Konoha's Genius is a bit Ordinary?

"Mm." Natsuro nodded in agreement. While Itachi no longer posed a threat to him, he understood that Itachi was still a formidable challenge for Sasuke.

Of course, Natsuro also knew that if Itachi and Sasuke ever truly faced off, Itachi would likely hold back.

But Sasuke wasn't seeking mercy. He wanted a direct, honorable battle where he could personally defeat Itachi. And likely, those higher-ups in Konoha were also part of his revenge plans.

This thought led Natsuro to recall a conversation from the previous day.

"When Lady Tsunade came by yesterday, you didn't seem to have any problem with her. Why's that?"

Sasuke glanced at Natsuro and nodded. "Well, she wasn't in Konoha back then. And over the years, she hasn't targeted me or the Uchiha in any way. She even handed over some of the old reports to me without hesitation."

Sasuke respected Tsunade's actions as Hokage. His time in the Anbu allowed him to witness her decisions firsthand, and he found no reason to harbor ill will.

In fact, Sasuke sometimes wondered how things might have unfolded had Tsunade been Hokage at the time.

Still, Sasuke sighed. Even if she had been Hokage, the Uchiha clan's plans for rebellion would have been difficult to ignore.

The more Sasuke learned, the clearer the Uchiha clan's predicament became.

But even with this understanding, he couldn't forgive Itachi's actions. If Itachi had been able to spare Sasuke, couldn't he have fought for the survival of innocent clan members, especially children?

As the son of the clan leader, Sasuke had significant potential and status. Yet, Itachi had chosen to annihilate even those who posed no threat.

No matter how much Sasuke thought about it, he couldn't rationalize Itachi's actions. If Itachi had truly wanted to eradicate the Uchiha, why let Sasuke live at all?

Now that he was alive, Sasuke felt a responsibility to seek justice for the innocent Uchiha who were slain. In his eyes, there was no other choice.

Natsuro nodded, understanding both Sasuke's perspective and Tsunade's strategy.

By gradually sharing the truth with Sasuke, Tsunade allowed him time to process his emotions instead of hiding everything from him. This emotional buffer gave Sasuke time to think clearly, though Natsuro wondered if this might inadvertently lead to a breakthrough in Sasuke's Sharingan.

"Today, you don't need to head to the Anbu. I've got something I need your help with," Natsuro said.

"Alright." Sasuke agreed immediately without asking what it was.

"Aren't you going to let Jūgo or Karin know?" Natsuro asked.

"No need," Sasuke replied. "They're staying nearby. If I don't call for them, it means there's no mission. They'll understand."

Jūgo wasn't a concern, but dealing with Karin and Sakura constantly was giving Sasuke a headache.

"Alright. What I need is to examine the curse mark that Orochimaru left on your neck," Natsuro explained.

"The curse mark? Alright." Sasuke touched the mark on his neck. He'd nearly forgotten it existed since he hardly ever relied on it these days.

The mark's primary use was to draw from Jūgo's unique ability, but as Jūgo's outbursts became less frequent, Sasuke rarely needed the mark.

Sasuke led Natsuro to a training room, removing his shirt to expose the curse mark on the back of his neck.

Natsuro placed his hand over the mark, channeling chakra to carefully unravel the layered seals he had placed around it. He left only the Four Symbols Seal intact.

As he worked, the foul, corrupted energy within the curse mark became palpable. It was a mix of natural energy and chakra, twisted into something loathsome.

Sasuke, meanwhile, sat quietly. He felt a tingling sensation at the mark's location but no pain.

Natsuro couldn't help but marvel at Orochimaru's ingenuity. While the curse mark was rooted in Jūgo's unique ability, creating a seal capable of absorbing and storing natural energy was no simple feat.

Jūgo's violent outbursts made more sense now. His body indiscriminately absorbed natural energy, regardless of its origin or type.

