Konoha's Genius is a bit Ordinary?

"Who… who are you?"

In the dimly lit Kurama Manor, a pale-faced girl with dark red hair stared wide-eyed at the person before her, her voice trembling as she spoke.

Yakumo Kurama watched Natsuro draw closer. She had already employed her genjutsu and painted numerous scrolls, yet her efforts seemed to have no effect on him. He had passed through layer upon layer of her traps and reached her room effortlessly. This overwhelming sense of helplessness filled her with fear.

"Who I am doesn't matter," Natsuro said, sensing the constant disruption to his chakra from an external force.

Immediately, Natsuro realized the truth: Yakumo had partially broken through her seal. At the very least, she could now use genjutsu.

Moreover, her genjutsu was quite powerful. Considering her Kekkei Genkai, he understood that her abilities likely leveraged her heightened five senses.

Though his visual acuity wasn't on par with the Byakugan, and his sense of smell wasn't as sharp as Kiba's, Natsuro's five senses were all above average. If he only had one soul, he might have been at a disadvantage against Yakumo.

Then again, perhaps not. Natsuro's apparent lack of preparation in coming here was deliberate, he wanted to test the genjutsu immunity he had recently discovered. Otherwise, he wouldn't have approached so casually.

As it turned out, Yakumo's genjutsu had no effect on him.

Even if he hadn't discovered his immunity, Natsuro had alternative methods, he could seal off his five senses using a sealing technique. After all, his sensory abilities weren't tied to his five senses.

Additionally, with the Spirit Transformation Technique, he could now rely on soul-based perception.

In other words, Yakumo couldn't affect Natsuro no matter what.

This was precisely why Tsunade had entrusted this mission to him. Although Tsunade likely only considered his soul perception, Natsuro's immunity extended beyond that.

"What do you want? Don't come any closer!" Yakumo retreated, looking like a frail and helpless young girl being cornered.

"I've come to tell you everything. Do you want to know the truth?" Natsuro asked.

"The truth? The truth is that the Third Hokage sent people to assassinate my parents and kill me!" Yakumo continued retreating, her voice accusatory.

"That's a lie."

"A lie? Then explain! My parents were Jōnin; how could they have died in an ordinary fire?" Yakumo shouted angrily, her back now against the wall, unable to retreat further.

"Yes, you're right. That's why I'm here to tell you the truth. Don't resist, come with me," Natsuro said, his gaze fixed on Yakumo. Realizing her attacks had no effect on him, Yakumo finally gave up resisting.

At that moment, Natsuro's soul exited his shadow clone and entered Yakumo's body. The shadow clone, after a brief moment of blankness, returned to its ordinary state.

"Where is this?" Yakumo asked, staring at Natsuro and then at the familiar surroundings. It was her parents' room just as she remembered it when they were still alive.

"This is the depths of your memory. Watch closely—the truth of that day." Natsuro gestured to a spot nearby.

Yakumo hesitated before seeing a younger version of herself with her parents.

Seeing this, Yakumo's head began to ache. She remembered this scene... She had been begging her parents to let her become a ninja, but they refused. And then… what happened next? She couldn't quite recall.

Sure enough, Yakumo watched her younger self devastated by her parents' rejection.

"What… what is that?" Yakumo suddenly widened her eyes, staring at the monster emerging from her younger self.

"That's the monster, called Ido. It's a creature born from the depths of your subconscious," Natsuro explained as he observed.

"A monster born from my subconscious?" Yakumo murmured, her face changing drastically as a thought struck her. Panicking, she shouted, "Stop it!!"

However, the monster didn't listen. Overwhelmed by anger, it summoned thunderbolts that struck the house, setting it ablaze. It then trapped Yakumo's parents in a genjutsu, leaving them to perish in the flames.

"This… this means I killed my parents?" Yakumo's eyes widened as she finally remembered everything.

"Yes, but they deserved it!" A sudden voice rang in Yakumo's ears, prompting her to look up. Ido was now standing before them.

"Those who oppressed me, hurt me, they all deserve to die!" Ido roared.

"If you can't tell right from wrong, go see a therapist. Don't come here shouting nonsense," Natsuro said, digging at his ear nonchalantly. Compared to the Nine-Tails' roars, Ido's tantrum was child's play.

"You...!" Ido wanted to roar again but stopped. It stared at Natsuro with a look of apprehension, realizing its powers had no effect on him.

How could this be? Why did such a person exist?

"Well, it's time to end this," Natsuro said, clapping his hands. Now that Yakumo knew the truth, his mission was nearly complete.

As for comforting Yakumo, that was Kurenai and the Kurama clan's job or perhaps Naruto's. He wasn't good at such things.

The last step was to completely deal with Ido. But…

Natsuro pondered. He felt it would be best to let Yakumo resolve the matter herself. With Tsunade's help, Yakumo's health might recover, and she could even become a ninja.

So, what should he do?

