[ Spirit Possession has been Activated ]
A shadow flitted from rooftop to rooftop, swallowed by the darkness of a moonless night.
Naruto paused only when he reached the looming structure of the Hokage Tower. It was a stout, round building, painted in vivid red and flanked by two smaller replicas. Yet, it was actually shorter than the blue-topped Broadcast Station next to it, which stood tall like a defiant finger against the skyline.
Catching his breath, Naruto counted silently, waiting for the right moment. Then, with a burst of chakra using Flash Fist, he sprinted and leaped, grabbing onto a gutter along the wall of the Broadcast Station. His fingers found purchase in the smallest crevices between the bricks, pulling him up like a phantom cat in the night. Reaching the peculiar blue roof, shaped like a witch's hat and topped with an odd sphere, Naruto moved with deliberate care. He secured a rope to one of the beams jutting out from the woodwork and then eyed his target: the flat roof of a secondary tower.
"For the most secure part of Konoha, the security here is pathetic."
With a deep breath, he steeled himself for what came next. This was a one-shot deal; a miss could land him in the hospital—or worse.
Naruto circled the roof, gauging his angle and trajectory, then started his run.
The air hissed past as he sprinted along the station's wall at an oblique angle and then leaped into the void. The rope snapped taut, whizzing as gravity claimed its due. The pendulum motion kicked in, the beam creaking ominously above him as he swung toward his goal. At the apex of his swing, feeling a brief moment of weightlessness, he cut the harness.
He plummeted like a stone, landing on the northern secondary tower with a grunt and a roll to absorb the impact. Naruto found himself sprawled among the ornamental bushes lining the tower's edge, catching his breath and checking his bearings.
He should be right between the guards' rotations if his timing was correct.
Now, unnoticed, he needed to move fast.
The roof dusted beneath his hands as he stood, brushing off the debris. From here, scaling the main tower was easy. The first and second levels were heavily guarded and nearly impossible to climb, but the third level's defenses were mitigated by an array of pipes and cables.
Naruto took another deep breath and moved on.
The hardest part was behind Naruto, or so he thought. The real challenge was just beginning.
Navigating the corridors was almost too easy. The pairs of Chunin and occasional Jonin patrolling the hallways didn't even come close to spotting him. He could do this part in his sleep, which made the thrill of the heist a little less thrilling.
Digging into his pocket, Naruto pulled out one of his proudest inventions—a special scroll he'd designed for situations just like this. Holding the scroll in his right hand, he quickly unrolled it on the floor right in front of the door to his target: the heavily guarded vault.
"Fuin: Sensory Mirror Wall," he whispered, pressing his hands together in a ram seal and stepping onto the scroll.
The air around him shimmered and shifted, cloaking him in a reflection of the empty corridor. This seal was the result of his personal project, where he had created a seal that released chakra in the same way as the transformation jutsu. The air was used as a medium to create a cloak of camouflage, making him practically invisible to anyone watching. Now invisible, he had exactly four minutes to work.
The lock was no ordinary lock. Hidden behind a genjutsu-like barrier and laden with fuinjutsu, it was a real challenge. But that's what made it exciting. "Let's open you up," he muttered, his fingers working quickly and precisely.
Three minutes and forty seconds later—just as another oblivious patrol walked past—the vault clicked open.
Time was running out.
Naruto darted inside the vault, slinging a large, fat scroll onto his back. Every second counted now, and he couldn't afford to waste any. Outside, he formed a half tiger seal with his left hand and whispered, "Katsu."
The scroll he'd used as a decoy disintegrated into ash, just as the fuses on his makeshift fireworks burned down. The night sky above Konoha erupted in bursts of color, drawing every eye to the spectacle.
With the guards distracted by the fireworks and the vault alarm, his escape was simple. He tossed a rope out of a second-floor window and slid down with ease.
His body moved fluidly, adrenaline surging as he felt the rope burn slightly against his gloves. The cool night air brushed against his face as he made his descent, the chaos he'd left behind ensuring a clean getaway. As he hit the ground and tucked into a roll to absorb the impact, a grin spread across his face. The thrill, the rush of executing a perfect heist—it was exhilarating.
