What was the Scroll of Seals?
It was a top-secret artifact containing all the forbidden jutsu of the village!
It was something only the Hokage—and a tiny handful of authorized individuals—were ever allowed to see!
I have to find Menma as soon as possible! This mistake cannot be allowed to go any further!
Iruka clenched his fists tightly, his thoughts racing.
Meanwhile, the subject of Iruka's anxiety was currently in a forest a short distance from the rendezvous point with Mizuki. Menma leisurely prepared to open the Scroll of Seals, intending to get a good look at the high-level ninjutsu, secret arts, and forbidden techniques recorded within.
In the original story, that knucklehead Naruto only learned the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique.
In this life, Menma hoped to learn as much as possible!
However, just as Menma had initially suspected...
Since Hiruzen Sarutobi was bold enough to let Menma take the Scroll of Seals, it was impossible for him not to have taken precautions.
The ANBU tailing him was one layer of security.
But the wily old fox had prepared another layer directly on the scroll itself.
And this specific arrangement...
Well, let's just say Menma's internal reaction was quite colorful.
He unrolled the first section of the scroll. But after that, it wouldn't budge. No matter how much brute force he applied, the rest of the scroll refused to open.
Menma's face remained impassive, but his heart sank, and he cursed inwardly.
I knew that old geezer wouldn't just hand me the Scroll of Seals without a catch. He put a sealing jutsu on it so I can't see the rest of the content!!
This was clearly Hiruzen's insurance policy.
The original Naruto saw the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique, got overwhelmed, and stopped scrolling, so he never triggered the seal.
But Menma was different. He had his eyes on the Flying Thunder God Technique and the Dead Demon Consuming Seal!
The former was a top-tier jutsu for both combat and escape!
The latter? Menma was just purely interested in researching the so-called "Shinigami."
But now, it was all for nothing!
Hiruzen wasn't giving him the chance!
The accessible jutsu stopped right at the Rasengan!
Remote surveillance via the Telescope Technique.
Close-range tailing by elite ANBU.
Plus a special seal on the scroll itself.
The Third Hokage really had all his bases covered. He didn't have to worry about anything going wrong. The only one suffering here was Menma. It wasn't that he hadn't expected this, but humans are greedy creatures. Once you get something, you always hope for more.
Insatiable desire—a common human flaw.
Forget it. I expected this from the start. If I can't see it, I can't see it. At least I didn't come away empty-handed!
Menma exhaled softly and adjusted his mindset.
At least it wasn't just the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique.
There were still several A-rank jutsu available: the Rasengan, the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique, and even a sealing jutsu—the Five Elements Seal!
These were all high-value techniques.
For Menma, this trip was already worth it!
Time is tight. I need to hurry!
Menma glanced up at the moon, half-obscured by dark clouds, and muttered to himself.
He buried his head in the scroll, seriously studying the few techniques available to him. He didn't necessarily need to master them right now, but he had to memorize their core principles—especially the Rasengan, which required no hand seals.
Menma vaguely remembered how Jiraiya taught Naruto the Rasengan in the anime, but memories fade.
Details could be missed.
Now, with the Scroll of Seals containing Minato Namikaze's detailed notes and personal insights, Menma just had to memorize everything. Mastering it would only be a matter of time!
Seconds ticked by.
In the shortest time possible, Menma forcibly imprinted the core mechanics of these few A-rank-plus jutsu into his brain.
Of course, the first one he mastered was still the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique.
He had to admit, in this regard, he seemed to have inherited the exact same talent as the original protagonist.
Almost at a glance, he had grasped the jutsu perfectly!
To be fair, the jutsu itself wasn't complicated. The hand seal was just a single "Cross" seal. Generally, any ninja with decent skill could learn how to do it. But learning it and using it were two different things.
Forget the "Multi" version—even the standard Shadow Clone Technique had high chakra requirements!
Normally, a clone split the user's chakra evenly!
Although high-level mastery allowed the user to control the chakra distribution...
Even then, it wasn't something an ordinary ninja could handle.
To put it bluntly, this jutsu discriminated based on chakra reserves.
Those with massive reserves could use it casually. Those with pathetic reserves? Sorry, you were born unlucky.
Normally, even though the standard Shadow Clone Technique was only B-rank, it was a jutsu reserved for Jōnin.
But for Menma, this was no problem at all. Even without counting the Nine-Tails' chakra, his own personal reserves—now free from the fox's interference—were already dozens, maybe even a hundred times that of Kakashi!
Handling a mere Shadow Clone Technique was a piece of cake!
Time's about up. Better go meet my lovely Mizuki-sensei!
Estimating that he had spent enough time, Menma rolled up the Scroll of Seals.
Acting as if nothing had happened, he strapped the giant scroll to his back again. With a leap, he sped toward the designated "mission drop-off point" to meet Mizuki.
He arrived in a single bound.
In the clearing, Mizuki stood waiting, his posture straight.
The moment he saw Menma actually appear with the giant Scroll of Seals on his back, a look of uncontrollable ecstasy flooded the minor villain's eyes.
Honestly, Mizuki hadn't been entirely sure this would work.
He'd figured it was a 50/50 shot.
The only upside was that even if it failed, he felt safe. He believed he could push all the blame and risk onto Menma. A Nine-Tails fox demon doing something against the village? Wasn't that expected behavior?
In Mizuki's view, his plan was flawless and foolproof!
And now, seeing the perfect outcome unfold before him...
Mizuki naturally couldn't suppress his joy.
"Mizuki-sensei! Here is the mission target—the Scroll of Seals. I've completed the mission, right?"
Before Mizuki could reveal his true colors...
Menma stepped forward with a calm expression, stopping right in front of Mizuki and setting the scroll down.