"Here's the Book of Seals you've always wanted to see, along with… the official appointment letter naming you the new leader of Root after its reorganization."
Sarutobi Hiruzen picked up the smaller red scroll, unfurling it in his palm. As he looked at Hikari, his eyes seemed to glaze over, lost in memories.
He'd once handed these same two scrolls to Danzo.
After becoming Root's leader, Danzo had chosen only two forbidden jutsu from the Book of Seals: the Dark Row Technique and the Yin-Yang Four Symbols Seal, also known as the Front-Back Four Symbols Seal. The former countered the Uchiha and Hyuga's dojutsu, while the latter targeted the Senju and tailed beasts.
Beyond that, Danzo never studied another forbidden jutsu. In fact, he'd even warned Sarutobi against getting too absorbed in them. Yet now, ironically, Danzo had fallen to the allure of Senju and Uchiha power, becoming a rogue ninja.
A mocking smile tugged at Sarutobi's lips, but his eyes held no trace of amusement—just the weary resignation of a man faced with the unpredictability of life.
"As the new leader of Root, you can choose any two forbidden jutsu to study. That's the rule set by your predecessors."
Hikari's head tilted back slightly, and she spun around, her eyes lighting up with surprise as she looked at her mentor.
Over the years, she'd dropped hints—subtle and not-so-subtle—about wanting to see the Book of Seals, but Sarutobi always brushed her off, citing the dangers of forbidden jutsu. She hadn't expected reporting Danzo's defection would prompt him to pull out the book.
Was this his way of appeasing her?
Unwilling to issue a bounty on his old friend but also wary of alienating her—Konoha's only other Kage-level ninja besides himself—was he using the Book of Seals to smooth things over?
She had to admit, the disappointment she'd felt was fading fast.
Say what you will about Danzo, but the guy was worth his weight in gold! Root's base, Sharingan, Hashirama's cells—and now, even after defecting, he'd left her this massive gift. The man was practically a walking treasure chest.
Next time they met, she'd make sure to throw him a lavish funeral to thank him for his "generosity."
"You're finally letting me see the Book of Seals?"
"You're Root's new leader and my student. If not you, who else would I show it to?" Sarutobi let out a long sigh, the wrinkles between his brows deepening like carved lines.
He saw so many shadows in Hikari.
The terrifying talent of the First Hokage, the ruthless cunning of the Second, the charisma of the Fourth.
And when he saw the excitement on her face, he couldn't help but think of Orochimaru in his prime, brimming with that same insatiable hunger for ninjutsu.
But Hikari outshone Orochimaru—greater talent, sharper instincts, and a slightly higher moral line.
Since she took over Root, the number of prisoners pulled from Konoha's jail for experiments had dropped significantly. According to the spies he'd planted, many Root ninja were starting to act less like cold machines and more like actual people.
He didn't know how she'd done it, but she'd breathed new life into Root.
Over years of close mentorship, she'd passed every test, never acting against Konoha's interests. Even when he flat-out refused her access to the Book of Seals, she accepted it with grace, showing no resentment.
After the Land of Waves mission, Kakashi had submitted a detailed evaluation of Team 7 alongside his oral report. One line in it struck Sarutobi deeply:
Many of Hikari's developed ninjutsu aren't for fighting. Quite the opposite—she uses them to restrain her overwhelming power to avoid harming the innocent.
She carried the Will of Fire.
"Have you been like this the whole time?" Sarutobi gestured to the floor beneath Hikari's feet, where dark, dense Earth Release chakra had hardened the ground and the building's frame into solid granite.
"It's just a side effect of my highly evolved bloodline limit. No need to worry—I've already found a way to control my weight." Hikari didn't quite get why he'd brought it up out of the blue. She tapped the floor lightly with her toe, producing a dull thud.
Onoki would arrive in Konoha soon, bringing with him the Light-Weight Rock Technique she desperately needed.
She was still debating how to get him to hand it over. Beat him up and threaten his life? Hold his village's ninja hostage? Or maybe kill him and use the Impure World Reincarnation to summon him back and make him demonstrate it himself?
"The jutsu in the Book of Seals might give you some inspiration," Sarutobi said warmly, oblivious to the dangerous ideas swirling in her head. He handed her the scroll with a satisfied smile.
