Chapter 54: Naruto's Attempt, Akatsuki's Analysis
"Should I just run back to Konoha and ask Byakuya…?"
The moment the thought crossed his mind, Naruto couldn't help but frown.
It felt way too unreliable.
The distance from here to Konoha was honestly ridiculous.
"Right!"
After racking his brain for ages with no ideas, Naruto's eyes suddenly lit up.
He'd thought of something good!
He dashed into his room, rummaged through his ninja pouch, and pulled out a very special kunai.
"When I left the village that day, he specifically told me—
if I ever run into a problem I can't solve,
just pour chakra into this kunai!
I have no idea why, but…
might as well give it a try now!"
Thinking this, Naruto gripped the kunai tightly with both hands
and poured every ounce of strength he had into channeling chakra.
...
"This is actually a very simple form of psychological counseling."
Byakuya looked at the four stunned faces in front of him.
Even the usually expressionless Aburame Shino had a rare look of surprise.
Byakuya gave a soft chuckle.
"Kurama Yakumo is a case of dissociative identity disorder.
With proper psychological guidance, she can make a full recovery.
It's really quite straightforward.
And while her condition may look complicated and severe on the surface,
in reality, it isn't all that serious.
So one session like this was enough to heal her completely.
Just keep observing her for a while longer, and soon she'll be free to move about."
"That simple…?"
"Of course not."
Byakuya silently grumbled in his heart.
All he did was sign a contract with Kurama Yakumo,
tell her the full truth, give her hope,
and casually help her eliminate the dark, split-off monstrous personality inside her heart.
That was it.
Once some time passed, after Kurama Yakumo passed Konoha's review and regained her freedom,
she would officially join the organization, receive a Diamond Card, and serve him.
But of course,
Kurenai knew none of this.
Right now,
she stared at Byakuya, a dazed look flickering in her eyes.
The problem she had once thought was impossibly difficult…
had been solved so effortlessly by the boy in front of her…
It was genuinely shocking.
"Psychological doctor…
sounds like an incredible profession…"
"Yeah~
But why hasn't a profession like that ever appeared before?"
Hearing Kurenai and Kiba's words, Byakuya just smiled.
"Maybe no one has ever summarized the knowledge into a complete theoretical system yet."
Although he wasn't a real psychologist,
he knew that if such a profession truly existed in this world…
a lot of tragedies might have been avoided.
And in his opinion,
the person most suited to become a psychologist…
was Naruto.
"Thanks so much for your help this time~"
Now that the problem was resolved, a relieved smile finally appeared on Kurenai's face.
"To thank you all—
Teacher's treating everyone to barbecue for lunch!"
"Yay!!"
Kiba pumped his fist excitedly.
"It's still early.
Let's meet at the barbecue place at noon then~"
With a wave of her hand, Kurenai said goodbye to the group.
After that, Kiba and Shino left one after another.
In the end, only Byakuya and Hinata remained.
Originally Byakuya had planned to take Hinata to the training field to check on her recent progress.
But before he could even speak—
he suddenly felt the Flying Thunder God mark he'd left on the kunai he gave Naruto being triggered!
"Something happened?
Did Naruto get attacked out of nowhere?"
Byakuya frowned.
Because of his existence, the world's plot had already shifted in some ways.
Orochimaru, who was originally supposed to clash with Jiraiya and Tsunade again, hadn't shown up this time.
So, to prevent any unexpected accidents that might lead to Naruto's death or loss of control,
he had specially given Naruto a kunai marked with the Flying Thunder God seal.
With that kunai,
he could instantly appear by Naruto's side anytime, anywhere.
Now his strength had grown tremendously.
His chakra reserves, chakra control, and total number of techniques were all far higher than before.
Plus he had several skills and effects from Diamond Cards.
As long as he didn't face a Six Paths-level existence,
there was basically no one in the world who could be his opponent.
"No idea what exactly happened…
Whatever.
I'll go take a look first."
Thinking this, Byakuya temporarily said goodbye to Hinata,
returned to the bookstore alone,
made some final preparations,
then activated the Flying Thunder God Technique and headed toward Naruto.
...
Inside a certain inn on Tanzaku Street.
Naruto stared at the kunai in his hand with a puzzled look.
He had just poured a ton of chakra into it.
Unfortunately…
the kunai showed absolutely no reaction.
Now he was seriously starting to wonder if Byakuya had just been messing with him.
"Naruto, what are you standing there for?"
Kushina looked at him curiously.
To hide her identity
while staying close to Naruto,
she had been using Transformation Technique to alter her appearance during this trip.
Even Tsunade hadn't noticed who she really was.
"Mom…"
Seeing Kushina approach, Naruto immediately spilled all his doubts.
Then he scratched his head and handed the kunai over to her.
"Byakuya said—
if I ever run into trouble, pour chakra into this kunai.
But I just tried it…
nothing happened at all.
It feels really weird…"
"This is…"
The moment Kushina took the kunai and looked at it, her eyes widened.
The formula on it… she knew it very well.
It was the Flying Thunder God seal!
The technique that the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, used so often!
In an instant she grabbed her son's arm.
Urgently, she asked:
"This really was made by that Byakuya!?"
"Yeah…"
Naruto nodded blankly.
"This…
This…"
Kushina stared at the kunai, her gaze suddenly turning complicated.
...
Meanwhile,
the Akatsuki meeting was still ongoing.
After Pain (controlled by Nagato) declared they would focus all efforts on gathering intelligence about the Black-Robed Organization,
the other members began to speak and discuss.
They analyzed what the mysterious organization's true goal might be,
who exactly their leader was,
and where their base might be located.
After a long discussion,
they still hadn't reached any useful conclusions.
Just then,
Sasori of the Red Sand suddenly spoke up:
"Combining the intelligence we have, I can make an analysis.
The origin point of this organization… is very likely Konoha.
And it may have some connection to that boy named Byakuya…"
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