Konoha's Genius is a bit Ordinary?

After accepting this mission, Natsuro began contemplating how to accomplish it. Directly seeking out Kurenai Yuhi would probably be difficult. If Kurenai didn't choose to tell Yakumo the truth back then, why would she agree to it now?

Therefore, it was essential to first secure the Kurama clan's approval. That shouldn't be too hard.

Natsuro recalled from the report that the current head of the Kurama clan had actually discovered the presence of the "monster" lurking in Yakumo's heart. After realizing it, he had even requested the Third Hokage to eliminate Yakumo in order to prevent the potential danger the monster might pose in the future.

In the past, Natsuro would have had to seek, Unkai Kurama the current head of the Kurama clan, for his approval first, then approach Kurenai.

But now, Natsuro could tackle both simultaneously.

He gathered a large amount of chakra and began forming seals.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

After creating a shadow clone, Natsuro formed another set of seals.

"Spirit Transformation Technique!"

With the Spirit Transformation Technique, another of Natsuro's souls took control of the shadow clone's body, and the two Natsuros stared at each other.

What kind of feeling was this? Even though there were two bodies, their minds were connected, yet neither interfered with the other's actions. This was far simpler than multitasking, it was essentially dual-tasking with two distinct minds.

As long as the distance between the two bodies remained within the range of the spiritual connection, Natsuro's primary consciousness would instantly know whatever the secondary consciousness thought, and vice versa.

What if they exceeded this range? He hadn't tested it yet. He had tried using the Flying Thunder God Technique to reach Mount Myōboku but still hadn't exceeded the range.

Although he wasn't certain if the range would extend at the farthest point on this world, it was safe to say it wouldn't be exceeded under normal circumstances.

Even if the range were exceeded, he speculated the Spirit Transformation Technique would simply deactivate, and the secondary soul would return to the main body.

At the moment, Natsuro looked at his spirit-transformed shadow clone. Despite its advantages, the shadow clone still retained its inherent weakness: it couldn't take a hit and would dissipate easily.

This was a flaw of most clone techniques. The only exception might be the Wood Clone, but he didn't know Wood Release.

Both Natsuro and his spirit-transformed shadow clone sighed simultaneously before setting aside these thoughts and heading off to meet their respective targets.

Over at the Kurama clan, Natsuro was received with considerable courtesy and respect, making him feel somewhat embarrassed.

Upon learning of Natsuro's intent, Unkai Kurama grew serious. He didn't refuse but wanted to test Natsuro's ability to counter genjutsu.

From his perspective, genjutsu and ninjutsu were essentially two different systems. Strength in ninjutsu didn't necessarily translate to strength in genjutsu. If Natsuro made a mistake in this area, it could spell disaster for the Kurama clan.

Thus, Unkai couldn't afford to be careless.

Natsuro agreed to the test without hesitation. He was fairly confident in his resistance to genjutsu. While he couldn't counter Itachi's Tsukuyomi, he could handle ordinary genjutsu.

Besides, it was just a shadow clone here. If something went wrong, it wouldn't matter.

"Be careful, Lord Natsuro," Unkai said respectfully before forming seals.

Natsuro watched as Unkai completed his hand seals, yet he didn't experience any sensation of being trapped in a genjutsu. His expression turned a bit odd.

As the head of the Kurama clan, could Unkai have failed to cast a genjutsu properly?

With this thought, Natsuro stared at Unkai and asked, "Have you already used your genjutsu?"

Unkai, with a puzzled expression, looked back at Natsuro. He was sure he had successfully activated his genjutsu, yet Natsuro's gaze remained fixed on him, as though unaffected. It didn't seem like Natsuro had broken the genjutsu either.

After hearing Natsuro's question, Unkai began to doubt himself, stammering, "I… I think I've… used it?"

"Oh, yes, you did use it," Natsuro confirmed after sensing his chakra. His chakra was indeed being influenced by genjutsu.

Unkai didn't know what to say. He could only remain silent as he felt his genjutsu being effortlessly dispelled without any resistance.

What was going on? Unkai became uncertain. His genjutsu wasn't the strongest and had been broken by others before, but this was the first time he had encountered someone breaking it this effortlessly.

At that moment, Unkai had an epiphany. This is what it means to be the Hokage candidate!

Of course, someone so young and already deemed worthy of becoming the next Hokage wouldn't have a weakness as glaring as susceptibility to genjutsu.

With this realization, Unkai's expression changed. He dropped to one knee and said humbly, "Forgive me, Lord Natsuro, for my impertinence in doubting your strength."

"Uh… Stand up, please," Natsuro said, speechless. Could he admit this was his first time encountering such a situation?