"Thanks, sensei."
Hikari's lips curved into a grin, her earlier sulkiness gone. If she'd known Danzo's defection would get her the Book of Seals, she'd have kicked him out of Konoha a year ago.
She stepped forward eagerly, the floor creaking under her weight.
The thing she'd wanted for so long was right in front of her. She couldn't help but feel a little impatient as she grabbed the Book of Seals and opened it on the spot.
As expected, it was packed with countless familiar jutsu. At the top of the list: Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Forbidden Jutsu: Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu
Developer: Tobirama Senju
Type: Universal
Difficulty: A-Rank
Effect: Creates multiple physical shadow clones
Note: If the number of clones exceeds the user's chakra capacity, the caster may die from chakra exhaustion.
The key details were laid out clearly, but as Hikari read closely, she noticed the scroll only gave a brief overview of the jutsu, with no specific training methods.
At the bottom of the entry was a fist-sized seal, locked by a ring of intricate curse marks.
As she frowned in confusion, Sarutobi's explanation came right on cue.
"Forbidden jutsu are complex. A single scroll can't hold all the details. The Book of Seals only lists basic information. The training methods are stored in separate scrolls sealed within the curse marks under each jutsu. You have to pick a jutsu to unlock its seal and get the training scroll.
I know what you're thinking. Every ninja before you has tried to find a loophole."
"Tch."
Caught red-handed, Hikari gave up on memorizing the whole thing.
The giant scroll Naruto stole clearly wasn't the real Book of Seals. It must've been the training scroll for the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu, unsealed by Sarutobi and deliberately given to him.
With Naruto's sealing skills, even if the real Book of Seals was plopped in front of him, he wouldn't have been able to crack the complex curse marks.
Seeing no way around it, Hikari quickly scanned the scroll, spotting a slew of powerful, familiar jutsu.
Myojin Gate, True Several Thousand Hands: Buddha Transformation, Five-Fold Rashomon, Soul Forbidden Jutsu, Flying Thunder God series, Impure World Reincarnation, Togui Seal, Eight Trigrams Seal, Front-Back Four Symbols Seal, Four Crimson Yang Formation, Spiritualization Technique, Eight Gates Formation… S-rank secret and forbidden jutsu, rarely even heard of, were laid out like cabbages at a market, hers for the picking.
Her eyes practically sparkled. Any one of these jutsu could be a Kage-level ninja's trump card.
This was Konoha.
Even if you combined all the S-rank secret and forbidden jutsu from the other villages, they wouldn't come close to a third of what was in the Book of Seals.
Just reading the names took her a while. At the bottom of the scroll, she even found the Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
Yugakure Secret Transmission: Lightning Release Chakra Mode
Contributor: Hikari
Type: Lightning Release
Difficulty: B-Rank
The "Developer" field had been replaced with "Contributor," and it listed her name.
The Eight Gates Formation was there too. She'd assumed Might Guy would be the contributor, but it was Might Dai, complete with a record of his insane feat: taking on seven elite jonin single-handedly, killing four before dying.
How did Dai become the contributor if he died right after that battle?
Noticing Hikari lingering on a name, Sarutobi straightened up and glanced over. When he saw the Eight Gates Formation, his eyes softened, as if recalling that man in green.
"How far have you progressed with the Eight Gates?"
"Three gates," Hikari answered honestly, sensing the three vibrant green suns of life force pulsing in her body.
Sarutobi paused. He remembered Guy saying she'd opened four gates right off the bat. How'd she regress?
Then it hit him.
The Eight Gates wreaked havoc on the body, and with Hikari's terrifying bloodline disease, regressing might actually be a good thing. Better yet, she should abandon the technique altogether.
"That jutsu's not suited for a genius like you. Knowing when to let go is a smart move."
"Uh-huh…"
Hikari wasn't sure how to respond to his advice.
Give up the Eight Gates, the core of her system? That'd be like telling Hashirama to ditch Wood Release or the Uchiha to abandon the Sharingan.
Ridiculous.
Over the past five years, she'd used her Reverse Eight Gates to devour the entire Death Forest. The overwhelming life force in her body was more than she could absorb, so she locked it away in the gates, letting it slowly refine as her Sage Body evolved.