Unlike the refined systems of the Sage modes from Mount Myōboku, Ryūchi Cave, or Shikkotsu Forest, Jūgo's absorption was chaotic and unfiltered.

This chaotic influx explained his instability. That he hadn't succumbed to the energy entirely was a miracle in itself.

Natsuro wondered if other, lesser-known forms of Sage transformation existed, perhaps akin to the crude tiger transformation he'd heard of.

If so, refining these abilities might offer paths forward for shinobi like Kiba and Shino. Their respective clans might benefit from such transformations if properly developed.

One was associated with dogs or wolves, and the other with insects.

Given their respective conditions, sensing the corresponding natural energy should not be difficult for them.

However, all of this would depend on lowering the entry conditions for that path. For now, even if Natsuro were to make his method public, no one would be able to replicate it.

Natsuro's eyes flickered with thought. Could the entry requirements for his path be lowered? The answer was yes.

If the world's natural energy could be restored to its original state, the threshold for entry would drastically decrease.

Of course, it was impossible to restore the concentration of natural energy in the world in a short period of time.

However, the possibility wasn't entirely out of reach. As Natsuro contemplated, a faint smile emerged on his face. Take it one step at a time.

He shifted his focus back to Sasuke's curse mark. Initially, he had intended to extract Orochimaru's mental imprint left within the seal and use it to locate his current whereabouts.

As long as it was the Heaven Curse Mark, Orochimaru's mental imprint would certainly be there. In the original story, Orochimaru managed to resurrect himself through the Heaven Curse Mark on Anko Mitarashi. It stood to reason that Sasuke's mark would contain a similar trace.

However, as Natsuro examined it further, he realized that beyond extracting Orochimaru's imprint, there was potential to achieve much more.

Without hesitation, after formulating a concrete plan, he began to act.

In the past, he wouldn't have been capable of this. But now, having developed a profound understanding of natural energy, Natsuro could restore the chaotic energy absorbed by the curse mark back to its purest state.

To his surprise, Sasuke's curse mark had accumulated a considerable amount of natural energy over the years.

Still, for Natsuro, this reserve was negligible. Equivalent to a drop in the ocean so it didn't take him long to complete the conversion.

Having purified the natural energy, Natsuro turned his attention to modifying Orochimaru's curse mark itself.

The changes were minor, merely incorporating Natsuro's own insights. He added a filtering mechanism, ensuring that only desirable energies were absorbed while rejecting the rest.

With this, the curse mark would now store pure natural energy.

However, Natsuro quickly realized that pure natural energy might not be ideal for Sasuke. Too much purity would make it challenging to control, it was something only he himself could manage.

The solution was clear: tailor the energy to Sasuke's needs. Given Sasuke's contract with Ryūchi Cave, the answer became obvious. Natsuro adjusted the curse mark to exclusively absorb snake-based natural energy, filtering out everything else.

As for the natural energy already accumulated in the mark, Natsuro took the liberty of claiming it for himself. While he no longer lacked natural energy, it was always useful to have more.

After completing these adjustments, Natsuro re-sealed the curse mark, this time using a reverse Eight Trigrams Seal.

Before long, the work was finished.

"All done," Natsuro said with a sigh of relief as he etched the final seal.

"Did you gain anything from this?" Sasuke asked, putting his shirt back on. He hadn't felt any noticeable difference in his strength.

"Of course," Natsuro replied with a smile. "In fact, I want to test something. Could you bring Jūgo here?"

Sasuke hesitated for a moment, unsure of Natsuro's intentions, but ultimately nodded.

It didn't take long for Sasuke to return, accompanied by the towering, broad-shouldered Jūgo. As Jūgo approached Natsuro, he couldn't help but feel a growing sense of reverence.

The closer he got, the more he sensed that Natsuro possessed a force akin to his own but far beyond his comprehension. It was something on an entirely different level.

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Currently on Chapter 267 - Sasuke vs. Itachi (Part 2)