Naruto practically vibrated with excitement. The fact that Shiro was willing to help him pass the exam was already a monumental favor. He couldn't possibly ask for more.
"It's a mutually beneficial arrangement," Shiro said, looking intently into Naruto's blue eyes. "However, there is a catch. At the end of the night, you are the one who has to be caught with the scroll."
Stealing the Scroll of Seals? With his current arsenal, Shiro had a hundred different ways to infiltrate the Hokage Tower undetected.
The actual logistical nightmare wasn't stealing the scroll; it was returning it without drawing suspicion to himself. Clearly, making Naruto the designated fall guy was the perfect, canon-compliant solution.
---
After all, Hiruzen Sarutobi was already fully prepared for Naruto to steal the artifact. It was a poorly kept secret among the upper echelon.
"Okay! No problem at all! When they catch me, I'll proudly declare that I stole it all by myself!" Naruto thumped his chest, pledging his loyalty without a second thought.
Since Shiro was going out of his way to help him achieve his dream, Naruto was more than willing to take the heat. He was used to being yelled at by the Hokage anyway.
"So, when do we launch the mission? Tonight?" Naruto asked, shadowboxing the air excitedly.
Shiro shook his head slowly. "No. Tonight is too suspicious."
Shiro wasn't foolish enough to execute the heist immediately. If Naruto came over to his apartment, and then the village's most guarded artifact vanished an hour later, even a senile Hokage would connect the dots.
"Go home for now," Shiro instructed. "Wait until Mizuki-sensei inevitably seeks you out. He will tell you a secret. Listen to him, and then head to the general store near the Hokage Tower tomorrow evening. I will be waiting for you in the alleyway beside it."
Shiro had meticulously mapped out the timeline. When the moment arrived, Naruto wouldn't have to lift a finger; he could just sit back and relax while Shiro did the heavy lifting.
"Got it! I'll be there!"
Just the thought of finally strapping a Konoha headband to his forehead made Naruto giddy. He practically skipped out of Shiro's apartment, humming a cheerful, off-key tune.
"Alright, stay safe on your way back," Shiro called out.
As Shiro closed his front door, he subtly flared his sensory chakra. *Just as I thought,* he mused. He could clearly detect the suppressed signatures of at least three Anbu operatives stationed on the rooftops surrounding his building.
---
On a distant, moonlit rooftop, two masked figures crouched in the shadows.
"Nightingale, why did Lord Hokage suddenly assign you to the Uzumaki detail?" an Anbu wearing a dog mask asked his purple-haired partner.
Historically, the Hokage had always assigned the same two-man rotation to monitor the Jinchuriki's daily activities. Adding a senior operative like Yugao Uzuki was highly unusual.
"Lord Hokage received intelligence suggesting the boy might attempt something disruptive in the coming days. He ordered me to reinforce the surveillance perimeter," Nightingale replied softly, her hand resting near her katana.
As one of Hiruzen's trusted aides, she was privy to fragments of the Hokage's orchestrated plan regarding the Scroll of Seals.
"Seems completely unnecessary to me," the Dog-masked Anbu scoffed quietly. "He's a loud, clumsy academy student who couldn't even pass his Genin exams. How could he possibly slip past our tracking?"
They had been shadowing the blonde menace for years. Aside from the occasional elaborate graffiti prank, Naruto had never demonstrated the stealth capabilities required to evade an Anbu detail.
"Complacency breeds failure. It is better to be safe than sorry," Nightingale reprimanded gently, refocusing her attention on Naruto's retreating form as he headed back to his own apartment.
---
Inside the Hokage's Office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat comfortably behind his desk, gazing into the swirling mists of his Crystal Ball. He watched Naruto leave Shiro's apartment, a fond, grandfatherly smile on his face.
*It seems little Naruto is still brooding over his failure today, seeking comfort from his peers,* Hiruzen thought, feeling quite gratified that the boy was forming positive social bonds.
At least, that was the narrative he projected onto the silent images in the crystal.
