Chapter 272: A Ninja Who Loves to Show Off
"The Nine Tails really is a pain," Kenichi said, watching Naruto's distressed face and almost wanting to laugh.
Minato's original intention had surely been good. Sealing Kurama inside Naruto's body would, in theory, benefit Naruto's future. And of course, Minato may not have had a better choice. If there had been no one else suitable to become the jinchuriki at the time, then Naruto was the only option.
But right now, Kurama's existence was only a burden. It offered Naruto no practical help at all. Worse, because of the Nine Tails, Naruto could not even receive the treatment he should have received.
If the jinchuriki had not been Naruto, then Naruto's identity would not have needed to be so… complicated.
Though, thinking about it, was Naruto's identity even a secret? The villagers called him a demon fox and bullied him openly.
Maybe that was a counter tactic. Jinchuriki were usually treated as vital assets, guarded and supported carefully. So spies might never look twice at a boy being mocked and starved. Who would suspect that child held Konoha's greatest weapon?
"Failed to extract it?" Kenichi asked, resting his chin on his hand.
Sasuke stared at Naruto in surprise. It was the first time he had heard of chakra extraction failing. He had never failed. For him, it always worked on the first try.
But Sasuke, raised by his parents and taught by his brother, said nothing. He only tugged lightly on Kenichi's sleeve and kept watching Naruto.
That blond kid really was interesting.
Was this what Itachi meant by "mediocre"?
"Yeah." Naruto scratched his cheek and smiled awkwardly. "I felt something, like… something close, but then it just failed."
Then he straightened up quickly, forcing cheer into his face.
"I'll succeed next time!"
Kenichi did not think Naruto was incapable of extracting chakra. Even if Naruto would become the dead last after entering the Academy, chakra extraction itself was not something he could never do.
"Hm." Kenichi nodded slowly. "I know. And I know why you failed."
He poked Naruto's stomach with deliberate meaning.
Kenichi was genuinely curious about the Nine Tails. The idea that something that massive could be sealed inside a child's body was absurdly fascinating.
But sealing techniques in this world were practically miraculous.
Sealing scrolls. The Fire Sealing Method. All of them were powerful. Kenichi had once heard his teacher say that sealing techniques were created specifically so the weak could overcome the strong.
Their use had declined over time, but they had never vanished. In the end, Naruto and Sasuke would defeat Kaguya by sealing her again.
Of course, that was also because Kaguya, the Ancestor of Chakra, could not be killed by ordinary means. Sealing was the only solution.
And it conveniently left the door open for future sequels.
"Big Brother, you know?!" Naruto shot to his feet, eyes blazing. The feeling he had just now was strange, but he was too young to even describe it properly.
"I know a little," Kenichi said with a shrug.
He did know, but the solution was troublesome. He was not sure whether reinforcing the seal would cause unexpected changes.
Naruto was about to press him again, but Kenichi frowned and looked up, then clicked his tongue.
The Third Hokage really had nothing better to do.
Kenichi had sensed a chakra fluctuation. The technique had not fully completed yet, which meant he had not been "seen" by Hiruzen so far, but Kenichi still chose to avoid unnecessary trouble.
He retrieved the chakra extraction book he had just handed Naruto, and with Sasuke, vanished from Naruto's sight.
Naruto spun in place, blank. He called out, but no one answered him.
"Brother Amemiya," Sasuke asked as they moved through the forest, "are we not going to take care of that kid?"
By now they were far from the river. Kenichi was rummaging through his belongings, as if searching for a mask.
"His name is Naruto," Kenichi said, amused, glancing at Sasuke. "He's a little younger than you, but he's not exactly a 'little kid,' is he?"
"But I'm older than him," Sasuke insisted, stubborn in a very strange place.
Kenichi did not bother digging into whether this was some leftover curse from Indra and Asura.
"Come on." Kenichi changed the subject smoothly. "Didn't we say we'd go eat three colored dango in Konoha today?"
Sasuke's attention snapped over immediately, eyes bright. He agreed without hesitation.
Seeing that, Kenichi pulled out the face erasing mask he had made earlier.
Then he looked at Sasuke and felt a headache coming on.
Sasuke was too young, and Kenichi did not have a suitable mask for him. All he could do was a simple disguise to make Sasuke look different than usual.
"Don't say the wrong thing later," Kenichi warned. "If you slip, it'll be troublesome."
Sasuke nodded obediently.
Kenichi's cover story was simple.
Sasuke was his sick little brother, and Kenichi was bringing him to Konoha for treatment.
That was not uncommon. Konoha Hospital was the largest and best hospital in the Land of Fire. Medical resources were scarce everywhere, even in the ninja world.
Shinobi had medical ninja, but ordinary people in smaller places did not have access to them. During peacetime, countless people came to Konoha for treatment.
