Gathering Hearts with Tsunade

Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru all theoretically qualified to be the next Hokage. If Tsunade didn't have hemophobia, her chances would have been the greatest.

Therefore, it was completely normal for them to know such information.

This was the benefit of holding high positions. Much of the information was vital to the lives of those below, but for those in power, it was merely extra intelligence gathered in their leisure time.

"That's right, it was me." Oguri Hayashi said directly, without any attempt to conceal it.

"Do you know what you've done?" Tsunade looked at Oguri Hayashi coldly. "You stole the secret technique scrolls from the three most powerful ninja villages. If the news gets out, you'll have nowhere to hide in the entire world."

"So what?" Oguri Hayashi said noncommittally.

"When you become powerful enough, you can even disregard all rules." Just like Uchiha Madara, just like Hashirama Senju.

"As if you've already become that powerful." Tsunade knew how strong her grandfather was, but what made her sneer was the implication in Oguri Hayashi's words.

"Of course not, that's why I need to steal these secret manuals." Oguri Hayashi's matter-of-fact attitude left Tsunade speechless. "Aren't these secret manuals precisely the path to my becoming stronger?"

Oguri Hayashi spread out the ninjutsu scrolls.

He had almost completed the previous technique. It was an S-rank ninjutsu, but it only consumed B-rank chakra. Although it required some props to release, it had already given him sufficient long-range attack capabilities.

This meant his only remaining weakness was genjutsu.

However, to be honest, he didn't care much about it. He had always speculated that Lightning Release had the ability to counter genjutsu. For example, when facing the Fourth Raikage, Uchiha Sasuke had never used genjutsu to attack the Raikage or the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Bee.

If the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Bee, possessed the Eight-Tails' mental fortitude and thus had strong mental resistance, then the Raikage, perhaps with his Lightning Armor, could form a Faraday cage-like situation to immunize himself against genjutsu attacks.

In A Certain Magical Index, Mikoto Misaka, ranked third, was stronger than Shokuhou Misaki, ranked fifth in mind control, because of this.

Of course, this was just Oguri Hayashi's own speculation. Concrete proof would require further experimentation.

In other words, Oguri Hayashi's weaknesses had now been addressed, and he could begin the next round of accumulation.

And this next round of accumulation would be Konoha's ninjutsu.

Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, a chakra-intensive ninjutsu that even High Ninjas would find taxing, was a divine tool in Naruto's hands, but merely a tasteless and regrettable piece of junk for High Ninjas.

Next was the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique, an A-rank genjutsu, a powerful ninjutsu that could strip opponents of their five senses.

It seemed this scroll did not contain the Second Hokage's Water Release insights. Perhaps because Water Release was not a forbidden jutsu, it was not recorded on this scroll.

Summoning Jutsu: Rashomon. Triple Rashomon, Quintuple Rashomon. Ninjutsu that consumed a large amount of chakra but could only block frontal attacks, proving highly effective on the ninja battlefield.

Wood Release, which could not be cultivated without Senju chakra, was also clearly recorded within.

Medical Ninjutsu: Creation Rebirth Jutsu.

Nintaijutsu: Super Strength Technique.

Space-Time Ninjutsu: Flying Thunder God Technique.

Fuinjutsu: Reaper Death Seal.

And so on, and so forth...

Konoha's forbidden books were truly forbidden. They were the kind that even if stolen, could not be learned without talent, and might even backfire if learned.

That's why the Hokage had so easily let him take the Scroll of Seals, wasn't it? The true Water Release techniques of the Second Hokage, and the Third Hokage's ninjutsu insights, were likely kept safe, something the single-minded Cloud Ninja and the self-proclaimed impregnable Stone Shinobi could never have conceived.

Konoha had prepared for the Scroll of Seals to be stolen from the moment it was placed in the Hokage's office. It was truly admirable.

However, even these tasteless and regrettable pieces of junk were still fascinating for Oguri Hayashi to read.

He wasn't reading the ninjutsu itself, but the theoretical knowledge contained within these ninjutsu.

Theoretical knowledge was dry and uninteresting. In Konoha's many years, only one Hokage could be considered truly brilliant in theory, not the ninjutsu doctor Hiruzen Sarutobi. Hiruzen Sarutobi had thoroughly inherited the concept of theoretical application to become a Kage-level expert. And this theoretical ninja was the man who created ninjutsu that would influence the Fourth Great Ninja War of later generations.

The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.

"Truly amazing," Oguri Hayashi murmured.

The general principles and branches of My Style Secret Technique were one part guiding the core theory of martial arts, while the branches cultivated specific training.

But when it came to ninjutsu, no one had a definitive conclusion. There were a thousand ninja with a thousand ninja paths, but this forbidden book undoubtedly represented Konoha Village's most mainstream and authentic ninjutsu ideology.

Furthermore, within the various forbidden jutsu listed below, the principles and usage techniques were also annotated.

"The Second is truly great."

"In this world, he might be the greatest ninja after the First Hokage." Oguri Hayashi gave the Second Hokage extremely high praise. Hearing the praise for her grandfather and grand-uncle, even Tsunade's expression couldn't help but relax slightly.

A shadow clone beside them carried a wild boar back.

This wild boar was a sow. Oguri Hayashi never chose boars because their urine smell was too strong.

The shadow clone began to bleed the sow, then butcher it. In the past, Oguri Hayashi would never have dared to bleed it so recklessly, as it might have attracted unforeseen dangers. But now, after braving Konoha, his petty-mindedness had been washed away. He now possessed the heart of a strong person.

This was something emphasized in My Style Secret Technique. Oguri Hayashi, using Konoha as a whetstone, had finally cleansed his petty nature and could now face his enemies head-on.

He would be fearless.

Shadow clones were incredibly useful. After hunting and butchering the pig, they began preparing food. As for Soldier Pills, those unpalatable things that were like compressed rations, swallowed and then rehydrated in the stomach, it was better to eat them less.

Soon, the pork was skewered on branches, and the roasting fat sizzled enticingly over the bonfire.

Oguri Hayashi looked up at Tsunade. "Lady Tsunade, what are you still waiting for? Haven't you reattached your arm already?"

As a medical ninja, Tsunade had already slowly reattached her own hands using her body weight during the previous process. Although the process was painful, for a ninja, such pain was trivial. What was more important was intelligence.

Tsunade pretended to be harmless, hoping to extract more information from Oguri Hayashi.

This was the way of ninjas.