Chapter 283: The Scroll of Seals
"Come with me."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice was steady, his expression betraying little. He rose from the sofa and gestured for Ragnar to follow.
Inwardly, the Third Hokage was cursing his own past generosity. Why had he offered this particular reward? Of all the things he could have promised—money, rank, land, titles—why had he dangled the Scroll of Seals? The techniques contained within were the crystallization of Konoha's most lethal killing arts. They represented the Second Hokage's lifelong genius, preserved and protected for generations. Only the village's greatest heroes were permitted to even lay eyes on them.
And Ragnar was a hero. Undeniably. The problem was that his heroism was so overwhelming that it frightened the very leadership he had saved.
His temperament seems easy-going, Hiruzen reflected. But people are not saints. Everyone has emotions. Everyone has desires. If I go back on my word now, I lose all credibility.
He had considered creating a fake scroll. A decoy. Something that looked authentic but contained only harmless, redacted techniques. The thought had lingered in his mind for longer than he cared to admit. But in the end, he had dismissed it.
Trust between people was built on sincerity, not schemes.
...Although, if he was being honest with himself, schemes had been popular since ancient times for good reason.
He led Ragnar to a chamber adjacent to the Hokage's office. The room was larger than its unassuming entrance suggested, but it was dark—no windows, no lanterns, only the faint glow of sealing arrays pulsing along the walls. In the shadows, Hiruzen could sense them: the guardians of the Scroll. Elite ANBU operatives, stationed here in permanent vigil, their identities known only to the Hokage himself.
In the original timeline, Naruto had stolen this scroll with almost comical ease. That had been no accident. The Third Hokage had arranged it—dismissing the guards, loosening the security, creating a window of opportunity that a desperate child could exploit. Without that manipulation, any unauthorized attempt to touch the Scroll would have been met with immediate lethal force.
This was no such occasion. The guards remained at their posts.
Hiruzen performed a sequence of hand seals, and the barrier protecting the Scroll shimmered and dissolved. He lifted the heavy document from its pedestal—it was larger than it appeared from a distance, dense with decades of accumulated wisdom—and placed it into Ragnar's waiting hands.
His expression was grave.
"The Scroll of Seals. You may study it for no more than three days. After that, it must be returned. The techniques within are not to be shared with anyone else. This is non-negotiable."
Ragnar looked at the scroll in his hands. It was heavier than he had expected. The weight of paper and ink, but also the weight of history. The weight of every Hokage who had added their knowledge to its contents.
Three days. He actually gave me three days.
He had not expected this. His initial request had been a shot in the dark—a test to see how far Hiruzen's goodwill would extend. The answer, apparently, was further than he had imagined.
The old man is generous.
Ragnar's original plan upon returning to Konoha had been different. He had intended to seek out the Shikkotsu Forest, the legendary home of the slugs, to search for clues about Sage Mode. He had planned to consult Hatake Sakumo about advanced Lightning Release techniques—the second stage of his body's cellular activation, pushing his physical speed beyond anything the shinobi world had ever seen. With the first stage complete and his cells already saturated with Lightning chakra, his taijutsu had reached the pinnacle. Below space-time ninjutsu, his speed was unmatched.
Those plans could wait.
The Scroll of Seals was in his hands. And within its depths lay techniques that made even his Devil Fruit abilities pause in acknowledgment.
"Thank you, Lord Hokage."
Ragnar inclined his head. The formalities had been observed. The necessary words had been exchanged. He had no desire to linger and make small talk over tea.
He turned to leave. At the door, he paused.
"Lord Hokage. That crystal ball on your desk. It's quite impressive. Very... convenient."
Then he was gone.
Hiruzen stared at the empty doorway for a long moment. A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Cheeky brat.
His gaze drifted to the crystal ball—the Telescope Technique's focal point, capable of observing anywhere in the village. He knew, of course, that Ragnar's comment was a gentle warning. I know you're watching. I don't mind. But I know.
The Third Hokage exhaled slowly. The tension that had knotted his shoulders since Ragnar's arrival finally began to loosen. The meeting was over. The village was still standing. The Demon was still, for now, on their side.
Ragnar's Residence
Back in his small wooden house, Ragnar activated his Kenbunshoku Haki. His perception swept outward, scanning for hidden observers, concealed ANBU, Danzō's Root operatives lurking in the shadows. Nothing. The area was clean.
He really just... let me take it.
The Scroll of Seals should not have left the Hokage Building. Even if the Hokage permitted a ninja to study it, that study should have occurred under heavy guard, in a secure chamber, with ANBU watching every flicker of the reader's eyes. Taking the Scroll home was unprecedented.
And yet, no one had followed him. No hidden watchers tracked his movements.
Sarutobi Hiruzen. Either you trust me more than is wise... or you've calculated that surveillance would offend me, and offending me is more dangerous than trusting me.
