Looks Like I'm a Genius~

Kushina had fallen into a deep sleep, but she was still curled up, her hands wrapped around Uzumaki Kuming and refusing to let go.

Uzumaki Kuming lay there, unable to move at all. He had just woken up and was still wide awake, but he couldn't open his eyes, so all he could do was examine his own body.

It was already his second day in this world, and this was the first time he'd properly observed the strange things happening inside his mind.

By now, Uzumaki Kuming knew that he'd been reincarnated as a baby. Judging by the looks of things, he was Uzumaki Kushina's younger brother—a fact he'd confirmed on his very first day. Despite being a newborn, Uzumaki Kuming could already feel Chakra flowing through his body.

When he looked within himself, the outline of the baby was already crystal clear, and the blue lines flowing through the baby's pathways circulated at a fairly high speed. He didn't know whether everyone was like this, but the first time he saw it, he'd been a little surprised~

Unlike the first day, the baby was no longer floating in darkness. Instead, a girl's figure was holding him in her arms. Judging by her features, it had to be Uzumaki Kushina. The surroundings were all gray, but the shapes of the trees and bushes were clearly reflected in his inner world.

"Judging by this range, it shouldn't be too small."

Kuming roughly gauged how far he could sense his surroundings. He didn't know whether a range of about five meters was good or bad, but considering his current state, he was still fairly satisfied.

"If this really is the Naruto world, then this ability must be one of the Uzumaki Clan's innate skills."

"I remember it's called the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, right? I'll just call it the Mind's Eye~ I hope the range gets bigger. It'd be bad if I had a narrow mind instead~"

"I'm still a baby being held by someone, and I already have this kind of ability. I think my talent must be pretty good~"

"Could I count as a genius, at least?"

In the world of Naruto, if he wanted to stay alive, he needed to have at least genius-level talent. Otherwise, he might die young from some random misfortune.

Take Nawaki, for example. He was the First's only grandson, with all the connections he could ask for, and Orochimaru had even accompanied him on a mission. Yet he still died young because he wasn't talented enough.

Then there was Obito. He was a member of the Uchiha Clan and the Fourth Hokage's student. He hadn't died young, but he'd suffered a terrible tragedy and grown sick of the world. To end up like him was a complete failure, wasn't it?

Looking at the whole Naruto world, without the right birth, talent, and connections, living a peaceful life seemed possible only through technology.

But Uzumaki Kuming knew exactly what kind of person he was. You couldn't just become a scientist because you felt like it. Still, at least he seemed to have passed the talent test.

"My physical talent should be decent. I just hope I don't inexplicably turn into a useless person when I grow up~"

"Too bad I don't seem to have any special cheat. Compared to all those fellow transmigrators, I'm a little lacking in style."

Just as Uzumaki Kuming was letting his imagination run wild, arcs of electricity suddenly flashed through the pathways in the baby's body, and a tingling sensation spread across him.

"Looks like I do have a cheat after all!" Feeling the tingling spread through his body, Uzumaki Kuming comfortably fell asleep~

"Hahahaha! You made me search high and low!"

A middle-aged man's voice suddenly rang out beside Uzumaki Kuming and Kushina. Kushina jolted awake from her deep sleep, tightened her grip, and darted out of the bushes. Not long after she left, the bush where they'd been hiding was sliced to pieces by Wind Style.

Shredded leaves drifted down from the sky. Kushina saw a masked man standing some distance away, casually playing with a Kunai in his hand as he watched her with a mocking expression.

Kushina glanced at him once and turned to run, but she hadn't even taken two steps when a Kunai sliced past her calf, leaving a line of blood.

The sudden pain made Kushina lose her balance. Holding Kuming, she fell to the ground. But before she hit it, she turned slightly and put her arm out first, making sure her younger brother wouldn't get hurt.

"There's no point. Come quietly, and you'll suffer less."

"Don't worry. I won't kill you."

The masked man took another Kunai from behind his back and held it in his hand. He slipped a finger through the ring at its end and spun it as he walked toward Kushina.

"We only need one member of the Uzumaki Clan!"

The man's face twisted beneath his mask. He flung the Kunai toward the child in Kushina's arms.

