Konoha's Genius is a bit Ordinary?

When Natsuro returned home, he found his mother, Shinai, had already come back from work.

He informed her about the plan to move, as he had discussed with Tsunade earlier.

In truth, given Natsuro's current wealth, Shinai didn't need to work anymore.

However, Shinai was the kind of person who couldn't stay idle. Forcing her to stay at home would only frustrate her, so Natsuro allowed her to continue working at her own pace.

As for whether her job at the barbecue restaurant was easy, he wasn't sure. But given his status as the Sixth Hokage-to-be, her workload was bound to be lightened significantly.

"Is something wrong?" Shinai asked, looking at Natsuro with concern.

"Not really," Natsuro replied. "It's just that when I officially become Hokage, having you continue to work might invite unnecessary gossip."

"I see… but why do we have to move?" Shinai asked, glancing fondly around their familiar home.

"Because this house is too small," Natsuro said after a moment of thought, adding a reason he knew Shinai couldn't refuse. "Once Ino moves in, and if we eventually have a few kids, there won't be enough space."

"Oh, I see! That makes sense," Shinai's eyes lit up. Glancing at the house again, her tone turned dismissive. "You're right, this place is too small! It's time to move!"

Natsuro couldn't help but laugh at Shinai's sudden change in attitude.

Apparently, nostalgia paled in comparison to her desire for grandchildren.

Still, Natsuro reconsidered. With his current age and the responsibilities he'd soon face, rushing into things might not be wise.

After all, if he became Hokage shortly, mastered Flying Thunder God, got married, and had kids right away… the resemblance to a certain predecessor's fate was uncanny.

Sure, the Nine Tails might no longer pose a threat, but what if the Ten Tails suddenly emerged instead?

And who knew given his current constitution, he might actually withstand the Ten Tails.

Thinking about all this, Natsuro rubbed his temples. Better to take his time.

Besides, avoiding kids didn't mean avoiding other… activities.

"When are we moving, Natsuro?" Shinai asked eagerly.

"In a few days. Our new house will be next to Lady Tsunade's residence," Natsuro replied.

"Really?!" Shinai's eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Of course," Natsuro nodded. Despite Tsunade's reputation as a compulsive gambler, she was a role model for women like Shinai.

Shinai smiled brightly, already looking forward to their new home.

After sharing dinner with Shinai, Natsuro returned to his room. Sitting at his old desk, he picked up a pen and paper, just like when he was younger, and began sketching ideas.

He reflected on his recent battle. In hindsight, he had underestimated his own strength.

But it wasn't entirely his fault. He had only recently undergone a significant breakthrough and hadn't had time to test his limits before being caught in Danzō's trap.

At the time, Natsuro had estimated himself to be slightly weaker than Sage Mode Naruto.

Although he hadn't seen Sage Mode Naruto in action, he had observed Sage Mode Jiraiya.

Based on his comparison, he concluded that his abilities were roughly on par with Sage Mode Jiraiya. Since Jiraiya's Sage Mode was considered inferior to Naruto's, he assumed he fell short of Naruto's level.

Yet the reality was different. Could Sage Mode Naruto have survived the ambush he had faced, even with knowledge of the four Akatsuki members' abilities? He doubted it.

The key lay in the nature of their power. Sage Mode was a temporary burst of strength. Even with shadow clones gathering natural energy, Naruto's Sage Mode only lasted about ten minutes.

In contrast, Natsuro's strength wasn't a burst, it was his constant state.

Plus, he had techniques like Flying Thunder God and the Spiritual Transformation Technique.

Reflecting on this, Natsuro realized he was stronger than he had initially believed. Even in his recent battle, he hadn't reached his theoretical peak.

After all, many of his techniques couldn't be tested safely in the heat of battle.

"If I can fully realize my potential, even the Six Paths of Pain wouldn't pose much of a threat," Natsuro mused.

Among the Pains, only the Deva Path might endanger him. The real threat, Nagato, was less of a concern.

Without the Edo Tensei, Nagato's body was already a wreck, drained of vitality and crippled by his injuries. Even with the full power of the Rinnegan, Nagato couldn't match Natsuro.

"So… I'm already this strong?" Natsuro murmured, his voice tinged with surprise. He hadn't realized it until now, but even the once-formidable Pain was no longer a significant threat to him.

There was a time when he used to struggle for even a small amount of chakra...

But now, even with his current strength, he couldn't afford to stop. Thinking about the powerful enemies that awaited him in the future, he knew there was no room for complacency.

Sitting at his desk, Natsuro began planning his next steps. He couldn't help but sigh, there was still so much to do.

His immediate priority was to familiarize himself with his newfound power.

Next, he needed to find suitable locations to train in elemental attributes. So far, he had identified a place for wind-style training in the Sand Village, but he still needed suitable environments for the other four elements.

For fire-style, a volcanic area would be ideal. The volcano near where Moryo was recently sealed seemed perfect, as it had just erupted.

For water-style, he didn't need to venture to the Mist Village; a coastal area would suffice.

However, earth and lightning posed more of a challenge. While earth-style could technically be trained anywhere, he wanted an environment where the earth attribute was most prominent- which was likely the Stone Village. Lightning-style training, on the other hand, would probably require a trip to the Cloud Village.

In addition to the five elements, there was the matter of Yang Release. After witnessing the Reanimation Jutsu, Natsuro felt he had some direction for his Yang Release training. He needed to carve out time for this as well.

Finally, Natsuro glanced at a sketch of the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken. He had rarely used this jutsu in the past because it required too much time to form, making it incompatible with his combat style.

Unless facing enemies with exceptional regenerative abilities, like Kakuzu and his Earth Grudge Fear, he generally avoided using the Rasenshuriken.

But now, with his enhanced abilities, he wondered if it was possible to develop a version of the jutsu that could be instantly deployed.

It didn't need to be as fast as the Rasengan, but at least it couldn't take so long to prepare.

This, however, would be a monumental task in itself.

Looking at the paper now filled with tasks and notes, Natsuro felt a headache brewing.

Still, it was a good problem to have. As long as he had a clear path forward and room to improve, it meant he hadn't yet reached the peak of his potential.

With the plans for his personal growth outlined, Natsuro's gaze turned cold.

He hadn't forgotten about Danzō. Collecting enough evidence to bring him down wouldn't be easy, but Natsuro had to start with leads within the village.

However, Tsunade had likely already tried this and come up short, or at least failed to find sufficient evidence to incriminate Danzō fully.

Natsuro's eyes fell on a name he had scribbled on the paper. Perhaps the key to unraveling Danzō's schemes lay with this person.

Orochimaru...

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Currently on Chapter 264 - Two Brothers Meet