Chapter 5: Stealing Forbidden Techniques

"Heh heh heh."

In the dark forest, Naruto was running with a mischievous look on his face, unable to hide his excitement despite his anger.

Bypassing the guards and successfully stealing the Sealed Book, Naruto's mood soared, and he believed in Mizuki's words.

"Teacher Mizuki, you must not deceive me. I am indeed a genius like no other," Naruto thought to himself, clenching his fists.

Feeling alone and sad because he had failed the exam, Naruto remembered Mizuki's guidance. As long as he stole the Sealed Book and learned the ninjutsu within, "graduation" would be easy.

"Stupid Sasuke, just wait! I, Uzumaki Naruto, will definitely become a ninja, and I will definitely be no worse than you."

Sasuke, who had been secretly observing for a long time, noticed some surveillance and traps around the area. He decisively made a seal, suspecting this place was a blind spot.

"The Art of Hidden Mist."

As the fog filled the air, Naruto, already nervous, noticed something was wrong. The surroundings were so obscured that he could not see at all.

Naruto was a little panicked, his body trembling uncontrollably. "Damn, could there be a ghost?"

Suddenly, a red light flashed, and Naruto found himself in a strange place, surrounded by a dark expanse and water.

Gurgle~

The sound of flowing water in front attracted Naruto. He bravely walked forward, and a giant cage appeared before him.

Drip!

As the sound of dripping water reached his ears, Naruto could see what was in the cage. The orange-red chakra twisted into a strange shape, and a fox the size of a mountain lay inside. Its evil eyes slowly opened and fixed on Naruto.

"Kid, you finally found me."

The evil look of the Kyuubi frightened Naruto, and he rolled and crawled back.

"Where is this? What kind of monster are you?"

"Heh, just let me see."

"Don't come any closer!"

…

Sasuke took the Sealed Book from the dazed Naruto.

When he opened it, he activated the Sharingan's recording function and meticulously memorized everything.

"The Dark Arts, not bad."

"This is good too."

The Wood Release ninjutsu left behind by the First Hokage Hashirama. With the talent of an immortal body, he would naturally awaken the Wood Release in the future.

Rather than slowly exploring and researching on his own, isn't there something ready-made?

"The Flying Thunder God Technique."

He could try this. It didn't matter if he didn't succeed. He could just pretend it wasn't his fate!

"Edo Tensei."

"The Eight Branches Technique."

…

Sasuke's pupils were fully open as he recorded the forbidden techniques, feeling an immense sense of satisfaction.

It was getting late, and although Sasuke hadn't memorized all the forbidden techniques, it didn't matter; these were enough.

"It seems that because of me, Naruto and the Kyuubi met earlier than expected."

The Kyuubi is the most powerful among the nine tailed beasts, both in chakra amount and strength.

Although his ancestor Uchiha Madara only regarded it as a pet, he couldn't ignore it now. Releasing a few tails would be quite a challenge.

Sasuke put the Sealed Book back into Naruto's hands and quickly left for home, as he sensed two chakra signatures approaching.

As expected, it was Mizuki and Iruka.

Not far from them were some strange smells, likely ANBU members.

After Sasuke arrived at the Uchiha compound, he stopped and looked at the sky gradually turning white. He murmured to himself that Naruto should have finished dealing with Mizuki and was having a heart-to-heart talk with Iruka.

As for why Iruka appeared so coincidentally, it was clearly the Third Hokage's doing. The purpose was to create bonds and firmly control the Nine-Tails Jinchuuriki.

Late at night

In the basement

Sasuke was shirtless, with a huge tire on his back, doing push-ups constantly.

"1001"

"1002"

"1003"

...

After finishing the push-ups, Sasuke started squatting with weights again. The well-defined muscles of his body looked particularly dazzling under the yellow-orange light.