Being a rogue ninja is worse than being Hokage.

"Next up, Naruto Uzumaki!"

Shuimu called out.

It was finally Naruto's turn to take the mock exam.

Naruto stepped out of the group, stood in front of Mizuki, and formed hand seals.

"Oh--"

Watching Naruto's earnest hand seals, Mizuki intently focused on Naruto's test results.

"Clone Technique!"

Naruto shouted, and the smoke appeared and then dissipated.

Despite his imposing presence, Naruto only managed to summon a clone that was limp and half-dead on the ground.

Faced with this situation, the other students in the classroom laughed at Naruto's terrible shadow clone technique.

Mizuki looked at Naruto helplessly: "Naruto, if you keep going like this, you won't be able to graduate tomorrow."

Naruto's face turned red, and for a moment he couldn't even utter a rebuttal.

Seeing Naruto's expression, Mizuki squinted and continued:

"Don't you always say you want to become Hokage? But how can someone who can't even graduate from the Ninja Academy, someone who isn't even a ninja, become Hokage?"

Although it is a statement of facts, a careful reading of Shuimu's words reveals a hidden tone of sarcasm.

This is really not the behavior of a teacher.

Naruto's feigned lack of ninjutsu skills led Mizuki to take the bait...

We can start closing the net now.

"As for the clone technique... I! I can learn it right away if I want to!"

Naruto yelled at Mizuki.

But the louder the voice, the more it sounds to others like someone who's incompetent and boasting.

The laughter that had been silenced by Mizuki in the classroom was interrupted by Naruto's own ridiculous words.

Naruto turned around, pointed at the students who were mocking him, and shouted, "One day, I will become the best Hokage in the village!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Naruto rushed out of the classroom, not wanting to stay there for even a second longer.

Chapter 3 The Book of Seals

Naruto, who had run out of the classroom, arrived at the Hokage Rock in the village, where the heads of the Hokage from past generations were carved.

He is currently lying on top of the Third Hokage's rock head.

The afternoon sun was just right, with plenty of light and the temperature wasn't too hot. There was also a pleasant breeze in the air.

Naruto was staring blankly at the vast expanse of white clouds in the sky when suddenly someone blocked his view.

Mizuki also arrived at the Hokage Rock and stood beside Naruto, who was lying down: "You're here, Naruto. I've been looking for you for so long."

Naruto sat up and glanced at Mizuki.

"I apologize for what I said earlier."

Seeing that Naruto did not answer, Mizuki scratched the tip of his nose and explained his purpose.

His demeanor really does resemble that of a good teacher who admits and corrects his mistakes.

But this was just Mizuki's gradual guidance of Naruto.

Naruto also feigned politeness and made small talk with Mizuki.

"Mitsuki-sensei..." Naruto feigned a sad and distressed expression, "Is it really impossible for me to become a ninja?"

When Naruto asked him a question, Mizuki suddenly glanced at the red-painted building below the Hokage Rock for some reason.

This building is the Hokage's office in Konoha.

"Well, I'll tell you a secret. This secret will make you a powerful ninja."

Upon hearing Mizuki's words, a subtle sharpness flashed in Naruto's eyes.

But the next moment, Naruto looked at Mizuki with a blank expression, quietly waiting for Mizuki to reveal the so-called secret.

While Mizuki was manipulating Naruto, Naruto was also manipulating Mizuki.

Mizuki's gesture of looking towards the Hokage's office was because the Scroll of Seals was hidden inside.

Naruto chose to stand in a daze at the Hokage Rock because the Hokage's office was located directly below it.

Naruto knew that his arrival would definitely attract the attention of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

The Third Hokage has probably been monitoring Naruto for quite some time now using that crystal ball with the telescope technique.

When Mizuki dragged Naruto, the Jinchūriki, into his conspiracy, Mizuki was also placed under surveillance by the Third Hokage.

The debate among netizens in the past about how Naruto, a ninja academy student who couldn't even master the basic Three Body Techniques, could easily steal the Scroll of Seals guarded by a Kage-level ninja has been a long-standing topic.

The most reasonable guess is that the Third Hokage used Mizuki's scheme to test Naruto's character as a Jinchūriki and his sense of belonging to the village.

It's important to know that the Book of Seals contains the technique to unseal the Nine-Tails; a slight mistake could lead to another Nine-Tails rampage.