Natsuro turned to Ido, a harmless smile on his face, and began forming a Rasenshuriken. Even though they were in Yakumo's mental world, the wild energy and sharp noise made Ido visibly panic.

Natsuro himself was surprised. His soul shouldn't have been capable of forming a Rasenshuriken. Initially, he had only intended to intimidate Ido, but it had materialized effortlessly.

Glancing at Yakumo, he smiled faintly. This was her mental world, after all.

Ido understood it couldn't remain. If it were struck by that technique, it would undoubtedly die.

Quickly, Ido chose to leave Yakumo's body.

"Once you're out, don't think about coming back," Natsuro said with a chuckle, retracting the Rasenshuriken. If he'd wanted to kill Ido, he would have thrown it already. His goal was merely to scare it away.

Now that Ido was gone, Natsuro reinforced the mental barriers with the Spirit Transformation Technique, ensuring Ido couldn't return to Yakumo's body anytime soon.

After finishing, he left Yakumo's body and returned to his shadow clone.

Outside, Kurenai and Unkai were already suppressing the newly emerged Ido.

"Don't kill it outright. Let Yakumo handle it," Natsuro said.

Immediately, Kurenai and Unkai stopped, looking toward Yakumo as she opened her eyes. The vacant, devastated look in her eyes made Kurenai's heart ache.

"So, would you like to say goodbye to your past self?" Natsuro yawned. "Or at least avenge your parents yourself?"

"Can… can I?" Yakumo asked hesitantly.

"Of course. After all, in your mental world, my Rasenshuriken formed effortlessly. That clearly had your support," Natsuro said.

The ease with which he had used the technique proved that, at least in that moment, Yakumo had sided with him and wanted to kill Ido.

By now, Ido was firmly suppressed by Kurenai and Unkai, who looked at Yakumo encouragingly.

Yakumo glanced at Kurenai, recalling the care Kurenai had shown her over the years. She had always dismissed it as insincere, but now she realized Kurenai truly cared for her.

So, what had she been doing all these years?

Yakumo looked at her countless paintings depicting Kurenai as an evil and sinister figure. Tears slowly welled up, filling her eyes.

She picked up the sharp fork-like painting tool lying next to her palette.

"No, you can't! I've always been helping you!" Ido screamed desperately as Yakumo approached it.

But it was all in vain. In the end, Yakumo drove the tool straight into Ido's heart.

"I'll leave the rest to you. Also, have Lady Tsunade check on Yakumo's body perhaps there's still hope," Natsuro said before departing.

"Thank you…" Kurenai said softly.

Unkai, hearing Natsuro's words, brightened for a moment but then shook his head. "Forget it. It's been so many years, and the clan has already resigned themselves to this fate. Back then, everyone agreed with Tsuyun's decision anyway. Let's not put that much pressure on her now."

"Suit yourself. After all, you're her uncle. But even if she doesn't become a ninja, having a healthy body is still important," Natsuro replied nonchalantly. "Later, I may ask for Yakumo's help. I need her genjutsu."

"At your service," Unkai agreed without hesitation. He didn't believe someone like Natsuro, the candidate for Sixth Hokage, would have any ulterior motives toward their clan.

Natsuro nodded and left.

"Everything's been resolved?" Tsunade looked at Natsuro, surprised. She hadn't expected the matter, long buried for years, to be settled so quickly.

"It's done. I'm not writing a report, though. I'll dictate it, and Shizune can record it," Natsuro said.

"Huh? Oh, yes, of course!" Shizune scrambled to find paper and a pen.

"You're getting lazier by the day, except when it comes to training," Tsunade said, exasperated. "And Shizune, stop being so quick to help him!"

Shizune could only smile wryly. How could she refuse someone like Natsuro, given his status compared to hers?

"Life is meant to be enjoyed," Natsuro said with a grin. If it weren't for those bugs lurking around, he wouldn't be rushing his training either. Why not enjoy life while training at a leisurely pace?

He then recounted everything that had transpired.

"Good work. I'll make time to check on Yakumo Kurama's condition. If it's congenital, it might be hard to change, but at the very least, I can help her improve. She could still become a genjutsu specialist," Tsunade said approvingly.

Although Natsuro was notoriously lazy and hard for her to direct, even when she managed to get him to do something, he often found ways to slack off. Yet his results left no room for criticism—whatever he took on, whether voluntarily or under duress, he resolved perfectly.

Tsunade then considered the Kurama clan's Kekkei Genkai and remarked, "It's true. Letting the Kurama clan's genjutsu fade into obscurity would be a loss for Konoha."

Hearing this, Natsuro glanced at Tsunade thoughtfully. It seemed her perspective had shifted, and that was a good thing for Konoha.

"What is it?" Tsunade asked, noticing his gaze.

"Nothing. If there's nothing else, I'll be off," Natsuro said with a smile.

"Fine, go slack off," Tsunade said, rolling her eyes before turning to the mountain of paperwork on her desk with a resigned sigh.

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Currently on Chapter 235 - Danzo's Desperate Move