"Ugh… Where am I?"
Mei Terumi sat up from the bed, clutching her throbbing head. Her mind was hazy, unable to piece together what had happened.
Konan approached her, her words concise and direct. "You were under the control of the masked man from the Akatsuki, trapped in his genjutsu. It was our leader, Naruto Uzumaki, who rescued you."
"The masked man from Akatsuki?" Mei's pupils shrank as the memories rushed back.
Two nights ago, after finishing her official duties, Mei was on her way back to her residence when a man wearing a white mask appeared before her.
The masked man spoke in a low, chilling voice, "The Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi. The woman who ended Yagura's Bloody Mist era… Younger than I imagined."
The moment she caught sight of the Sharingan beneath his mask, Mei instinctively stepped back, quickly shrouding the area in mist with her Hiding in Mist Technique. Her tone was stern as she declared, "I appreciate compliments about my youth, but certainly not from someone as dangerous as you."
She bit her finger and whistled—a signal for help.
But no response came from outside.
The masked man's voice turned cold. "Give it up. The ANBU guarding your residence, along with your personal bodyguards, are already dead."
Mei's eyes widened in shock. "Chōjūrō… Ao!!"
The man charged through the mist, his voice filled with disdain. "The Mist Village has too many debts to pay. You won't get away with this!"
"You'll pay for this!" Mei's face hardened as she formed hand seals, unleashing a powerful Water Dragon Bullet Technique.
Whoosh!
The water dragon passed through the man harmlessly. His eyes had already transformed into the Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Little girl, you don't have a choice in this."
Zap!
Before Mei could shut her eyes, the red glow of his Sharingan enveloped her.
"A genjutsu…!"
It was too late. Her eyes dulled, and she fell into the illusion.
From that moment, Mei remembered nothing.
Now, Mei gasped in realization. "No! I must return to the village immediately!"
A low voice interrupted her. "If you go back now, you'll only be walking to your death."
It was Naruto Uzumaki, speaking with calm authority.
Mei retorted firmly, "Even so, I am the Mizukage of Kirigakure. I must live and die with my village!"
Naruto's gaze remained steady. "Perhaps I can help you."
"You?" Mei stopped in her tracks, turning to scrutinize Naruto. "What's your motive?"
Naruto replied, "To put it simply, Kirigakure being targeted again is partly my fault."
Mei's expression darkened. "This is a long-standing grudge between Kirigakure and that masked man. His powerful genjutsu and those ominous words… There's no mistaking it. He's the same man who manipulated Yagura from the shadows during the Fourth Mizukage's reign!"
She turned away, her tone resolute. "But if you insist on involving yourself in this mess, I won't stop you. Just don't think you can use this as leverage to control Kirigakure!"
Naruto chuckled lightly. "I have no interest in controlling Kirigakure. What I'm truly interested in are your village's secret techniques. Those techniques are crucial for dealing with that man. Mizukage-sama, are you willing to share them?"
Mei stared deeply into Naruto's eyes. "Are you truly willing to lend your aid?"
Naruto replied, "That depends on whether the techniques are effective. If I judge that there's a chance of victory, I'll act. If not, I'll have to relocate all of Amegakure and find another way to deal with him."
Mei fell into deep thought. Her mind flashed to the tragic deaths of Ao, Chōjūrō, and her ANBU guards, as well as the impending calamity awaiting Kirigakure. Reluctantly, she chose to compromise.
In truth, she didn't trust Naruto at all, even if he had saved her life. But she had no better option.
"Fine," Mei said at last. "I'll give you all of Kirigakure's secret techniques."
She formed hand seals, and with a puff, a summoned seal-bearing sea lion appeared. Mei retrieved a thick scroll from its mouth.
The scroll was akin to Konoha's Scroll of Seals, a collection of all of Kirigakure's forbidden and secret techniques.
"These are all the forbidden techniques passed down since the First Mizukage's era," Mei explained. "Many of them are either too difficult to master or too dangerous, so no one has been able to inherit them."
"Thank you," Naruto said as he took the scroll.
Mei's gaze was filled with unease. She knew that the moment she handed over the scroll, she had lost all leverage. Kirigakure's fate now rested entirely on Naruto's character.
Naruto unrolled the thick scroll, his eyes scanning its contents. His hand instinctively tightened as he murmured, "As expected of one of the original Kage who fought against the First Hokage. Truly remarkable!"
Behind him, Konan glanced at the scroll, her tone laced with concern. "With this level of quality and quantity, even with your shadow clones, it would take at least ten days to fully master everything. Kirigakure might not last that long. And we can't rule out the possibility of the masked man finding us before then."
"True," Naruto admitted, lowering the scroll. His expression grew serious. "That's why it's time to use that technique."
Konan's eyes widened. "That technique?"
Naruto opened the window and leapt into the rain-soaked streets below. Konan and Mei followed closely behind.
Standing in the rain, Naruto's voice was steady. "Konan-nee, when I was training to master the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, I realized something. Every technique has a built-in safeguard to protect the user from harm. But more precisely, this safeguard is what we call the Eight Gates."
Konan murmured, "The Eight Gates…"
Naruto continued, "Inspired by the principles of the Eight Gates Release, the Second Hokage, Tobirama, created the forbidden technique known as Kimon Tonkō—the Forbidden Gates Release. This technique, documented at the very end of Konoha's Scroll of Seals, is the most forbidden of all forbidden techniques."
"By using Kimon Tonkō, you can unlock a technique's safeguards, removing all restrictions and disregarding any harm to the user. This unleashes power beyond imagination. The method involves combining the hand seals for Kimon Tonkō with the seals of the technique you wish to unlock."
Konan's voice trembled slightly. "Disregarding harm to the user… Wait—"
But Naruto had already begun forming a series of impossibly complex hand seals, his eyes blazing with determination.
"My Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu can only create about 5,000 clones at my peak. But if I use Kimon Tonkō to unlock it, I can create over 10,000… maybe even more!"
The seals for Kimon Tonkō were completed, followed by the seals for Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu.
BOOM!!!
Chakra surged violently, lifting Naruto's cloak as veins bulged on his forehead.
"Forbidden Gates Release: Ninja Art: Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!!!"
Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff!
White smoke erupted endlessly, stretching to the horizon and beyond.
Over 12,000 shadow clones materialized, filling every inch of the clearing until it was packed to the brim.
Naruto's original body unrolled Kirigakure's massive scroll alongside another smaller one. His voice rang out, resolute and commanding.
"Alright! Tonight, we'll master Kirigakure's techniques and the Iwagakure secret technique Dustless Maze that I couldn't finish before! Let's go!"
"Yosha!!!"
"Ganbatte!!!"
"Tsuyoku naru!!!"
The clones responded with fervent enthusiasm.
Konan's gaze softened with a mix of pride and sorrow. "This technique… it must come at the cost of shortening his lifespan…"
Mei, still in shock, felt a deep confusion and unease. "Why… Why would he go to such lengths for Kirigakure? He already has the scroll and holds all the leverage. There's no need for him to do this!"
Konan smiled faintly, her voice filled with both pain and admiration. "For a promise."
"A promise?" Mei asked, startled.
Konan handed her a copy of a letter.
"If Kirigakure is willing to share their secrets, I, Naruto Uzumaki, swear to lend my full aid in their time of need."
Mei's eyes trembled as she read the words.
Konan's voice was tinged with pride and heartache. "Naruto Uzumaki… That's just the kind of man he is. Always moving forward, always keeping his word. That's his ninja way."
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