Until night fell and Naruto moved out, Hinata followed.
Like an invisible shadow, she moved silently between the rooftops and shadows of Konoha.
A large piece of dark cloth wrapped her tightly from head to toe, leaving only a pair of Byakugan that could still see clearly in the darkness.
Using the Breath Concealment Technique at full power, she completely blended into the night. Even for a sensory Ninja, it would be extremely difficult to detect her traces unless they were specifically searching for her.
Naruto quietly slipped into the Hokage Building, but no one noticed him; even the Anbu had disappeared.
The old Third Hokage had let Naruto take it on purpose; he should be watching the live broadcast right now.
In less than half a minute, Naruto sneakily jumped out of the window carrying a giant scroll and ran quickly into the forest.
Hinata also followed quickly.
She knew very well that Iruka-sensei was currently looking for Naruto everywhere, and that insidious Mizuki was probably already lying in wait somewhere, preparing to play the role of the mantis stalking the cicada.
Time was tight and the task was heavy; she had to quickly snatch it, finish reading it, and return it to Naruto.
Hinata sped up, her figure flitting across the treetops like a ghost. In a few leaps, she overtook Naruto, who was still jumping through the forest, and landed silently on his path not far ahead.
She chose a corner where the trees were dense and the line of sight was obstructed.
When Naruto jumped into the air, she took out a stone and flicked it with her finger. The stone accurately hit Naruto's foot, making him lose his balance.
"Ouch!"
Naruto was caught off guard. Carrying the giant scroll already hindered his movement, and now with external interference, he suddenly stumbled and fell forward.
At the moment he was scrambling to stabilize himself and his attention was completely diverted,
Hinata moved.
Her speed was extreme, appearing behind Naruto as if teleporting. Her hands were so fast they left afterimages. The scroll of seals instantly detached from Naruto's back and fell into her arms.
The whole process happened in a flash, silently. Naruto didn't even feel the weight on his back lighten, only caring about complaining about the uneven ground.
Success!
Hinata didn't linger. Holding the scroll of seals, her figure flashed and disappeared into the depths of the dense forest, as if she had never appeared.
Leaving only Naruto to crawl up grumbling, patting the dust off his body, and subconsciously touching his back.
"Eh?! Where's the scroll?! Where's such a big scroll?!"
Naruto was completely dumbfounded, standing there dazed, looking around. There was only him and the whistling night wind on the empty forest path.
"Gone... it's gone?!"
He was so anxious he was pacing in circles, almost about to cry... The Ninjas in the Village also began to mobilize. Iruka was also informed by his companions that Naruto had stolen the scroll of seals, and he set off in a hurry to find Naruto.
The Third Hokage saw this scene through the Crystal Ball, his eyes widening in shock, and immediately ordered the Anbu.
"Quickly find the scroll of seals! I've installed a tracking Restriction on it. Hurry!"
The Anbu's figure flickered.
He saw a figure snatch the scroll at a very high speed, which was completely out of his control.
The scroll of seals was of great importance and must not be lost. The things recorded on it defied common sense. If it fell into the outside world, the Ninja World would likely be in chaos.
Even a brief disappearance was very dangerous.
The Third Hokage frowned. In recent years, the Village had been plagued by one thing after another. Would he be able to hold out until the day of his retirement... Meanwhile, Hinata had already moved far away from the scene and stopped in a very hidden rock crevice.
She spread the scroll of seals on the ground, took a deep breath, and a hint of anticipation flashed in her pure Byakugan.
"Let me see."
She unfastened her cloth robe, pressed her hands on the cold surface of the scroll, and prepared to browse through the Second Hokage's collection.
According to unofficial records, the Second Hokage went to his interview for Hokage with the scroll of seals.
Instead of opening it all foolishly like Naruto, her Divine Sense, like the finest scanner, quickly penetrated the interior of the scroll and began to read and memorize the massive amount of information recorded within at high speed.
As she expected, the content inside was shocking.
"Tsk tsk tsk, Second Hokage, you did well to leave such a good thing behind. No wonder everything except Water Release had to be forbidden; they're all so broken."
Tobirama: Jutsu!
Hashirama: Water?
Tobirama: No.
Hashirama: Forbidden.
Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu was right there on the first page.
Hinata quickly memorized it and continued looking further back.
The Flying Thunder God Technique and Edo Tensei were both what she wanted.
Besides those, there were various Forbidden Jutsu such as the Eight Branches Technique, Reaper Death Seal, and Eight Gates, which were either powerful, bizarre, or came at a great cost. It was a dazzling array.
She even saw the Great Bridge Sealing Technique.
"Tsk, I won't learn this one; it's too weak. I don't want to sit at the same table as Danzo."
Her brain was working at high speed. She only needed a few: Multiple Shadow Clones, Flying Thunder God, Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags, and Edo Tensei.
The Eight Gates had too many drawbacks, the Reaper Death Seal required one's life, and the others were relatively not as useful, so she didn't want any of them.
Like the most precise photocopier, she memorized all the hand signs and Chakra flow paths for these Jutsu in her mind.
A few minutes later.
She could feel that in the distant forest, Iruka-sensei's anxious shouts and the sounds of his search were getting closer, while another cold Chakra belonging to Mizuki was also moving in the shadows.
Even the figures of the Anbu were approaching this place.
"That's enough; it's time to give it back to Naruto."
Hinata quickly committed the information of several Forbidden Jutsu to memory and then unhesitatingly rolled up the scroll of seals again.
She had no intention of taking it away; that would bring endless trouble.
Her goal had been achieved.
She moved out again like a ghost, silently circling back to the vicinity of Naruto, who was still frantically searching the area, almost digging three feet into the ground.
Seeing an opening where Iruka was about to find Naruto and Mizuki was also prepared to appear, she flicked her wrist, using a clever force to accurately toss the scroll of seals into the bushes not far from Naruto's side, making a small "thud" sound.
"Hmm?"
"Over there!"
Naruto lunged toward the bushes in surprise.
After finding the scroll of seals, he was overjoyed. He slung the scroll onto his back again and ran toward the depths of the forest, hiding in the place Mizuki had told him to start practicing.
"Hmm... let me see, Multiple Shadow Clone..."
"Tsk, why is the first one the Jutsu I'm worst at?"
Meanwhile, Hinata vanished into the darkness again, as if she had never participated in tonight's farce... Seeing that Naruto had found the scroll of seals, the Third Hokage breathed a sigh of relief. The scroll had only been missing for a few minutes; nothing could be learned in that time.
But he still had doubts in his heart—what if there was a recording method he didn't know about that had memorized all the Forbidden Jutsu in the scroll?
He could only arrange for the Anbu to search around again, trying to find that mysterious person.
That person was covered in rags, gender unknown. Let's just call them...
"The Mysterious Rag Person."
...