Naruto adjusted the heavy scroll on his back and sprinted into the shadows, already planning his next move.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was having a peaceful night when he was awakened by a burning sensation.
The old ninja woke up immediately—years of combat did that to a man—but he searched for a second to find the reason for his awakening. His heart grew cold when he realized it was the tattoo signaling a breach of the vault that was heating up.
Just as he considered the implications of such a thing happening, fireworks illuminated the sky of Konoha.
The old Kage swore under his breath.
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Naruto made his way swiftly to the southern forest, a perfect location for anyone seeking to escape from Konoha. The jungle was dense, a sprawling green mass that led directly into the wilderness of the Fire Nation.
The only barrier between Konoha and freedom was a simple guard post.
He had already pieced together Mizuki's scheme—stealing the Forbidden Scroll of Seals, kill Naruto, and then make his escape from the village.
Naruto snorted at the thought.
Loser forgot that I'm stronger than him.
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
He shrugged off the danger, his focus fixed on a greater mystery. The big secret that it seemed everyone else knew but him gnawed at his curiosity. As long as he could uncover that, he didn't care much about Mizuki's plans.
[ Alert: World Quest ]
[ Quest Title: Knowledge is Power ]
[ Objective: Acquire the Forbidden Scroll of Seals from the Hokage's Library. Specific tasks include:
- Infiltrate the Hokage's Library.
- Escape undeterred with the Forbidden Scroll of Seals.
- Bring the Forbidden Scroll of Seals to the secret location.
- Select and learn a skill from the Forbidden Scroll of Seals Skill Catalogue.
- Bonus Objectives:
- Distract the Sandaime and escape undetected.
- Additional undisclosed bonus objective. ]
[ Rewards:
- 2000 Experience Points per Main Objective.
- 1000 Experience Points for each Bonus Objective.
- 10000 Ryo upon completion of all objectives.
- Increased reputation with Konoha.
- ?
- ? ]
[ Penalty for Failure:
- Capture and Imprisonment.
- Reputation decrement within Konoha village parameters. ]
Naruto's eyes lit up with anticipation as he unfurled the Scroll of Seals. The best way to describe it was a complex interlocking web of storage seals, each meticulously protected by barrier seals, shock seals, and explosive seals.
He licked his lips with excitement at the sight of the barrier and shock seals. Two new seals to work with.
[ Library Update: Naruto has interacted with new seals, expanding the Fuinjutsu Scroll Library. ]
[ Fuinjutsu Scroll Library: ]
- [ Fuinjutsu seals recorded: ]
- [ Explosive Seal: ]
[ Description: A seal that contains chakra, which when released, manifests as an explosion. ]
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- [ Storage Seal: ]
[ Description: Stores non-living objects by converting their matter into energy and vice versa upon release or storage. Records a blueprint of the object within the seal. ]
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- [ Sensory Mirror Wall: ]
[ Description: A seal that uses chakra to create a barrier using the air as a medium, functioning on principles similar to the Transformation Jutsu. This barrier mirrors sensory perceptions to create illusions or hide presences. ]
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- [ Shock Seal: ]
[ Description: Contains chakra that, when released, takes the form of electricity. Note: This seal can only be used once. ]
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- [ Barrier Seal: ]
[ Description: Forms a durable barrier using the air as a medium, capable of lasting a full day without sustaining damage. The barrier can absorb up to 40M Joules of energy before breaking. ]
[ Note: Interact with more seals or level up to further expand the library and discover new Fuinjutsu capabilities. ]
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Naruto's gaze then shifted to a single storage seal that appeared unprotected, almost inviting. It seemed this particular seal was accessed so frequently that the Fuinjutsu scribe hadn't bothered to secure it.
This was his chance.
Naruto focused, channeling his chakra into the seal with precision. With a faint hiss and a puff of smoke, a scroll popped out, materializing in front of him.
[ Item: Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu ]
[ Description: A scroll that contains the handsigns and basic mechanisms of the forbidden multi shadow clone jutsu. This scroll is given only to Jonin level ninjas because of its high chakra demand ]
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[ System Quest Alert ]
[ Quest: Learn Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu ]
[ Objective:
- Possess 5k or more CP ]
[ Reward: Basic Academy Taijutsu ]
[ Failure: None. ]
[ Action Required: Confirm acceptance or declination of class skill. ]
Naruto blinked. That's it.