Judging by the chakra disruption caused by the genjutsu, Unkai Kurama's level wasn't bad, it was slightly below Kurenai Yuhi but close. It was at least on par with a Jōnin's standard.

In theory, Natsuro should have been affected by the genjutsu, even if he could break it. Yet, he wasn't affected at all.

Even the chakra disruption was automatically resolved when he noticed it. The level of disruption wasn't enough to interfere with his chakra control, and he didn't even need to use the genjutsu-dispelling methods Kurenai had taught him.

So, what was happening? Natsuro was puzzled. Judging by Unkai's nervousness, asking him probably wouldn't yield answers either.

He decided to let his main body test this phenomenon instead.

"Hmm? Why do you suddenly want me to use my best genjutsu on you?" Kurenai asked, bewildered. They had been discussing about Unkai when Natsuro abruptly shifted topics.

"I've discovered something and want to confirm it. Please indulge me," Natsuro replied seriously.

"It's not a problem," Kurenai said, though still puzzled. She began forming hand seals.

Natsuro completely relaxed, making no effort to resist the genjutsu.

Soon, he saw Kurenai finish her seals and felt his chakra being disrupted. So her genjutsu had been activated?

But when Natsuro looked at Kurenai, he was certain she was the real Kurenai.

Kurenai, on the other hand, grew uncomfortable under Natsuro's intense gaze. Her genjutsu should have worked.

Unlike with Unkai Kurama, Natsuro had no doubts about Kurenai's skill in genjutsu. This confirmed the issue was with himself.

After casually dispelling the genjutsu, Natsuro fell into deep thought.

When Natsuro was learning to dispel genjutsu with Kurenai, he hadn't encountered such a situation. While there were significant differences between then and now, the fundamental change was the addition of a Spirit Transformation Shadow Clone.

The consciousness between his main body and the Spirit Transformation Shadow Clone was interconnected. If only one of them was caught in a genjutsu, it seemed the other wouldn't be affected.

Did the unaffected side synchronize its normal state with the affected side?

This needed further experimentation such as both being simultaneously caught in genjutsu, with either the same genjutsu or different ones.

As Natsuro thought about this, he turned toward Kurenai. Since she was already here and Unkai was on the other side, it would be a good opportunity to test this.

As for controlling the timing, he could handle that himself.

By now, Kurenai had realized her genjutsu had been dispelled. To be honest, it was a bit of a blow to her confidence—her strongest genjutsu seemed to have no effect on Natsuro!

When Natsuro made his next request, Kurenai found it strange but agreed nonetheless.

Over on Unkai's side, there was even less resistance. He would never refuse a request from Natsuro.

Following his instructions, Kurenai and Unkai simultaneously cast different genjutsu. And then...

This time, Natsuro was indeed affected, but since the genjutsu were different, the effects only lasted for a brief moment before being passively dispelled.

Next, Natsuro tried being hit with the same genjutsu. This time, he was successfully caught and genuinely influenced.

Though the experiments weren't particularly rigorous, the results were clear enough:

Because he had two separate souls, for Natsuro to be fully affected by genjutsu, both his souls needed to be caught simultaneously and preferably by the same genjutsu.

If the genjutsu were different, they could still have an effect, but the impact would be limited.

If only one soul was caught in genjutsu, then Natsuro or rather, his other soul remained unaffected!

However, Natsuro also realized there was one experiment he couldn't perform:

If the genjutsu was strong enough, could capturing one soul also affect the other?

Admittedly, this was a possibility.

Natsuro understood the answer likely depended on his own resistance to genjutsu.

Clearly, Natsuro's genjutsu resistance was not weak. After all, Kurenai's strongest genjutsu had no effect on him and her proficiency in genjutsu was already incredibly high.

However, Natsuro couldn't be certain whether he could withstand Itachi's Tsukuyomi, and there was no way to test it.

After the experiments, Natsuro thanked Kurenai and informed her that the Kurama clan had already agreed to his proposal.

The plan was to completely eliminate the monster in Yakumo Kurama's heart rather than merely seal it away.

"Kurenai, as Yakumo's teacher, do you really want to see her forever trapped in the day her parents died? Forever filled with hatred and a desire for revenge?" Natsuro said seriously to Kurenai.

"It's time for her to move forward, to break free from the shackles in her heart and leave the Manor to see this vast world."

Kurenai, though initially reluctant to reveal the truth to Yakumo, understood that this was an opportunity for Yakumo to break free from the monster's control.

Kurenai had been hesitant, but now that the Kurama clan had agreed, could she, an outsider, continue to oppose it?

Most importantly, as Natsuro had said, would they truly confine Kurama Yakumo to the Manor for the rest of her life?The answer was clear.

Finally, Kurenai agreed.

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Currently on Chapter 234 - The Time for Judgment