeared before him.

"Don't!"

"Do you want to die?"

The trapped Hokage Guards cried out, releasing bursts of Chakra in an attempt to break free of the Adamantine Sealing Chains.

But with the technique at Proficient level and Naruto's Shadow Clone possessing a Huge Chakra Amount, breaking free was no easy task.

Tired of their shouting, Naruto's Shadow Clone used the Chakra chains to seal their mouths as well.

Only then did he open the second Sealing Barrier on the Scroll of Seals.

The complete Scroll of Seals lay before him. He read through it once and committed it all to memory.

Ding! The host has learned Impure World Reincarnation, Flying Thunder God Technique, Bringer-of-Darkness Technique, Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags, Hashirama Senju's Wood Release Ninjutsu, and Tobirama Senju's Water Release Ninjutsu. All are currently Uninitiated and have been recorded in the host's Personal Status Panel.

Ha! I've struck gold today! Naruto's Shadow Clone thought excitedly. Only then did he knock the two Hokage Guards unconscious and, for no apparent reason, run three laps around the office.

At Naruto's new home.

A few days earlier, the "person behind the scenes" had blown up the Dog-Faced Anbu Ninja—and Naruto's old, shabby home along with him.

To keep a closer watch on Naruto and prevent anything similar from happening again, the Third Hokage had moved him close to the Hokage Mansion. His living conditions had improved considerably, too.

Now Naruto himself was at home, pretending to practice the Clone Technique while sensing everything happening in the Hokage's Office.

When he sensed his Shadow Clone running laps, he knew it was time to make his entrance. That was the signal they had arranged in advance.

"Ugh, this is so annoying! I still can't learn the Clone Technique!" Naruto said, scratching his head as if troubled.

Then he continued talking to himself. "Do I really have to do what Teacher Mizuki said? Sigh. Looks like that's my only option!"

With that, Naruto sprang up and ran toward the Hokage Mansion.

His new home was close by, so he reached it in no time.

The Anbu Ninja watching him was alarmed. He sent a signal to the other Anbu Ninja in the village, praying Naruto had only come to pull a prank and wouldn't do anything serious.

But his prayers went unanswered.

Naruto entered the Hokage's Office and spotted the Scroll of Seals in the middle of the room. His eyes lit up. He grabbed it and headed out.

The Anbu Ninja watching him was horrified. He moved to reveal himself and stop Naruto, but Chakra chains suddenly appeared beside him and bound him in an instant.

The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was a flash of Red Hair.

Naruto gave his Shadow Clone a silent nod, then ran toward the Northwest Forest before the other Anbu Ninja could arrive.

The Shadow Clone looked at the two unconscious Hokage Guards and the Anbu Ninja lying before him, and smiled smugly.

He hadn't beaten these three elite Ninja because he was overwhelmingly strong. He had simply caught them off guard with the Proficient-level Adamantine Sealing Chains.

In a head-on fight, or if they had been prepared, he would never have stood a chance against them.

He had spared them partly because he wasn't bloodthirsty, and partly to mislead the Third Hokage into thinking the "person behind the scenes" wouldn't kill indiscriminately or resort to extreme measures unless forced to.

Otherwise, the Third Hokage might have locked Naruto up in Root in a fit of anger.

That would defeat Naruto's purpose. Killing the three of them would only make his plan backfire.

Several minutes passed before the other Anbu Ninja noticed something was wrong. They secured the area and alerted the Third Hokage, but Naruto's Shadow Clone had long since vanished.

After questioning the three when they woke, the Third Hokage learned what had happened.

Holding back his anger, he summoned a large number of Ninja to search for Naruto and the "escaped Uzumaki Clan Ninja," while he used his Crystal Ball to look for Naruto.

As for Silly Mizuki, the Third Hokage held off on arresting him. He wanted to know what Mizuki was planning and whether anyone else was pulling his strings.

By then, Naruto had reached the Northwest Forest. He calmly sat down outside a Wooden House, opened the Scroll of Seals, and pretended to study it.

Before long, he sensed someone watching him. It was probably the Third Hokage, using his Crystal Ball.

Naruto immediately put on a troubled face and began studying the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, scratching his head as though he couldn't make sense of it.