22:00, that night.
The Third Hokage had already clocked out, but his guards were still hard at work.
A quick note here: the ANBU stationed in the Hokage Tower rotated shifts every twelve hours, so during their duty period they were always at full alertness.
Lupin and Kaitō Kid—
No, correction.
Kushina and Hagoromo walked openly, one after the other, straight into the Hokage Tower.
With how blatant they were, no one in their right mind would suspect these two of stealing anything.
And yet tonight, the Hokage Tower was about to host a grand heist.
Kushina walked in front—getting inside still relied on her reputation.
Hagoromo followed closely behind. Today, he couldn't just stand around and watch.
As they walked, Kushina spoke in a voice only Hagoromo could hear:
"Plan T. Operation start."
Hagoromo blinked.
Since when did stealing require a codename?
And why Plan T? Why not Plan A?
Were they supposed to have a dozen contingency plans or something?
"Plan T, operation start," Kushina repeated.
"Hagoromo, acknowledge."
Ah.
So not responding wasn't an option.
"Roger," Hagoromo replied.
Can you be a little more serious?!
This is a burglary!
Kushina immediately obliged—becoming too serious.
"Proceed with caution. This is not a drill. I repeat—this is not a drill!"
"Understood!" Hagoromo gritted his teeth.
Sensei.
You're in the wrong genre.
They maintained a perfectly normal demeanor, and just as Hagoromo had predicted, they encountered no resistance and walked straight up to the third floor.
From Hagoromo's own perception, he could tell there were many ANBU in the building—certainly more than the number Kushina had mentioned earlier.
Of course, there were also many ordinary administrative staff inside the tower, but combat-wise, those could be ignored.
Yes—Hagoromo possessed sensory ability.
While its range was limited—nothing like Karin Uzumaki's phased-array radar—it was enough for basic reconnaissance.
As for the principle behind it…
That information was currently classified.
Soon, they arrived at the Hokage's office door.
That didn't mean reaching this point was easy—it was only possible because the person in front was named Uzumaki Kushina.
If an enemy shinobi tried to get this far, they'd be captured by the identity-verification barrier at the tower entrance long before this.
That was also why impersonation wasn't a concern here.
Kushina glanced subtly at Hagoromo, then pushed the door open without hesitation.
This was important.
She had to enter at her usual pace.
Normally, Kushina never lingered at the Hokage's office door—
the fact that she didn't kick it open was already restraint.
Anyone entering this room would immediately fall under the surveillance of the four ANBU inside, so she had to act natural.
If those ANBU went on full alert, silently subduing them without resistance would be practically impossible.
ANBU were professionals at killing and sabotage.
Their baseline vigilance was extremely high.
Captain-level ANBU were all elite combatants.
If one compared adult Kakashi to a typical ANBU captain—
1 vs 1 → Kakashi wins.
1 vs 2 → Kakashi likely dies.
1 vs 3 → Kakashi definitely dies, and quickly.
From the very beginning, Kushina and Hagoromo had no intention of frontal combat.
Fortunately, while Kushina's ninjutsu was formidable, her fūinjutsu was even stronger—
and she excelled at ambushing people who thought they were safe.
Because the Third Hokage wasn't present, one ANBU immediately materialized when they entered.
"Kushina-sama. Is there something you need? If you're looking for the Hokage, he's already left."
"Zero-Thickness," Kushina replied casually, identifying him by his mask.
"So it's you four on duty tonight."
As she spoke, her eyes casually swept across different parts of the room.
From her sensory perception, she knew exactly where the other three were hiding.
"Yes. If there's an emergency—"
He didn't get to finish.
Kushina struck.
She was wearing a loose-sleeved top that night, perfectly concealing her hands.
While speaking—while confirming the other ANBU's positions—
she had already begun forming seals.
Fūinjutsu: Adamantine Sealing Chains (Kongō Fūsa).
Four silver chakra chains erupted from her back, shooting out like arrows toward the four ANBU positions!
Before any of them could react, they were bound tightly—
wrapped like dumplings.
The ANBU didn't even understand why Kushina had attacked them, but instinct told them what to do:
Resist. Immediately.
Unfortunately, Adamantine Sealing Chains were powerful enough to suppress a tailed beast.
Human strength meant nothing.
The chains constricted around their necks, cutting off breath and sound alike.
At that moment, Hagoromo moved.
He darted behind each ANBU in turn—
Chop.
Chop.
Chop.
Chop.
Clean, precise strikes.
All four collapsed unconscious.
Kushina released the jutsu and quickly located the Scroll of Seals.
It wasn't hard to find—
that massive scroll stood out far too much in the office.
"Hagoromo—over here," she called, reaching toward it.
Then suddenly—
She froze.
She turned to Hagoromo and asked:
"Hagoromo… I just realized something."
"We walked in here completely openly. Doesn't that mean the Hokage won't even need to investigate to know I did this?"
"…How exactly are we supposed to clean this up afterward?"
This was, objectively, a very good—and very realistic—question.
Even if they successfully learned jutsus from the Scroll of Seals, there was no way they could escape the Hokage's judgment.
The only real mistake—
Was asking that question now.
You should've asked before acting.
Now it was already too late.
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