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"The man in question received a bad injury, one that claimed his life, according to Mizuki-kun's report at the time." Sarutobi recalled with a frown. "Now I am left wondering if he did in fact kill him in case the injury became a hindrance to the mission's success. If that was the case, he would have been denied a post as an Academy Sensei and been busted down to genin again."
Just then, the door opened, revealing Sarutobi Asuma and Hatake Kakashi.
"Ah, Asuma-kun, Kakashi-kun." The Hokage nodded at them as the pair closed the door and walked over to stand next to the other three. "How goes the search?"
"As you'd expect; a lot of the ones who think Naruto's the Kyūbi reborn or something similar are up in arms, while everyone else is wondering who tricked him." the silver-haired Kakashi drawled. His lazy act was spoiled by the sharp look in his one visible eye.
"So how's Naruto doing himself?" Asuma asked. He and Kakashi had been read into the plan from the outset, not that either was happy about it.
In answer, Sarutobi brought out his crystal ball and activated the Tōmegane no Jutsu, revealing a clearing in a forest, with a ramshackle shack to one side. To the other was the subject of the search by half of the Shinobi forces currently stationed in Konoha. Uzumaki Naruto was working hard at practicing what all of the shinobi recognised as the Shadow Shuriken Jutsu. It was at a modestly good level as well.
"So he's on the run from the entire Shinobi Force…and he's practicing a D-Rank jutsu." Shikaku deadpanned. "Not sure if I'm insulted or amused by this."
"It's something I gave him to pass the time." Sarutobi said with a nod. "Mizuki-kun isn't due to rendezvous with him for another…five minutes or so. So he's had around about two hours to learn and practice the five jutsu that I gave him in the fake Scroll of Seals. And, judging from how smoothly he's using the Shadow Shuriken Jutsu, he's doing fairly well."
"Well it is a chakraless D-Rank jutsu." Hiashi pointed out passively.
"One he hasn't seen before today, if I'm guessing right." Asuma pointed out mildly. "After only two hours of practice, to have a good understanding of the jutsu is something beyond most ninja. I know that jutsu and it took me at least a week to get to the point the kid seems to be at right now."
"Troublesome." Shikaku grumbled as he mentally admitted that the former Guardian Ninja 12 member was perfectly correct. No matter if the jutsu was simple or not, or even used chakra or not, getting a firm grasp of how a jutsu worked, as well as any motions, movements and nuances in its usage, was not a quick process. This went especially for any jutsu that used weapons as a medium or a conduit.
As a jutsu, most would consider the Kage Shuriken no Jutsu to be barely worthy of the distinction, as it was, at its base, simple sleight-of-hand and misdirection. That's what a civilian would see, at any rate. It was low-level, used no chakra and was seen through fairly easily. But it was that simplicity, lack of chakra and sleight-of-hand that made it a very useful technique to have at hand. When most went for flashy balls of fire and blasts of electricity, something as simple and as subtle as a second shuriken hidden beneath the first was the last thing most people expected. Many who relied on an ability to perceive or sense chakra to sense incoming attacks would be caught completely off-guard simply because it required no chakra to use.
For a shinobi, particularly one known to be as brash and flashy as Naruto Uzumaki was, it was the last thing most would expect to see him use.
Which was probably why the Hokage had chosen it for the boy.
"Ah, and it's about to begin." Sarutobi said with a steely-eyed expression as Toji Mizuki appeared at the edge of the clearing. "Let us see exactly what Mizuki-kun has to say for himself, then."
Executing more handsigns, he enabled the Fūinjutsu arrays that permitted the crystal ball to allow sound to pass through the technique as well as sight. It made maintaining the Tōmegane no Jutsu a bit more chakra intensive, but even as old as he was, Sarutobi could maintain it for several hours.
The five men before him gazed into the orb as the traitor approached Naruto.
With Naruto
Congratulations! The skill [Kage Shuriken no Jutsu] has levelled up! LV1-LV2!
Nodding to himself in satisfaction, Naruto walked forward and grabbed the shuriken and gave them a quick once-over to check for damage. While their durability had dropped a couple of points, they were still good to use. Satisfied, he slipped them back into place in his holster. He'd levelled his five new jutsu by one apiece, which was pretty good going. He was going to have to get some Fūma Shuriken at some point, to make full use of both the [Kage Shuriken no Jutsu] and [Ninpō: Shuriken Goshin].
Bloodlust detected! Several meters behind you!
Naruto stiffened slightly as he heard the soft footfalls of someone else in the clearing and, judging by the all-too-familiar feeling of KI emanating from the person in question, it was Mizuki. Smiling quickly before putting on his best 'happy-go-nuts' mask, Naruto turned around and beamed at the silver-haired chunin.
Toji Mizuki LV28
[Traitor/Nuke-nin of Konohagakure]
"Hey Mizuki-sensei!" he greeted the traitor. "You got here pretty quick; I only had time to get one jutsu down!"
"I doubt that the Kage Shuriken no Jutsu was in the scroll." The man offered back dryly. He was dressed in his usual chunin outfit, with the addition of a pair of large shuriken slung over his back.
"No, that's something I picked up a while back." Naruto waved the idea away easily and threw four shuriken at the Iwa Bunshin that had henge'd into a Target-kun. "Watch this-dattebayo! [Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu]!"
To Mizuki's disbelief, he watched as the four shuriken multiplied into forty-eight, slamming into the Target-kun across multiple vital areas. There wasn't a ninja worth their salt who hadn't heard of the shuriken version of the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. Created by the Sandaime Hokage, it was a rank above the parent jutsu and was an exceptionally deadly jutsu when used correctly.
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