"At 2:10 AM, the thief group known as the Eleven Arhats broke into the Ninja Tavern and stole a gaming console."
"At 2:53 AM, Special Jonin Amou Natsuhiko appeared at the Police Department building with the corpses of the Eleven Arhats."
"At 3:31 AM, a large-scale explosion occurred at the Root base. No casualties were reported, but the rescue of data and equipment is still ongoing..."
That morning, in the Hokage's office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, sporting two dark circles under his eyes, was carefully reading a thick report. Occasionally, he rubbed his temples with his left hand to alleviate his headache.
How could so much happen in one night?
It hadn't been long since the incident of Kushina's kidnapping, and now another mess had cropped up in Konoha.
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a wave of helplessness.
Especially with last night's explosion, which threw the entire village into a state of panic.
Although Konoha had been engaged in constant warfare, it had always kept the enemy at the borders, never allowing them to reach the village gates.
So when the villagers heard the deafening explosion just outside the village, they were bound to be panic-stricken.
In fact, even he, upon being awakened by the explosion, initially thought it was either the Nine-Tails breaking free or the Kumogakure forces attacking.
Even after learning that the explosion was merely caused by an accident in Root's experiment, he couldn't relax. He had to split off dozens of shadow clones and spend the entire night with the police force calming the villagers…
No wonder he looked like he had overexerted himself in training.
Unfortunately, he still couldn't rest because there was an even more important matter that needed clarification.
Just then, there was a rhythmic knock on the door.
"Come in," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, adjusting his emotions.
A white-haired young man in a lab coat walked in; it was, of course, Natsuhiko.
"You wanted to see me, Hokage-sama?" he asked with a smile.
Seeing Natsuhiko, who also hadn't slept all night but still looked full of energy, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but feel envious.
Ah, the vigour of youth...
After a moment of silent admiration, he motioned for Natsuhiko to sit down, then smiled and praised him:
"Natsuhiko, you really gave me a big surprise last night."
"I never expected that the notorious Eleven Arhats, who had caused so much trouble for so many people, would eventually fall into your hands."
"And it was less than an hour after they committed the theft."
"Honestly, even I wouldn't have been entirely confident in pulling that off."
Faced with the Third Hokage's abundant praise, Natsuhiko responded humbly:
"Hokage-sama, you're too kind. I just have some special anti-theft techniques, that's all."
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded slightly, "It seems you've also learned a lot recently from Lord Mito."
"And this incident is also a great opportunity to promote Konoha's capabilities."
After a few more words of praise, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally got to the main point.
To avoid making the atmosphere too heavy, he spoke in a half-joking tone:
"Natsuhiko, give me the inside scoop. Does your anti-theft technique involve hiding explosive tags inside the gaming console?"
Indeed, although Danzo insisted that an experimental mishap caused the explosion, Hiruzen Sarutobi, familiar with his old friend's temperament, felt that something was amiss.
Given the close timing, he naturally linked the explosion and the theft, leading him to a frightening hypothesis:
That guy Danzo conspired with outsiders to steal the Ninja gaming console, then triggered the explosive tag trap set by Natsuhiko when breaking the seal, which led to last night's explosion.
Just the thought of this possibility made Hiruzen Sarutobi feel a throbbing pain in his temples.
After all, what was stolen from the tavern was just a gaming console.
If that sizable explosion yesterday was indeed caused by it, how many explosive tags must have been stuffed inside it?!
What kind of hardcore anti-theft method is this?
Thinking about how he had been using those gaming consoles to relax and play cards every day, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt his scalp tingle.
More importantly, there were still hundreds of identical gaming consoles in the Extreme Ninja Tavern!
If a chain explosion were to happen accidentally, wouldn't the entire Konoha be blown sky-high?!
Worried by this possibility, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't sit still and immediately sought out Natsuhiko for clarification.
After all, the other party involved, Danzo, was still stubbornly insisting that it was merely an accident.
Clearly, he also knew the principle of "honesty leads to leniency, stubbornness to life imprisonment."
Hiruzen Sarutobi reassured him further:
"I'm not here to hold you accountable; after all, even if there was a mistake, it wasn't your fault."
"But as the Hokage, I need to understand the truth of the situation."
After saying that, Hiruzen Sarutobi fixed his gaze on Natsuhiko's increasingly mature and handsome face, not missing any subtle expressions.
Then he saw Natsuhiko looking astonished as he said:
"Hiding explosive tags in a gaming console? That's too dangerous! How could I possibly do something like that..."
Was Natsuhiko telling the truth?
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a bit confused.
Could it be that he was wrong?
After all, he didn't think Natsuhiko's acting skills could fool someone as experienced as himself.
Maybe it really was just a coincidence…
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt somewhat relieved.
Right, how could a kid like Natsuhiko be so deranged?
But just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he heard Natsuhiko continue:
"Although there's not a single explosive tag in there…"
"But I did set up a summoning seal technique inside the machine that can summon explosive tags."
"And those explosive tags also contain a technique that can summon other explosive tags..."
"!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes almost popped out of his head.
Why do you have to leave out the essential details like that?!
And how is this different from directly stuffing explosive tags into the gaming console?
No, this way, there isn't even a spatial limit, which makes it even more deranged!
Fortunately, this time, Natsuhiko didn't drag out his explanation and quickly reassured him with a smile:
"But don't worry, Hokage-sama. I've already set up a series of safety measures to ensure nothing goes wrong."
"For example, the summoning seal technique inside the gaming console is usually split into different components, so under normal circumstances, it won't activate."
"Only when someone attempts to dismantle the machine illegally will the mechanism be triggered, causing those components to merge and form a complete summoning seal."
"Additionally, I constantly release a faint chakra wave within the tavern. As long as the gaming consoles are within range of this chakra wave, the summoning seal won't be triggered."
"Of course, the most important part is that the explosive tags linked to this summoning seal have been sealed away."
"So the summoning trap can only truly activate if I unlock the seal after confirming the gaming console has been stolen."
"So you don't need to worry about any unexpected accidents, Hokage-sama."
After listening to Natsuhiko, Hiruzen Sarutobi stroked his chin and pondered for a while. Unable to find any flaws in Natsuhiko's plan, he finally felt somewhat relieved.
At least Natsuhiko's plan was much more secure than the explosive tag management in the village's weapon warehouse.
He even got some inspiration from it—perhaps the explosive tags could be split into two pieces, with the chakra storage technique and the triggering technique separated and only combined when needed, which should be safer.
If Natsuhiko knew his thoughts, he would definitely exclaim: Isn't that just storing detonators and explosives separately?
Temporarily setting aside his imaginative ideas, Hiruzen Sarutobi thought of another problem.
This method of continuously summoning explosive tags felt familiar.
As a master of ninjutsu, he quickly realised.
Wasn't this the Mutual Explosive Tag Amplification technique invented by Lord Tobirama?
How did Natsuhiko learn it?
(End of Chapter)
P.S
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BTTH: Suicide Letter From The Future
Exploding Soul Rings in Doulou
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