He made his way effortlessly to the library.
With an ANBU nearby watching, Reiji pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The place was as quiet as ever. After closing the door behind him, he strolled over to the Scroll of Seals.
He passed a ring of candles and casually picked the scroll up from the floor.
He remembered the last time he'd looked at this scroll—it had been tense, a race against time. This time, though, he was completely relaxed.
Sitting cross-legged, he undid the clasp, spread the scroll across his knees, and began carefully reading through it, line by line.
The first entry: Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.
Back when Kitty was around, splitting into hundreds of clones was easy. Now, he was back to that awkward stage—clap his hands and maybe squeeze out three or four at best.
Second: the ever-familiar Flying Thunder God Technique.
Without Kitty, long-range teleportation now required asking Granny Li for help.
First hour without Kitty—already missing her.
Soon, Reiji found the entry he was looking for: the Impure World Reincarnation technique.
He skimmed it briefly, acting nonchalant as he flipped past it, pretending to focus on the next forbidden jutsu.
Mutual Multiplying Explosive Tags?
Not exactly thrilling, but he put on a show of interest and read with a straight face.
...
Back in the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally exhaled in relief.
Good. The boy's interested in Mutual Multiplying Explosive Tags. That's fine—as long as he stays away from Impure World Reincarnation and Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
What he didn't know was that Reiji's speed-reading and memorization skills far exceeded the average shinobi's.
The first time he'd snuck a peek at the Scroll of Seals, that's how he'd managed to memorize the complex Flying Thunder God Technique so quickly.
But right now, Reiji really was stunned—by the explosive tag technique itself, and more so by its creator, Tobirama Senju.
An explosive tag, simply put, was a sealing technique that stored explosive power in paper—detonated with chakra or flame.
But Mutual Multiplying Explosive Tags? That was a whole other beast. It fused the Shadow Clone Technique and Flying Thunder God markers into a chain-reaction weapon.
Trigger one tag with chakra, and it primes for detonation. Clone the tag using shadow clones.
Each cloned tag then teleports out using Flying Thunder God markers to avoid the first blast, creates even more clones...
And using Summoning Jutsu, you could summon additional clones of the tag, creating a cascade of explosions.
No wonder Tobirama had said during the Fourth Great War that this jutsu was tailor-made to pair with Impure World Reincarnation.
Its blast radius was so massive, it would easily take the user with it.
And most critically—it was a chakra-devouring monster. Without near-infinite reserves, you couldn't even think about using it.
Whether it was summoning the tags, cloning them, or teleporting them via Flying Thunder God Technique, it all demanded absurd chakra.
Suddenly, Reiji's eyes lit up.
What if he trained his body to be so tough that even explosions didn't faze him?
Wouldn't that basically turn him into a walking suicide truck?
Screw Taijutsu!
Just grab your enemy and blow up together until the world ends—how badass is that?
No no no!
Reiji quickly shook his head, chasing the thought away.
Way too costly. At the very least, his clothes would get shredded every time.
Jacket, shirt, pants, boxers, ninja tool pouch... That's a thousand ryō down the drain with each blast.
But... if he used the Flying Thunder God Technique to escape...
Forget it. Might as well memorize it anyway.
He committed several forbidden techniques to memory, then carefully rolled the scroll back up and returned it to its original spot.
Next, he walked over to the Water Release section and picked out a few jutsu.
Honestly, with his current Chūnin-level chakra reserves, techniques like Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave or Water Release: Giant Spit—yeah, not happening.
But something like Water Release: Heavenly Weeping, which didn't cost much chakra? That was doable.
Holding the scroll, Reiji left the library.
As he strolled down the street, grinning, he suddenly paused.
Water Release: Heavenly Weeping—wasn't that just spitting?
Should he teach that one to Rie?
...
Evening set in, painting the sky in red hues as the sun dipped below the horizon.
Guided by Flying Thunder God markers, Reiji arrived at his final destination: the home of Danzō Shimura.
He knocked politely, and under the escort of Root shinobi, was led to where Danzō sat—fishing in silence.
"Yo~ Danzō-nii, long time no see!"
Reiji greeted him with enthusiasm.
Seeing that sunny smile on Reiji's face, Danzō's eye twitched involuntarily. Without a word, he shifted away slightly on the bench—putting distance between himself and this walking disaster.
"Yes... long time no see. What brings you here, Reiji?"
Danzō's tone was guarded. Reiji, as casual as ever, plopped down right next to him, slapped him on the shoulder, and chuckled.
"Actually, I've got something to say."
"I'm heading out of the village for a while. Could be three years... maybe as long as nine.
So I figured I should come say goodbye."
Danzō, who'd been ready to brush off whatever nonsense Reiji brought, immediately furrowed his brows.
Three to nine years? So he might be gone for nearly a decade?
What about the Fourth Hokage?
The thought struck hard, and Danzō didn't bother to hide his suspicion. After everything Reiji had already cost him, he had nothing left to lose—and no reason to fear him.
"You're not planning to fight for the Fourth seat? Honestly, I was ready to cast my vote for you."
Whoa, hold up! Danzō, are you some kind of masochist?
Without hesitation, Reiji shook his head firmly.
"No, no, no. Danzō-san, I appreciate the thought, really—but I'll pass on the Fourth. Let someone else chase the seat."
"Seriously?" Danzō suddenly sat upright, doubt in his voice.
"Seriously." Reiji nodded without the slightest hesitation.
"What about the Fifth?"
"Still no."
"Sixth?"
"Danzō, come on now."
"Seventh?"
"Heh~"
"Eighth?"
"...That one I might consider."
Danzō was instantly speechless.
So let me get this straight—you've turned down Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and even Seventh, just to circle back and compete with me for Eighth?
Alright, fine. You win. If you're out, I'm in.
That thought lit a fire in Danzō's chest. The ambition that had dimmed suddenly flared back to life.
If Reiji wasn't aiming for Hokage, then he wouldn't hold back anymore.
Watching the spark return to Danzō's eye, Reiji gave a secret smirk before speaking seriously.
"Danzō-san, do whatever you want—I don't care. Just don't mess with my people.
Let me make this clear: if anything happens to someone close to me, I won't care whether it was you or not. I'll come for you."
Danzō snorted coldly on the surface, but in his heart...