A genius?
Natsume pondered for a moment.
Even in the Boruto era, Kumogakure never seemed to produce any remarkable geniuses.
After all, it wasn't the ninja village where the protagonist hailed from.
Natsume tilted his head and leaned in close, whispering into her ear, "We could make one together."
Mei Terumi blinked in bewilderment for a few seconds before fixing him with a piercing glare.
While the logic made sense, she had never really considered having children before.
But thinking about it carefully, Natsume did have a point.
Like father, like son; like mother, like daughter.
Natsume possessed Wood Release while she herself wielded Boil Release and Scorch Release.
In theory, their Kekkei Genkai could be passed down to their offspring.
If their child inherited just one of those bloodline limits, they'd practically be a textbook genius.
For a moment, Mei actually felt tempted.
The reason she currently had no such thoughts was because she was the Mizukage.
Getting pregnant would definitely create too much trouble.
Once she stepped down from being Mizukage, perhaps then she could consider having a child.
Returning her focus to the match, Mei continued watching.
Frankly speaking, battles between genin were quite boring for her.
They were practically full of flaws.
Still, there were a few individuals who stood out.
Unfortunately, nearly all of them belonged to Konoha Village.
Especially Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Hinata Hyuga.
All three defeated their opponents with unusual ease.
Mei remembered these three were all Natsume's disciples.
This once again sparked feelings of envy within her.
Why couldn't she encounter apprentices like them?
As the Mizukage, she hadn't taken on any apprentices personally.
She had only paid special attention to Chojuro and Suigetsu Hozuki.
Yet these two clearly fell far short of someone like Sasuke Uchiha.
But what could she do?
These were already the best talents in the entire village.
Mei silently sighed.
She even entertained the idea of copying Kumogakure's method—just going out and snatching talent.
However, their power level wouldn't allow it.
Worried they wouldn't be able to keep hold of any talent they acquired.
At that moment, suddenly Mei shuddered slightly, her entire body showing signs of panic.
Natsume's hand was slowly caressing her thigh.
"What are you doing?!"
Mei grabbed his hand, whispering urgently, "Someone will notice!"
There were thousands of spectators in the arena.
And they occupied the most conspicuous position.
Any abnormality here would be easily detected.
The intense stimulation made Mei's heartbeat quicken.
"It'll be fine."
Natsume had already set up a barrier.
To outside observers, their appearance looked perfectly normal for audience reactions during the competition.
Mei didn't know this.
But even if she did know, she still wouldn't behave this way.
Angrily glaring at Natsume, her hands batted his away from her thighs.
Naturally, Mei's strength couldn't rival his.
Letting out a soft whimper, her body gave in and softened against him.
She sank back into her seat, her eyes betraying a storm of conflicting emotions.
Worried, afraid, yet dazed.
Natsume didn't go too far.
After all, he understood Mei's personality well.
He withdrew his hand from the sensitive area, cleared his throat lightly, and murmured, "Don't worry. I've set up a barrier."
Mei gritted her teeth, blushing furiously, exclaiming, "You bastard!"
Natsume wisely stayed silent, letting her scold him without interruption.
After a moment, Mei Terumī composed herself again.
She sat up straight, adjusted her outfit, and shot Natsume a glare of annoyance.
This time, he really had gone and offended her.
Natsume silently resolved to make it up to her tonight.
Otherwise, things could get even harder later on.
The third round of the Joint Chunin Exams concluded without drama.
The only unlucky one was Kiba Inuzuka, who had run into Gaara.
All other participants had safely advanced to the next round.
At this point, Konoha still had the highest number of remaining participants.
Smaller ninja villages had either lost all their entrants or were down to just one or two.
Even Sunagakure and Kirigakure weren't faring much better, with only three or four left apiece.
In total, around twenty remained.
One full day of matches tomorrow would wrap it up.
But as for Natsume, he didn't plan to attend the exams the next day.
He needed to head to Kumogakure.
That night, after a heated conversation with Mei Terumī, Natsume managed to convince her to agree to his temporary absence.
She didn't know the specifics—only that something urgent had come up.
Still, it wasn't exactly appropriate for the Hokage to disappear during the Joint Chunin Exams.
So Natsume had Yugao Uzuki disguise herself as him for a day to cover his absence.
Normally, no one would have been able to tell the difference.
Morning came.
Natsume got up early.
Mei Terumī was still asleep.
As he dressed, she woke up too.
Last night, they'd stopped at just a few steps—nothing too intense happened.
Natsume actually could've handled more.
But Mei wasn't physically able to.
If she overexerted herself, then she'd have to sit out the exams for the day.
It wouldn't have mattered much to Natsume personally.
But Mei had her own principles.
So Natsume had to respect her limits.
Especially considering how mad he'd made her the previous day.
"What do you want to eat?"
