Sarutobi Hiruzen's way of handling things was truly straightforward. Earlier, he had visited without any prior notice, and now, he suddenly sent someone to deliver the reward—so direct and simple! One had to wonder if all great figures preferred such efficiency.
But then again, if this was truly a forbidden jutsu scroll, was it really safe to just send a few people to deliver it like this? Wasn't he worried something might go wrong?
Haruto Saito paused for a moment as he looked at the scroll, then immediately snatched it into his hands. As soon as he held it, he felt it—the scroll had a unique chakra fluctuation.
"What is this?" Haruto didn't open the scroll right away but instead looked up and asked.
"It's an S-rank forbidden jutsu," Shinjo replied. "I only know that this is one of the forbidden jutsu developed by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama. As for the specifics, you'll have to open it and see for yourself."
Haruto's body trembled. It really was a forbidden jutsu reward! When Sarutobi Hiruzen had spoken to him earlier, he had mentioned that he wanted a highly practical forbidden jutsu as his reward. So Sarutobi Hiruzen clearly understood what kind of reward he desired.
"I must remind you," Shinjo spoke again, "this scroll has a self-destruction seal. You have only one hour. Once you open it, you must memorize all the contents immediately. You are not allowed to record it in writing. Do you understand?"
Haruto, who had been about to open the scroll, stopped in his tracks and nodded at Shinjo.
"Good, then my mission is complete," Shinjo said. Then, taking a step forward, he patted Haruto's shoulder and leaned in close, lowering his voice. "I think there might have been some misunderstandings between us before. About Kushina... honestly, we shouldn't have messed with that little girl. But you're about to become my father's direct disciple, which means from now on, we're brothers. If you ever run into trouble, you can come to me. My code name in the Anbu is Shinjo."
"Uh…" Haruto was stunned.
Shinjo's real name was Sarutobi Shinnosuke! That was clearly stated in the identity records!
This guy was actually Sarutobi Hiruzen's son!
In the original story, Sarutobi Hiruzen had two sons. His second son, Sarutobi Asuma, was a relatively significant character. However, his eldest son—who was also Konohamaru's father—had never been mentioned because he had passed away early.
So it was him!
No wonder Sarutobi Hiruzen hadn't called Haruto over to retrieve such an important forbidden jutsu scroll himself. Instead, he had sent someone to deliver it—someone he trusted completely! His own son!
"Oh, then I'll be counting on you in the future, Lord Shinjo," Haruto said after regaining his composure.
"Hm." Sarutobi Shinnosuke gave a slight nasal response and straightened his posture, looking at Haruto with a friendly expression.
"Hey!"
Tsunade had somehow appeared behind Shinjo. Suddenly, she jumped up and hooked an arm around Shinjo's neck, choking him hard and slamming him to the ground. She spoke fiercely, "Kid, what did you just mean by that? Are you saying that if I cause trouble for this brat, you'll stand up for him?"
Shinjo had just said that if Haruto ever ran into trouble, he could go to him. But Haruto had just been troubled—Tsunade had destroyed his house!
"I… cough… I didn't mean it that way… cough… Tsunade… Tsunade-sis… let go… let go… this is embarrassing…"
Shinjo was gasping for air.
Shinjo had arrived with four Anbu Jonin, and at this moment, all four of them were looking up at the sky, pretending not to see anything.
"You were definitely talking about me just now!" Tsunade tightened her grip.
"I… wasn't… cough… I wouldn't dare…" Shinjo looked like he was about to suffocate.
"Tsunade, you've been bullying him since childhood. He's not a kid anymore…" Jiraiya, unable to watch any longer, chimed in.
Since Shinjo was Sarutobi Hiruzen's son, it was natural that he had grown up knowing Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru. They were as familiar with each other as could be. Calling Tsunade his big sister, even without a blood relationship, wasn't wrong.
"Hmph! I knew you wouldn't dare!" Tsunade snorted coldly and let go.
Shinjo immediately sprang to his feet without saying another word and disappeared in a flash, running away faster than a rabbit! The four Anbu also vanished in an instant.
Tsunade turned to Haruto, placing her hands on her hips with a smug expression as if to say, "No one can save you now."
This woman was outright provoking him! She was doing this deliberately to show Haruto.
"You're so childish," Haruto commented flatly.
Tsunade smirked at him, her expression unfriendly. Then she turned and walked away, gesturing for the others to follow her.
...
Tsunade's house was located in the southeastern part of Konoha.
This was the core area of the village. Many of Konoha's important figures, including Sarutobi Hiruzen, had their residences here. It was the most heavily guarded district in the village. The security and patrols here weren't handled by the Uchiha clan's police force but by Konoha's elite defense corps.
In other words, this was a military-controlled zone!
Led by Tsunade, Haruto arrived at her residence.
The mansion was massive, featuring cherry blossom groves, a pond, small bridges, flower beds, and other carefully arranged landscaping. Aside from the main building, it also had a large, fully enclosed indoor training hall.
Walking along the stone-paved path, Haruto glanced around in amazement and blurted, "This place must be worth a fortune. I'm surprised you haven't gambled it away!"
Tsunade, walking ahead, ignored his jab.
"It's not that she hasn't lost it, but this property can't be sold. This is the ancestral home left behind by the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama. It's prohibited from being sold, and even if it weren't, no one would dare buy it," Jiraiya explained.
Tsunade suddenly turned and shot Jiraiya a fierce glare.
As they approached the main building, Haruto noticed that the place seemed eerily empty. Despite its grand and luxurious appearance, it lacked any signs of life.
"Does no one else live here?" Haruto asked.
Tsunade ignored him. She couldn't very well admit that she had lost so much money gambling that she couldn't even afford servants or gardeners, could she?
After entering the main building, Jiraiya and Orochimaru stayed downstairs while Tsunade led Haruto to the third floor, where she assigned him a guest room. Then, without another word, she left with Jiraiya and Orochimaru, not bothering to explain where they were going.
This mansion really had no other residents. Even Tsunade's younger brother, Nawaki, didn't live here. Once Tsunade and the others left, Haruto was the only person remaining.
But Haruto had no intention of wandering around. He had something more important to do.
Inside the guestroom.
Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Haruto took out the scroll Shinjo had given him. The deep gray scroll was adorned with dark red patterns, making it look particularly distinct.
He had only one hour. He had to memorize everything inside!
Taking two deep breaths to steady himself, Haruto fixed his gaze on the scroll and slowly unrolled it.
What met his eyes was a dense array of small characters.