Damn, now I get why I never saw Kushina's younger brother in the anime. Her foolish little brother must have died early.

Uzumaki Kuming sensed the enemy's movements clearly. As the Kunai flew toward him, overwhelming fear washed over him.

Suddenly, a nearly imperceptible arc of electricity flashed in front of the incoming Kunai, pulling it off course. The Kunai, which had been flying straight toward Uzumaki Kuming, was knocked aside by an outside force.

Its direction changed, and it grazed Kushina's thigh before embedding itself in the ground.

"Who's there?"

The middle-aged man realized that an outside force had changed the Kunai's direction. He shouted a warning and stood frozen in place, not daring to act recklessly.

At that moment, Uzumaki Kuming felt something drain away inside him. The Chakra in his pathways suddenly dwindled, and a wave of exhaustion washed over him, pulling him into a deep sleep.

"Am I going to die?" Uzumaki Kuming had used up a huge amount of Chakra, and his consciousness sank into darkness.

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

Just as the middle-aged man began to think there was no danger, a low voice sounded beside him. Countless white pythons then coiled around his body and tightened.

"Ah..."

The middle-aged man was swallowed by the pythons. Red blood seeped out from between their bodies.

"Sorry we're late."

Tsunade appeared beside Kushina in a flash and gently stroked her cheek. The warmth of her hand and the Konoha Forehead Protector on her brow made Kushina relax completely. She slumped onto the ground.

The Kunai that had been hidden in Kushina's arms fell to the ground as she sat down.

"Whoosh!" Jiraiya appeared beside Tsunade and looked at Kushina curiously. "Is this one of the Uzumaki Clan? She's so young."

"Jiraiya, are there any enemies nearby?"

Orochimaru asked in a hoarse voice. As he spoke, he quietly picked up the Kunai Kushina had dropped and casually wiped away the seal on it.

"There aren't any. Those few battlefields we found earlier are probably the only clues left. Let's not rush to pursue the enemy. We should take her back to Konoha first."

Jiraiya's expression was unusually serious. All the Konoha Ninja who'd gone on this mission had been wiped out. If the three of them hadn't arrived in time, the enemy might have taken a member of the Uzumaki Clan. If that had happened, Konoha would have suffered a huge loss of face. But that wasn't even the most important thing: losing a member of the Uzumaki Clan could affect Konoha's development for the next thirty years.

The fact that Kushina was a candidate Jinchuriki was considered top-secret information in Konoha, but it seemed that the news had leaked.

"I'll stay behind and take care of the bodies. You two take her and go on ahead. I'll catch up soon."

Ordinary Ninja weren't worth Orochimaru taking the time to collect their bodies, but the Hyuga Clan didn't belong in the "ordinary Ninja" category. Even a member of the branch family shouldn't be left where others could get to the body. The explosion had already blown them to pieces, but there was still reason and value in gathering what remained.

Besides, they still hadn't confirmed where the enemy came from. Their corpses could be a useful lead.

"All right, let's go first, Tsunade." Jiraiya glanced at the Kunai Orochimaru had tucked away, feeling somewhat uneasy.

Tsunade checked Kushina over and confirmed that she was unharmed. Then she examined the baby in her arms and, after confirming he was fine too, left with Jiraiya, leaving Orochimaru alone to clean up the battlefield.

After Jiraiya and Tsunade had left, Orochimaru walked over to where Kushina had been standing and picked up the Kunai the enemy had thrown at Uzumaki Kuming, which had been knocked aside.

"Lightning Style, huh..."

He carefully examined a crack in the Kunai and sensed the lingering Chakra as he murmured. He'd been the first to arrive and had seen the Kunai change direction. He hadn't had time to intervene, yet the weapon had inexplicably veered off course.

"Such a young girl, and she already has this kind of power!"

"As expected of the Uzumaki Clan."

Orochimaru kept what he'd seen to himself. It hadn't even crossed his mind to suspect anyone else. Instinctively, he assumed Kushina had done it~

After all, he'd only sensed Uzumaki Kushina here. If there'd been anyone else, he would have sensed them already. Surely he couldn't say that the Lightning Style came from the child in Kushina's arms?