Natsume stood by the doorway as she got dressed.
"Anything is fine."
Mei's cheeks flushed faintly, but she wasn't overly shy.
Natsume turned away, then made two bowls of ramen in the kitchen.
Since they were staying in Kirigakure and living at Mei's place, he could use the kitchen freely.
Before long, the ramen was ready.
"Itadakimasu!"
They clasped their hands together and said "Itadakimasu!"
Then began eating breakfast.
"Judging by yesterday's results," Mei paused after taking a few bites of noodles, then sighed. "I'm afraid the top ranks will once again be filled with genin from your Konoha Village."
"How come? Why bring this up again?"
Natsume arched a brow, saying, "That doesn't seem like your style."
Mei shot him a glare.
Naturally, she wouldn't voice such concerns in front of others.
"Solving this won't be easy," Natsume thought for a moment before speaking. "Still, I do have an idea."
"Oh? What is it?"
Mei immediately brightened, looking at him with clear anticipation.
"The appearance of a genius partly depends on bloodline, and partly comes from population size—quantity eventually leads to quality."
Natsume said slowly, "Bloodlines are tricky to influence at the moment, but increasing your ninja recruitment might help."
"That's easier said than done," Mei frowned slightly. "Where exactly am I supposed to find them? The other four Great Villages aren't in any worse shape than Kirigakure."
"Why are you so focused on the Five Great Villages?"
Natsume shook his head and said, "The ninja world has many wandering shinobi. You could bring them together."
Wandering shinobi varied greatly in power, and their personalities and loyalties were unpredictable.
However, if Kirigakure selected carefully and established proper rules, they could attract a group of these people.
Shinobi who lived as wanderers actually had very hard lives, always walking the edge of a blade.
If given stable living conditions, many would willingly settle down.
The Five Great Villages used to look down on them just because they were weaker and less useful.
Mei Terumī considered this thoughtfully.
How do I put this?
It could be somewhat useful, but not much.
Plus, it would take forever.
Still, if they somehow managed to get a few Kekkei Genkai bloodlines, it might just work.
Kiri once enforced bloody rule, causing many Kekkei Genkai users to either flee or be killed.
Although things had returned to normal now, past trauma kept many from returning.
Now that the Joint Chunin Exams are happening, plus some generous offers, maybe things will improve.
"I'll consider it."
Mei Terumī gave a slight nod as she spoke.
In truth, Natsume had a better idea.
That involved focusing on bloodlines.
If he could bring himself to be ruthless, he could always take someone else's bloodline.
However, many well-known Kekkei Genkai families resided in Konoha Village.
Natsume wouldn't go that far.
After breakfast, Mei Terumī donned her ceremonial robe and left home.
Natsume also returned to Konoha's temporary residence, instructing Yugao Uzuki to dress as him and go to the competition grounds.
Meanwhile, he himself teleported to Kumogakure and met up with Kakuzu.
"Let's go."
Natsume didn't waste words. "You lead the way. We're going after the Eight-Tails' jinchuriki, B."
Kakuzu nodded slightly.
Cloud Lightning Gorge wasn't far from Kumogakure — it was a massive canyon.
The terrain was quite open.
B often trained here — or performed his rap.
"Nearby area is clear," Kakuzu noted.
Confident, aren't they?
"This place is near Kumogakure," Natsume replied casually. "We won't have much time before others arrive."
"Of course, confidence is also a factor. After all, he's the perfect jinchuriki. There aren't many people in the entire ninja world who can beat him."
Except us.
Kakuzu stated flatly.
As if he and Natsume were unbeatable together.
Which, actually, wasn't far from the truth.
Natsume smiled slightly. "Let's finish this quickly."
He stepped cautiously into the canyon.
Kakuzu followed closely behind.
Not long afterward, B detected their presence.
"Who are you guys?"
Natsume and Kakuzu both wore Akatsuki cloaks.
B wasn't familiar with this, so he grew wary.
However, he didn't feel any real danger.
His powerful abilities gave him every reason to feel confident.
Natsume didn't bother to answer. He simply clapped both hands together.
[Sage Art: Wood Release: Nativity of a Sea of Trees!]
The ground erupted as countless trees burst forth from the soil at an incredibly fast speed, transforming the canyon into a dense forest.
Kakuzu was startled.
Luckily, he remembered this was his teammate, so he watched with a sense of amusement as the frantically fleeing Eight-Tails struggled to escape.
His reaction was extremely fast. The moment he sensed danger, a surge of vast, red tailed beast chakra erupted from his body.
This allowed him to barely dodge the first wave of attacks.
"Wood Release?!"
The Eight-Tails soared midair, shock plastered across his face.
Everyone he knew who used Wood Release came from Konoha Village.
And such an unbelievable level of Wood Release—could it be Hokage Natsume himself?