"In that case, perhaps I don't need to be overly cautious with the bait," Hiruzen murmured, glancing at the massive, restricted Scroll of Seals resting on a secure pedestal near his desk.
He had briefly debated swapping the authentic artifact with a forged decoy for Naruto to steal. After all, the real scroll contained techniques capable of leveling nations. But given Naruto's lack of academic comprehension, the boy likely wouldn't be able to decipher anything beyond the first few basic entries anyway.
---
The timeline progressed to the following evening.
Naruto had originally planned to spend the day sulking in his messy apartment, but true to Shiro's bizarrely accurate prediction, Mizuki-sensei actually showed up at his door.
*Is Shiro a psychic?! He predicted this exactly!* Naruto thought, utterly shocked as he listened to his instructor.
Everything unfolded precisely as Shiro had outlined. Mizuki feigned sympathy and actively encouraged Naruto to 'prove his worth' by infiltrating the Hokage Tower and 'borrowing' the Scroll of Seals.
What the naive Naruto failed to realize was that his secret, treasonous plotting with Mizuki was currently being broadcast live.
Through his Crystal Ball, Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the entire interaction unfold.
*Naruto is still far too naive and trusting. How could he so easily believe Mizuki's obvious manipulation?* Hiruzen sighed internally.
The Hokage firmly believed that Mizuki was operating at the first level of deception, while he, the grand chess master, was sitting comfortably on the second level, controlling the board.
"Relay this order to the guard captains," Hiruzen commanded an Anbu hidden in the rafters. "Withdraw all visible sentries and standard patrols from the immediate vicinity of the Hokage Tower. Have the Anbu transition to covert, passive observation only."
To ensure Naruto's 'infiltration' was successful and believable to Mizuki, Hiruzen intentionally created glaring holes in the tower's security grid.
"With this arrangement, the plan should proceed flawlessly," Hiruzen muttered, turning his attention back to the crystal.
In the scrying image, Naruto was seen sneaking nervously toward the designated general store near the tower.
*Poof!* Suddenly, the image in the crystal violently distorted, and Naruto vanished entirely from the feed.
Hiruzen: "..."
"What in the world..." Hiruzen frowned, hurriedly tapping the side of the crystal ball with his pipe. Had the chakra signal suddenly cut out?
It was a real-time scrying jutsu anchored to Naruto's unique chakra signature; how could the boy simply disappear from his vision?
---
Meanwhile, in a dark alleyway adjacent to the Hokage Tower...
"Hmph. I'll bet the old man is staring at a blank crystal ball right now, utterly confused," Shiro chuckled softly.
Standing in the alley was Shiro's *External Incarnation*, perfectly transformed to mimic Naruto's physical appearance and chakra signature down to the last detail.
The *real* Naruto was currently sealed within a temporary, soundproof Wood Style containment pod hidden further down the alley. Because Wood Style naturally suppressed and absorbed chakra, not even a microscopic fraction of Naruto's aura could leak out to be detected by the Hokage's scrying or the Anbu sensors.
Hiruzen Sarutobi arrogantly believed he had Mizuki perfectly figured out. Little did the Hokage know, he was merely the mantis stalking the cicada, completely unaware of the oriole hovering silently behind him.
"Forbidden Secret Art: Instant Hell Murder Formation!"
Shiro whispered the activation phrase. His physical body seemed to melt seamlessly into the shadows of the alley, leaving only a faint, almost imperceptible dark stain on the cobblestones where he had stood.
There were nearly twenty elite Anbu operatives covertly stationed around the Hokage Tower's perimeter, their senses dialed to the maximum. Yet, not a single one detected the spatial anomaly as Shiro bypassed their blockade entirely.
Moving as if strolling through an empty park, Shiro materialized inside the Hokage's private office. A shadowy hand extended from the floor, effortlessly hoisting the massive Scroll of Seals into the darkness before vanishing instantly.
"Whew. This *Instant Hell Murder Formation* is ridiculously convenient," Shiro remarked from the safety of his shadow realm. He felt that its absolute stealth and spatial bypassing capabilities sometimes rivaled even the legendary Flying Raijin.
