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- Upon execution of the jutsu, the target shuriken expands to a size determined by what it is. A regular shuriken will grow to twice the size of a Fūma Shuriken, while a Fūma Shuriken will grow to twice the size of a four person dining table.
- The damage of the shuriken is then changed to reflect its new size. A shuriken's new damage will be that of a standard Fūma Shuriken plus 20, while a Fūma Shuriken's damage will be tripled.
Naruto blinked. That was a pretty good jutsu. It was only useful so long as the enemy didn't expect it, or otherwise as a distraction, but inside those limits, it was very useful. He made a note to not underestimate jutsu again based on their initial description.
"Well…now I don't have any more jutsu to learn…I'll practice." He decided.
Half an Hour Later
Office of the Hokage, Konohagakure
"Troublesome…" Shikaku grumbled. "So why're we here, Hokage-sama?"
"I'm certain he was about to tell you when you interrupted him, Shikaku-san." Hyūga Hiashi said calmly.
"Agreed." Aburame Shibi stated.
"I was waiting for the right moment, Shikaku-san." Sarutobi said gravely. "As you know, Uzumaki Naruto has made off with the Forbidden Scroll of Seals…or, so people have been led to believe."
As evidence, he pulled the scroll up from where it had been resting since Naruto had left his office.
"Ah…can I then ask why you have half of the Shinobi Forces scrambling to find Uzumaki-san if he is not, in fact, a thief?" the Head of the Hyūga asked delicately.
"Because someone is playing us for fools, gentlemen." The Hokage scowled. "Somehow, one Toji Mizuki managed to get a message inside of Naruto-kun's apartment, which is under strict ANBU observation and protection, without the watchers noticing. The contents of the message were designed to try to trick Naruto-kun into stealing the Scroll under the guise of a secret test for the Top Ten Graduates."
"He didn't fall for it." The perennially lazy Nara Clan Head stated. "And he brought it to you. You're planning on entrapping Mizuki using the kid as bait and us as witnesses using the Tōmegane no Jutsu. Sneaky and cold there, Hokage-sama."
Looking very much unaffected by the accusations levelled at him by his Jonin Commander, the Sandaime tapped a finger on the desk for a moment. "Mizuki-kun has been under investigation for a number of months now. He has, at the very least, taught flawed taijutsu techniques to Naruto-kun, delivered doctored jutsu scrolls to Naruto-kun, attempted to casually injure Naruto-kun and supported and perhaps even helped facilitate the current nonsense at the Academy. This is the last nail in his coffin. With this as evidence, he moves up from improper conduct and petty maleficence to outright treason. Naruto-kun, as the one to whom the majority of the ills have fallen upon, was…eager…to aid in Mizuki-kun's downfall."
"I can imagine." Hiashi raised an eyebrow. "Though I am curious as to why this elaborate bit of subterfuge is needed. Surely there is already enough evidence to bring Toji-san up on charges?"
"There is." agreed Hiruzen. "However, there is currently some evidence that Toji-san has been acting with the aid of outside factors. With that being the case, more drastic measures are needed"
"Ah." Shibi made a slight sound of realization, before nodding his head in understanding. "You wish to have Toji-san's guilt be completely irrefutable so that he may be placed under Ibiki-san's…tender mercies I believe is the term?"
An irritating, but necessary, piece of law was that without overt and absolute proof of treason, or at least significant and convincing evidence of treason, a member of the Konohagakure Shinobi Forces could not be fully interrogated as if they were an enemy shinobi. This meant no physical torture the way Mitarashi Anko liked to use, no sleep and food deprivation and so on. Psychological torture had also been limited ever since Ibiki had become the head of the T&I Department. Before that, it hadn't been seen as a threat.
More fool the idiots inside the village who had fallen afoul of Ibiki when he had become the Head of T&I and began more and varied uses of particularly heavy levels of psychological torture as long as he could get away with it. Several people had been so traumatised by the man's tactics that they had to have regular counselling sessions. Those that were allowed to live after the information was extracted anyway.
Psychological torture may not leave visible scars, but the wounds it left were far more grisly and harder to heal for that.
"Just so, Shibi-san." Sarutobi nodded grimly. "The ones responsible for undermining the Academy directly are already under Ibiki and Anko's 'tender mercies,' but so far most have proven to be simple cat's paws. Toji Mizuki has, at first glance been only peripherally involved in the matter, another pawn in play, but several factors do not add up. He has been peripherally involved in all aspects of the Academy's sabotage, even if in most minor of ways, while most of the others did not know of each other's involvement. That in and of itself raises suspicion. More so, since the investigation has begun, his behaviour has become more erratic and his targeting of Naruto-kun more apparent. This speaks of far more than a simple grudge against the boy due to the Kyūbi. No, I believe that Mizuki-kun will have to be investigated in-depth to discover exactly what he has been up to and on whose behalf."
"A wise decision." Shibi agreed. "Why use Naruto-san though? An ANBU underneath a Henge would be more than enough to fool a low-level Chunin like Mizuki-san."
"According to reports given by Umino Iruka-kun, a close friend of Mizuki-kun and the one who first brought his suspicious actions to my attention, he knows a wide variety of differing Ninjutsu." The Sandaime stated. "This includes the Kugutsu no Jutsu (Puppetry Jutsu) we acquired from our treaties with Sunagakure, various Doton ninjutsu, kenjutsu, advanced Shurikenjutsu, the Muon Satsujin (Silent Killing) technique from Kirigakure, as well as Genjutsu: Kasumi (Illusion: Haze) and a variety of other techniques which he has not been seen using on any mission in recent years."
"All this speaks of a man who has grown well beyond his former skills, but is attempting to keep his growth unnoticed." Hiashi pointed out with a frown.
"Wasn't he initially denied the post of an Academy Sensei because he was suspected of killing a comrade during a mission?" Shikaku frowned.
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