Someone knocked on the Hokage's door.
"Enter."
A ninja stepped in. Hiruzen set down his pipe and the papers he was holding.
"The Uchiha would like a meeting with you, sir."
Hiruzen raised an eyebrow. "Bring him in."
The ninja nodded and closed the door. Moments later, Sasuke entered.
Hiruzen inspected him for a few seconds, his eyes lingering a few seconds longer on Sasuke's forehead, which currently lacked a headband protector. He seemed to have changed his style as well. He wore a long-sleeved gray shirt, a long black ninja toga, and black sandals. The vision Sasuke had received made him associate himself with his hand-drawn version and the clothes he wore. Although these were not an exact copy, they were similar in some way.
"Congratulations are in order," Hiruzen said. "It seems like just yesterday you entered the academy. And now you've graduated at the top of your class. I hope you continue to let the Will of Fire burn deeply within you."
Sasuke stared at him, silent. For a moment, Hiruzen caught a flash of anger in his eyes, but it disappeared as Sasuke merely nodded.
'What was that?' Hiruzen thought.
He picked up his pipe again. "Is there a reason you've come today?"
Sasuke nodded. "I… would like to unseal the Uchiha Library."
Hiruzen's eyes widened slightly as he exhaled a puff of smoke.
"And what do you plan on doing with it open?"
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. He clenched his fist.
'It's my clan's techniques, for Kami's sake…'
He calmed himself and answered. "I am officially a ninja, so I thought I would look at the clan's library to find techniques to practice."
"Hmmm," Hiruzen hummed as he thought it over. He could not deny the request—after all, it was Sasuke's clan's techniques, not that he would have anyway.
"Alright… I will summon someone to go unseal it. You can wait in the waiting room until he arrives."
Sasuke offered no reply but turned to leave
"Sasuke. A moment."
He stopped and turned back. Hiruzen studied him carefully.
"Is it me, or have you grown taller?"
"I have," Sasuke replied simply. "Is… there a problem?"
Hiruzen shook his head with a faint smile. "No, nothing. I was just realizing how old I've become… And don't overdo it in training, it could end up harming your body more than helping."
Sasuke tried not to flinch at the remark. He simply nodded and turned, leaving Hiruzen staring at his back.
He sighed heavily. "Send someone for a seal master," he said, producing a scroll. "Give him this."
A masked ninja appeared, took the scroll, and disappeared without a sound.
Hiruzen put his pipe back in place and returned to his work.
---------
Sasuke waited for another 30 minutes before he was summoned back in.
There was a man with a Jonin jacket inside as well.
"Bring him to the library. He will undo the seal. But sadly, due to security reasons, we cannot leave that library unattended, so you'll have to get whatever you need before we seal it back up again."
Sasuke nodded. There was no time limit mentioned, so he could simply enter, scan most of the books, and leave once he got what he needed.
"You are dismissed."
He nodded again.
Sasuke headed off with the Jonin toward the Uchiha clan library.
He watched silently as the man approached the front of the building and opened a scroll. Suddenly, the library was covered in glowing seals that spread out like veins across the walls and roof. The man stepped forward, placed the paper against the door, and pressed it firmly.
"Alright, it's open," the Jonin said, stepping aside.
He gave a curt nod and entered.
The air inside was stale. Dust clung to the shelves and floors, but not so thick that it was choking. Still, the place clearly hadn't been touched in years. He glanced around. The library was massive—easily larger than the one at the academy.
He spent a few minutes scanning the room, deciding where to begin. He moved first toward the fire-style section. His fingers brushed across dozens of scrolls, and he started scanning them one by one. He felt a pang of sadness as he looked at all the techniques the Uchiha had developed over centuries. He activated his Sharingan—Nano had mentioned it would help speed up the process slightly.
Time passed quickly.
After about two and a half hours, he finally stopped. He had scanned nearly three-quarters of all the fire-style jutsu on display. Still, Sasuke knew these weren't the best techniques the clan had to offer. The strongest one he had found so far was a B-rank jutsu. That couldn't be it. The higher-level ones… just where were they kept?
After finishing up the fire-style scrolls, he selected a few at random to take with him. It would look suspicious if he left empty-handed.
Next, he moved toward the lightning-style jutsu. If the vision he had received was correct, then he had a natural lightning affinity as well. Learning a few techniques couldn't hurt.
It took him another hour to scan most of what was on display. Then, he wandered deeper into the library.
He eventually found a section dedicated to taijutsu and kenjutsu. It wasn't nearly as full as the ninjutsu sections, but he grabbed the most notable-looking scrolls and scanned those as well.
'Nano, have you scanned everything?'
[Yes. I have scanned a total of 543 fire-style jutsu and 234 lightning-style jutsu, as well as 2 taijutsu styles and 1 kenjutsu style. Would you like me to insert all the information?]
Sasuke was momentarily overwhelmed. Knowing all these jutsu was tempting, but realistically, how many would he ever actually use?
Still… having options never hurt.
'Nano, insert them when I go to sleep.'
[Okay.]
He wandered the library for another half-hour, but found nothing else worth taking. It was already late afternoon when he finally stepped out.
The Jonin who had brought him was still there, sitting in the corner reading a small book. He glanced up as Sasuke walked out, then looked at the scrolls in his hands.
"Are you done using the library?"
Sasuke nodded.
The Jonin stood and resealed the building, then vanished with a flicker.
Sasuke stared at the books in his hands for a moment, then walked off.
When he arrived at his house, he set the scrolls down, lit a small flame, and burned them one by one. These were just the most advanced techniques on display from each element. He had already scanned them, so copying them later would be no trouble at all.
He watched the paper curl and blacken. Flames danced across the ink, erasing history with quiet crackles.
After they were nothing but ash, he stood up and made his way toward the Uchiha training ground.
He needed to get used to his new body as quickly as possible.
He'd already adjusted to the basics, but there were still details to refine, like the weight behind his punches, the arc of his kicks, and how much force he now needed to throw a kunai accurately. His limbs had changed—they were longer, stronger, and faster.
To that, he would eternally be grateful to Nano. It made his body more balanced, something that he had been worried about, that he was developing in only one area. Although it wasn't looked down on, it was easy to spot weaknesses when you fought an enemy that was only specialized in one thing.
[You're welcome, host.]
Sasuke's eyebrow twitched a bit.
Finally, there was his Sharingan.
He was eager to see how it performed in action.