After all, Hiruzen had already prepared himself for Naruto stealing the Scroll.
"Alright, no problem! When the time comes, I'll say I was the one who stole it!!"
Once Naruto learned the plan, he readily agreed with full loyalty.
Since Nagi was helping him so much, there was no way he could let him down.
"So when do we start? Now?"
Naruto asked, practically trembling with excitement.
Nagi shook his head.
"No. Today's not the right time."
He wasn't dumb enough to make a move right after Naruto had just visited his house. If the Scroll of Seals went missing right after that, Hiruzen would absolutely suspect him.
"You can go home. Wait until Mizuki-sensei comes to you. When he does, meet me by the grocery store near the Hokage Tower tonight. I'll be waiting."
Nagi had already planned it all out in detail.
Naruto wouldn't have to do anything. He could lie down and win.
"Got it, got it!"
Just the thought of finally becoming a genin made Naruto hum with joy.
"Alright. Be careful."
After that, Naruto left Nagi's house.
Nagi used the moment the door opened to scan the area—and sure enough, he sensed at least three ANBU monitoring him nearby.
On a rooftop in the distance, an ANBU agent asked the purple-haired one beside her,
"Nightingale*(Uzuki?), why did the Hokage suddenly assign you to protect Naruto?"
Until now, it had always been just the two of them assigned to guard Naruto.
"The Hokage said Naruto might be making some moves soon. He sent me to assist in keeping watch."
As one of Hiruzen's personal agents, Nightingale had some idea of what was coming.
"He's just a kid who hasn't even made genin. There's no way he's escaping our surveillance."
The other ANBU scoffed.
They'd been watching Naruto for years and never had anything unexpected happen.
"Can't be too careful."
Nightingale didn't argue—she just kept her eyes on Naruto walking home.
"Seems like the kid still hasn't gotten over failing the exam."
At the Hokage's office...
Hiruzen smiled warmly as he watched Naruto go to Nagi "to practice clone jutsu."
At least, that's what it looked like to him.
"With things like this, maybe I don't need to be so cautious after all."
He glanced at the Scroll of Seals beside him.
Just earlier, he had been considering using a fake version of the Scroll, since the real one contained far too many dangerous techniques.
The next day...
Naruto had planned to mope around at home all day, but to his surprise, Mizuki actually came knocking.
"Wait… is Nagi a prophet or something? He even predicted this?!"
Naruto was dumbfounded. Everything was playing out exactly as Nagi said.
Just like he'd been told, Mizuki really did tempt him to steal the Scroll of Seals.
What Naruto didn't realize was that their little conspiracy was already being broadcast live.
Through his crystal ball, Hiruzen was watching the whole thing unfold.
"Too naïve. Naruto should know better than to trust Mizuki."
Hiruzen thought Mizuki was playing checkers on layer one.
While he himself was playing chess on layer two.
"Send the order—withdraw all patrols near the Hokage Tower. Leave surveillance to the ANBU only."
In order to give Naruto some freedom, Hiruzen ordered a full switch to covert surveillance.
"This should make the plan completely seamless."
On the crystal ball, Naruto crept toward the grocery shop.
But then—bam!—he vanished from view.
Hiruzen: ???
"What the hell?!"
He smacked the crystal ball in confusion. Did the signal just cut off?
This was a live broadcast! How did Naruto just vanish like that?
Elsewhere, near a side street by the Hokage Tower...
"Hmph. That old geezer is probably losing his mind right about now."
Nagi had used his clone disguise to mimic Naruto's appearance.
The real Naruto had been sealed away using Wood Release—completely hidden, not even leaking the slightest bit of chakra.
Hiruzen thought he was outsmarting Mizuki, but little did he know, Nagi was the real puppet master.
"Forbidden Secret Technique: Shun Goku Satsu Formation!"
Nagi vanished into shadow, leaving behind only a faint blur.
Over twenty elite ANBU were stationed in the Hokage Tower, and not one of them noticed.
Nagi slipped in like a ghost.
The shadow surged toward the Scroll of Seals—then vanished without a trace.
"Damn, this Shun Goku Satsu Formation is really useful."
Nagi murmured to himself. Honestly, it rivaled the Flying Thunder God in some ways.
After completing the theft, he returned to the spot where he'd left his clone.
Without wasting time, he opened the Scroll of Seals and began scanning its content with his God-Tier comprehension.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu? Pass."
...
"Huh? It won't open?"
After reading through over a dozen A-rank techniques, the rest of the scroll locked up.
The real goodies were in the later sections. Most of the earlier "forbidden jutsu" were only borderline, like the Shadow Clone technique.
But Nagi wasn't here for that weak stuff.
"You think that's enough to stop me, old man?"
A calm smile spread across his face. Had everyone forgotten he had a god-tier comprehension stat?
All it took was one breath, and he completely cracked the seals protecting the hidden section.
Four Symbols Seal!
Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags!
Dead Demon Consuming Seal!
Impure World Reincarnation!
Eight Gates Released Formation!
After pocketing all the truly valuable jutsu, Nagi even made sure to grab the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu for Naruto.
"Can't let that kid walk away empty-handed."
Even though Naruto didn't actually do anything, Nagi wasn't stingy.
He even tossed in a few A-rank jutsu for him.
Whether Naruto could use them or not didn't matter—just dump them all on him.
Nagi had no use for them anyway.
[End of Chapter]