After a while, Shisui coughed, taking me out of my trance as I eyed him, questioning if I was under a genjutsu. It was something Itachi found amusing while Fugaku quietly observed my reaction.
I finally gathered a thread of my thoughts and said, "I truly appreciate that grand gesture, Lord Hokage. It is an honor to know the village values my sealing abilities and is willing to offer something this incredible. However, I am not sure if I have the time. Now that I am a Chunin, I am sure I will have many missions ahead. With a new Hokage at the head of the village, I expect other villages might start some probing attacks to get a sense of our strength and test the new leadership."
Fugaku's eyes widened, clearly impressed by my insight, as he nodded with a pleased expression. "Good thinking, however, that is not for you to worry about. We are currently preparing for a huge mobilization and redistribution of forces. It is time to shake things up. Jonin will stabilize the situation until we arrange the smaller Chunin forces, then the much larger Genin ones. So you will have some downtime. We will use it to improve the training and equipment of our forces. You, on the other hand, do not need that, so you have my permission to focus on this project. Know that many lives would be saved if you succeeded in developing a functional version of that jutsu."
I was stunned at how thoroughly things were planned. He just got the seat, and yet it looked like he already had a plan in action before he even took it. Something big was happening for the village to spend so much time, effort, and money to rearrange its forces. Such powerful moves must alert the other villages and might even discourage them from trying anything funny as they wait to see what Konoha is preparing for. Not to mention having the big gun Jonin there to make sure no one went off board. He would have time to improve his forces and rearrange them to suit his future plans while keeping the other villages at bay. A two birds, one kunai move.
What was he planning, though? That was the only thing on my mind. However, seeing Shisui's concerned look, Itachi's excited one, and Fugaku's expectant gaze, I nodded. "As you wish, Lord Hokage. I will focus on this important task and do my best for the village."
Fugaku smiled and raised his hand for an ANBU agent to suddenly flicker in front of us. Kneeling, the ANBU waited as Fugaku ushered him toward me. "Summon the seal scroll."
The ANBU responded, "Yes, Lord Hokage," as he injected a huge amount of chakra into a storage seal. It was a very powerful and complicated one with numerous safeguard seals. The ANBU even had to drop some of his blood into the middle of the process to unlock one of the safety seal formulas.
After some impressive chakra control that required the ANBU to inject chakra into very specific parts of the seal formula in a complicated arrangement, a huge scroll appeared on the ground.
The huge scroll displayed both the Konoha and the Uzumaki symbols, confirming that precious Uzumaki knowledge was used to either develop or improve the jutsu itself. That idea alone almost split my face in half with a grin, something Fugaku noticed right away.
He commented somewhat humorously in a very dry manner, "I never knew a seal expert who refused new or advanced Fuinjutsu knowledge. I was certain you would accept and put your heart into this impactful task."
I chuckled nervously at how easily I was read as Fugaku extended his hand and pressed it onto the scroll, injecting his own chakra. A seal formula appeared and then faded into the scroll as it crawled onto his own hand before imprinting on him. My eyes widened as he said, "Once you assign your chakra to the scroll, it will only work with your chakra signature. Additionally, a seal will be placed on your body that will protect the secrets of the scroll from being revealed to anyone unless approved by me after a complicated process like the one you witnessed earlier."
A complicated look appeared on my face. While I was incredibly excited to gain new Fuinjutsu knowledge, I wasn't exactly thrilled to have a powerful seal placed on me, something that could potentially be utilized in a negative way.
Shisui was about to speak, but Fugaku stopped him by shaking his head. I looked at Fugaku. He had intentionally imprinted his chakra on the scroll to receive the mark as well, which was a good gesture. However, he is the Hokage and he can have it removed. I can't, or at least not easily at all.
In the end, I placed my hand on the scroll. The prospect of new seal knowledge was simply too good of a proposal. I injected my chakra into the scroll, and it shined with a golden aura, almost emanating from the incredibly complicated seal formula protecting it. It was even more advanced than Master Shuzo's scroll protection formulas. I watched as the seal moved from the surface of the scroll and onto my body before stabilizing on my tongue.
I didn't feel good about the position of the seal, but it made sense. I sensed its makeup, and my initial observation was that it did exactly what Fugaku said, preventing me from speaking of the scroll's contents to anyone. Further observations were needed since the seal was extremely complex, but I was somewhat ok with it for now. I was greedy for knowledge, and paying the price seemed fair enough.
I immediately stowed the scroll into my hand seal and bowed slightly. "I will take my leave then, Lord Hokage."
Suddenly, I froze, remembering something very critical, something extremely important. I murmured, "Lord Hokage, I was promised a feast for the fight. Is there a chance to go eat?"
Itachi and Shisui covered their mouths, struggling not to laugh, while an awkward look appeared on Fugaku's face. He narrowed his eyes before speaking. "I was planning on taking you all to a restaurant. However, you and Kaen went all out, and he was too injured. We will do it once he recovers."
The world almost went black in my eyes. I nodded with a look that suggested I had lost my entire squad during a deadly operation and returned as the sole survivor, missing three of my four limbs. Shisui and Itachi were nearly losing it as I walked away, limping like a wounded animal back to my house.
---
Fugaku flickered into his office with Itachi and Shisui following close behind. He sat in his chair with a heavy and oppressive presence before asking, "Shisui, what is your evaluation of Noa's loyalty to the village and his true strength?"
Shisui shifted a bit under the Hokage's powerful gaze before he responded. "He is loyal to the village. During missions, he always did his best. He has an unparalleled drive to protect those he loves, and since they are all from Konoha, that helps."
Fugaku nodded as Shisui continued. "As for his strength, he is beyond Chunin. He proved that by passing the exams with basically two hands tied behind his back. He has many trump cards that can be helpful in almost any situation. He is not far behind this one."
Shisui's gaze moved, pointing to Itachi, who was deep in thought before he eventually nodded. "I am not even sure if I could beat him if we went all out. Maybe the first time, but not the second."
Fugaku's eyes widened slightly at his son's words. It sounded modest, but that was huge praise coming from a capable shinobi like Itachi. He shifted his head to look out the window. "Another talented shinobi. Itachi, I need you to spar with him regularly and at full power. Use a secured ANBU training ground. I would like to keep his true strength a secret for a little while. Use those spars to ensure that you learn of any hidden weaknesses in both of you and work together to cover them. It is rare to find a friendly opponent who is on the same level as someone like you, especially since I will need Shisui a lot in the coming months."
Itachi replied, "As you wish, Lord Hokage."
Fugaku sighed, "There are no strangers here."
Itachi smiled and responded, "As you wish, Father."
Fugaku nodded, pleased with Itachi's response, as he asked, "With that settled, let us talk about something that can't wait anymore."
He stayed silent for a moment, and the light in the room seemed to dim as he asked with a grim tone, "Did you get all the information out of Danzo?"