Just as Shinju arrived in the small city where the item theft had occurred, news from the Byakuya Gang came in again. This time, they had stolen something back from Konoha…
...
Two days later, inside the Hokage's office.
Shinju looked over the list of stolen items from around the village and frowned.
"What are these people even thinking? They stayed dormant for so long, and now they've suddenly started striking nonstop!"
Shikamaru chimed in, "Not only that, they're fencing the stolen goods at top speed. Quite a few impoverished areas within the Land of Fire have already received their 'aid.'"
"Some idiots who don't understand the situation have even started praising the Byakuya Gang, calling them symbols of justice… I seriously don't get how the village still has morons like that…"
Shinju frowned deeper. "Keep an eye on the people spreading that rhetoric. They're probably plants deliberately arranged by the Byakuya Gang."
"Whatever. My shadow clone is already out arresting people. It won't be long before they're brought back."
The two were in the middle of talking when—
"Creak~"
The door to the Hokage's office was pushed open.
...
A young man walked in. He was wearing a white lab coat and glasses, looking every bit like a researcher.
When he saw Shinju, his face lit up with excitement.
"Hokage-sama! The scientific ninja tool I've been researching has made a breakthrough! ( ˝ᗢ̈˝ )"
Shinju nodded. "Katasuke, go into detail."
The researcher named Katasuke pulled a scroll out from inside his lab coat.
"Ever since Hokage-sama approved my proposal for scientific ninja tools, I've been focusing entirely on developing this. Today, it finally has a prototype."
"I've embedded the latest chakra receivers and several chakra-recording components inside this scroll. As long as a ninja actively connects to the chakra receiver with their chakra, it can record all of that person's data…"
Shikamaru asked calmly from the side, "So it's just a data-recording device?"
Katasuke shook his head. "Not just recording. Future generations can also read the data. For example, if Shikamaru-sama records the data for Shadow Imitation Technique inside, future members of the Nara clan can directly learn it by reading that data…"
Shikamaru nodded. "If that's the case, it really does reduce the manpower cost of teaching. And it lets ninjutsu exist in data form, so it won't be lost…"
Katasuke nodded enthusiastically, the smile on his face growing wider. "Exactly."
After hearing Katasuke's explanation, Shinju looked intrigued and reached out.
"I'll give it a try."
Hearing Shinju's request, Katasuke was overjoyed and respectfully presented the ninja tool with both hands.
...
Shinju took the scroll and realized that aside from its outward appearance, it wasn't really a scroll at all—it was basically a metal casing. It felt heavy in his hands, and there was even a liquid crystal display on it, giving off a distinctly high-tech vibe.
"Hopefully it can record my ninjutsu data and pass it down to future generations."
After muttering that, Shinju connected his chakra to the chakra receiver inside the scroll…
Seeing how quickly Shinju got started, Shikamaru hesitated, wanting to say something, but stopping himself.
Very soon—
"Bzzzz—!!"
An electrical buzzing sound came from inside the scroll. A few seconds later, white smoke began billowing out…
Katasuke: "Sixth Hokage-sama, just how much data did you input into it?!!!! ∑(°Д°ノ)ノ"
Shinju blinked in mild surprise and replied matter-of-factly,
"All of it, of course. That includes basic Water Release, Fire Release, and Lightning Release, plus kekkei genkai like Ice Release, Dust Release, Wood Release, and Explosion Release… then Six Paths techniques and all kinds of other random stuff. Oh right, I also recorded some taijutsu manuals and genjutsu operation methods… and a few self-created techniques that are kind of all over the place… should be a few hundred thousand entries, I guess! (⊙o⊙)"
Katasuke's face twisted in anguish. "That much data… it'll break! (๑ʘ̅ д ʘ̅๑)!!!"
After saying that, Katasuke took the device back from Shinju, his expression full of dejection.
"This is on me too. I didn't take storage capacity into account… This experiment's a failure. I'll go back and improve it, then come find you again in a few days… ꒦ິ^꒦ິ"
With that, Katasuke pushed the door open and left.
...
Inside the office, Shinju turned to Shikamaru beside him.
"Were you trying to say something earlier?"
Shikamaru nodded and said bluntly, "Shinju, you were way too careless. The ninjutsu you know includes a lot of kekkei genkai and secret techniques. In the past, ninjas would literally fight to the death over those. And you just dumped all of it out at once… -_-||"
Hearing that, realization dawned on Shinju.
"So that's how it is. (≖╻≖;)"
Most of Shinju's ninjutsu were either self-realized or copied. Probably because acquiring them had been so easy, he never really valued them much, and wasn't afraid of them leaking at all…
"That really was my oversight."
"At the time, I was just thinking about recording and passing down my ninjutsu."
Shikamaru spread his hands, clearly speechless.
"Why are you in such a hurry to pass things down anyway? You're acting like you don't have long to live. --003d_--003d"
Shinju didn't answer that question. Instead, he turned his head and looked out the window at the sky…
...
Outside the Hokage's office, Katasuke tightly clenched the already-scrapped scientific ninja tool in his hands.
"Hurry back to the research institute and save the data…"
"The Sixth Hokage's ninjutsu data is even more important than the Scroll of Seals… As long as this data exists, future development will be easy!"
...
Half a day later.
The shadow clone Shinju had sent out to investigate the case returned to the Hokage's office, dragging along a Masked Man.
After that, the clone dispersed, and all of its memories flowed back into Shinju's main body.
After understanding everything, Shinju looked at the Masked Man who had been brought back.
"You're from the Byakuya Gang?"
The Masked Man had some backbone. He turned his head away, clearly unwilling to engage.
"I won't talk to you people who grow rich without conscience!"
"Our will shall spread across the world! We're going to make sure there are no poor people left in this world!"
Shinju said, "Your ideals are pretty grand, but stealing things isn't going to make that dream come true."
The Masked Man clearly realized the flaw in his argument, but still shot back,
"What do you know? At least we're taking action right now!"
"The future Byakuya Gang will overthrow the current order and create a perfect utopia!"
Shinju couldn't be bothered to continue debating ideals with this brainless Masked Man, so he changed the subject.
"How many people are there in the Byakuya Gang?"
"Who's the one using Ice Release? What's his relationship with the Land of Snow?"
Even after Shinju finished asking, the Masked Man remained stubborn and silent.
To save time, Shinju directly used the Mind Body Switch Technique and searched through his memories.
After reviewing them, Shinju frowned slightly.
"No wonder the Byakuya Gang is so hard to catch. They've got that many bases, and even special chakra-shielding technology… Wait, Gekkō—the leader of the Byakuya Gang. How is it that I don't remember anyone like that existing in the ninja world…"
Shikamaru said, "Never heard of them. People who do petty thieving like this aren't exactly fit to see the light of day."
Shinju found that reasonable and stood up.
"Let's go. Time to make arrests!"
----------------
Fanfic is finished on Patreon (488 chapters in total.)
Patreon(.)com/Jixo (for only $4.50, read this entire fanfic)