Naruto landed silently against the outer wall of the Hokage Tower, knees bending to absorb the impact. The village lights glowed softly below him, the night breeze tugging at his jacket. He glanced through the familiar window and, without hesitation, slid it open and stepped inside.
"Naruto."
He froze for half a second.
Tsunade had already turned her chair around, amber eyes sharp, one eyebrow twitching in irritation.
"What did I tell you about using the window?" she asked flatly.
Naruto shrugged as if climbing into the Hokage's office like this was the most natural thing in the world.
He hopped up and sat on her desk, legs dangling. "I won't do it again," he said quickly, then added, "if you do me this favor."
Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled slowly, the sound heavy with long-suffering familiarity. She stood up, walked past him, and stared out the window for a moment before turning back.
"What do you want?" she asked, arms crossing over her chest.
Naruto didn't hesitate.
"Forbidden jutsu scrolls."
"No."
The rejection was instant.
Tsunade walked to the window and slid it open with a decisive motion. "Out."
Naruto didn't move.
"Please," he said instead, tone unusually serious. "Just hear me out. I only need one jutsu scroll. One. I promise I won't cause trouble."
She paused, back still turned to him. Silence hung between them. Finally, Tsunade clicked her tongue and turned back around. "Alright," she said reluctantly. "I'll hear you out."
Naruto's face brightened immediately. "Thank you."
He shifted, sitting more properly on the edge of her desk while Tsunade leaned against it, arms still folded, eyes searching his face.
"So," she said, "what jutsu do you want?"
Naruto's voice was calm. Focused.
"The Flying Raijin Technique."
For the first time that night, Tsunade's composure cracked.
Her eyes widened just slightly before narrowing.
"…That's what you want?" she asked carefully.
Internally, her thoughts raced.
' Flying Raijin? The Second Hokage's teleportation technique? Minato's signature jutsu? How does he even know about that. Did Kakashi say something? Or—'
"Oookay," Tsunade said slowly. "That's a very specific choice."
Her gaze stayed locked on him, sharp and probing, as if trying to peel apart every layer beneath his calm expression.
"How did you even learn about that jutsu?"
Naruto shrugged, the motion casual, almost lazy. "I've read about it."
Tsunade's eyebrow twitched.
"Read about it," she repeated, clearly unconvinced—but after a moment, she exhaled and waved a hand dismissively. "Hmph. Figures."
She walked back to her desk, rummaging through a stack of sealed documents before stopping.
"Fine," she said at last, turning back to him. "I'll let you have it."
Naruto's eyes sharpened.
"But," she continued, jabbing a finger in his direction, "only for two day. And you'll have exactly two days to learn it. No extensions. No excuses."
She studied him carefully. "You think you can do that?"
Naruto answered without hesitation. "Definitely."
For a split second, Tsunade smiled—the kind of smile that only appeared when something reminded her of someone she'd lost.
"…Follow me," she said.
She led Naruto deep into the Hokage Tower, past reinforced doors and layered sealing barriers, until they reached a heavily protected scroll room. The air itself felt different there—older, heavier, saturated with chakra.
Tsunade performed a series of hand seals. Seals on the walls glowed briefly before fading.
From a locked cabinet, she retrieved a scroll wrapped in faded cloth and stamped with complex formulae.
She held it out to Naruto.
"Don't make me regret this," she warned.
Naruto accepted it with both hands, expression serious. "I won't."
Moments later, he was already gone—bounding across rooftops under the moonlight, excitement thrumming beneath his calm.
Back in his apartment, Naruto sealed the door, sat cross-legged on the floor, and slowly unrolled the scroll.
Lines of precise script filled the parchment, interwoven with strange markings—delicate, exact, terrifyingly efficient.
> Flying Raijin Technique
A space–time ninjutsu developed by the Second Hokage and perfected by the Fourth. The user does not move through space—
They skip it entirely.
Naruto's eyes traced the diagrams.
To use it, a Flying Raijin Formula must be placed on a target—an object, a person, or a surface. Once marked, the user can instantly teleport to that point.
Distance didn't matter.
It wasn't speed.
It was the erasure of space itself.
"…Cool," Naruto murmured, a faint, dangerous smile forming at the corner of his lips.
He rolled the scroll back slightly and rested it on his knees, eyes scanning the complex sealing arrays one more time. Each formula was precise—no wasted strokes, no unnecessary complexity. Brutally efficient. Exactly the kind of jutsu Minato would have mastered.
Naruto exhaled and nodded to himself.
"Okay," he said quietly. "I can master this."
Then his grin widened.
"I'll just use shadow clones."
He formed a single hand seal.
Poof—poof—poof—!
The room filled instantly with Naruto clones, appearing on the bed, the floor, even balanced on shelves. The small apartment suddenly felt crowded with identical blond heads and identical confident grins.
Naruto stood and pointed at the scroll.
"Alright," he said firmly. "We have until tonight to fully understand this jutsu. No practicing yet—only theory, seals, and formula structure."
The clones snapped to attention.
"Alright!"
"Let's do this!"
"I'll analyze the seal geometry!"
"I'll trace historical variations!"
One clone raised his hand. "I need to use the bathroom!"
Naruto didn't even look at him. "Hurry up and don't touch anything."
The clone sighed and vanished in a poof.
The rest immediately got to work—some copying diagrams onto paper, others reenacting hand motions in the air, a few already arguing about how the Fourth Hokage optimized chakra cost.
Naruto crossed his arms, watching them for a moment, calm and confident.
'With this method… yeah, ' he thought. ' Two days is more than enough.'
TO BE CONTINUED.