Potential (Third Update)

Minato completely sealed the Dragon Vein with the specially made sealing kunai he had prepared long ago. Gengetsu and the others stepped forward to regroup, while Naruto and Yamato were immediately enveloped in flowing light, about to return from the past to the future.

Watching Minato form hand seals, preparing to erase their memories with a Sealing Technique, Gengetsu could not help but feel his heart tremble.

He knew that this big brother who had treated him like family had long since realized Naruto was his son. And judging by Naruto's reaction, with his intelligence, he must have understood as well that he had not lived to see his son Naruto grow up.

Yet at this very moment, though he knew the boy before him was his own son, he could not acknowledge him immediately. Of everyone present, perhaps only Gengetsu, a transmigrator, could understand that kind of pain.

"I believe we'll meet again someday!"

Minato formed hand seals and crouched down.

"How can you do this? You said you had something to tell me!"

Naruto hurried forward. "If you don't say it now, it'll be too late!"

"He sensed it..."

Gengetsu's gaze sharpened. Naruto might be dense, but he was definitely not stupid.

"One day, you'll hear it!"

Minato looked up with a smile, leaving Naruto stunned.

Gengetsu stepped forward and placed his right hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Believe him. I guarantee it!"

Naruto turned back with a speechless look on his face: What does this have to do with you?

Gengetsu immediately flew into a rage, hopping in place as he smacked Naruto over the head. "Do you know who I am? I'm Uzumaki Gengetsu!"

"Ow!"

Naruto first clutched his head and cried out in pain, then suddenly reacted and stared blankly at Gengetsu. "Uzumaki... you're..."

Minato, watching this scene, smiled and pressed both hands to the ground. "Erase!"

The next moment, sealing formulas spread out as light expanded.

"Big brother..."

Naruto turned back, his eyes brimming with tears.

Minato smiled. "If I had a son, I think I'd raise him to become a ninja like you!"

Naruto opened his mouth, then finally grinned.

"Naruto, Roran may be destroyed just as you said. But the people of Roran and I are still here. For my people, I'll do what I must!"

Sara clenched her fist and cried out, "That's what you taught me, Naruto!"

Watching the two of them gaze at each other, Gengetsu sighed inwardly. What a touching farewell. Fated to meet, but not meant to be...

The white light was blinding, and when it finally faded, Naruto and Yamato had already disappeared.

At the Land of Fire Border, the five members of Gengetsu's group, having completed their mission in the Ancient Kingdom of Roran, stopped to rest. Since they could not let the Sand Ninja discover them while completing their mission in Roran, they had not lingered there and had immediately set off on their return. Now that they had entered the Land of Fire, they could finally relax.

After swallowing a Soldier Pill and taking a drink of water, Gengetsu considered his words before asking, "Brother Minato, how much do you know about the Dragon Vein?"

"Why do you ask?"

Minato set down the water in his hand.

Gengetsu lifted his shirt and formed a hand seal with one hand. A sealing formula immediately appeared across his abdomen.

"This is... the Dragon Vein Energy you sealed?"

Minato's expression tightened, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. "Gengetsu, you were far too reckless!"

Choza Akimichi and the others hurried over at the sound, and their expressions changed when they saw the seal on Gengetsu's body.

"Gengetsu, Dragon Vein Energy is highly corrosive. That is one reason the Sand Ninja have never used it. Mukade could only claim the power of the Dragon Vein for himself by turning himself into a terrifying puppet. That was likely the reason as well!"

Minato spoke with a grave expression.

Gengetsu spread his hands with a bitter smile, concealing the fact that he had acted of his own accord. "At the time, I wanted to cut off the Dragon Vein Energy. There was nothing unusual at first after it entered my body, but when I sensed something was wrong, I stopped. Then I used the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style and the Five Elements Sealing to completely seal the Dragon Vein Energy!"

"Also, I sensed that the Dragon Vein has its own consciousness. Part of it may have even entered my body!"

Gengetsu pointed at his abdomen.

"Hmm..."

Minato nodded. "I noticed it while sealing it as well. That consciousness is very powerful, but it seems to be suppressed by some kind of force. Now it appears that it must be the unique power of Her Majesty, the Queen of the Ancient Kingdom of Roran!"

"Teacher Minato, can you extract the Dragon Vein Energy from Gengetsu's body?"

Kakashi asked. After this mission, he had become quite familiar with Gengetsu. Though he still appeared cold on the surface, he was genuinely concerned about him.

"I'm afraid not!"

Minato shook his head. "Dragon Vein Energy—or rather, this kind of Chakra—has properties similar to those of a Tailed Beast!"

So it really is similar to Tailed Beast Chakra!

Gengetsu was secretly delighted. He had previously concluded that Dragon Vein Energy originated from Natural Energy, though it was not pure Natural Energy. Otherwise, Mukade could never have used it on such a massive scale. He had also thought of Tailed Beasts before and felt that Dragon Vein Energy should resemble Tailed Beast Chakra. However, he had never come into contact with Tailed Beast Chakra, so it had all been speculation.

But Minato was different. As Kushina's husband, and one of the few people in Konoha who knew she was a Jinchuriki, he must have conducted considerable research into Tailed Beast Chakra.

"A Tailed Beast? That's really troublesome!"

