Yamanaka Shinno barely spent fifteen minutes before returning the two scrolls.
With the enhanced speed-reading and memory capabilities granted by the blue-tagged [King of Knowledge], fifteen minutes was already him holding back.
If he were in a hurry, he could've just forcibly imprinted the scroll's contents into his memory palace and reviewed them later at his own pace.
Leaving the somewhat stifling atmosphere of the archives, Shinno asked a clerk on the first floor where Nara Shikaku was. As expected, he was on duty at the mission assignment desk again today.
Not wanting to make another trip, Shinno decisively opened his umbrella and headed towards the Intelligence Division instead.
He would see Shikaku by tomorrow night at the latest. Accessing classified sealed archives required the right timing and opportunity anyway—whether it was today or tomorrow didn't make much difference.
Might as well check in with the Intelligence Division first and see if they had any news on the Graveyard of Mountains.
The light morning drizzle gradually turned heavier as time passed. Raindrops pounded against his umbrella, splashing tiny droplets outward.
Walking through the cold rain, Shinno absentmindedly spun the umbrella handle, watching the droplets scatter from the edges. His mood lifted as he recalled the 'Infinite Darkness Jutsu' technique he had just read about.
It could completely counter Sharingan users up to the three-tomoe level and was surprisingly straightforward in principle.
Although classified as a genjutsu, the creator had sneakily incorporated sealing techniques into it.
When cast, the target would see darkness closing in on them like writhing tendrils, gradually swallowing all light. This initial step was actually laying the groundwork for a sealing jutsu.
The genjutsu distorted the target's vision while an outer layer of chakra formed a simple seal.
Who would even think of that?
Using a standard genjutsu dispel wouldn't work against a sealing technique.
For most people, getting caught in this technique meant they had only two options: either break through the seal with brute force or hope their teammates took down the caster quickly.
"Pretty clever..."
Shinno mused, impressed by the idea.
Infusing a genjutsu with sealing properties while simultaneously maintaining both? That was insanely difficult. Just the act of sealing vision alone pushed the technique's difficulty to A-rank.
But did he lack chakra control?
After acquiring the [Zero Frame Startup] bug-tag, he could already maintain a Water Release Rasengan—a super S-rank forbidden jutsu—for over thirty seconds.
Constructing a simple sealing array while casting a genjutsu from a distance? That couldn't possibly be harder than that!
"Stacking an illusionary 'Flying Rod Trick' with an extra 'Light Trap Array'? Uh..."
An absurd image popped into his mind—some unfortunate soul locked onto a table while an adult Hatake Kakashi loomed behind them, hands forming a Tiger Seal.
Shinno shuddered, rubbing the goosebumps on his arms.
Too cruel. Way too cruel!
A genjutsu version of the Thousand Years of Death would already traumatize most people for life. If it also prevented them from 'springing free'...
That would be no different from Naruto using a kunai for a Thousand Years of Death—with an explosive tag tied to the end.
Even a hyena wouldn't be that ruthless!
[...]
Lost in thought, Shinno arrived at the Intelligence Division. He greeted the two guards at the entrance—old acquaintances—and casually handed one his umbrella for safekeeping before leisurely strolling into the intelligence processing room.
By Konoha's organizational structure, the analysis team Shinno had previously worked with was under the Intelligence Division's jurisdiction. Having spent years there, he was naturally familiar with this place as well.
"Back already? Aren't you afraid Haichi will rope you into doing grunt work?"
The current head of the Intelligence Division, Mitoku, adjusted his thick glasses as he looked up to see who had entered. Upon recognizing Shinno, he smirked.
Mitoku was eleven years older than Shinno and had been in the division for nearly fifteen years. When Shinno first joined the analysis team, he had still been just a kid in Mitoku's eyes.
Now, in the blink of an eye, he was already at the age where people talked about marriage.
"As long as I finish my business and run fast enough, he won't catch me."
Grinning, Shinno moved closer and plopped down unceremoniously in the chair beside Mitoku.
This was the Intelligence Division, after all—it might as well be home.
"You know the rules. I can only answer what I'm allowed to."
Mitoku chuckled, setting aside the documents he had been organizing and turning his full attention to Shinno.
"Do you know the exact location of the Graveyard of Mountains in the Land of Iron?"
"Let me think... Ah, that place with unidentified miasma? Where people and animals who stray in get lost, and the whole area is littered with giant skeletons—either a basin or a valley, right?"
"!!! Yes, exactly! Do you know the precise location?"
"Let me check... Hmm... Ah, found it. You have clearance, so take a look."
Mitoku walked over to the section labeled 'Konoha Year 40' and sifted through the numbered files. After some searching, he pulled out a sealed document, dusted it off, and handed it to Shinno.
"Chipu Squad, Land of Iron Death Investigation?"
Shinno glanced at the file title before opening the long-sealed envelope.
The first thing inside was a hand-drawn map of the Land of Iron, with the Graveyard of Mountains clearly marked.
Among the other documents were several hand-drawn sketches of the graveyard itself, eerily matching the images in his memory palace.
The written reports detailed an incident that had occurred there six years ago, along with the findings of Konoha's investigation and their final conclusions.
"Chipu... Konoha Jonin... specialized in sensory techniques... cautious personality? Ha!"
Shinno didn't even need to read further to guess what had happened.
Chipu, being a sensory ninja, had likely detected something unusual while passing the Graveyard of Mountains and—because of his cautious nature—extended his senses to probe deeper.
Either he found something suspicious and went in to investigate, only to be eliminated by Uchiha Madara...
Or Madara noticed the intrusion and took the initiative to eliminate him.
As for the follow-up investigation team? Madara probably used genjutsu or some other method to completely fool them.
"I found you, Uchiha Madara!"
Shinno instinctively licked his lips, feeling a surge of excitement course through his body.
He had only come here on a whim to try his luck.
Who would have thought he'd find a location that, in the original story, wasn't discovered until the Fourth Great Ninja War?
And since Madara had been there six years ago... and had even taken the time to deal with Konoha's investigation team...
That meant he likely wouldn't leave before the start of the Third Shinobi War—or before he had selected Obito as his successor and begun grooming him.
As long as Shinno planted a Flying Thunder God marker and prepared sufficient contingency plans...
If he could win, he'd capture the old man and beat him senseless!
If he couldn't, he'd copy some skills and escape!
Keh keh keh...
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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