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The Hokage Tower, the iconic landmark of Konoha, stretched four stories high.
The first floor was the mission hall, open to anyone.
The second floor housed the ANBU and the duty stations for the Jonin, always alert and rotating shifts around the clock.
The third floor contained the Jonin meeting rooms and the archives for secret files.
And the fourth floor was the real Hokage's office, where visitors were received.
Normally, the Hokage Tower was one of the most heavily guarded places in all of Konoha. Even the shadow-level elite would find it nearly impossible to sneak in.
But this time, Uchiha Genichi had used a teleportation gate to whisk Kars straight into the third floor.
Because of this, the ANBU stationed on the second floor never noticed the intrusion.
Still, Kars didn't dare relax for a second. Every step was careful, calculated, avoiding any traps he might encounter.
Minutes later, he reached the innermost secret chamber on the third floor.
He extended his right hand, transformed a finger into a fluid, slipped it into the lock, and molded it into the exact shape of the key. With ease, the door clicked open.
Sliding inside and closing the door behind him, Kars finally took in the room.
It was tiny, barely twenty square meters, with nothing but several shelves for storing scrolls.
The shelves were stacked with all sorts of scrolls—some thick as an adult's arm, others small enough to fit in one hand.
The most eye-catching was a massive scroll, nearly a meter long, with four bold characters written across it: "Sealing Scroll."
At once, Uchiha Genichi ordered Kars to grab it.
Kars didn't hesitate. He strode to the shelves and lifted the Sealing Scroll.
Not a single trap was triggered, no mechanism went off. Everything went smoothly, almost suspiciously so.
Watching Kars hold the scroll effortlessly, Genichi frowned. Something felt off. A scroll this important shouldn't be so easy to get.
"Could it be fake?" he wondered.
He ordered Kars to open the scroll and check if it contained any real content.
Genichi remembered the first technique recorded on the Sealing Scroll: Naruto Uzumaki's signature Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu.
But when Kars opened it, the scroll was blank. Nothing.
"Really… fake?" Genichi's heart skipped a beat, but then he shook his head.
"Not necessarily. There could be a sealing jutsu on it. You'd need a special method to reveal the content."
After all, the village always used sealing techniques on sensitive scrolls, and only specific jutsu could break them.
Unfortunately, Kars didn't know any ninjutsu, so there was no way to test it.
But Genichi's goal wasn't to verify the scroll—he just wanted to stir things up and gain some leverage. Real or fake didn't matter. He told Kars to take the scroll and leave.
Before Kars could move, the door burst open.
Several ANBU operatives wearing simple animal masks stormed in, surrounding him instantly.
The one in front wore a cat mask. He sneered at Kars:
"Hand over the Sealing Scroll and surrender. I might convince Sasuke to spare your life."
Kars didn't hesitate. He activated his Ripple Qi.
The air trembled. Blue and red energy exploded from his body like a tiny sun, blinding and intense.
The ANBU instinctively dodged, thinking an attack was coming.
"Perfect timing," Kars thought. He sprinted toward the wall like lightning and slammed a fist into it with a mighty punch.
"....."