Outside the Nine-Tails' sealed space, Natsuro looked at Naruto, who was still sprawled out on his bed, snoring loudly. He couldn't help but shake his head.
With a personality like Naruto's, sending him on solo missions would be a complete disaster.
Fortunately, the current Konoha didn't need Naruto, one of its strongest assets, to go out on missions.
Just how strong was Naruto now?
After mastering Sage Mode from Mount Myōboku, his strength was already close to Super-Kage level, and that was a conservative estimate.
If Naruto were to actually face danger, there was no way the Nine-Tails would sit back and do nothing.
It wouldn't be surprising if they reconciled on the spot, allowing Naruto to unlock Kurama Mode immediately.
And knowing the Nine-Tails' personality, it would probably agree to work together at the moment, only to throw a tantrum afterward.
In Kurama Mode, Naruto was likely one of the strongest in Konoha, possibly only rivaled by Natsuro himself.
Not to mention… Sage Fox Mode.
Even he had to admit that, in that state, Naruto's physical capabilities might surpass his own. Of course, actual combat power still depended on techniques and experience.
Natsuro had an undeniable advantage in that regard, especially with his latest creation: the Exploding Truth-Seeking Orb.
That thing… even Six Paths-level beings wouldn't want to take a direct hit from it.
"Scary…" Natsuro sighed, realizing how absurdly fast Naruto was progressing.
Having the Nine-Tails really was like cheating.
Sasuke, by comparison, was falling behind.
Even though he had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan and was on the path to gaining the Eternal Mangekyō, even with Hashirama Cells and Ryūchi Cave Sage Mode,
he would probably still be a step behind Naruto's Sage Fox Mode.
After his brief moment of reflection, Natsuro left.
On his way home, he glanced at Umbreon, which was licking its fur in his arms.
"So, why exactly do you exist? And what are your full abilities?"
After talking to the Nine-Tails, he was certain, Umbreon's existence wasn't simple.
Umbreon tilted its head at his question, blinking its red eyes at him.
…Okay, that was really cute.
Natsuro chuckled. No matter what the reason was, one thing was undeniable: Umbreon was something he created.
And in time, its full capabilities would reveal themselves.
Currently, the confirmed abilities were:
Spatial teleportation to any location marked with a Flying Thunder God seal.
Its teleportation completely ignores sealing techniques.
The Nine-Tails was sealed by the Four Symbols Seal, one of the strongest in the series. If Umbreon had simply moved itself through the seal, that would be one thing. But it dragged the Nine-Tails through it without any effort, which was terrifying.
Short-range teleportation within its line of sight.
At least for now, its non-Flying Thunder God teleportation range seemed limited.
And just these three abilities alone were already terrifying.
If any Tailed Beast had these abilities, capturing them would be impossible.
Sealing jutsu? They don't work on Umbreon's space manipulation. How do you even seal something like that?
Unfortunately, at least for now, it hadn't shown any combat abilities.
Still, its potential was undeniable.
Could something this powerful really be something he had the ability to create?
Natsuro played with Umbreon for a while before returning to his room.
Placing it on his bed, he said, "Don't sneak out again tonight."
Umbreon looked up at him with its big red eyes and nodded.
Natsuro looked outside, he had mostly recovered from his previous training, but…
Going back to Shikkotsu Forest to train again right now would be a little too much.
Even he knew that pushing too hard would only lead to burnout.
So, he made his decision, tonight, he'd sleep in.
After all, there's no harm in taking it easy for once.
The Next Morning…
Natsuro's Spirit Clone stared at his real body, who was still lying in bed, pretending to sleep in.
…Wasn't this just self-deception?
Their thoughts, memories, and feelings were all shared.
So even if the main body was "sleeping in," it still experienced whatever the clone was doing.
The clone shook its head and gestured to Umbreon.
Umbreon glanced between the real Natsuro and the clone Natsuro, looking confused.
But in the end, it chose to follow the clone.
After all, the little one was already fully awake.
Staying here doing nothing seemed pointless, better to go out and explore!
Soon, the Spirit Clone left with Umbreon, leaving the real Natsuro alone, still acting like he was sleeping in.
After a while, he opened his eyes.
…Yeah, forget it.
The idea of sleeping in was pointless now.
Thinking about it, in his past life, he would have never given up an opportunity to sleep in.
But now?
He didn't even feel the urge to anymore.
Truly, one of life's greatest joys was now lost to him.
Once he was up, he wasted no time.
After washing up, he immediately left for Shikkotsu Forest.
He still had tons of jutsu to figure out, techniques that he couldn't just copy from others.
For those, he had to work them out on his own.
.....
Hokage's Office
When Natsuro arrived with Umbreon, Shikaku was already waiting for him.
"Good morning, Shikaku."
He greeted Shikaku casually before taking his seat.
"Good morning, Lord Hokage." Shikaku replied with a polite smile.
Suddenly, Natsuro said, "Shikaku, bring me the personnel records for the Intelligence Department."
Shikaku was a bit puzzled but didn't question it. "Understood. Please wait a moment."
Soon, he handed over the requested documents.
Natsuro flipped through them, while Shikaku refrained from disturbing him.
As he read, he couldn't help but notice, the Intelligence Department's workload was really heavy.
Especially Inoichi, the department head, barely had any time to rest.
"Shikaku, do you know what's going on with Inoichi?" Natsuro suddenly asked.
Shikaku raised an eyebrow. "I don't. Please enlighten me, Lord Hokage."
He hadn't heard of anything happening to Inoichi recently.
But now that he thought about it, something did seem off.
Shikaku, Inoichi, and Chōza used to get together for drinks during their free time.
Lately, however, Inoichi kept declining, always saying he was busy.
Hearing Natsuro's question now, Shikaku started wondering, was something actually wrong?
Natsuro grinned. "Well… I'm about to have a new little brother-in-law or sister-in-law."
Shikaku froze for a second before breaking into laughter.
"That bastard! Keeping something this big from us? Next time we meet, he's drinking three penalty shots!"
Even someone as calm and serious as Shikaku couldn't help but loosen up after hearing this.
After all, Inoichi was becoming a father again at his age!
Natsuro continued, "So, let's lighten his workload in the Intelligence Department. Maybe assign more people or delegate some tasks to others. Help me keep an eye on this."
Shikaku nodded. "That makes sense. He's not young anymore. He needs time to take care of his family."
"Exactly. Ino is around, sure, but I doubt that'll be enough. From what I've heard… pregnancy can make one's temperament a little unpredictable." Natsuro trailed off.
Shikaku's face twitched slightly as he recalled his own wife's pregnancy.
He understood completely.
He nodded in agreement.
"Alright, enough small talk. Anything important on the agenda today?"
Natsuro stretched lazily, shifting into work mode.
Shikaku pondered for a moment before speaking. "Actually, there is something… a bit unusual."
Natsuro raised an eyebrow. "Oh? How unusual are we talking?"
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Currently on Chapter 337 - Natsuro and his Mirror Counterpart