Natsuki simply observed from the side.

Not to mention Naruto—Gaara was already off practicing Fūton: Renkūdan (Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet). The noise was enormous.

Temari had even dragged Shikamaru along to watch. Seeing Gaara master such a jutsu filled her with joy. When she heard it was Natsuki who had taught him, she immediately dragged Shikamaru over to thank him too.

Shikamaru muttered: Why am I being dragged into this? Women are such a pain...

Meanwhile, Fū was still chatting with Shino about ways to grow stronger. Since both of them loved insects, they were bound to come up with good ideas.

With his role done, Natsuki slipped back home. He found Tenten just about to rest, so he leaned in immediately. But just as he picked her up, the courtyard gate was knocked on again.

Natsuki's face darkened instantly.

Seriously? Can't I catch a break?!

"Lord Natsuki, Lady Tsunade summons you to the office." It was an ANBU.

"I got it," Natsuki replied. But instead of leaving right away, he lingered with Tenten a little longer—until she finally urged him to go.

Arriving at the office, Natsuki didn't even bother with greetings. He just slouched into a seat.

Tsunade blinked in surprise.

"What's wrong? Did you fight with Tenten?"

"Of course not," Natsuki shot back irritably.

"I was just about to relax with her when someone had to drag me here in a rush."

Tsunade laughed and scolded,

"Oh, so it's my fault, huh? Fine, fine, blame me. But this is urgent intelligence."

She tossed him a scroll.

Natsuki unrolled it, eyes narrowing at once.

"The Nibi Jinchūriki—Yugito—was captured. The one responsible was Yakushi Kabuto. And he was wearing a black cloak with red clouds... He joined Akatsuki?!"

This twist was well beyond Natsuki's expectations.

At this point, he couldn't judge Kabuto's intentions. He surely inherited Orochimaru's legacy, but joining Akatsuki? For what?

And if Kabuto truly defeated Yugito, that was shocking. The intel was vague, unclear on details.

If Kabuto had acted himself, perhaps he had already mastered Ryūchidō's Sage Mode.

But another possibility was Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation).

With all the corpse information Kabuto had collected, it was obvious he'd long been planning grave-robbing. By now he may have resurrected many powerful shinobi. Against that, even a Jinchūriki like Yugito would have no chance.

Poor Yugito. Even with Kakuzu and Hidan gone, she still couldn't escape fate.

Even if Natsuki wanted to save her, he had no idea where she was.

"So, what does Lady Tsunade want me to do?" Natsuki asked.

"I was hoping to hear your thoughts," Tsunade admitted.

Truth was, she hadn't decided yet. After Orochimaru's defeat, she had dismissed Kabuto as a mere rat. Who could have guessed that this rat would grow so large—and even join the hunters' pack?

Setting aside Kabuto's own strength, his inheritance of Edo Tensei alone was a grave threat. Akatsuki's numbers were already few, but with Edo Tensei, they could have endless undying reinforcements. That was more troublesome than ever.

Tsunade had been troubled by this news. It was then she thought of Natsuki.

After that drinking session, she had spoken with Jiraiya. From him, she learned that it was Natsuki who had reminded him, which made Jiraiya decide to remain in the village. That delighted her.

With Jiraiya staying, Konoha's lack of high-end fighters was eased a little.

And it made Tsunade all the more curious about Natsuki's insight. So in her frustration, she called him to hear his opinion.

Natsuki read the report again, thoughts racing.

After a long silence, he said:

"The capture of the Nibi Jinchūriki, added to the situations of Naruto, Gaara, and Fū, will surely alarm the other villages. This could be a chance to form an alliance with Kumogakure and Iwagakure. If so, the pressure Akatsuki puts on us will be reduced."

Tsunade nodded.

"I thought of that too. The message has already been sent to them. We're waiting for their replies."

Natsuki continued,

"In that case, further investigation into Akatsuki's members might not matter much. Kabuto could resurrect anyone, after all. The real key is countering Edo Tensei. The only way is through fūinjutsu (sealing techniques). Lady Tsunade, please grant me full access to the Senju clan's sealing archives. I want to develop a new jutsu."

Tsunade's eyes lit up.

"Oh? You already have an idea?"

"Yes. I want to create a technique that can forcibly seal Edo Tensei bodies into containers from afar. I've even thought of the name: Mafūba (Demon Sealing Wave)."

Natsuki's eyes shone with confidence.

Mafūba—the technique Master Roshi used in Dragon Ball to seal away Piccolo Daimaō. Using a spiraling vortex of energy to drag him into a rice cooker.

As a model, Natsuki envisioned chakra forming into a spiraling current, combined with sealing formulas, to drag an Edo Tensei body into a prepared container with sealing tags.

And what container fit best? A coffin.

The advantage was obvious—it bypassed the step of subduing the target, instead sealing them outright, clean and efficient.

Of course, if the Edo Tensei was someone overwhelmingly powerful, like Uchiha Madara, then they'd need backup options—such as the Crimson Gourd Tenten carried. Surely that could seal even Madara.

Since Tsunade understood the urgency, she wasted no time. That very night she had all the sealing scrolls bundled up for Natsuki, including even the Uzumaki clan's secret techniques passed down by her grandmother, Uzumaki Mito.

Natsuki didn't hesitate. He shut himself into the gravity training room, madly studying sealing arts and refining the concept of Mafūba.

His learning ability was incredible. Even the most advanced seals took him little time to grasp. The design of Mafūba quickly took shape. All that was left was testing.

Meanwhile, Kumogakure and Iwagakure finally responded to Konoha's message. Their tone, however, was arrogant.

From Kumogakure:

Akatsuki is just a small band of rogue ninja. So they captured Yugito—what's the big deal? Hardly worth you in Konoha making such a fuss. The Ichibi and Nanabi were captured only because Suna and Taki are weak. We, the strongest village in the world, have nothing to fear.

From Iwagakure:

Konoha has really fallen low—fearing such a minor organization. We in Iwagakure won't ally with a declining weakling village. Konoha can fend for itself.

(End of Chapter)

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