But that seemed impossible.
Wasn't Natsume currently presiding over the Joint Chunin Exams in Kiri?
But there was no time to think further.
Because countless vines and branches burst upward from below, all at once surging toward him.
From Natsume's perspective, the Eight-Tails looked like an ant cast into the ocean—desperately vulnerable.
A cold gleam flashed.
Eight-Tails swung his double blades downward, slashing through the vines.
But it was useless.
He was even pushed back by tremendous force, both arms going numb.
Before he could recover, the vines wrapped around his swords, spreading rapidly.
No longer hesitating,
his body suddenly expanded, an endless burst of chakra erupting outward.
The vines recoiled instantly as they neared him.
CRASH!
The Eight-Tails emerged.
Its massive form towered above everything.
Facing the incoming vines, it swung its arms and eight tails furiously, temporarily locked in battle.
Seeing this, Natsume formed another hand seal without delay.
[Sage Art: Wood Release – Wood Dragon Technique!]
A seed germinated before him, quickly growing into a mighty dragon.
It ascended swiftly, shooting straight toward the Eight-Tails.
At this point, the Eight-Tails stood helpless.
Too many vines and branches kept entangling him.
His previously unmatched colossal size and chakra reserves—once dominant advantages across the ninja world—
now became burdens, slowing his movements.
The wooden dragon rapidly coiled around him.
Roaring furiously, the Eight-Tails attempted to break free—but sudden horror flickered across his face.
He felt his chakra being drained at an incredible rate by the wooden dragon.
A sense of weakness swept through him.
Merely stunned for a moment,
he was soon overwhelmed by countless vines and branches.
In the blink of an eye, the canyon held only a massive green pile of wood.
Kakuzu took in a sharp breath.
How come Natsume felt even more ruthless than before?
Was he just messing around?
That was the only explanation he could think of.
Would someone this powerful really join Akatsuki organization without any hidden motive?
Though it didn't really concern him.
He never held much loyalty toward Akatsuki anyway.
He joined mainly to benefit his own money-making schemes.
Natsume activated the Heavenly Network log-in device.
After all, he needed to hand over the Eight-Tails to Akatsuki eventually.
But first things first—he'd absorb some chakra first.
A torrent of chakra surged from the wooden dragon into the Heavenly Network log-in device.
The Eight-Tails' once-huge form gradually shrank, leaving only an unconscious Eight-Tails behind.
"Take him away."
Natsume glanced toward the flickering lightning nearby.
Obviously, the Eight-Tails' painful scream had just attracted the attention of Kumogakure ninjas.
"You'd better watch your back."
Kakuzu also noticed the approaching figures speeding toward them.
He had no intention of fighting so many people head-on.
In a flash, he landed in front of B and grabbed his collar, then started running off with him.
"Stop right there!"
An explosive voice rang out.
The Fourth Raikage, crackling with lightning, charged directly toward Kakuzu.
Natsume reacted instantly.
A wooden dragon shot up, blocking Kakuzu's escape route and striking at the Fourth Raikage.
"Damn it all!"
The Fourth Raikage cursed loudly.
[Yoshi Raijin's Thunder Axe!]
He swung his leg down like a hammer onto the wooden dragon.
CRASH!
The wooden dragon actually quivered under the impact for a moment.
But it wasn't enough.
The Fourth Raikage's expression changed drastically—he sensed something was off.
This Wood Release technique was just too damn powerful.
Still, he couldn't risk not saving B.
The Fourth Raikage barked an order as he stepped back, "Tarui, go after B with some men!"
Darui—who would one day become the Fifth Raikage—
Notably, he inherited the Black Lightning Release originally wielded by the Third Raikage.
In addition, Darui was also the wielder of the Kekkei Genkai—Storm Release.
Storm Release, combining lightning and water natures, made Lightning Release more precise and controllable.
At this point in time, Darui served as the Fourth Raikage's bodyguard.
In the original story, A once called him his "second right hand."
Despite all that praise, Darui—who would later become the Fifth Raikage—was ultimately rather ordinary.
He simply couldn't compare to either the Third or Fourth Raikage.
Even the title of Kumogakure's strongest ninja—"A"—was never bestowed upon him.
Natsume cast a glance.
Besides Darui, there were many other shinobi closing in—all Jonin from Kumogakure.
Among them was Samui, whose incredible strength Natsume had found fascinating earlier—a strength rivaling even Tsunade's.
The only disappointment was not spotting that dark-skinned secretary, Mabo.
But considering her role as a secretary, it made sense she wouldn't be present.
Thinking fast, Natsume formed hand seals with both hands again.
Of course, he wouldn't let Kakuzu get caught.
Under his control, the previously dormant forest suddenly came alive, sprouting countless vines that lashed outward once more.
Four Thousand Words.
Chapter End.
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