Konoha Village, inside the Hokage Office.
Tsunade sat in the main seat with a pleased expression.
Naruto, meanwhile, stood to the side, flipping through a stack of papers.
Tsunade picked up a cup of hot tea, took a sip, and said to Naruto, "See? It's not that hard to say it~"
Naruto: "…"
Maybe for Tsunade, with the Strength of a Hundred Seal, she is eighteen every year.
But Naruto didn't want to argue about that right now.
He wanted to see just how much information Konoha had gathered about him.
As Konoha's Jinchūriki, the village monitored Naruto very closely.
Kurenai Yuhi had been protecting him since he was a child.
When Naruto was ten years old, the drastic changes in him were also recorded.
Naruto still remembered very clearly what happened after that.
But there were a few things he genuinely didn't know.
For example, when Cloud Shinobi Village came to Konoha, used the excuse of a Cloud ninja dying in the village, threatened war, extorted Konoha, and demanded the return of several kekkei genkai users.
Hinata was among them.
"When did this happen?"
Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of coldness in his tone.
Tsunade picked up the file, glanced at it, and recalled the incident.
"Oh~ that time…" Tsunade said to Naruto, "Don't worry, Sakura already handled it for you. That hard-headed girl didn't let Cloud get away with anything."
If it weren't for Haruno Sakura's fierce stance against the Cloud envoys, they definitely wouldn't have backed down so easily.
But…
Tsunade felt annoyed by the tone Naruto was using.
"Don't do anything reckless." Tsunade warned him. "That matter has long passed. There's no need to dwell on it."
Naruto shook his head. "No, I think you misunderstood."
"This is the first time I've heard about something like this. Why would I care how long it's been?"
"And besides—what's the point of telling me not to mess around?"
"What I do… does it have anything to do with Konoha?"
Tsunade: "…"
Good grief, kid… are you trying to declare yourself a missing-nin?
Sarutobi Hiruzen, oh Sarutobi Hiruzen…
You old man really left me with a headache.
Tsunade felt helpless.
But right now, she had no choice.
So she changed the subject.
"Oh~ you mean repairing the relationship between you and Konoha." Tsunade sighed. "That sounds completely unrealistic."
"Forget it, let's not talk about that."
Tsunade rested her chin on her hand and asked, "So what are you planning to do?"
Naruto said thoughtfully, "I'm very interested in their Tailed Beasts."
The reason Kurama was weak…
Wasn't because its chakra was insufficient.
It was because it didn't have the chakra of the other Tailed Beasts.
The nine Tailed Beasts together form a complete whole.
No matter how powerful the Nine-Tails is, it's still only one Tailed Beast.
Without the chakra of the others, reaching the level of the Sage of Six Paths would be difficult.
Now that this incident had happened, Naruto wasn't truly harmed.
But he still wanted to stir trouble in Cloud Village.
Not because he was petty—he simply wanted to send a message to the world.
A message saying: don't provoke him.
Otherwise, the price would be a thousand or ten thousand times greater.
And while he was at it, he could find a way to strengthen Kurama.
After all, Naruto's power had grown. Kurama needed to keep up.
Otherwise, why bring Kurama along?
Naruto set the files aside and walked toward the wall of the Hokage's Office.
A world map of the ninja world hung there.
While Naruto confirmed the locations, Tsunade suddenly flipped over another document.
She asked in surprise, "Eh? You're actually Ōnoki's son-in-law?"
Naruto turned around, baffled. "?"
Kurotsuchi…
That girl didn't explain the situation to Ōnoki??
Tsunade said to Naruto, "Ōnoki has been telling people everywhere that you're his son-in-law. Is that why you left Konoha?"
She looked at Naruto curiously.
Naruto was completely unreliable when it came to romance, and many girls in Konoha were involved with him.
But Ōnoki only had one granddaughter—Kurotsuchi.
Could it be that…
Naruto shook his head slightly. "I have nothing to do with her. I'll handle it."
So Naruto finalized his plan.
First, go to Cloud Village.
Then, go to Iwagakure.
These matters weren't big, but he needed to settle them.
Thinking of this, Naruto activated the Flying Thunder God mark he left outside Konoha, and vanished in a flash.
Tsunade stared at the spot where he disappeared and sighed softly.
She didn't know if the appearance of someone like Naruto was a blessing or a disaster for the ninja world.
Naruto's strength was clearly beyond the norm.
Tsunade had no idea where his true limit lay.
Likely no one could measure it.
Because Tsunade was no weakling.
She could sense that Naruto's chakra intensity and quantity had already surpassed her grandfather—
The legendary God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama.
…
Of course, Naruto didn't go immediately.
He had already decided to improve himself first.
He currently had nearly twenty simulation chances—how could he waste them?
So Naruto continued his simulations.
The first target was Kurama Yakumo's kekkei genkai.
It was called the Five Senses Control.
This kekkei genkai was truly terrifying.
Next, Naruto considered another defensive enhancement.
Right now, Naruto's offensive abilities were completely maxed out.
Lightning Release Armor, Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, Sage Mode, Strength of a Hundred Seal, Super Weighted Boulder, sealing techniques, Rasengan, Big Ball Rasengan, Flying Thunder God…
All of these improved attack power or evasion.
If he had to list any defensive ability…
Only the Strength of a Hundred Seal and Sage Mode counted.
Flying Thunder God was an evasive technique, not a defensive one.
So—how to enhance his defense?
Naruto thought for a moment and immediately remembered the man who tanked a Tailed Beast Bomb in the original story.
Hōzuki Suigetsu.
The Hōzuki clan's kekkei genkai allowed the user to liquefy into water.
This allowed them to avoid most physical damage.
The downside was extreme weakness to Lightning Release.
But it was still an excellent defensive ability.
At the very least, if someone chopped his head open with a blade, he could liquefy it instantly and avoid fatal damage.
So Naruto's goals became clear.
First: Kurama Yakumo's Five Senses Control.
Second: The Hōzuki clan's Hydrification Technique.
Third: Gaara's mother's automatic sand protection, Shukaku's maternal defense.
Ahem~
Gaara's automatic sand defense was actually his mother's lingering will protecting him.
Naruto valued this ability greatly.
After all, he couldn't always remain completely alert.
So he needed this ability to guard against sneak attacks.
Thus, Naruto added it to his list.
After selecting all his targets, Naruto lit the incense and placed it on the ground.
"Dear simulator god, I was just kidding earlier. Please continue to bless me."
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[Naruto: I Don't Want Recognition]
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