However, the Third Hokage's approach at the time was to use his telescope technique to locate Naruto, who had taken the Book of Seals, but instead of informing the ninjas searching for Naruto of this information.

Instead, he chose to return to the Hokage's office alone, holding the crystal ball, and observing Naruto's actions like an outsider using the telescope technique.

The Third Hokage's "indulgence" benefited Naruto. Once he gained access to the Scroll of Seals and had the support of forbidden techniques, his plan to defect from Konoha would no longer be just a thought.

— Rather, it means putting it into action.

……

That night, in the Hokage's office.

Naruto found the Scroll of Seals in his office. This scroll, kept by the successive Hokage and containing a series of powerful forbidden techniques from Konoha, was casually placed at the very bottom corner of the bookshelf...

I opened the Book of Seals slightly and took a look. The first forbidden technique recorded on the scroll was the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.

This aligns with Naruto's memories from his past life.

Having confirmed the authenticity of the Book of Seals in his hand, Naruto carefully put it away and carried it on his back before leaving the Hokage's office.

Until he left, Naruto did not encounter any Anbu ninjas who should have been guarding important administrative units, nor was there any barrier ninjutsu protecting the scroll of the Scroll of Seals.

Naruto obtained the Book of Seals with remarkable ease.

This situation made Naruto even more convinced that the Scroll of Seals was intentionally given to him by the Third Hokage.

The Third Hokage is probably hiding somewhere, fiddling with his crystal ball and observing Naruto's actions.

Carrying the Scroll of Seals, Naruto ran towards the forest in the village, the meeting place he had arranged with Mizuki after successfully stealing the Scroll of Seals.

……

When Naruto arrived at the agreed location, he didn't find Mizuki.

Naruto wasn't surprised by this; Mizuki was currently putting on a show of stealing from the Third Hokage.

Then Mizuki will send the ninjas who are preparing to search the forest away.

Without interference from other ninjas, he seized the Book of Sealing from a ninja academy student who struggled even to master the Three Body Technique.

To Shuimu, this must be an extremely easy thing.

That's good... Mizuki's actions, while buying time for himself, are also buying time for Naruto.

Naruto spread the scroll of the Book of Seals completely out on the grass, and all the forbidden techniques recorded in the scroll came into Naruto's view.

I glanced at the description of the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique in the Book of Seals.

Having already mastered the Shadow Clone Technique and trained with it for two years, Naruto was certain that he could easily use the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.

"Damn it, why did they start with the clone technique, which is my weakest skill!"

But Naruto still pretended to complain, knowing that the Third Hokage was definitely using the telescope technique to monitor him.

Naruto stood in front of the scroll, looking like he was seriously learning the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.

His actual gaze, however, was fixed on the other forbidden techniques in the Book of Seals.

It's impossible to learn all the forbidden techniques at once. Naruto's real goal is the space-time ninjutsu recorded in the Scroll of Seals—the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Naruto's goal is to completely possess the Scroll of Seals, but he is being monitored by the Third Hokage using his telescope technique, making this idea unrealistic.

However, if Naruto learns the Flying Thunder God Technique, he can mark the Flying Thunder God seal on the Scroll of Seals.

When the time is right to defect from Konoha, one can use the Flying Thunder God Technique to find the Book of Seals and truly possess it.

On the other hand, Naruto judged that the Flying Thunder God Technique, like the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, is a ninjutsu that can be quickly learned through physical talent.

In the original story, Naruto was truly incompetent, yet he managed to learn the most difficult technique, the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, in just one night.

Meanwhile, Naruto has been preparing for the Flying Thunder God Technique for the past two years since his time travel...

Naruto was well aware that he also had enough talent for space-time ninjutsu.

After all, Naruto's signature ninjutsu in the original work, besides the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique and the Rasengan, is the Summoning Technique to summon toads.

……

Several hours passed in this way, and it became late at night.

Naruto looked at the black Flying Thunder God seal in the Book of Seals, which appeared to be written in illegible handwriting.

Feeling the faint chakra within the mark, Naruto knew that he had initially mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Unfortunately, the current situation makes it impossible to actually use Flying Thunder God.

"it is good!"

Suppressing his true excitement, Naruto rolled up the Scroll of Seals again and carried it on his back.

Naruto then put his hands together and began to perform hand seals.

"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"

The next moment, an astonishing number of shadow clones filled the area around Naruto.