Konoha's Genius is a bit Ordinary?

In Front of the Hokage Building

Natsuro stood in front of the Hokage's office, gazing up with furrowed brows. He sensed a familiar chakra emanating from within, it was a chakra he was usually unable to identify specifically, except in one particular case: the chakra of the Nine-Tails!

What puzzled him even more was the absence of his Flying Thunder God mark, which he had previously placed on Naruto.

Initially, he thought it might be Naruto inside, but he quickly realized something was off. Naruto had just returned with him and couldn't have reached the Hokage's office so quickly. Furthermore, Naruto's chakra always carried the Flying Thunder God mark he had placed.

If it wasn't Naruto, then who inside the Hokage's office carried the Nine-Tails' chakra?

Pondering this, Natsuro entered the Hokage building. However, just as he reached the doorway—

Boom!

He abruptly halted and stepped back as a white, delicate hand suddenly punched through the wall where he had just stood.

The hand quickly retracted, leaving behind shattered stone and debris.

Natsuro observed the scene with mild amusement. Who had provoked Tsunade this time?

With curiosity, he opened the office door and stepped inside.

In the room, besides Tsunade and Shizune, he saw Sasuke and a young boy dressed in monk attire. The boy's face was pale, beads of sweat glistening on his forehead, as if he'd seen a ghost.

Natsuro's gaze lingered on the boy. The faint trace of Nine-Tails' chakra emanated from him, but it was far weaker than the real Nine-Tails.

"Tsunade-sama, what happened here?" Natsuro asked.

"Huh? When did you get back?" Tsunade asked, a bit surprised.

"Just now. I heard Kakashi was looking for me, so I came over," Natsuro replied, gesturing toward the hole in the wall.

"Oh, nothing happened, right?" Tsunade replied with a suspiciously friendly smile, casting a glance at the boy.

"Yes… nothing happened," the boy stammered, his expression stiff.

"See?" Tsunade said with satisfaction, turning back to Natsuro.

Natsuro remained silent, while Shizune sighed in quiet resignation. This was a common occurrence.

Sasuke, observing the scene, glanced at Natsuro with a glimmer of relief.

Tsunade then returned to her desk and looked at Sasuke. "Care to explain why you brought a member of the Fire Temple to Konoha? Don't tell me you're recruiting again?"

Tsunade's tone was skeptical. Ever since Sasuke brought back Jugo and Karin, she couldn't help but suspect he had a habit of recruiting anyone he encountered.

Natsuro, too, was surprised that Sasuke had brought the boy back but quickly understood. Sasuke must have noticed the boy's chakra resembling Naruto's and decided to investigate.

Sasuke, on the other hand, sighed with a hint of exasperation. He wasn't in the habit of bringing random people back to Konoha!

He began explaining the mission he had been on.

Recently, the graveyard near the Fire Temple had become unsettled, with tombs frequently being disturbed. It was clear evidence of grave robbers at work. Sasuke's mission had been to capture or eliminate the culprits.

The task hadn't been particularly difficult, especially with Karin's sensory abilities. However, they encountered a few troublesome enemies who were eventually dealt with by Sasuke.

Sasuke glanced at Natsuro as he spoke, as if silently acknowledging the power he had used to resolve the situation.

After completing the mission Sasuke encountered a boy named Sora at the Fire Temple, the same boy now in the office.

Sasuke had noticed that Sora's chakra bore a striking resemblance to Naruto's. Since Naruto's power came from the Nine-Tails, Sasuke wondered if Sora's might be connected to the same source.

Could it be that Sora also had a link to the Nine-Tails? Or was something else at play?

To find out, Sasuke decided to bring Sora back to Konoha.

"The Nine-Tails?" Tsunade furrowed her brows upon hearing Sasuke's explanation. "How could there be a second Nine-Tails?"

Natsuro, too, was surprised. He vaguely recalled something like this from his memories.

"What Nine-Tails? Is there something wrong with my body?" Sora asked, confused.

"I'll take a look and let you know," Natsuro said, stepping forward to examine Sora.

Though Sora tried to resist, his struggles were futile.

In no time, Natsuro finished his examination, his expression carrying a trace of astonishment.

"Did you find anything?" Tsunade asked, clearly concerned given the mention of the Nine-Tails.

Natsuro nodded, released Sora, and began to explain.

Sora did not have a second Nine-Tails inside him. Instead, his body contained a portion of the Nine-Tails' chakra.

It seemed that someone had once collected the Nine-Tails' chakra and implanted it into Sora in an attempt to nurture him into becoming a second Nine-Tails.

"Impossible," Tsunade interjected. "Even if it's Nine-Tails' chakra, it shouldn't last indefinitely. It would eventually dissipate, even if transplanted into someone else."

Natsuro nodded in agreement but elaborated further.

Sora's body wasn't compatible with the Nine-Tails' chakra. As a result, the chakra was constantly attempting to escape and dissipate. However, whoever had implanted the chakra wasn't willing to let that happen.

To keep the chakra inside Sora, countless seals had been placed on him, forcibly binding the chakra within. These seals required constant maintenance and if they were ever fully undone, the chakra would still dissipate.

"And judging by the state of these seals, it seems they've been partially released before," Natsuro remarked thoughtfully. He then turned to Tsunade and asked, "Tsunade-sama, has the Fire Temple suffered any major incidents recently?"

"Yes..." Tsunade began, but before she could continue, Sora spoke up, his eyes dull.

"The Fire Temple was attacked by a monster not long ago. We suffered heavy losses."

After finishing his sentence, Sora fell silent, his mind replaying the looks of fear and disdain he had often seen in others' eyes. He hadn't understood why they looked at him that way before, but now it all made sense.

It turned out he was that monster, and he had harmed them. No wonder...

"Hmm, Natsuro," Tsunade said, turning to him. "You're well-versed in seals. Do you have a way to safely extract the Nine-Tails' chakra from Sora?"

"Of course I can," Natsuro replied with a smile. He had already planned to do so.

That said, Natsuro realized that he hadn't originally come to the Hokage's office for this matter.

But he thought, Well, there's no rush. Let's deal with this situation first.

After all, it was the Nine-Tails' chakra and after being contained for so many years, the amount was no small quantity...

Natsuro's eyes glimmered as he pondered something, though he kept his thoughts to himself...

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Currently on Chapter 281 - A Feat Rivalling the Sage of Six Paths