Familiar with the route, Rinjin arrived at the archive room without hesitation.
Under the watchful gaze of nearby Anbu, he pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The archive room was just as quiet as always. After closing the door behind him, Rinjin leisurely walked up to the Scroll of Seals.
Passing by the circle of candles surrounding it, he casually picked up the scroll from the ground.
He couldn't help but recall the last time he had laid eyes on this scroll.
Unlike before, when he was racing against the clock and treading carefully, this time he was relaxed and unhurried.
Sitting cross-legged on the floor, he unlocked the scroll's clasp, spread it out on his lap, and began reading line by line.
The first technique: Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu.
When Cat was around, creating hundreds of shadow clones was no problem.
Now, he was back to the awkward state of clapping his hands together and barely managing three or four clones.
The second technique: the all-too-familiar Flying Thunder God Technique.
Without Cat, large-scale spatial teleportation was only possible through Mrs. Lee's door-knocking method.
In the first hour without Cat, Rinjin already missed her.
Soon, Rinjin found what he was looking for in the Scroll of Seals—the Reanimation Jutsu.
He skimmed over the contents of the Reanimation Jutsu as if uninterested and moved on to the next forbidden technique.
Exploding Tags: Multiplying Formation?
Although not particularly intrigued, Rinjin feigned interest and earnestly studied the technique.
Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a long sigh of relief, his heart finally settling.
Good lad! Turns out he's interested in the Multiplying Formation Exploding Tags. That's fine, as long as it's not the Reanimation Jutsu or Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
Little did he know, Rinjin's ability to memorize was far beyond ordinary.
The first time he had stolen a glance at the Scroll of Seals, it was his exceptional memory that allowed him to quickly grasp the complex Flying Thunder God Technique.
But at the moment, Rinjin was genuinely shocked—not by the Multiplying Formation Exploding Tags itself, but by its inventor, the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju.
Exploding tags, in simple terms, are a form of sealing jutsu that encapsulates an explosion onto paper, which can be ignited or triggered by chakra to detonate.
If Rinjin's understanding was correct, the Multiplying Formation Exploding Tags was an advanced exploding tag that combined the principles of Shadow Clone Jutsu and Flying Thunder God Technique.
Here's how it worked:
Chakra triggers the exploding tag, putting it in a ready-to-detonate state.
Using Shadow Clone Jutsu, the exploding tag is replicated.
The clones of the exploding tag then use Flying Thunder God Technique to avoid the first wave of explosions and continue replicating.
Finally, summoning jutsu is used to summon shadow clones of the exploding tags, resulting in continuous explosions.
No wonder Tobirama mentioned during the Fourth Great Ninja War that this technique was specifically designed to complement the Reanimation Jutsu.
The explosive power of this technique was immense, engulfing even the caster in its wake.
More importantly, the Multiplying Formation Exploding Tags could only be executed when chakra reserves were nearly limitless.
After all, summoning exploding tag clones, replicating tags, and using the Flying Thunder God Technique for tag transfers—all required an enormous amount of chakra.
At this thought, Rinjin's eyes suddenly lit up.
If—if he could train his body to be impervious to harm, even immune to the explosions of exploding tags—
Wouldn't he become a walking bomb truck?!
Why bother mastering taijutsu?!
Hugging enemies and blowing them to smithereens—wouldn't that be exhilarating?!
No, no, no!
Rinjin quickly shook his head, discarding the thought from his mind.
The cost was too high. Forget everything else—his clothes would definitely be blown to shreds.
A full outfit, including a jacket, shirt, pants, undergarments, and ninja pouch, would easily cost a thousand ryō.
Though he could use the Flying Thunder God Technique to make a quick escape...
Never mind, better to just memorize the technique for now!
After jotting down several forbidden techniques, Rinjin carefully put the Scroll of Seals back in its place.
He then moved to the section on Water Release ninjutsu and selected a few techniques.
To be honest, with his current chakra reserves at the level of a Chūnin, techniques like Water Release: Great Dam Construction or Water Release: Massive Phlegm Projectile were out of the question.
However, techniques like Water Release: Heavenly Tears, which didn't consume much chakra, were worth considering.
Holding the Water Release scroll, Rinjin left the archive room.
Walking down the street, Rinjin suddenly froze.
Water Release: Heavenly Tears—isn't this essentially spitting water?
Should I teach this to Rii?
As the sky darkened, the fiery sunset painted the clouds red. Guided by the markers of the Flying Thunder God Technique, Rinjin arrived at his final destination: Danzo Shimura's residence.
Politely knocking on the door, Rinjin was led by Root ninjas to where Danzo was fishing.
"Yo~ Danzo Bro, long time no see!"
Rinjin greeted enthusiastically.
Seeing Rinjin's sunny smile, Danzo's eye twitched involuntarily. He discreetly shifted his seat, distancing himself from this walking calamity.
"Long... long time no see. What brings you here, Rinjin-san?"
Seeing Danzo's guarded demeanor, Rinjin casually sat beside him, patting his shoulder with a chuckle.
"Actually, I do have something to discuss."
"I'm planning to leave the village for a while—anywhere between three to nine years."
"So I thought I'd come by to say goodbye!"
Danzo, initially intending to brush off whatever Rinjin said, furrowed his brows upon hearing this.
Three to nine years? That means he might not return for nine whole years?!
What about the Fourth Hokage?
Thinking this, Danzo decisively voiced his doubts.
After all, he had already been tricked to the point of losing everything—he might as well not fear Rinjin anymore.
"Aren't you planning to compete for the position of Fourth Hokage? Honestly, I was ready to vote for you!"
Whoa! Danzo, you're a masochist, aren't you?!
Without hesitation, Rinjin shook his head and declined.
"No, no, no, Danzo-san, I appreciate the gesture, but the position of 'Eternal Rival' is better left to others."
"Really?" Danzo sat up straight, his expression skeptical.
"Absolutely," Rinjin nodded firmly.
"What about the Fifth Hokage?"
"Nope!"
"The Sixth Hokage?"
"Danzo, cut it out!"
"The Seventh Hokage?"
"Heh~"
"The Eighth Hokage?"
"That one I might consider."
Hearing this, Danzo was rendered speechless.
Well, isn't that nice! You refuse the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh, but now you're competing with me for the Eighth Hokage?!
Fine, you win. I admit defeat. You won't take it, so I will!
Thinking this, Danzo's extinguished flame of ambition reignited.
Since Rinjin had no interest in the Hokage position, he wouldn't hold back!
Seeing the hopeful fire rekindling in Danzo's eyes, Rinjin chuckled inwardly and solemnly warned:
"Danzo-san, you can do whatever you want, as long as you don't mess with my people.
Let me make this clear—if anything happens to my people, I don't care if you're responsible or not; I'll come after you!"
Hearing this, Danzo outwardly scoffed but internally...
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