[ Skill: Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu (Kage Bunshin no Jutsu) ]
[ Level: 1 (Active) ]
[ Chakra Points (CP) Required: ½ total CP ]
[ Description: A bubble of chakra made of Yin, given life through Yang ]
[ Passive Enhancements: ]
- [ Yang Affinity: Yang relates to breathing life into form ]
- [ Clone Capability: Each clone can fight, use jutsu, and learn independently. ]
[ Active Boost: ]
- [ Return: The Clone's Knowledge and remaining chakra returns to the user ]
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Naruto swiftly formed the tiger seal, channeling chakra along the frame of his body and pushing it outward in a dramatic puff of smoke, mimicking the academy's basic clone technique. However, this was different; a substantial chunk of his chakra filled the bubble, solidifying into a clone that was far more substantial than the typical academy clone.
Facing his clone, Naruto couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement. He stuck out his tongue, and the clone exaggeratedly mimed being shocked, clasping its hands to its cheeks. They took turns inventing silly poses and facial expressions, each trying to outdo the other with more ridiculous gestures. At one point, Naruto pretended to pull an invisible rope, and the clone played along perfectly, pretending to be tugged forward, stumbling with theatrical clumsiness.
"Can you talk?"
"Yes," the clone responded promptly, causing both of them to cheer in unison, "Yatta!"
"Can you use the system skills?"
"Like fireball?"
"No, idiot, like spirit possession skills that directly connect to the system."
"Let me try," the clone said, its demeanor suddenly shifting, adopting a more serious and composed posture that Naruto recognized from his own use of spirit possession.
Naruto watched, fascinated and slightly weirded out. "Wow, do I do that when I use spirit possession?" he asked, one eyebrow arched as he leaned forward to get a better look.
"Depending on the situation, I can appear both smarter and like you," the clone answered, causing Naruto to grumble, "Smart ass."
"Let's get some more powerful jutsus from the scroll. We have plenty of time before Mizuki comes."
"Now you're speaking my language," Naruto replied with a grin.
All things considered, the seals on the Forbidden Scroll were hard and complex for a normal person. For an Uzumaki, the flaws in the scroll's seals stood out like sore thumbs, beckoning Naruto to exploit them.
Naruto's hand glowed with chakra as he focused on the seals. Alright, let's see... Fuin Kai: Senryaku Teikai!
The seal reacted immediately, the intricate patterns shimmering under the influence of Naruto's chakra. He could feel the layers of the seal unraveling, like threads being pulled from a tightly woven cloth. This is like picking a lock, only a thousand times cooler.
The seal's defenses were formidable, but Naruto's level over Fuinjutsu gave him the upper hand. With each passing second, the seal's resistance waned, until finally, with a flourish of his hand, Naruto uttered, "Fuin Hōkai!"
The seal broke, dissipating into a cloud of chakra particles that glowed briefly before vanishing. Yes! That's how you do it!
He stepped back, admiring his handiwork. Naruto stood before the Forbidden Scroll of Seals, now cracked open and revealing its contents. Naruto stumbled upon a dozen scrolls scattered across the ground. Eagerly, he picked one up, the kanji on it sparking his excitement. It read: Flying Thunder God Jutsu.
With a grin spreading across his face, Naruto unfurled the scroll, only to find it completely blank. "What?" He quickly grabbed the next scroll labeled Acid Blood Jutsu. It too was blank.
One after another, he went through the scrolls—Chakra Implosion Jutsu, Reaper Death Seal—all of them empty, void of any writing or diagrams. Every single jutsu scroll was blank except for one...
[ Item: Shadow Weapon Jutsu (Kage Buki no Jutsu) ]
[ Description: A scroll that contains the hand signs and basic mechanisms of the forbidden Shadow Weapon Jutsu. This scroll is given only to Jonin-level ninjas because of its high chakra demand and because it's a jutsu that Hiruzen Sarutobi created on his own. He only gives it to people he knows will protect the village. ]