Chapter 19: The Heist Route Plan (Part 2)
At this moment, Hagoromo's heart was howling in protest.
Teacher Kushina, how do you expect your poor disciple to respond to this madness?!
First off—what kind of teacher encourages their student to commit theft?
Second—I know about that place too, okay? Even with my meager knowledge of the Hidden Leaf, I know exactly what that "mysterious scroll" is all about.
Third—you might be able to waltz in and out of there without consequence, but me? If I set foot in that place, there's a good chance I'll be executed on the spot! And if they're feeling extra salty, they'll probably whip my corpse and dissect my brain for good measure!
But... could he complain? No. Was he allowed to complain? Also no. A proper student still had to respect his master, after all.
...Besides, who in their right mind would dare to cross the infamous Red-Hot Habanero?
So Hagoromo gave his most pitiful look and whimpered, "Sensei... can I not go? Just hearing about that place gives me the worst kind of gut feeling…"
"I may be young, but I'm extremely superstitious, and I trust my first impressions more than anything."
Kushina slammed the table again—but this time, not as hard as before.
(Ha! Bet that one stung a little, huh?)
She stared at him with a glint in her eye and declared with the conviction of a warrior charging into battle:
"This is for your own good—we're not stealing, we're retrieving valuable ninjutsu. What's with all the fuss?"
...You said "stealing." You said it. Twice. I heard it. We both did!
"Afraid of what? If something goes wrong, I'll take the blame!"
...Did I just hallucinate her calling herself "old man"? Did that really happen?
"And that's final! We strike tonight!"
Kamishiraishi Hagoromo: unable to refuse.
Kamishiraishi Hagoromo: emotionally KO'd.
Kamishiraishi Hagoromo: ceases resistance.
Kamishiraishi Hagoromo: beyond saving.
As Kushina spoke, she stood up and pulled out a large sheet of white paper from… somewhere. Then she grabbed a pen and began planning the infiltration route into the Hokage's office.
"What are you standing there for? Clear the table!"
"Ah? Oh—right!" Hagoromo scrambled to gather up the dishes and wipe the table clean.
Kushina spread out the paper and began sketching a floor plan of the Hokage's office building.
First, she drew an old turtle. That, obviously, represented Lord Third.
Then she drew a smaller circle around it to represent the top floor—his office.
Two larger circles followed to indicate the lower two floors of the building.
Inside the circles, she drew little stick figures to represent the guards stationed throughout the building. As for the art style… well, let's just say she wasn't aiming for realism.
"There are twenty-four ninja on the first floor, all Tokubetsu Jōnin or higher."
"Sixteen on the second floor—all Jōnin."
"And inside the actual office? That's where four elite Anbu-level guards are stationed. Infiltrating without alerting anyone and stealing the Sealing Scroll? Basically impossible."
Kushina knowing the layout of the Hokage's building wasn't strange. What was strange was how seriously she was now considering a full-blown heist.
"Maybe we create a distraction outside, sneak in during the chaos…?"
She shook her head. "No good. Those four guards inside are thick-headed. They're under strict orders to guard classified materials—they won't leave their posts, no matter what."
"…Or maybe we just blow up the building entirely?"
Again, she dismissed her own idea. "No, too loud."
Too loud? That's your main concern?
"Besides, searching through rubble for the Sealing Scroll would be a pain."
Granted, she was mostly speaking in jest. Kushina wouldn't actually do something that extreme. Still, her imagination was clearly getting out of hand.
And then—
Ding Ding—Your morally bankrupt friend Kamishiraishi Hagoromo has come online.
As the saying goes, "Life is like… something. If you can't avoid it, then… whatever, roll with it."
Since escape was impossible, Hagoromo figured he might as well throw himself into the operation and prevent Kushina from going completely off the rails.
In the end, he had made peace with it. Better to die early and reincarnate quickly. Besides, he was only the accomplice—Kushina was the mastermind.
"Sensei," he said gravely, "I really don't think we need to confront the guards at all."
"Oh?" Kushina raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
Yes. A peaceful infiltration was entirely possible.
Or rather—it wouldn't even be "infiltration" in the strictest sense.
"With your status, Kushina-sensei, we can walk right into the building. No one on the lower floors would question us. The only problem is the four elite ninja inside the office itself."
"We just have to take them out silently before they can raise any alarms."
Kushina paused. Then it clicked—she had totally overcomplicated things. Normally, she walked into the Hokage's office like it was her living room. Why had she been plotting like a common burglar?
What she didn't realize was—her earlier behavior was a textbook case of guilty conscience.
"Go on," she said, intrigued by Hagoromo's suddenly competent analysis.
"To avoid suspicion, our timing has to be perfect—not too early, not too late. Too early and the Hokage might still be in his office…"
"And we can't take the whole scroll. We just copy down what we can. Stealing one or two jutsu is a minor crime compared to stealing the entire Sealing Scroll."
He was thinking of their exit strategy.
The hard part wasn't entering—it was picking the right time. Thankfully, as village leader, the Hokage had a somewhat predictable schedule. That made tracking his movements manageable.
The bigger problem was how to neutralize those four elite guards silently—and without killing them. They were breaking and entering, not committing murder and arson.
If only Minato were here! His Flying Thunder God technique would be perfect for this—silent, efficient, and clean.
…Though, let's be real: if Minato were here, he'd probably just report the two of them to the
authorities instead.
So in the end, the responsibility for subduing the guards fell squarely on Kushina's shoulders.