After leaving school, Anyo did not go straight home. Instead, he prepared a set of night clothes and covered himself tightly from head to toe, leaving only his eyes exposed, then waited quietly for the dead of night. That was right-he was going back to his old trade: stealing.
His target was clear, of course: the Scroll of Seals that Naruto had stolen in the original story. It contained various S-rank forbidden techniques developed by Konoha's First and Second Hokage. Naruto had even used the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique he learned from it from the beginning of the anime all the way to the end. That alone showed how precious this scroll was.
As he remembered it, Naruto had stolen it in the anime with a traitor's help, and the process had been fairly simple. With his skills as a master thief in his previous life, it should be even easier.
The Scroll of Seals had always been kept directly by the Hokage. Naruto had stolen it from the Third's home. With the war now at a critical stage, the Third practically lived in his office, constantly handling affairs and rarely returning home. That gave Anyo an opening.
Anyo was decisive. Once he had made up his mind, he naturally had no reservations. After night fell, he turned and set off.
There was no surveillance equipment here. The key was to stay silent wherever he went and blend into the night. Having spent so long alone in darkness, he was naturally well versed in this. Not a single person noticed him along the way.
Like a ghost, he slipped soundlessly into the Third Hokage's room. With a thief's keen eye, he quickly surveyed the room inside and out.
The interior was simple and plain, with nothing to suggest that this was the room of a village's Hokage. Soon, he noticed something out of place in a seam in the wall. Two gentle taps confirmed his understanding.
His nimble hands went to work around the seam. Before long, it had become a large opening, and sure enough, the Scroll of Seals was inside.
Anyo's eyes lit up. After carefully checking that there were no traps, he cautiously took it out and strapped it to his back, then restored the wall to its original state.
Looking at his handiwork, Anyo nodded in satisfaction. He had not done this in years, but his skills were as sharp as ever.
With the scroll secured, Anyo put away his smugness and carefully slipped out through the window, then leaped into the woods nearby.
Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, a voice came from a tall tree. "What were you doing in Lord Hokage's house?"
Anyo tensed all over and looked up. In the moonlight, the first thing he saw was a head of blond hair.
It was Minato Namikaze, whom he had fought at school that afternoon. Damn it, why was he here?
Minato Namikaze jumped down from the tall tree and walked over to Anyo. The two stood facing each other.
Anyo spoke first. "Were you following me the whole time?"
Minato nodded honestly. "Yes. I felt you weren't giving it your all at school this afternoon, so I wanted to spar with you again after school. I never expected to see this. You actually went to Lord Hokage's house to steal something."
Minato had clearly seen the Scroll of Seals on Anyo's back and understood what had happened. He went on guard.
I really did underestimate this world. To think that a top thief in my previous life couldn't even notice a child following me. Still, this child was no ordinary person. He was qualified to contend for the title of the greatest prodigy.
Fighting was definitely the worst option, and he probably could not get away if he ran. Anyo quickly understood the situation and decided to tell the truth. When dealing with someone of Minato's temperament, sincerity was the best weapon.
"Yes, I came to steal it." Anyo admitted it outright, then said with a sorrowful expression, "Both my parents died on the battlefield. I'm afraid that one day, I'll die like that too. That's why I want to get stronger, and this contains what I need to do that."
Sure enough, Minato relaxed somewhat at those words and tried to reason with him. "This is the Scroll of Seals. Everything recorded in it is a forbidden technique. Our teacher said that ordinary ninja would only harm themselves by forcing themselves to learn them."
"Is everything our teacher says right?" Anyo smiled slyly. "Want to take a look together?"
Hearing that, Minato quickly shook his head and refused. "I'm not looking. You should hurry up and return it to Lord Hokage."
Anyo smiled faintly. "Minato, have you forgotten what our teacher said in class today? True knowledge comes from practice. How can you know whether something will work without trying it yourself? I've never believed I would be an ordinary ninja in the future. I believe you feel the same. After all, your ambition is to become Hokage."
At Anyo's words, Minato froze, sinking deep into thought.
Seeing this, Anyo opened the Scroll of Seals right in front of him, immediately revealing its contents to them both.
Minato could not help taking a glance. Then his eyes suddenly lit up, deeply drawn to one of the forbidden techniques. Anyo followed his gaze. The technique was called the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Anyo was startled. Wasn't this the signature technique that would make Minato famous in the future? He had never expected it to be in the Scroll of Seals, much less that Minato would encounter it with his help. He could only marvel at the twists of fate.
Naturally, Anyo did not interrupt him. After that moment of reflection, he immediately turned his attention to the Scroll of Seals as well. He quickly skipped the first entry, the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique. Aside from a freak like Naruto, anyone else would get only average results from it, and it consumed far too much chakra.
The second technique made Anyo's eyes narrow sharply. It was none other than the renowned Impure World Reincarnation.
Forget it. I'll just memorize this one. There's no way I can use it. If the Third finds out, I'm not his student Orochimaru-he won't go against his principles to spare my life.
Next.
Bringer-of-Darkness Technique? Huh, what technique is this? I don't really remember it.
With just one look, Anyo became as deeply engrossed as Minato. This was a genjutsu that induced illusions in a person's vision, stripping away all the light around them.
At a high level of mastery, it could even create an environment of darkness out of thin air, completely blocking an opponent's field of vision. In that dark environment, only the user could see and launch attacks. This ability was somewhat similar to the Mangekyō Sharingan's Tsukuyomi.
It was likewise an S-rank genjutsu, except its genjutsu space was dark. Within that space, even someone stronger than the user would be forced to expose their position and be left at the user's mercy to attack. Nothing could have suited him better after all the time he had endured in darkness.
For a while, the only sounds in the forest were the two boys' quiet breathing and the insects chirping around them.
In a corner neither of them could detect, an old man wearing a white hat watched them calmly. Just then, a man wearing a cat mask appeared behind him and respectfully handed over a file.
The old man opened the file and saw a name written clearly in large letters: Uchiha Anyo.
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