Target: Scroll of Seals (Five Updates Complete)

In the underground training ground of the Sound Ninja Village, Karin was trading blows with Tayuya of the Sound Five.

Since both of them were quite beautiful girls, the fight was rather pleasing to watch.

More than two months had passed since she began fusing Nen and Chakra at the same time. Karin had clearly shaken off her initial state where even standing was exhausting, and could now skillfully use Nen abilities and Chakra in simple combat.

But the problem was that she was still unwilling to draw too much at once. Otherwise, the fragile balance would be broken, causing the Chakra in her meridians to lose control and run wild.

So whenever her Nen abilities were depleted to a certain extent, she had to consume a corresponding amount of Chakra as well.

Tayuya quickly spotted this weakness and held a sharp kunai to her opponent’s throat.

"Enough! We’ll stop here for today," Orochimaru directly ordered, ending the fight.

The purpose of this battle was not to determine a winner or see who was stronger, but to train Karin’s control over the two energies and accelerate the mutation process within her body.

To be precise, because she was frequently attacked by rampaging Chakra, Karin’s meridians had doubled in thickness in just one month.

This meant that if she used the same taijutsu or ninjutsu as another ninja, the destruction and power she could unleash would be twice that of an ordinary ninja.

If combined with the power called Nen, even a simple punch could inflict remarkably substantial damage.

Furthermore, the additional defense provided by Nen was something most ninjas did not possess.

At the very least, before learning defensive ninjutsu capable of covering the entire body, such as Lightning Style Armor, ninjas were not much different from ordinary people. They would still bleed when cut by blades and swords, and they would still die.

"Lord Orochimaru!"

Karin respectfully bowed to the extremely dangerous rogue ninja before her.

She had personally witnessed the bloody brutality of the Sound Ninja’s terrifying selection system and knew all too well how frightening this snake-like man was.

"You’ve improved quickly! By the time Allen-kun returns, you should be somewhat useful. But before that, there’s one small question. Have you developed your own Nen ability yet?" Orochimaru asked meaningfully.

Karin hurriedly shook her head. "No! My lord forbade me from testing my affinity before he returned, and he also forbade me from developing any abilities."

"Oh? Is that so? What a pity."

As he spoke, Orochimaru extended a finger and condensed a snake made of Nen at its tip.

Without a doubt, after confirming that the power of Nen was not particularly dangerous, he had decisively conducted a few experiments on himself as well.

However, he was still only at the experimental stage.

Like Allen, at least until his test subjects had completely mastered this power, he had no intention of risking this body.

"When will my lord return?" Karin asked, lifting her head with anticipation in her eyes.

Orochimaru smiled. "Soon, probably. He merely went back to Konoha to report the mission’s progress to Danzō and pick up a few things that interest him."

Meanwhile, far away in Konoha Village of the Land of Fire, the Ninja Academy had once again entered graduation season.

Under their teachers’ supervision, boys and girls in their teens were taking their final Graduation Exam one by one. It felt rather like middle school or college entrance examinations.

Because once they failed the assessment, they would be sent back to the Ninja Academy to start over.

Not only would they lose face before their classmates, but they would also be mocked by their juniors.

At that moment, Allen stood in the shadows not far away, silently watching it all unfold.

"You’re sure that guy named Mizuki is a spy Orochimaru planted in the village?" The leader, who was likewise standing in the darkness, lowered his voice as he tried to confirm the information once more.

"Of course! I’m one hundred percent sure! If nothing unexpected happens, once the exam ends, he’ll incite Naruto Uzumaki, who failed, to steal the Scroll of Seals," Allen replied without hesitation.

He was currently wearing Root Organization’s distinctive mask and carrying the captured long blade on his back. Unless someone knew him extremely well, there was no way they could recognize him.

"Hmph! He may be the Nine-Tails’ Jinchuriki, but how could a mere freshly graduated genin steal the Scroll of Seals?" Danzō sneered disdainfully.

"What if the Third Hokage helps him? Don’t forget, he has always felt rather guilty toward Naruto Uzumaki," Allen reminded him with a light laugh.

Although Allen himself did not particularly like or dislike Naruto Uzumaki, he genuinely loathed the Third Hokage’s hypocrisy to the extreme.

Look at those civilian-born ninjas. They had to beg everyone they knew just to learn a ninjutsu, and at most, they could only learn a C-rank or B-rank technique.

But what about Naruto?

That old fossil, the Third Hokage, directly tossed the entire Scroll of Seals to him and let him pick whatever he wanted to learn.

Even if it was meant as compensation, he could not have been so blatant about it, could he?

He was practically one step away from carving the words "I’m giving Naruto Uzumaki cheats" onto his face.

Allen had seen plenty of Hypocritical Dogs, but the Third Hokage was the first one so shameless.

To put it bluntly, this was a classic case of using public resources for private purposes.

What did he take the strict rules that every ninja in the village had to follow for?

Toilet paper?

Danzō had clearly realized this as well. A chilling gleam flickered in his eyes, and only after a full minute did he ask, "Then what do you plan to do? Use this matter as an excuse and drive him straight from office?"

"No! We can’t use this matter as an excuse, because they have already found Mizuki as the scapegoat. But we can make the Third Hokage lose face badly. Just imagine: if the village’s most important Scroll of Seals is stolen, the Anbu fail to recover it in time, and it is instead retrieved by us in Root, what will everyone else think?" Allen curled his lips into a sinister smile.

"They’ll probably all think the Third Hokage has become senile, unable even to protect the village’s secrets." After giving it some thought, the leader understood the benefits of this plan.

In short, it was about first weakening what little prestige the Naruto still had left.

Allen nodded slightly. "That’s right! And not only that, I can take the opportunity to make a copy of the Scroll of Seals’ contents and hand it over to you. With the forbidden techniques recorded inside, Root’s strength will surely increase greatly."

"Very good! Then go ahead and do it. But be careful when copying the Scroll of Seals. Don’t let anyone catch you red-handed," Danzō instructed in a low voice.

"Please rest assured. I guarantee I’ll handle this beautifully and let everyone see the Third Hokage’s ugly side."

After saying that, Allen vanished from the spot in an instant.

After glancing at Sasuke Uchiha, who had just received his forehead protector, Danzō also silently turned and left.