Konoha's Genius is a bit Ordinary?

"Jiraiya-sensei, take the Third Hokage to the medical center. The equipment there should still be intact. I need to go check on Naruto," Natsuro said.

"Huh? Aren't you going to rest for a bit?" Jiraiya asked, startled.

From Jiraiya's perspective, Natsuro should have been exhausted by now.

Before arriving here, Natsuro was probably already busy, and after arriving, he used the Flying Thunder God technique to save the Third Hokage and then healed him. After all that, he was still planning to continue.

"I don't have time to rest. Even though I trust them, I want to be sure," Natsuro said as he checked his chakra levels. The healing hadn't used much, but he still popped another soldier pill into his mouth.

"Alright, be careful," Jiraiya sighed, understanding that he couldn't stop him. Even if he wanted to go in Natsuro's place, he couldn't. Without the Flying Thunder God technique, by the time he got there, it would already be too late.

Without saying more, Natsuro disappeared from sight.

Jiraiya watched him vanish, then quickly took the Third Hokage to the medical center.

When Natsuro arrived at Naruto's location, he saw the aftermath of a brutal battle. The crushed trees were evidence of the chaos that had unfolded here.

Naruto was unconscious, and nearby was Sakura, also passed out, looking like she had fought with everything she had.

"Natsuro, you're late this time," Sasuke said, clapping his hands as he noticed his arrival.

Natsuro glanced over at the Sand ninja trio, bound and unconscious. Sasuke had captured them alive, a noticeable improvement from the original story.

However, Gaara had passed out? Natsuro looked at him curiously but saw no signs of movement. It seemed strange, and while thinking about it, he asked Sasuke, "Did you do this?"

"No..." Sasuke said after a moment of silence, looking at Naruto. "I just finished things off. Most of the work was done by Naruto. He's gotten really strong."

Sasuke's tone carried a hint of complexity. It seemed he wasn't just being caught up to but had been surpassed!

"Tch, feeling like you can't keep up with Naruto?" Natsuro asked.

"Yeah." Sasuke turned his head away.

"At this stage, you're not as strong as Naruto," Natsuro said bluntly, not offering any words of comfort.

Sasuke remained silent as Natsuro continued.

"After all, Naruto can use shadow clones to speed up his learning. He's got a huge head start on you," Natsuro sighed. If he had stayed in the Ninja Academy, Naruto probably would have surpassed him too by now.

No matter how much talent you have, it still takes time to develop. Natsuro's current strength came from graduating several years early.

"But you don't need to rush. Naruto's growth has been rapid, but his innate talent isn't that remarkable. You've probably noticed that yourself," Natsuro explained. "The progress Naruto has made is due to the advantage of his shadow clones and his hard work."

"Still, using shadow clones is Naruto's advantage, right? There's nothing wrong with using your strengths effectively," Sasuke retorted.

"Of course. That advantage is unique to Naruto, but his current growth has reached the limit of what his foundation can support. Even if he learns a new technique like your Chidori, it wouldn't make a huge difference. For him to keep improving, he'll need to reinforce his basics, and that's your opportunity."

Natsuro looked Sasuke in the eye. "So don't underestimate yourself. Your foundation is already strong, and you're just entering a phase of rapid improvement. With your talent, catching up to Naruto should be easy. But whether you surpass him depends on you."

"My foundation, huh?" Sasuke looked at his hand. Did he really have that much talent?

Honestly, with Natsuro around, Sasuke didn't feel particularly gifted. But many people praised his talent, and now even Natsuro said it. He wasn't sure what to believe anymore.

"That said, continuing to do routine missions with Team 7 won't help you much. After this is over, I'll talk to Kakashi and suggest you get some experience in the Anbu," Natsuro said after thinking it over.

"The Anbu... that's where you used to be, right?" Sasuke asked, startled, suddenly remembering Natsuro's nickname, 'Konoha's Little White Fang.' That title came from the most famous Anbu member of the past.

"Yes," Natsuro nodded.

"Thank you," Sasuke said after a long silence.

"Heh, why are you thanking me?" Natsuro laughed and ruffled Sasuke's already messy hair, making it even worse.

"Why are you helping me like this, Natsuro? We don't really have any close relationship," Sasuke asked, not resisting, and after a long pause, he voiced the question that had been on his mind for a while.

"Why, huh?" Natsuro paused, thinking for a moment. "I don't know."

In the end, he shook his head and said, "There isn't always a reason. I just feel like you guys, this batch of graduates are like my younger brothers and sisters. And it's only natural to help your siblings, right?"

