Reborn into Naruto World with Tenseigan

Hokage Building, Konohagakure

A few hours after the Uchiha Clansmen were ‘rescued.’

Observing Kakashi sitting in a lotus position with his eyes closed, Tsunade-hime inquired, “Is there any progress?”

Elder Hiruzen shook his head and replied, “Kakashi has been trying, but there has been no luck so far.”

Kakashi had ceased all other activities, solely focusing on establishing a connection with the Flying Raijin mark on Naruto’s body, as per Kuroto’s cryptic instructions. He patiently waited for any potential opportunity, but several hours had passed with no success.

Tsunade-hime sighed, “Naruto is in Nagato’s hands… and Nagato is on high alert, especially after Kakashi retrieved Fu… considering Nagato’s vigilance, what can Kuroto even do?” She added with concern, “If he attempts anything forcibly… I’m worried he might face the same fate as the Yondaime Hokage.”

Halfway through her thought, Tsunade-hime paused. For some inexplicable reason, the position of Hokage had been plagued with difficulties since the passing of the Yondaime Hokage. Within a mere decade, there had been significant turmoil within the Hokage’s office, with the officeholder changing three to four times. She genuinely hoped that Kuroto wouldn’t follow in Yondaime’s footsteps so soon, and this worry weighed heavily on her.

However, the problem is that they don’t know where Kuroto is. So, even if they want to prevent him from taking any overly dangerous actions and bring him back, they lack a starting point.

Observing Tsunade-hime’s worried expression, Elder Hiruzen reassured her, saying, “Don’t worry… I believe that nothing will happen to him. He is not as straightforward as we might think.”

Rather than explaining it himself, he handed her a scroll, saying, “Here… read it, and you will understand everything.”

Tsunade-hime unfolded the scroll with a skeptical gaze and began reading its contents. The scroll contained details of a confidential mission carried out around fifteen years ago by Namikaze Minato, Aburame Shibi, Akimichi Chōza, and Hatake Kakashi.

Upon reading the report, Tsunade-hime was surprised and immediately grasped something, “Ryūmyaku?”

Elder Hiruzen nodded, “I believe so,” and he clasped his hands behind his back as he continued, “The Dragon that appeared at that time… I believe the source of chakra used to create that dragon is Ryūmyaku, which Minato sealed in Rōran fifteen years ago.”

When he saw the dragon appear, Elder Hiruzen vaguely sensed a feeling of familiarity. After all, the Shinobi World is neither too big nor too small, and sources of such impressive chakra are limited. Therefore, after Satori was successfully sealed, Elder Hiruzen delved into the documents detailing these sources of chakra. Because he had visited Rōran when he was young, he possessed some knowledge about Ryūmyaku, enabling him to connect the dots.

Upon learning this information, Tsunade-hime murmured, “So, this means that Kuroto was behind the disappearance of Ryūmyaku around ten years ago all along?”

The mysterious vanishing of Ryūmyaku and the Rōran tribe had been a significant enigma, and to this day, these mysteries remain unsolved. One reason for this lack of resolution was that neither Konoha nor any other major shinobi village had sufficient resources to devote to it, given the presence of Akatsuki and Amatsukami. However, the undeniable fact was that Ryūmyaku had disappeared, and the culprits responsible remained unknown.

Elder Hiruzen nodded and concurred, “It’s most likely him.”

Tsunade-hime pondered for a moment before asking, “But how did Kuroto manage to break the seal that Minato had used to isolate Ryūmyaku? I doubt he had access to advanced Fuinjutsu knowledge at that time… after all, he had just been promoted to Special Jōnin and had recently joined the Anbu…”

Namikaze Minato had the opportunity to learn Fuinjutsu from Uzumaki Kushina due to their romantic relationship, but that wasn’t the case for Kuroto. As a Hyuga, he didn’t typically learn Fuinjutsu. Tsunade-hime doubted that Orochimaru would have taught Kuroto Fuinjutsu at such a young age, especially since Fuinjutsu was never Orochimaru’s specialty.

