Chapter 105: Slug Web Disk, Cloud Backup
Heavenly Fury Eruption, the Forbidden Jutsu of the Tsuchigumo Clan, is activated by gathering Natural Energy; the longer it is charged, the greater its power.
In the original work, the Ascetic Practitioner used this move to level a town, a feat comparable to the destructive power of Pain or Deidara.
"Keep it as a trump card?"
Haruko rubbed the scroll in his hand, feeling a bit tempted. This was a bargaining chip that could allow him to negotiate on equal terms with major nations at a critical moment.
But the problem was, Kakashi would definitely enter the cave soon and would surely take this Forbidden Jutsu away.
The risk of hiding it and swallowing it for himself was a bit high; if he were to cross-reference with Shirou, he would be exposed.
So, the best way was—
Haruko took the Heavenly Fury Eruption scroll to the desk, pulled out a blank scroll, and formed hand seals.
"Lightning Release: Scanner."
A faint electric current danced on his palm as Haruko slowly moved his hand across the surface of the scroll.
Like a scanner, the current recorded the position and shape of every word and symbol on the scroll.
"Water Release: Printer."
Water Release Chakra mixed with ink, condensing into extremely fine lines, precisely printing the scanned content onto the blank scroll.
In less than a minute, an identical Heavenly Fury Eruption scroll appeared.
Haruko picked up the copied scroll and inspected it carefully—even the depth of the ink was exactly the same.
"Perfect. It seems my craftsmanship hasn't regressed."
Combination Ninjutsu: Photocopier—this was a Ninjutsu Haruko had invented when he was punished with copying texts during his time at the Ninja Academy.
The Shadow Clone nodded in satisfaction and formed seals again.
"Summoning Technique."
Stuffing the copied scroll into the Slug and watching it disappear in a "poof" of white smoke, Haruko finally breathed a sigh of relief, his grin harder to suppress than an AK's recoil.
"This move... this move is the Slug Web Disk, a cloud backup."
Putting the original Heavenly Fury Eruption scroll back in its place and clearing the traces on the desk, the Shadow Clone finally dispelled the Ninjutsu after confirming everything was correct.
...
Outside the cave.
"Sigh, why won't it work? I saw you using it like this!"
Haruko, who was trying to use the Word Binding Jutsu to tattoo the word'Stupid' on Shirou's face, suddenly stopped his movements.
'As expected of me, well done!"
He turned to look at Kakashi: "Kakashi-sensei, it should be safe inside now. We can go in."
After entering the depths of the cave, the group began to inspect the loot.
The two young girls went straight to the chests, while Haruko picked up the scrolls.
"That mark is... Haruko, let me see that scroll..." Kakashi reached out from the side and snatched the Heavenly Fury Eruption scroll.
"Kakashi-sensei?"
Kakashi didn't answer immediately but fully unfurled the scroll and scanned it quickly.
"Haruko, I must keep this scroll." With that, he tucked the scroll into his vest.
"You're even snatching the loot?" Haruko's face fell. "I went to a lot of trouble to take that guy down."
"This is a Forbidden Jutsu of the Tsuchigumo Clan; it must be handed over to Hokage-sama for a decision later. Those are the rules."
Seeing Haruko's dissatisfied face, Kakashi rarely offered an explanation: "Give it up. The Training conditions for this kind of Forbidden Jutsu are extremely harsh, and the side effects are enormous. Even if I gave it to you, you wouldn't be able to use it."
"Tch, fine..." Haruko curled his lip, putting on a helpless expression.
Kakashi checked a few other scrolls, and after confirming there were no other dangerous items, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"You guys can split the rest among yourselves."
"Eh?" Hana was stunned for a moment. "We can split them too?"
"Loot belongs to the captors; that's the rule," Kakashi said. "Except for dangerous items, of course."
Izumi and Hana's breathing couldn't help but quicken a bit.
Even with their clan backgrounds, the wealth in the chests was a huge sum for these two newly graduated Genin.
"Then..." Haruko immediately walked to the desk and gathered all the remaining scrolls in his arms. "I want these scrolls. You two and Kakashi-sensei can split the remaining money."
"Eh?"
Both Izumi and Hana were stunned, and even Kakashi, who was about to pull out icha icha paradise, stopped his movements.
"Haruko, are you sure?" Hana pointed to the chest. "There's at least over a million Ryo here. These scrolls... might not be worth that much."
Haruko sighed: "With your backgrounds, these scrolls might not be valuable. But for me, they are things money can't buy."
"Since HaRoko~kun says so..." Izumi took a deep breath and nodded solemnly. "Then we'll take the better end of the deal."
Haruko walked to the side happily with the scrolls and began to look through them one by one.
Aside from the Word Binding Jutsu, most were things he already knew.
But it didn't matter; his goal wasn't these from the start anyway. The Word Binding Jutsu alone was worth the price of admission.
Moreover, the greatest treasure—the weapon of mass destruction, Heavenly Fury Eruption—had already been hidden in the Shikkotsu Forest with the Slug.
He gained a good reputation, stored the copy in his cloud drive, and also netted a very promising Ninjutsu.
This round was a total win—electrifyingly successful.
Kakashi stood to the side, looking at Haruko's silly grin as he held the pile of scrolls, feeling a bit conflicted.
Is this kid... really so obsessed with Ninjutsu to this extent?
Or does he simply not care about that little bit of money?
In the Ninja World, most people jealously guard their own Ninjutsu; with Haruko's background, it was indeed difficult to obtain Ninjutsu. But Kakashi felt the latter possibility was more likely.
...
Half an hour later, the group left the cave, escorting Shirou and the bandits.
On the way back to Falling Leaf Town, the atmosphere lightened considerably.
Hana and Izumi were still discussing what to buy with the money, while Haruko walked at the back with the pile of scrolls on his back, occasionally kicking the slow-moving guys.
Kakashi walked at the front, seemingly reading his book, but in reality, he was thinking.
From the results, this mission was very successful.
They caught the bandit group and unexpectedly obtained an S-rank Forbidden Jutsu.
But from his true mission objective...
It was a complete failure.
The gap between Haruko and Hana and Izumi was too large.
Haruko could have handled this mission entirely on his own; not only did the two girls fail to help, but they also held him back.
In the end, when splitting the loot, they even took the lion's share.
Perhaps because of his mission mindset, Haruko didn't say anything on the surface.
But if this situation continued...
Forget about building camaraderie; it would be a miracle if no resentment formed.
It was unrealistic to improve Hana and Izumi's strength enough to help Haruko in a short time.
The two girls were quite cute, but Haruko seemed to have absolutely no interest in them in that way, and vice versa.
"Hah..." Kakashi sighed. "It seems I'll have to think of another way."
...
Falling Leaf Town, the Mayor's mansion.
The steward saw Kakashi's group and immediately came forward.
"Did you find the Jade Cabbage?"
"We found the bandit group, but..." Kakashi paused. "We haven't found the Jade Cabbage yet."
"What?!"
The Mayor rushed over upon hearing the news, his face turning ashen.
"Those damn bandits, where did they hide my family heirloom?!"
"They said they didn't steal it," Haruko added from the side. "And we searched their base thoroughly; we really didn't find it."
"Nonsense! If they didn't steal it, who else could it be?!"
The Mayor was shaking with rage, pointing at the escorted White Bird leader and about to burst into a tirade.
Then he froze.
"You... you are..."
The White Bird leader lowered his head, not daring to look the Mayor in the eye.
"You unfilial son!"
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