If he had to say why, it was because he liked these characters from the original story. Naturally, he wanted to help them, but that reason wasn't something he could explain, leading Sasuke to misunderstand.

"Brothers, huh?" Sasuke's eyes brightened for a moment, but he quickly turned his head, not letting Natsuro see the change in his expression.

Then, something occurred to Sasuke, and he asked, "What about Ino?"

Natsuro froze, his face turning slightly red. "Well... there are always exceptions."

Sasuke saw his awkward expression for the first time, and a slight smile appeared on his face. He had discovered one of Natsuro's... weaknesses, perhaps?

"Hm?" Natsuro suddenly frowned as he sensed a figure quickly approaching their location.

At this time, who could it be?

Whoever it was, they needed to be cautious. Natsuro alerted Sasuke, who quickly understood, hiding Naruto and Sakura while concealing himself as well.

Natsuro, meanwhile, moved over to the Sand trio. He swallowed the soldier pill he had been holding in his mouth. Better to be safe than sorry.

Soon, Natsuro realized the person approaching wasn't a friend but an enemy. The figure had paused, seemingly looking for the right moment to strike and rescue the Sand trio from him.

"I suggest you come out. Otherwise, you'll lose the One-Tail and these kids too. Aren't they the children of the Fourth Kazekage? If they all die here, I wonder what punishment awaits you back home?" Natsuro's mocking voice, carried by the wind, reached the ears of the hidden Baki.

Baki froze for a moment, realizing he had been exposed. Reluctantly, he emerged from hiding.

Baki knew that from this moment on, there was no chance of rescuing Gaara and the others.

He watched Natsuro warily, noticing how the sword in Natsuro's hand was already at Gaara's throat.

Baki was shocked. Why hadn't Gaara's sand activated its automatic defense? And why was Gaara still unconscious, with the One-Tail not breaking free?

Natsuro had an idea of what had happened. It was probably Naruto's doing. After all, to push Naruto to this state, he must have used the power of the Nine-Tails, and Shukaku had likely been forced to contribute in the battle.

At this moment, he figured that Shukaku, the One-Tail, was probably exhausted. It was quite unfortunate for Shukaku, just when it had a chance to break free it was forcefully suppressed by the Nine-Tails. Now that it had the opportunity to come out again, it didn't even want to bother.

What he didn't know was that he played a role in this as well. The Nine-Tails and One-Tail never got along, so the Nine-Tails blamed Shukaku for exposing its name to Naruto. Whenever the Nine-Tails saw Shukaku, it got furious and eagerly supplied Naruto with even more power. Naruto didn't pass out from being beaten, he fainted because he couldn't handle the Nine-Tails' power surge.

As for Shukaku, who had just been released for a brief moment of freedom, it was beaten into submission and retreated on its own.

This made things a lot easier for him. Otherwise, he would have had to deal with an unstable Gaara, which would have been a hassle.

"Please, show mercy. I understand now that all of this was part of Orochimaru's plan. We were deceived just like you," Baki pleaded urgently.

"Didn't you kill Hayate Gekkō?" Natsuro suddenly asked.

Baki's breath caught, and after a moment of hesitation, he nodded, feeling a sense of foreboding.

"So now you're telling us that you were deceived, and you want our forgiveness? Are you dreaming?" Natsuro said, glaring at Baki with mockery.

"Then what do you want? As long as you promise not to harm Gaara and return him to us, we'll agree to anything," Baki said through gritted teeth, trying to negotiate.

"That's not up to me alone. What you need to do now is return to the Sand Village and prepare your apology gifts. Show us the sincerity of the Sand Village," Natsuro said.

"It's a deal," Baki replied quickly, fearful that he might change his mind and kill Gaara on the spot. To show his sincerity, Baki left immediately.

As he left, Baki couldn't help but feel his heart bleed at the thought of what they'd lost. Not only had the Sand Village been deceived by Orochimaru, resulting in many unnecessary casualties, but they also risked losing the One-Tail and several highly talented young ninja.

And then there was their Kazekage…

At that moment, Baki's hatred for Orochimaru grew. Deep down, he still held a shred of hope that the Fourth Kazekage had simply been trapped somewhere rather than killed by Orochimaru.

"Alright, come on out," Natsuro said after sensing that Baki had moved far enough away.

"Natsuro…" Sasuke wasn't sure what to say.

"Alright, let's head back. Don't overthink it. These matters are for the higher-ups to handle; you don't need to worry about them," Natsuro reassured him.

"Got it," Sasuke replied after thinking it over. He realized there was no point in knowing more, as he couldn't change anything.

With that, Natsuro led the group back to the Leaf Village.

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Currently on Chapter 192 - Mōryō