“He did have access to it… and the one who provided him with advanced Fuinjutsu knowledge was none other than me,” murmured Elder Hiruzen as he began to explain the details.

At that time, Konoha and Kumo were engaged in a war, and there was significant pressure on Konoha’s borders. To hinder Kumo’s advances, Elder Hiruzen entrusted Kakashi’s Anbu squad with a secret mission. Their task was to infiltrate deep into the Land of Lightning and sabotage a warehouse storing essential food resources.

Because the mission’s difficulty level was exceedingly high, Elder Hiruzen made an exception and granted the four members of Kakashi’s squad access to an A-Rank Jutsu archive. Among them, Kakashi and Shisui chose Ninjutsu, Guy chose Taijutsu, and Kuroto selected Fuinjutsu. Specifically, he opted to learn the Double Tetragram Seal, which coincidentally served as the foundation for the Fuinjutsu that Minato had used to seal Ryūmyaku.

“Coincidence? I think not!” remarked Elder Hiruzen.

Although he had been surprised by Kuroto’s interest in mastering an A-Rank Fuinjutsu, he hadn’t given it much thought at the time. However, he now questioned the intent behind Kuroto’s desire to learn the Double Tetragram Seal, particularly since Ryūmyaku mysteriously vanished a few months after Kuroto received the scroll.

“But even if he learned the Double Tetragram Seal, he wouldn’t have had the power to control Ryūmyaku back then… It contains an immense amount of Natural Energy, and anything that comes into contact with it has a high likelihood of being corrupted and turned to stone… So how did he manage to control Ryūmyaku?” inquired Tsunade-hime.

“It’s possible that it took him a considerable amount of time to gain control… and I don’t discount the possibility that he might have learned Senjutsu as well,” replied Elder Hiruzen.

Tsunade-hime shook her head, saying, “That’s highly unlikely… Senjutsu is no laughing matter… The only individuals known to have mastered it are my grandfather and Jiraiya.”

“And Naruto… don’t forget that kid… if he can learn Senjutsu at such a young age… there’s no denying the possibility that others can learn it too… The fact of the matter is that we know too little about Senjutsu and Sennin Mode… so we can’t be sure whether he learned it or not,” Elder Hiruzen pointed out. He continued, “And it’s not just Senjutsu… there are many aspects that don’t add up. I’ve checked the entry and exit records for the time when Ryūmyaku went missing. During that time, Kuroto was unquestionably in the village, with no records of leaving, so how did he come in possession of Ryūmyaku?

Moreover, he was merely a newly promoted Special Jōnin who had recently joined the Anbu. He shouldn’t have had the capability to break the seal Minato used to control Ryūmyaku’s power, nor should he have possessed the knowledge of Senjutsu.

In fact, he shouldn’t even have had access to classified information about Ryūmyaku’s existence, let alone any reason to desire it. Yet, after a decade-long disappearance, Ryūmyaku appeared in his hands tonight. This is an undeniable fact,” Elder Hiruzen concluded.

“Now that you mention it,” mumbled Tsunade-hime with a pensive expression.

Regardless of how Ryūmyaku ended up in Kuroto’s possession, the fact remained that he had it. And as long as this fact held true, Kuroto remained a prime suspect in the theft of Ryūmyaku.

“This is why I’m saying… don’t underestimate him as someone clueless about his actions… time and time again, I’ve come to realize that Kuroto’s mind is exceptionally sharp, and most of the time, he doesn’t act without a well-thought-out plan… which means, when he said, ‘let’s not give up hope just yet,’ there’s a chance we can still rescue Naruto!” Elder Hiruzen declared, his gaze fixed on the horizon with hopeful anticipation.

He understood that he was clinging to the possibility of a miracle, but miracles did happen on occasion, and he hoped that tonight would be one of those nights.