Konoha welcomed it. It made money.
Medicine was a high profit industry in any world, and medical ninjutsu made it even worse. Chakra regenerated. The "cost" of treatment was nearly zero.
The only issue was training medical ninja, which was complicated.
And with the ninja world relatively peaceful lately, Konoha's entry checks were not strict.
Kenichi carried Sasuke on his back and walked toward Konoha's main gate.
Above it hung a skeleton.
After a year of wind and sun, all flesh was gone. Only white bone remained, still suspended there.
A sign hung beneath it:
Defector, Uchiha Fugaku.
"It's been a year…" Kenichi stared up, momentarily dazed.
This had to be Danzo's work.
The Third Hokage could be ruthless, but he was not the type to leave a skeleton hanging once nothing but bones remained. His teacher had always said Hiruzen was best at compromise.
Danzo, however, absolutely would do this.
Kenichi understood the purpose immediately.
Danzo wanted to provoke the remaining Uchiha into revenge, so he could wipe them out faster. He wanted deterrence. He wanted efficiency.
Two birds, one stone.
And maybe he also wanted an outlet for his frustration at losing a Mangekyo he could not obtain.
"Shocked?" the chunin at the registration desk asked, grinning smugly as he raised his chin.
Kenichi did not recognize him. He looked like an ordinary chunin.
The gate guards were usually chunin anyway. There was supposedly a jonin captain, but unless something special happened, the captain rarely appeared.
Most of the work fell to the chunin, and they enjoyed it. It was a long term assignment with power, authority, and boredom enough to rot the brain.
Kenichi put on his best bumpkin expression.
"Ninja sama," Kenichi asked, playing along, while simultaneously forming a tiny soundproof barrier around Sasuke's ear, "what is that?"
The reason he had made Sasuke pretend to be sick was partly convenience, partly to keep Sasuke from seeing the corpse.
Now, that caution felt justified.
"Heh." The chunin clicked his tongue, face full of disdain. "You definitely don't know who that is, but he used to be a big shot. He looked down on us from above, but now…"
He was exactly like a hyena barking beside a dead lion, proud and loud because the lion could not bite back anymore.
"Konoha is amazing," Kenichi said, suppressing his disgust.
He did not care to start a conflict. He had never even met Fugaku. Even if Kenichi respected the man's final resolve, he was not going to pick a fight over it.
He had not received some system that forced him to roar at injustice.
"That's right," the chunin said, swelling with pride. "And if you're here to treat your brother, you're lucky today."
Kenichi perked up a little. He liked it when idiots bragged. Sometimes they accidentally leaked useful information.
"Ah?" Kenichi asked, eyes wide with perfect ignorance. "Is an important person here?"
"You know about Lady Tsunade?" the chunin said with satisfaction. "One of Konoha's Legendary Sannin. She's seeing patients in the hospital!"
Then he launched into the Sannin's "glorious history."
Kenichi's ears nearly developed calluses.
Still, one detail was interesting.
The chunin even mentioned Kenichi's teacher, though only briefly.
Kenichi narrowed his eyes, thoughtful.
"Konoha's attitude toward Teacher is… strange. Are they trying to ease the relationship?"
He filed the thought away.
When the chunin finally finished showing off, Kenichi carried Sasuke through the gate and into Konoha.
"Sasuke," Kenichi said quietly once they were inside, "you can get down now."
There was no need to maintain the act. Konoha would not waste manpower tracking random civilians unless something happened.
Sasuke did not notice the bones above the gate at all. He just looked around with curiosity.
Kenichi took him to buy three colored dango.
He had briefly considered letting Sasuke see his father's remains to stimulate his eyes, but that would attract Konoha's attention. He dropped the idea.
He came to relax, not to stir trouble.
"…But if Tsunade is here, that's troublesome," Kenichi muttered, glancing toward Konoha Hospital.
Tsunade had returned?
That was strange.
Had her hemophobia been cured? Had she returned to fulfill her lover and brother's dreams?
If so, Danzo would be furious.
Before, Danzo was a "strong candidate" for the next Hokage. With Tsunade present, Danzo had almost no chance.
Tsunade was one of the Legendary Sannin. The First Hokage's granddaughter. Her status, experience, and wartime prestige crushed Danzo's shadow work.
Kenichi was tempted to probe further, but with Sasuke beside him, he decided against it.
He would come another time.
…
"Old man, something's wrong with you." Tsunade frowned at the medical images in her hand.
She had never seen a case like this.
But one thing was clear.
Her master, Hiruzen, had problems. She did not know the exact issue yet. More tests were needed.
"What's wrong?" Hiruzen asked, suddenly tense.
This was Tsunade.
If she said he had a problem…
.....
[Check Out My Patreon For Advance Chapters On All My Fanfics!]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]