I, Uchiha Hikaru, have joined the chat group.

Chapter 40, "The Book of Seals," and a Secret Talk in the Dark Room

"..."

Fugaku Uchiha hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded in agreement: "Alright, we'll do as you say and give it another try."

then.

He then asked another question rather impatiently: "Great-Grandmother, do you have time to return to the clan recently? The clan members are all looking forward to seeing your face and fulfilling their filial duty as your juniors."

"...Let's talk about it another day."

Uchiha Hikaru's main focus right now is still on "sealing techniques".

Moreover, she could probably tell that although Fugaku and the others addressed her respectfully as "Great-Grandma," they probably still treated her like a child. The main reason they invited her wasn't out of "filial piety"—after all, they hadn't even met her, so how could they have any filial piety?—but rather because they valued her strength and wanted to use this young great-grandmother to endorse the Uchiha clan and put pressure on Konoha.

She disliked the way the Konoha leadership acted.

But I don't want to be taken advantage of or used by others.

Just then.

Uchiha Hikaru caught a glimpse of Hiruzen Sarutobi from above the corridor. He was wearing a divine robe and hurrying towards them from the direction of the Hokage Building, followed by Yugao Uzuki and two other Anbu members.

"Hey, Sarutobi kid's here."

"Perfect timing, you two chat. Keep your voices down if you start arguing later, the soundproofing in this house isn't very good."

Uchiha Hikaru gestured with his chin toward Uchiha Fugaku, then glanced at Kakashi standing in the corner: "Hey you white-haired brat over there, remember to ask Sarutobi when he'll let me see the 'Book of Seals.' My patience is running out."

Several days have passed since the Root Base incident.

Hikaru Uchiha could understand that Danzo had left behind a lot of mess and that it would take time to clean up the mess, but after waiting for so long, she was getting a little impatient.

After saying that, she went back to her room, closed the door, and ignored everything else, continuing her exploration of the "Eight Thousand Spears".

……

Uchiha Hikaru had no idea what the outcome of the negotiations that day was.

However, starting from the second day, the Uchiha clan would send someone to deliver a pile of fruits, fish, and meat to Naruto's doorstep every morning, stay for a while, and then leave.

Uchiha Hikaru didn't deliberately meet with the person who delivered the food, but he didn't refuse the ingredients either. Instead, he gave them all to Naruto to wash and cook, as a way to improve their meals.

Fruit in Konoha Village is quite expensive, but since there are free fruits available, there's no need to spend extra money.

On the morning of the third day.

Hiruzen Sarutobi finally knocked on the door again, saying he wanted to take Hikaru Uchiha to see the "Book of Seals".

……

The Hiruzen Sarutobi family.

A dark room with flickering lights.

Ignoring the layers of protective barriers surrounding him and the heavily armed Anbu members, Uchiha Hikaru looked up at the enormous scroll in front of him, which was almost as tall as he was:

"Is this the 'Book of Seals' of Konoha?"

"Yes."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, his tone very solemn: "The Book of Seals is of great significance to Konoha. Even I, the current Hokage, can only view it here and cannot take it out at will... I hope Miss Hikari can understand."

(Come on, so the Scroll of Seals that Naruto took out was fake, right?)

(etc……)

Could this "Book of Seals" in front of me be a fake?

Uchiha Hikaru suddenly became suspicious. After laying the scroll down, unfolding it, and sitting cross-legged, he turned on the chat group's camera function, took a picture, and uploaded it.

[Anonymous: Image.jpg]

[Anonymous@Yongdaimei: Fourth Hokage, could you please take a look at these ninjutsu records? Are there any problems?]

[Yongdai Mei: This is... the Book of Sealing?! You actually managed to borrow it?!]

[Nameless: Yeah, I talked to the Third Hokage for a bit and he agreed. He's a really nice guy.]

[Yongdai-mei: ...If we only look at the techniques you posted, there shouldn't be any problem. However, I haven't actually read the entire scroll, because many of the ninjutsu recorded in it would cause great harm to the user or violate the laws of nature, so they don't have much learning value. Therefore, I only glanced at it and may not be able to recognize them all.]

Anonymous: It's okay.

With Minato Namikaze helping to oversee things, Hikaru Uchiha felt a little more at ease.

She wasn't greedy.

As Minato Namikaze said, although there are many forbidden techniques recorded in the Book of Seals, there are not many that are truly worth learning.

Multiple Shadow Clone Techniques, Eight Gates Formation, Dark Travel Technique, Impure World Reincarnation... these are definitely the ones we need to pay close attention to.

While the first two techniques can easily damage the body, as long as one has enough self-control and doesn't exceed their limits, there won't be any problems. As for "Impure World Reincarnation," Uchiha Hikaru only knows about it; if he were to actually use this forbidden technique, he would most likely have to find Orochimaru's modified version.

There's another one...

"Multiplicative Explosive Tags!"

This ninjutsu, also invented by the forbidden technique master Tobirama Senju, utilizes the principles of summoning jutsu. As long as there is an explosive tag as a trigger, it can continuously summon new explosive tags for endless explosions, with power so great that it can destroy the Myojin Gate and injure the Ten-Tails' split bodies. However, its drawback lies in its excessive power and the inability to actively stop it, which may involve the caster. It is generally used in conjunction with the "Impure World Reincarnation".

but……

These shortcomings are things that Uchiha Hikaru can find ways to overcome.

She has Susanoo, which can withstand the impact of explosions, as well as the dual regenerative abilities brought by her own physique and Senzu Beans. Although it is not as outrageous as the Edo Tensei body, theoretically she can indeed withstand a set of damage from a multiplied set of exploding tags.

If things really get to a critical point, this move can be used as a trump card.

A whole day.

Uchiha Kou spent his time in the dark room, carefully studying and memorizing the contents of the scroll.

She brought some snacks and pastries with her in advance, keeping them nearby so she could eat a little whenever she got hungry.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was also sitting not far away, reviewing official documents.

Until evening.

After roughly reading through the entire scroll, Uchiha Hikaru stood up, stretched his neck a few times, and then yawned.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was standing next to him, immediately turned around and asked, "You've finished reading?"

"More or less."

Uchiha Hikaru answered casually, then thanked him, saying, "Thanks, Sarutobi kid."

"..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi gave a wry smile, then looked at her with his cloudy eyes: "Miss Hikari, shall we talk?"

"Um?"

Uchiha Hikaru raised an eyebrow: "What are you talking about?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression turned serious: "I'd like to ask you, what are your thoughts on the Uchiha clan of Konoha?"

"?"

Uchiha Hikaru narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze lingering on Sarutobi Hiruzen's face for a few seconds before slowly sitting back down: "What do you want to say? Just get straight to the point. I don't have time for riddles."

(End of this chapter)