Either way, Ragnar would not waste the opportunity.
He unfurled the Scroll.
Dense columns of text filled his vision—characters so small and tightly packed that at first glance they seemed to blur together. He focused his mental energy, sharpening his perception, and the words resolved into clarity.
The contents were staggering.
Flying Thunder God Technique. Eight Gates Released Formation. Dead Demon Consuming Seal. Impure World Reincarnation. Eight Trigrams Seal. Four Symbols Seal. Five Elements Seal. Immortal Reanimation. Multiple Shadow Clone Technique...
Forbidden jutsu. S-rank techniques. Secrets that entire villages would go to war to obtain. Tobirama Senju's fingerprints were everywhere—the man had been a genius of paranoia, and his creations reflected it. The mutually multiplying explosive tag technique, designed to create infinite chain reactions. The Bringer-of-Darkness Genjutsu, an enhanced illusion specifically engineered to counter the Sharingan's visual supremacy. If the Uchiha relied on their eyes to cast genjutsu, Tobirama had decided to simply take away their sight entirely. Crude. Effective. Petty in the most spectacular way.
Three days isn't enough to master all of this. I need to prioritize.
Ragnar began eliminating options.
Flying Thunder God Technique. Space-time ninjutsu. Tempting. But the recorded version was incomplete—Namikaze Minato had spent years refining and developing it further before achieving mastery. If Ragnar wanted space-time abilities, he would wait for a space-related Devil Fruit. No need to waste energy on a partial technique.
Eight Gates Released Formation. The pinnacle of taijutsu. Opening all eight gates granted power that could overwhelm even a Kage. But the cost—death—was non-negotiable. Ragnar had no intention of sacrificing his life for a temporary power boost. Pass.
Dead Demon Consuming Seal. A mutual kill technique. Summon the Shinigami, sacrifice your soul, drag your enemy to hell alongside you. Effective. Final. Completely useless to someone who intended to survive every battle he fought.
Multiple Shadow Clone Technique. Powerful, but chakra-intensive to a degree that made it impractical for anyone without Uzumaki-level reserves or a Tailed Beast. Ragnar's chakra was substantial, but not Naruto-level. Pass.
Eight Trigrams Seal. Four Symbols Seal. Five Elements Seal. All variations of containment and suppression seals. Useful, but not urgent. He could study these later if needed.
Then he stopped.
Impure World Reincarnation.
The Edo Tensei.
This... this was worth learning. The technique was incomplete—the version in the Scroll was Tobirama's original, rough and imperfect, lacking the refinements Orochimaru and Kabuto would later add. But even in its crude form, it could summon the dead. Bind them to the living world. Force them to fight.
Orochimaru spent years perfecting this. Kabuto took it even further. But the foundation is here. I can build on it.
He memorized every character. Every hand seal. Every line of theory.
Immortal Reanimation. A technique related to longevity, to the preservation and restoration of life. It was incomplete and poorly understood, but the principles were fascinating. He would record it for future study.
Bringer-of-Darkness Genjutsu. Tobirama's anti-Uchiha technique. A genjutsu that plunged the target into absolute darkness, neutralizing the visual prowess of the Sharingan entirely. Ragnar had no Sharingan of his own, but the technique was elegant in its brutality. He memorized it.
The rest of the Scroll—the S-rank ninjutsu, the sealing arrays, the forbidden summoning contracts—he skimmed. Interesting, but not immediately relevant. He had what he needed.
Then, with the casualness of a man discarding yesterday's newspaper, he tossed the Scroll of Seals into the corner of the room.
It landed with a soft thump.
The Hokage's Office
Miles away, Sarutobi Hiruzen watched through his crystal ball.
He had maintained the Telescope Technique since Ragnar left his office, observing the young shinobi's study session with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension. He had watched Ragnar unroll the Scroll with the proper reverence. He had watched those sharp eyes scan the densely packed text, flickering across technique after technique with frightening speed. He had watched the boy pause, focus, and memorize—committing forbidden knowledge to memory as casually as a student memorizing Academy basics.
And then he had watched Ragnar throw the Scroll of Seals into a corner like a piece of trash.
Hiruzen's eye twitched.
What a sin! This is the crystallization of our ancestors' wisdom! The Second Hokage's life's work! Even if you don't appreciate it fully, you could at least treat it with basic—
He cut the thought off with a deep, calming breath.
Amitabha. Peace. Serenity. The Will of Fire.
His eye twitched again.
Damn brat.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
Heavy, deliberate knocks assaulted the office door. Hiruzen did not need to look up. He did not need to call out. He recognized the rhythm, the weight, the particular brand of aggressive impatience. Only one person in Konoha knocked like that.
The door swung open before he could respond.
Danzō Shimura stood in the doorway, his silhouette dark against the corridor's light.
(End of Chapter)
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