Chapter 64: Whirlpool Legacy

"Hey, what happened? Why are you three so sad?" Naruto pushed aside the bushes and walked in, with two scrolls tied around his waist. "We have to hurry, Sakura can't come today, and it looks like she'll have to stay in the hospital for a while."

He sat down on the grass, skillfully unrolled a scroll with a gold border, and spread it flat on the ground. Although the weather was a bit humid, he was still wearing the high-necked long-sleeved T-shirt and a pair of black ninja pants, with the hem of the clothes tied tightly at the waist.

Naruto sat down next to Sasuke, their knees lightly touching, but Sasuke didn't seem to mind.

Naruto spread out the black scroll, revealing its contents. There were thirteen ninjutsu sealed on the scroll, and each seal had a unique symbol on top - the family emblem.

"Which one is yours?" Shikamaru asked. His eyes swept over the complex lines, secretly admiring the exquisiteness of chakra.

Naruto froze for a moment, seemingly surprised by the question, as if he had never thought that anyone would care about this question.

His reaction sparked a familiar rage in Shikamaru, the same feeling he'd had when he'd seen Akimichi Chouji eating snacks alone on the training grounds, or when he'd seen Yamanaka Ino frowning at herself in the mirror.

It was a feeling of powerlessness, because he couldn't change anything immediately, because he knew that some pains could not be easily healed.

He had to remind himself that change is never easy and never happens overnight. All he could do was be there for his friend, be patient, and speak his mind when the time was right.

At least he wasn't alone in this fight.

Sasuke leaned against Naruto very naturally, which made Shikamaru feel relieved.

Naruto was stunned for only a second before he came to his senses. He tapped the seal in the center of the scroll with his fingers, which was a spiral sun pattern.

Shikamaru finally smiled. "Let's start with this."

***

When Haruno Sakura hurriedly arrived an hour later than the scheduled time, she was surprised to find that the scene before her was completely different from what she had imagined.

The boys were sitting around scrolls and notebooks, discussing something animatedly, and everyone was so full of energy that it felt more like a pre-war meeting than a study session.

"Inuzuka Kiba, give me your illusion notes."

"Okay, but I want the scroll about the Wing Clan's ninjutsu, the one that has to do with perception."

"Here you go. Who has information on the swordsmanship of warriors from other dimensions?"

"Wait a minute, I'm still looking. I remember seeing it somewhere before..."

Haruno Sakura cleared her throat and indicated that she was coming.

"Oh my god, you four actually started without waiting for me?"

Naruto looked up, completely ignoring her complaints, and threw a scroll over.

"Sakura, take a look at this. The scrolls of the Konoha clan are full of things like this. Maybe you can understand it."

She caught the scroll easily, spread it out, and squeezed a space between Naruto and Kiba Inuzuka.

She quickly scanned the contents of the scroll, her eyes fixed on a few key words.

"Is this a medical ninjutsu? One used to enhance the precision of chakra control? Or some kind of emergency healing technique?"

"Oh my god, you finally understood it." Naruto muttered as he exchanged a scroll with Sasuke, exchanging a khaki scroll for a gray one. "I can't even understand what it says."

"Uzumaki," Inuzuka Kiba asked loudly, "What is the 'Chaos Wheel'?"

"A sealing technique that can focus chakra like rain and then redirect it." Naruto answered without thinking. Inuzuka Kiba was recording in his notebook, mumbling that he would ask his teacher about the properties of chakra. He also complained that he needed to find another notebook to record these messy things.

Shikamaru was concentrating on a thick ancient book that looked older than Haruno Sakura's father.

Sasuke was sorting his weapons while muttering to himself. His weapon bag contained all kinds of hidden weapons, from senbon, shuriken to long hook sickles. He had to put those dangerous weapons aside to avoid accidentally hurting others.

"I need all the information on chain ninjutsu," he said suddenly.

The boys immediately stopped what they were doing and handed him a bunch of scrolls. Sasuke collected them and placed them next to the weapons he had sorted out earlier. Everything was done in an orderly and efficient manner.

"What do you need me to do?" asked Haruno Sakura, who had already finished reading the scroll in her hand.

Naruto leaned back and pulled out a large golden scroll from behind him before rejoining the discussion.

"We are sorting out the information and grouping the same types together so that it will be convenient to use them in the future." He explained. "Each golden scroll contains the inheritance of a certain family, the silver scroll contains ninja tools, the gray scroll contains weapons, and the brown scroll contains books and other non-sealed scrolls. I was in a hurry before, so many things were mixed up."

"That's putting it mildly." Sasuke complained mercilessly. "Who on earth would put historical documents and weapon forging techniques together?"

"I didn't have time to open them, you bastard!" Naruto defended himself, and then he turned to Haruno Sakura. "We are mainly sorting out those paper materials, such as scrolls, books and the like. All the things related to sealing techniques are given to me, the theoretical and historical materials are given to Shikamaru, the scrolls of ninjutsu are for Inuzuka Kiba, and the methods of using swordsmanship and other weapons are for Sasuke. He is now in charge of sorting out those strange hidden weapons."

Sasuke tapped Naruto's head lightly with the short sword in his hand. "Idiot."

Naruto smiled, not angry. "By the way," he picked up a pile of scrolls and books from the side and placed them in front of Haruno Sakura. "We left everything related to medical ninjutsu to you."

"Wow!" Haruno Sakura exclaimed excitedly. "You guys are so nice!" As she said this, she quickly kissed Naruto on the cheek, and then began to study the information in front of her impatiently.

"Really..." Naruto muttered as he touched his cheek, but his tone was full of fondness.

***

That night, as they were packing up in the open space, Naruto handed a golden scroll to Shikamaru and asked quietly:

"Hey, can I talk to you alone?"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. They were already as far away from the others as possible and were bending over to collect the papers scattered on the ground.

"What's wrong?" He noticed a hint of uneasiness and anxiety on Naruto's face.

"Maybe something." Naruto said vaguely. He looked over Shikamaru's shoulder at Sasuke and Inuzuka Kiba not far away. They were helping Naruto pack up and prepare to seal the scroll again.

Shikamaru calmly slowed down his movements so as not to attract the attention of others.

"what's up?"

"It's a very confidential matter." Naruto said bluntly. Shikamaru's heart skipped a beat.

"How secret is it?" he asked cautiously. His mind was already working quickly, analyzing various possibilities and making corresponding plans.

"It's like it was stolen from the confidential archives room." Naruto said in a low voice.

"Really, Naruto?"

Naruto showed a pained expression.

"Are you willing to help me? Just say yes or no."