Malphegor
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HGBW: Ch. 72
🕑 Added 2025-03-08 01:14:29 +0000 UTCIt seems that my previous opinion of this child was somewhat biased. Hiruzen nodded with a smile.
Tanaka possessed the ability to pose a potential threat to the village. However, at the same time, it was undeniable that he was a Konoha ninja.
As long as he did not act like the Uchiha, resorting to a coup at the slightest disagreement...
As long as he did not point his sword at the Hokage's position, posing a real threat to himself or Minato...
As long as he did not openly betray the village...
Then, when handling the matter of Tanaka, he would choose to win him over, show goodwill, strategize, suppress, or control him—but never persecute him.
After all, he was no longer the young man who had just taken office and had to follow the Senju clan's and Mito's lead. Now, he held supreme power and was hailed as the most powerful Hokage, the "God of Shinobi."
His identity had changed.
His power had changed.
And at the peak of his strength, his approach to dealing with people and handling affairs had also changed.
He was no longer the newly appointed Hokage who would go to any lengths to consolidate power, nor was he the aging leader who would use every possible means to maintain control.
Even after witnessing Tanaka defeat his son with a single strike, he was still confident that he could wield this sharp blade.
"Tanaka, it seems that Minato's evaluation of you was very accurate. Like him, you are a ninja who has inherited the Will of Fire."
Hiruzen suddenly recalled something important. No matter how strong Tanaka was, how talented or ruthless he had become—none of that changed a fundamental truth.
He was still a kid.
If he could make Minato inherit the Will of Fire, and if he could control Konoha's White Fang, then wouldn't spending some time on Tanaka be enough to make this Hyūga genius inherit the Will of Fire as well?
Young and easy to manipulate. He shouldn't treat they boy as a threat but as a gift!
The more outstanding Tanaka was now, the more perfect he would be once he inherited the Will of Fire.
Just as he needed Danzō to serve as Konoha's darkness, Minato, as the Fourth Hokage, would also need a darkness of his own.
And Tanaka was a perfect candidate.
Thinking of this, Hiruzen smiled. The slight displeasure he had felt when his son was publicly defeated also disappeared.
"Hokage-sama, you flatter me."
Tanaka felt a bit puzzled. He clearly sensed a change in Hiruzen's attitude toward him.
Before, beneath his kind and gentle demeanor, there had been a hidden wariness and vigilance.
Now, though the wariness and vigilance had not disappeared, there was an added sense of closeness—or rather, goodwill.
"No, this is no exaggeration at all."
"At such a young age, you already have such insight. Among your peers, you are absolutely unique."
"Before, I was worried that due to your age, lack of experience, and insufficient maturity, you might not be able to control your talents and strength. But now, I am reassured."
Hiruzen's face showed warmth, filled with an approving smile.
"As the Hokage, I hereby declare: Tanaka has passed the jonin assessment. From this moment forward, he is officially promoted to jonin."
He looked around, making the announcement in front of all the high-ranking officials of Konoha. Then, he raised his hand to form a seal and pressed it onto the ground.
Poof!
With a puff of white smoke, a scroll appeared in Hiruzen's hand.
Seeing that Hiruzen could summon the Scroll of Seals, Tanaka shook his head slightly.
In the future, Naruto would be able to steal the Scroll of Seals and learn the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique—this was clearly Hiruzen's deliberate intention.
After all, the scroll was controlled by the Hokage of each generation.
How could a mere Academy student, who wasn't even a genin, simply steal it?
If it were truly so easy to steal, why hadn't anyone managed to do so during Tobirama's reign?
During the reigns of all previous Hokage, it was only during the Third Hokage's tenure that the Scroll of Seals was stolen by Naruto.
"Tanaka, it's not that I don't want to let you choose an S-rank forbidden jutsu. But forbidden jutsu not only represent immense power, they also violate ethics and morality and can cause harm to the user."
"You've already developed space-time ninjutsu, which means you have limitless potential. If you delve into S-rank forbidden jutsu too early, you might be unable to control them and suffer severe backlash."
"Therefore, you must be extremely cautious."
"Even A-rank forbidden jutsu still carry great risks."
Previously, Hiruzen had simply not wanted the Hyūga clan to obtain the S-rank forbidden jutsu recorded in the Scroll of Seals. But now, after deciding to instill the Will of Fire in Tanaka, he genuinely didn't want the boy to train in forbidden jutsu—let alone suffer from its repercussions.
"Thank you for your warning, Hokage-sama."
"I was just curious and wanted to broaden my horizons, to gain some insight. As for training in forbidden jutsu, I don't have that intention for now."
Tanaka nodded.
"Hearing that reassures me."
Seeing that Tanaka was being sincere rather than merely saying what he thought the Hokage wanted to hear, Hiruzen handed over the Scroll of Seals.
As expected, the first one is the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique. Let's see what other forbidden jutsu are recorded here.
Holding the Scroll of Seals, Tanaka unrolled it and examined the techniques listed inside.
The second one was Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags, followed by Bringer-of-Darkness Technique, and Rashōmon.
After flipping through it for a while, he realized that the scroll didn't only contain forbidden jutsu—it also recorded various ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu developed by past Hokage.
However, some of these techniques were extremely difficult to master and had prerequisites that later generations could not meet, which led to their classification as forbidden.
For example, the First Hokage's Wood Release. Even his own granddaughter Tsunade couldn't learn it, let alone anyone else.
Then there was the Second Hokage's Water Release.
Yes, Water Release.
Unlike the Water Release techniques of Kiri, which often required forming 40 plus hand seals, the Water Release techniques recorded in the Scroll of Seals from Tobirama contained none that exceeded four hand seals.
The problem was that, despite the low number of seals, the prerequisites for mastering these Water Release techniques were extremely high.
First, one needed chakra reserves comparable to a Senju.
Second, one required chakra control on par with top-tier medical-nin.
These were all A-rank jutsu.
As Tanaka continued reading, he realized that about halfway through the scroll, the rest of the pages were completely blank.
Techniques like the Flying Thunder God, Edo Tensei, and Spirit Transformation Technique were nowhere to be found.
Upon seeing this, he immediately understood why Hiruzen dared to hand over the entire Scroll of Seals to him in broad daylight.
All S-rank techniques, whether ultimate secrets or forbidden jutsu, had been sealed away.
Unless Hiruzen himself lifted the seal, even if Tanaka flipped through the entire scroll a hundred times, he wouldn't find a single S-rank jutsu or hidden ultimate technique.
I found it. This forbidden jutsu... It's really recorded in the Scroll of Seals.
After reading through the entire scroll from beginning to end, Tanaka's gaze finally settled on the second-to-last forbidden jutsu recorded.
An A-rank forbidden jutsu.
The Eight Gates Released Formation.
