Naruto, carrying a large scroll on his back, was startled when he suddenly heard a familiar voice. He had made sure no one had followed him to his secret spot—so hearing Ryuku's calm voice in the dark, empty forest nearly made him jump out of his skin.
"Wahh! You scared me, you jerk!" Naruto yelled, scrambling to his feet. "And what are you even doing here all alone?"
Perched on the rooftop, Ryuku calmly finished storing his items in a scroll before leaping down in front of Naruto, his movements smooth and precise. "Just enjoying the night view, of course. Look at those shining stars and the calm moon. I always feel at ease when I look at them…" he said, his expression unreadable.
That was a lie. Ryuku had already scouted this place in his early days, confirming it by tracking Naruto's chakra from afar with his Spiritual Sense. This encounter had been planned from the start.
"… I see." Naruto believed him easily, having spotted him earlier reading and drinking on the roof. With no other explanation coming to mind, he simply accepted the answer given to him.
But in the next moment, all those thoughts vanished as excitement took over.
"Hey, hey, Ryuku! Let's learn some cool Jutsu from this scroll!" Naruto said, grinning from ear to ear. "If we do, we can graduate from the Academy easily!"
Ryuku watched in silence as Naruto eagerly spread the scroll open on the ground. "Really?" he asked, his tone indifferent.
"Yes! Mizuki-sensei said so," Naruto replied with a pure, excited smile, completely unaware he had been tricked.
"Let's see... The first Jutsu is—Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu?! What the—" Naruto groaned. "Why does it have to start with the one thing I'm bad at?!"
From where he stood, Ryuku could clearly see the contents of the scroll. But the moment it fully unfolded, his focus sharpened, his mind shifting into overdrive. His gaze swept over the scroll with a speed unlike anything before, analyzing the text at an almost unnatural pace.
His chakra, calm just moments ago, surged into his brain, enhancing his cognitive abilities to the limit. Every line, every symbol on the scroll imprinted itself in his memory, processed with terrifying efficiency.
So focused was he that he completely ignored the possibility of the old bone, Hiruzen, spying on them through his crystal ball at this very moment.
But it wasn't the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu or even the Flying Thunder God Technique that caught his attention.
It was a technique buried at the bottom of the scroll.
Four Symbol Seals...
He simply read the title and didn't have to think twice to realize how important the technique was.
Four Symbol Seals!
This was one of the most powerful Fūinjutsu techniques of the Uzumaki Clan!
Strong enough to seal Tailed Beasts inside a person for an extended period without issue!
Without wasting a second, he began memorizing every detail.
He had planned to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique, and he would—right after mastering Four Symbol Seals. As for the standard Shadow Clone Jutsu, which was listed under the forbidden Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu, he only glanced at it once, finding it too easy for his standards. There were only a few hand seals to take note of—nothing complicated.
The Forbidden Scroll also contained many other powerful techniques, like Reanimation Jutsu, Eight Inner Gates, Reaper Death Seal, Self-Explosion Jutsu, and so on.
However, Ryuku kept his focus on Four Symbol Seals for now, leaving the other techniques for later.
An hour passed quickly.
----
Hokage's Building
Seated beside a crystal ball, Hiruzen activated his peeping toy—The Telescope Technique—to search for Naruto.
Since it had been quite some time, and with most of the Jonin already dispatched, he had no choice but to resort to this technique.
As for his Anbu? Most of them were away on missions, while his personal, trusted ones were either patrolling the village or secretly protecting his grandson, Konohamaru.
Hiruzen was certain that Mizuki was behind this and had already given orders for all Jonin captains to bring him in.
But Naruto?
He was truly worried about him—alone and vulnerable at this moment.
A few moments passed before the crystal ball finally flickered to life, consuming a significant amount of chakra in the process.
However, when Hiruzen's gaze landed on the scene before him, his eyes narrowed in shock.
"…What is this?" he muttered, unable to comprehend what he was witnessing.
----
A Few Minutes Earlier…
----
"Huff… huff…" Naruto panted heavily, hands on his knees. His breaths were loud, his clothes drenched in sweat and covered in dirt.
For a while now, he had been practicing the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu, and only after failing countless times did he finally manage to activate it successfully!
Though after almost an hour of continuous practice, he was utterly exhausted.
Looking back, he found Ryuku still engrossed in reading the scroll, as if his life depended on it.
Has he not learned anything yet? Naruto wondered for a second.
Standing up, he walked over to Ryuku's side. "Man, how long are you gonna keep reading those boring things?" he muttered with a chuckle.
"Almost done…" Ryuku replied, his gaze never leaving the Forbidden Scroll.
Naruto nodded, but his face soon lit up with excitement. "Hehe! I finally mastered the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu! Now I can graduate, become a ninja, and then—I'll definitely become a super-elite Hokage!! Believe it!!"
Finally done…
Releasing a tired sigh, Ryuku looked up and gave a polite smile to his friend. "Of course, I believe in you. You'll definitely become the Hokage that everyone looks up to…" he said with a friendly smirk.
Naruto was both happy and surprised. No one had ever taken his words seriously before, and hearing Ryuku say that made him feel flustered. Scratching the back of his head, he smiled awkwardly.
Meanwhile, Ryuku remained seated on the ground, finally savoring the moment.
Ah, the beautiful night…
The serene, peaceful moon…
The gentle, cold breeze…
And the cicadas and crickets singing in the darkness…
Had the night ever felt this wonderful?
After spending what felt like a week drowning in insecurity and fear, Ryuku finally felt at peace. His body relaxed, melting like ice under the warmth of comfort. He lay down on the grass, letting its cool touch soothe his skin.
But it seemed fate had no intention of letting him relax.
A familiar loud voice suddenly rang out from behind them.
"You two idiots!!!"