After securing the prize, Shiro instantaneously swapped positions back to the faint shadow mark he had left in the alleyway.
Safely hidden, Shiro unrolled the massive scroll. Powered by his golden *Heaven-Defying Comprehension*, he immediately began rapidly scanning and archiving the myriad of forbidden jutsu recorded within.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu? A child's toy. Skip."
He rapidly scrolled past the introductory techniques.
"...Wait, it won't open?"
After breezing through a dozen A-rank jutsu, Shiro hit a literal roadblock. The latter half of the scroll—the section containing the truly apocalyptic techniques—was sealed shut by complex, interlocking fuinjutsu barriers.
The techniques at the beginning of the scroll, like the Multiple Shadow Clones, were only classified as 'forbidden' due to their massive chakra drain, not because they were inherently destructive or complex. Shiro's ambitions lay far beyond mere cloning.
"Did the Third Hokage seriously think these rudimentary locks could keep me out?" Shiro smirked confidently.
One must not forget the terrifying processing power of his golden trait!
In less time than it takes to draw a breath, Shiro's mind had thoroughly analyzed, reverse-engineered, and dismantled the complex sealing formulas protecting the restricted sections. With a few rapid, precise bursts of chakra to specific nodes on the parchment, the seals dissolved with a soft hiss, unrolling the rest of the scroll.
"Four Symbols Seal... Got it."
"Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags... Perfect."
"Reaper Death Seal... Interesting."
"Edo Tensei... Archived."
"The Eight Inner Gates... Mine."
After meticulously mentally archiving every single S-rank forbidden jutsu and kinjutsu that caught his interest, Shiro didn't forget his promise. He scrolled back to the beginning to find the *Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu* that Naruto needed to pass.
"I can't let the kid take all the heat for nothing," Shiro muttered.
Even though Naruto had literally slept through the heist inside his wooden pod, Shiro wasn't going to shortchange his unwitting accomplice. Along with the cloning jutsu, Shiro rapidly copied down the fundamental theories for a few other high-utility A-rank wind jutsu onto a spare piece of parchment and stuffed it into Naruto's pocket.
It didn't matter if Naruto currently had the control to use them; it was better to give him the foundational knowledge now. Shiro certainly had no use for them.
--
In roughly sixty seconds, Shiro had successfully archived decades of Konoha's most restricted, lethal secrets into his perfect memory.
Having achieved his goal, Shiro hoisted the heavy Scroll of Seals onto his back and casually walked over to the wooden pod where he had stashed Naruto.
Because his Wood Style perfectly blocked all sensory perception, Shiro knew the Anbu were likely running around the village like headless chickens, frantically searching for the 'missing' Jinchuriki since the Hokage's scrying crystal had gone dark.
"Right about now, the entire Anbu roster is probably turning the village upside down looking for you," Shiro chuckled softly as he hoisted the unconscious, wood-wrapped Naruto over his shoulder.
Utilizing his enhanced speed, Shiro bypassed the frantic patrols and headed straight for the dense training forests east of Konoha Village. He had already prepared a secluded clearing for the final act of this theatrical play.
Arriving at the designated clearing, Shiro casually tossed the wooden pod onto the grass and released the jutsu. The timber dissolved back into the earth.
"Alright, wake up. The job is done," Shiro said, nudging the boy with his foot.
Naruto didn't budge. A soft snore escaped his lips.
"This guy... are you serious? He actually fell asleep inside the sensory deprivation pod?!"
Shiro was genuinely impressed by Naruto's sheer audacity. The kid was about to be branded a village traitor, and he was taking a nap!
"Oh well," Shiro sighed, crossing his arms. "Since I'm forcing him to take the blame for the heist, I suppose I should do him one last favor before the Anbu arrive."
Looking at the peacefully sleeping jinchuriki, Shiro decided to address the massive, furry elephant in the room. He reached out, his hand glowing with a dense, emerald-green aura of pure Wood Style chakra, and placed it firmly against the intricate swirl of the Eight Trigrams Seal on Naruto's stomach.