At this moment, Natsuhiko and Kushina were heading towards the Hokage's office.
Suddenly, Kushina remembered something and asked curiously:
"By the way, Natsuhiko, you haven't told me yet; how did you defeat that last Cloud ninja?"
"You only told me the plan before, but you didn't explain the reason."
Natsuhiko smiled slightly and said:
"Actually, I used the principle of chakra wave interference."
"For example, it's like two people are chatting, and if someone nearby starts making a lot of noise, their voices get drowned out, and they can't hear each other."
"Similarly, the Cloud ninja using sensing ninjutsu can be compared to someone with empathetic hearing."
"And Kushina, when you kept using the machine to emit high-powered chakra waves, it was like suddenly playing loud noise in his ears, causing him to feel dizzy and unable to resist."
"Of course, it's not that simple in reality."
"Just like a radio can be interfered with by high-powered signals of the same frequency, chakra waves also need to find the other party's frequency to interfere."
"That's why I had you leave first to familiarise yourself with using the chakra communicator while I lured the opponent into continuously using sensing ninjutsu. Then, through the communication bracelet, I cracked the frequency of their sensing ninjutsu chakra waves."
"When I reached that clearing, the tuning information I sent you was the frequency of his sensing ninjutsu."
"I see…"
Kushina finally understood utterly, looking at Natsuhiko with eyes sparkling with admiration.
"Natsuhiko, you're amazing! You actually used the opponent's ability against him!"
Natsuhiko modestly replied:
"It was nothing. Without your cooperation, Kushina, I wouldn't have been able to do it."
"Hehe~"
Kushina scratched her head in embarrassment, feeling a bit proud that she had worked with Natsuhiko to defeat a Jonin.
Before long, the two of them arrived at the Hokage's office.
"Grandma Mito!"
As soon as they entered, Kushina was delighted to find Mito in the office and immediately rushed over to hug her with teary eyes.
"Boohoo, I thought I'd never see you again!"
Mito gently hugged her back and softly comforted her, then nodded with a smile towards Natsuhiko, expressing her gratitude.
Natsuhiko quickly nodded in return, wondering how Mito still looked so young. After all, in his mind, she should have been a kind older woman.
Thinking back to when he heard Kushina give her tight-fitting clothes to Mito, he couldn't help but imagine a series of awkward images.
But he didn't have much time to think as the Third Hokage's cough brought him back to reality.
Turning his head, he saw that besides the Third Hokage, the three advisors—Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane, and Danzo Shimura—were also present, staring at him intently.
Natsuhiko had seen the other two advisors from afar before, but today, he saw the legendary Danzo for the first time.
On the surface, Danzo appeared to be a rather unhappy middle-aged man. However, contrary to Natsuhiko's expectations, Danzo was fully limbed, with only his right eye bandaged.
Indeed, in the original story, when Danzo recruited Kabuto from the orphanage, he wasn't using a cane, so it was normal for him to be fully limbed now.
While recalling this, Natsuhiko bowed slightly and greeted:
"Hokage-sama, advisors."
"Natsuhiko, you did an excellent job this time!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled in satisfaction, highly praising Natsuhiko's performance.
After all, Natsuhiko not only discovered Kushina's disappearance promptly but also single-handedly rescued her, thus averting a major crisis for Konoha.
Natsuhiko humbly replied:
"It's all thanks to your wise leadership, Hokage-sama. I just followed your plan and happened to succeed…"
"Enough with the flattery."
At this point, Danzo impatiently interrupted, "The most important thing now is to understand the specifics of the situation."
Hiruzen's smiling face stiffened, but he couldn't argue, so he nodded:
"Then Natsuhiko, please report on the mission."
Having anticipated detailed questions about the mission, Natsuhiko had already prepared his account.
"It all started when I received Kushina's distress signal…"
Natsuhiko began narrating the events of Kushina's rescue.
Kushina, still snuggling against Mito, listened with great interest as she didn't know many details herself.
To avoid revealing too much information, Natsuhiko omitted several details, such as the rocket backpack, simply mentioning that he had special travel techniques.
Ninjas kept their secrets regularly so that the high-ups couldn't probe too deeply.
However, since the Third Hokage knew about the communication bracelet, Natsuhiko didn't hide it. Its miraculous nature caused quite a stir among the advisors.
Everyone was particularly astonished to hear how Kushina had kept transmitting information to Natsuhiko during her kidnapping. They found the situation unprecedented.
They concluded that those Cloud ninjas lost very unfairly.
Natsuhiko then described using chakra wave interference to kill Yawai, noting that killing a Jonin was hard to hide, and he didn't want them to overestimate his strength.
After all, there's a significant difference between killing a Jonin by exploiting a weakness and defeating one through sheer power, as in Shikamaru's trap for Hidan, which does not indicate elite Jonin or Kage-level strength.
Natsuhiko aimed to maintain a harmless image while lacking overwhelming strength.
Despite downplaying his contributions, Jonin's feat of safely rescuing Kushina and subsequently defeating two Chunin and sensing left Konoha's leaders impressed.
While the communication bracelet's unique capabilities aided its success, it was Natsuhiko's invention, rightfully credited to him.
The leaders couldn't help but reevaluate Natsuhiko, impressed by his youth.
A young, civilian-born ninja killing a Jonin…
These keywords made them compare Natsuhiko with Minato Namikaze, who recently excelled on the Cloud battlefield.
However, they found the two incomparable, as Minato was a conventional genius—skilled, quick, and agile—while Natsuhiko was an unconventional genius—using wisdom and inventive techniques to outsmart opponents.
Yet, they believed that "Gold" was slightly better than "Silver," as Minato's foundational abilities meant he could become a well-rounded warrior. In contrast, Natsuhiko's physical limitations were more challenging to overcome.
Only Mito smiled at Natsuhiko, feeling increasingly satisfied, knowing he had a detailed plan to address his weaknesses.
"…After that, we took a long detour, so we just returned to Konoha now."
Natsuhiko finally finished his abridged version of "Kushina's Rescue Operation: Our House."
The Third Hokage kindly nodded and smiled:
"Natsuhiko, you've done a great service this time. Even an elite Jonin couldn't have done better."
"As a reward, besides the basic S-rank mission payment, I grant you access to the Book of Seals, from which you may choose a jutsu to learn."
Natsuhiko's eyes lit up upon hearing this.
The Book of Seals, guarded by the Hokage, contained forbidden and high-level jutsu, including the Shadow Clone Jutsu and Flying Thunder God Technique.
It also held numerous incomplete forbidden techniques created by Tobirama Senju, which were crucial for Natsuhiko's jutsu development.
Natsuhiko had coveted the Book of Seals for some time.
The Third Hokage handed him a small scroll:
"This is the Book of Seals' catalogue, listing various jutsu and their effects for your selection."
"No rush, Natsuhiko, think carefully before deciding."
Natsuhiko accepted the scroll without opening it, tucking it away.
Then, Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "You and Kushina should rest now; you've had a long night."
Their subsequent discussions would concern Cloud's kidnapping attempt and the fate of the remaining Cloud ninja, matters beyond Natsuhiko and Kushina's purview.
At that moment, Danzo spoke again:
"Wait, we should discuss the communication bracelet."
"You must understand its potential in war and espionage, so my Root should develop it."
He turned to Natsuhiko:
"With your talent, staying at the Ninja Academy is a waste of time. Join Root and develop the bracelet there."
"You went to the Academy for its library. In Root, you'll access all the books you need, including some forbidden jutsu not in the Book of Seals."
"Only in Root can you fully utilise your abilities for the village's benefit."
"It's all for Konoha!"
(End of Chapter)
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