Choza's expression changed. Aburame Shibi pushed up his glasses. "In that case, we can only seal it completely. It shouldn't affect Gengetsu's life, right? Or I could try using Kikaichū to see if they can drain all the Dragon Vein Energy from inside Gengetsu. After all, it's only a portion of the Dragon Vein Energy, not the complete entity!"

"I'm afraid that won't work. Part of the Dragon Vein's consciousness has already entered Gengetsu's body, so theoretically, his power is limitless!"

Minato sighed. "For now, we can only seal it!"

"Um... everyone, you really don't need to worry so much."

Seeing everyone worried about him, Gengetsu could not help feeling somewhat guilty. He immediately formed hand seals, then pressed his five fingers against his abdomen. "Five Elements Sealing, release!"

Then, he guided a stream of Dragon Vein Energy out from the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style. In the next moment, lightning gathered in his right hand, accompanied by the cry of Chidori. The lightning rapidly contracted before extending outward, forming a spear made purely of condensed lightning, its surface covered in purple patterns!

"What a powerful Chakra enhancement—it's just like that Mukade!"

Aburame Shibi exclaimed.

"It's not merely an enhancement to Chakra strength. It seems to have given the Chakra greater malleability, making shape transformation much easier and more stable!"

Minato observed more carefully. He was quite familiar with Chidori and Raikiri, and he knew that even though Gengetsu had already mastered both techniques, it was impossible for him to make such a drastic Chakra shape transformation in so short a time and create an entirely different technique!

Clearly, the Dragon Vein Energy had played an enormous role!

"That's incredibly powerful!"

Kakashi marveled.

"It really does greatly enhance Chakra and improve its controllability, but I think its potential goes far beyond that!"

Gengetsu said with a smile. He still remembered how the Dragon Vein Energy had continuously regenerated Anrokuzan's puppet body—and could even alter matter.

"Looks like a blessing in disguise!"

Choza laughed.

"As long as I don't go near the unsealed Dragon Vein, I don't think there'll be any major problems!"

Gengetsu dispersed his ninjutsu and spread his hands with a smile.

Minato pondered for a moment before saying, "It would be best to keep this matter confidential. Although Sunagakure cannot use the Dragon Vein's power, they would never allow others to possess it. And once they learn that Gengetsu can wield such power, they may try to unseal the Dragon Vein again!"

Although he had confidence in his own seal, it was not impossible to break. Mukade was an example of that!

"Understood!"

Everyone nodded in unison.

A short while later, they set out. By the afternoon of the next day, they finally returned to Konoha.

The others dispersed and left, but Minato still had to go to the Hokage Office to report on the mission.

However, Minato was surprised to find Danzo there as well. After hesitating slightly, he still truthfully reported Gengetsu's situation. He knew that Gengetsu would eventually use the Dragon Vein Energy. It was impossible—and inadvisable—to hide it from Konoha's higher-ups. Otherwise, if it came to light later, it could easily cause them to distrust Gengetsu.

"I see. I never expected Gengetsu to already be capable of sealing Dragon Vein Energy!"

After hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed before asking, "Then, Minato, can you be certain there will be no problems? Gengetsu will not be corrupted by the Dragon Vein's power?"

Minato immediately replied, "Third Hokage-sama, Gengetsu has only sealed a very small portion of the Dragon Vein Energy. It still cannot compare to a Tailed Beast. Moreover, his attainments in Sealing Technique are no lower than mine. As long as the Dragon Vein in Rōran remains sealed and Gengetsu does not go to Rōran, there will not be any problems!"

"Very good!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. "Then that will be the end of this matter. Gengetsu's possession of Dragon Vein Energy will be classified as top secret, to avoid provoking a strong reaction from the Sand Ninja. Minato, keep an eye on Gengetsu and make sure he does not use that power lightly!"

Minato lowered his head slightly. "Yes, Third Hokage-sama!"

"Wait!"

Danzo, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly spoke.

"This old man believes that Uzumaki Gengetsu should join Root!"

Danzo slowly rose to his feet, a sharp light gleaming in his eyes. "We can use this opportunity to research Dragon Vein Energy and then gain control of a force nearly comparable to that of a Tailed Beast. Hiruzen, you should understand the current situation. Every nation is actively expanding its military strength. If we can master such power, we could possess several strategic-level forces equivalent to Tailed Beast Jinchuriki. Should war break out, we would have sufficient military strength to protect the village!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's smoking motion paused. The smoke he exhaled shrouded his face, making his expression impossible to read.

Minato's heart tightened. Although Danzo's words made some sense, he had witnessed the terror of Dragon Vein Energy firsthand. There were also too many unknowns at present. If something went wrong during the research, Gengetsu might be ruined because of it.

However, just as he was about to speak, Hiruzen Sarutobi removed the pipe from his mouth and said gravely, "This matter requires careful consideration. Dragon Vein Energy is, after all, an existence comparable to a Tailed Beast. We cannot be careless. Furthermore, we must consider whether Gengetsu himself is willing!"

Minato secretly breathed a sigh of relief. A glint flashed through Danzo's eyes, but he said nothing further. He knew that Hiruzen Sarutobi had already been tempted. Sooner or later, Uzumaki Gengetsu would be his for the taking!

Tomorrow, this will be getting a trial recommendation. Please send some recommendations, and I hope everyone will support it so Gezi can get a few more recommendation spots!