(Canon-adapted: "Bloodline Front" → Kekkei Genkai / Sealing Arts Lineage Context)
"Huh?"
Kushina's question had hit far too close to home. Hagoromo found himself completely at a loss for words.
In truth, even before doing this, Hagoromo had never believed that he and Kushina would actually be able to get away with it. The nature of what they were doing was extremely serious—this was nothing less than stealing classified state secrets, and not just any secrets, but the most confidential ones in the village.
For example—just as a hypothetical—even if they managed to use transformation jutsus to infiltrate the Hokage's office without alerting anyone, secretly copy a portion of the ninjutsu recorded in the Scroll of Seals, and then leave safely… the Hokage would still, sooner or later, trace the incident back to them.
If that was the case, it was almost better to be open and straightforward about it. In a sense, this was practically turning themselves in for leniency.
Besides, a perfect infiltration like that was impossible anyway.
That was why Hagoromo had carried out this whole operation with the resolve of someone fully prepared to spend the rest of his life in prison.
"…Forget it. At this point, even if we wanted to stop, we can't," Kushina said, having already thought everything through without needing Hagoromo to explain.
"This scroll is protected by a seal. Ordinary people can't open it casually, or they'll trigger a backlash… no, wait—this isn't just a seal. What is this? A curse jutsu…?"
Rather than immediately opening the Scroll of Seals, Kushina began studying the layer of sealing jutsus wrapped around its exterior.
"…Whatever. It's nothing I can't handle."
"Release."
The saying went: One is all, and all is one. This was the realm where all methods interconnected. As a true sealing arts master, Kushina was extremely difficult to stump. This was not a matter of quantity, but of qualitative mastery.
Hagoromo, for his part, had learned a great deal of sealing jutsus from Kushina. In terms of sheer number, he knew quite a few—but when it came to applying them freely and intuitively, he was still far behind her level.
Once the seal was undone, Kushina immediately spread open the Scroll of Seals in its entirety.
"Hurry. Memorize as much as you can!"
Hagoromo didn't need to be told twice. His eyes were already glowing as he stared at the scroll.
If there was one jutsu inside that interested him the most, it was undoubtedly the Flying Thunder God jutsu—the legendary space–time ninjutsu.
And so… he skipped it.
That was right. There was nothing wrong with that decision at all.
A powerful, highly complex, S-rank jutsu like Flying Thunder God was not something Hagoromo expected to fully memorize in one sitting. No one knew when the Hokage would notice something was wrong. He couldn't afford to spend all his time on a single jutsu.
Everything had to be committed to memory—no written records left behind.
As it turned out, his judgment was completely correct.
The moment Kushina dismantled the outer seal on the Scroll of Seals, deep within the Sarutobi residence, the already-asleep Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, suddenly sat upright in bed.
"Hiruzen, what's wrong?" his wife asked, startled awake.
"Someone has tampered with the seal on the Scroll of Seals!"
As he spoke, the Hokage rapidly dressed himself and strode out of the bedroom.
"Hokage-sama!"
The moment he stepped outside, an ANBU shinobi appeared before him.
"Immediately mobilize personnel. Surround the Hokage Office."
"Yes! …Third Hokage, did something happen?"
"Don't ask questions. Just do it—now!"
After issuing the order, the Hokage hurried toward the office building.
At that moment, he keenly felt the shortcomings of his own ninjutsu. If only he possessed a real-time surveillance jutsu, he would know exactly what was happening inside his office, instead of being completely in the dark—aware only that the Scroll of Seals had been opened.
All he could do now was pray that the scroll hadn't been stolen.
Because of this incident, the Third Hokage would later resolve to invent a long-distance observation jutsu—something like a witch's scrying spell.
Hmm… how about calling it the Telescope Jutsu?
In critical moments, such a jutsu could play a critical role. For example, right now—if he had it, he would instantly know what was happening inside his office.
Under normal circumstances, it could be used for… monitoring.
Yes. Monitoring the safety of Konoha.
The Third Hokage, clad in combat attire, dashed through the streets of Konoha. On the rooftops beside and behind him moved his直属 ANBU guards.
In less than ten minutes, the Hokage Office was completely surrounded.
Inside the office, Kushina suddenly spoke.
"Hagoromo, we're surrounded."
"I know, Kushina-sensei," Hagoromo replied.
He had sensed it too. While his perception wasn't as sharp as Kushina's, so many shinobi appearing at once made the situation obvious—unless he was an idiot, he knew the Hokage had arrived.
Even so, as he spoke, his eyes never left the Scroll of Seals. In these precious one or two minutes, he might still manage to memorize a few more jutsus.
The commotion outside naturally drew the attention of the shinobi guarding the Hokage Office. One of them quickly stepped forward, and upon seeing that it was the Third Hokage himself leading the group, visibly relaxed.
"Hokage-sama, is something wrong?"
Hiruzen gave him a silent look. That was his line.
"Has anyone entered my office during this period?"
Since the guard detail was intact, the Hokage felt slightly reassured. There was a strong chance the Scroll of Seals had not yet been removed.
"Well… not long ago, Lady Kushina came inside," the shinobi replied honestly, even though he didn't understand why the situation had escalated so dramatically.
"Kushina?!"
Hearing that name, the Hokage felt both surprised—and strangely unsurprised. If it was Kushina, then sneaking a look at the Scroll of Seals was absolutely something she might do.
In fact, compared to the possibility of unknown intruders or enemy spies, knowing it was Kushina made him feel much more at ease.
Still, ease or not, this was a very serious offense.
"Has she left yet?" the Hokage asked.
"No. Lady Kushina arrived less than twenty minutes ago. She hasn't left."
Without another word, the Hokage entered the building. Since he now knew who was responsible, he didn't bring many people inside.
The Third Hokage led the way, with two ANBU behind him. Upon reaching the third floor, he pushed open the office door without hesitation.
The first thing he saw were four ANBU shinobi collapsed on the floor.
Then, he saw Hagoromo leaning over the Scroll of Seals.
Finally, his gaze shifted to Kushina.
"Well… Third Hokage," Kushina said with an awkward smile.
"It's pretty late—have you eaten yet?"
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Chakraflow789