Her life force was so potent it caused problems similar to Naruto's. Opening just three gates unleashed so much chakra that her body couldn't handle opening the fourth without getting damaged.
But that didn't mean she'd gotten weaker. Her Eight Gates had grown stronger. If she could solve her body's durability issue, her taijutsu in all three modes would be unstoppable.
"Decided yet? Which two jutsu?" Sarutobi asked, rubbing his chin with a wry smile. Every ninja who saw the Book of Seals ended up like this—overwhelmed by choice. He was used to it.
"Flying Thunder God!"
Hikari licked her dry lips, picking the only space-time ninjutsu without hesitation.
The Flying Thunder God's power needed no explanation, and it meshed perfectly with her fighting style. Known as the fastest technique in the ninja world, combined with her Wind-Lightning Mode—faster than the Lightning Armor—it'd make her truly untouchable.
"Fair choice," Sarutobi said, nodding. He agreed it suited her but added a warning. "Flying Thunder God is incredibly hard to learn. You need a knack for space-time ninjutsu. If you can't master it, you'll have wasted a slot."
"That's the one," Hikari said firmly. Not learning Flying Thunder God would be plain stupid.
She had absolute confidence in her talent. There might be jutsu out there she couldn't learn, but Flying Thunder God? No way.
"Alright, and the last one?"
Seeing her resolve, Sarutobi didn't press further. He was curious if Konoha could produce another Golden Flash. Glancing at her shimmering silver hair, he thought Silver Flash might fit better.
With Flying Thunder God secured, Hikari's gaze flicked between Spiritualization Technique, True Several Thousand Hands, Impure World Reincarnation, and Eight Trigrams Seal.
The Spiritualization Technique was Tsunade's boyfriend Kato Dan's secret jutsu, a high-level Yin Release technique that allowed soul manipulation and astral projection. Its knowledge of souls was invaluable, and with soul projection, she could control other bodies. She just happened to have two immortal bodies—Hidan and Kakuzu—on hand. Maybe it could unlock the secret of Hidan's immortality.
The Eight Trigrams Seal was designed for tailed beasts, and with the little tanuki coming soon, she needed tools to capture it.
True Several Thousand Hands: Buddha Transformation was Hashirama's Sage Mode Wood Release, capable of overpowering Madara's Susanoo. She was tempted, but since she hadn't mastered Sage Mode yet, she reluctantly passed.
As for Impure World Reincarnation…
Tobirama's version had major flaws. The description noted that summoned souls lacked free will, were significantly weaker, and the summoning process often failed.
Compared to Orochimaru and Kabuto's refined version, it was too rudimentary to waste a precious slot on.
That left Spiritualization Technique and Eight Trigrams Seal.
"If I contribute an S-rank forbidden jutsu, can I take both Spiritualization Technique and Eight Trigrams Seal?" Unable to choose, Hikari decided she wanted it all.
"What jutsu?" Sarutobi's eyes lit up. The Book of Seals' thickness came from countless ninja contributions, and jutsu exchanges were a common way to gain access.
Boom!
Smoke filled the room as Hikari summoned a black scroll and placed it on Sarutobi's desk. "The Black Lightning Secret Technique, a fusion of Yin and Lightning Release. It directly attacks the soul and will."
"Let me see!" Sarutobi's expression turned serious at the mention of technique fusion and soul attacks. He picked up the scroll and began reading.
Hikari gestured for him to go ahead.
The Black Lightning Technique wasn't easy to learn. Without an Ink Lightning Crystal, the training difficulty was insane, and a misstep could damage the soul. Its power, difficulty, and self-harming nature made it a perfect fit for the Book of Seals.
"This is a forbidden jutsu…" Sarutobi's shock grew as he read. The Black Lightning's sophistication rivaled anything in the Book of Seals. "You developed this?"
"I stole it from the Cloud Village and improved a lot of its flaws. It's more stable than their version, so I guess I'm half a developer," Hikari said matter-of-factly.
"Eight Trigrams Seal will be your last slot. I'll trade the Black Lightning Technique for Spiritualization Technique. Deal?"
"Deal!"
Sarutobi slammed his hand on the desk, officially adding the Cloud Village's secret Black Lightning to Konoha's Book of Seals. Hikari walked away with three forbidden jutsu, nearly achieving every goal she'd set when she first came to Konoha.
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