Chapter 18: Theft Operation (Part 1)

After Kushina meticulously rewrote the Reverse Four Symbols fuinjutsu in the Hokage's office and explained the principles behind its functionality, the latter finally believed that the fuinjutsu had been successfully developed.

Both Kushina and Kenji received high praise from the Hokage, especially Kenji, who had just graduated from the ninja academy, he is now being called a genius.

Well, in the world of Naruto, calling someone a genius is a rather common label.

With the Hokage's acceptance of the fuinjutsu, the task of developing an S-rank forbidden jutsu had been completed, relieving Kenji from any further concerns about it.

As for the subsequent development and experimentation, they were no longer needed, the Hokage will have a fuinjutsu team working on it.

Of course, in terms of monetary reward, they would receive a substantial sum for completing an S-rank mission.

Since this technique was developed as a forbidden jutsu, once successful, it would be sealed away, known only to a few select ninjas. About ninety-nine percent of the Konoha Village's ninjas would probably never hear of the Reverse Four Symbols fuinjutsu in their entire lives.

Of course, the Hokage's handling of this technique didn't matter to Kenji. Being the one most familiar with this technique was undoubtedly his sensei, Kushina, as the developer of the Uzumaki Clan. The second most familiar person was Kenji himself, who had collaborated in the development.

Perhaps the Hokage thought Kenji might not remember such a complex technique, but in fact, he had a clear memory of it, and he could use it when necessary.

Of course, for now, please ignore his limited chakra reserves.

Now, let's take a look at Kenji's mission data:

Name: Kenji Nakamura

Age: 11

Ninja Rank: Genin

Ninja Registration Code: 009787

Mission Count: D-rank 9 times, C-rank 2 times, B-rank 0 times, A-rank 0 times, S-rank 1 time.

Aside from Kakashi, Kenji was probably the first ninja in his batch of students to complete an S-rank mission. Although this S-rank mission had nothing to do with combat, infiltration, sabotage, or investigation, being solely based on the development of forbidden jutsu, it was still considered an S-rank mission completion on paper and in data.

As for the low-rank mission count, within these three months, he had completed only a few, mostly because he, himself, had little interest in them, and Kushina, as his sensei, had even less interest in supervising students on such missions.

Now, let's move on to his various ability values. According to his self-assessment:

Ninjutsu: 8, Taijutsu: 7, Genjutsu: 2, Wisdom: 10, Strength: 5, Speed: 8, Intelligence: 7, Fuinjutsu Mastery: 9. Total: 56 - solidly in the range of high-ranking Chunin.

Of course, these values are just a rough reference and don't really indicate much.

In fact, the 10s in these values have two meanings. First, this ninja truly achieved a score of 10 in that category. Second, this ninja's score in that category is classified.

As for his proficiency in ninjutsu, despite learning a considerable number of techniques from Kushina, he still only had a Ninjutsu score of 8. This means that he can frequently use only a few of these techniques in battle, while most remain unused.

Of course, when it comes to learning new ninjutsu, Kenji still has a long way to go.

So, Kushina was facing a dilemma.

In three months, she had taught Kenji all the ninjutsu and fuinjutsu she could. This included some highly advanced fuinjutsu. What remained were either beyond her capacity to teach or beyond Kenji's capacity to learn.

For example, the Shiki Fujin, an extremely powerful fuinjutsu, Kenji could learn it, but Kushina wouldn't teach it to him. This deadly technique was inappropriate for a novice like Kenji, and if he used it out of curiosity, the consequences would be disastrous.

Another example was the Adamantine Sealing Chains, a versatile and powerful fuinjutsu that combined long-range attacks, defense, and mid-range combat. Kushina could teach Kenji this technique, and he was capable of learning it, but it required the Uzumaki Clan's chakra to use, which Kenji lacked.

Thus, Kushina was now facing a problem she had anticipated. Due to Kenji's astounding learning speed, she had run out of things to teach him.

Kenji's intelligence was matched by an insatiable thirst for knowledge. To him, every piece of information was akin to a revitalizing elixir, satisfying his unquenchable curiosity.

Huh, is this narrative leading the protagonist to become Orochimaru?

No, definitely not.

Kushina's Home.

As Kenji, her student, bustled around the kitchen, Kushina lay languidly with her legs stretched out, leaning her upper body on a low table. Her chin rested on the table, and her unfocused gaze looked out of the window into the courtyard.

Well, rest assured, Kushina-sensei wasn't daydreaming; she was contemplating—contemplating, you know?

It's nearly impossible to expect Kushina to cook now. Maybe after she marries Minato, well, even then, her culinary skills might not improve.

So, Kenji's prayers for a home-cooked meal by Kushina-sensei were in vain.

And what was Kushina-sensei lost in thought about? She wasn't considering kicking Kenji out of the house, as he momentarily thought.

Thankfully, her words continued, diverging from Kenji's expectations. Yet, even after hearing her words, Kenji wasn't the least bit excited. At this point, he would have preferred that she had wanted to kick him out.

"Kenji, there's a Scroll of Seals that contains a plethora of extremely powerful ninjutsu. How about it? Interested?"