Naruto: This Genius is Somewhat Ordinary-Chapter 374

Madara and the Yin Nine Tails froze, staring at each other in silence.

Then the Yin Nine Tails burst out laughing, clutching its stomach.

"Hahaha! I knew something felt off! So that monster you fought was just a shadow clone?!"

It had sensed something strange earlier. At the time, it only thought Tōma was unusual. After all, even the Yin Nine Tails could never imagine a shadow clone wielding power that rivaled the Six Paths.

Then it remembered Tōma’s calm words from before the fight.

You’ll understand later.

"So he already knew," the Yin Nine Tails muttered. "He knew he might lose... and still refused to give up."

Thinking back to that all-in, suicidal final attack, the beast finally understood what true resolve looked like.

Its laughter grew louder as it looked at Madara’s stunned expression.

"Uchiha Madara," it jeered, "so you can make that face too."

Madara ignored the mockery. His mind felt blank.

The man who had nearly blown him apart... a shadow clone?

Impossible.

No shadow clone should be capable of this. Not even his Limbo shadows could approach that level.

And yet, reality didn’t care what he believed.

Madara exhaled slowly. He finally understood the meaning behind Tōma’s last words.

His expression darkened.

Black chains lashed out, binding the Yin Nine Tails before it could react. The beast struggled instinctively, then stopped. It had nothing left. Tōma’s final attack had drained both the clone and the Yin Nine Tails almost completely.

Even at full strength, it knew the truth. Even if it reunited with its Yang half, it still wouldn’t last a single exchange against Madara at this level.

Still, the Yin Nine Tails wasn’t afraid.

In its eyes, this was just a temporary reunion with old friends. If Tōma’s shadow clone could do that, then the real one would absolutely win.

Madara dragged the bound Yin Nine Tails into himself.

The Nine Tails chakra inside him stirred for the first time, no longer stagnant. Combined with the Yin half, his control and output surged, approaching a complete Nine Tails once more.

His power rose again.

And yet, Madara felt no joy.

If a shadow clone was this strong... what kind of monster was the original?

For the first time, doubt crept in.

Below, the battlefield fell into chaos.

When Tōma dissolved into smoke, the emotional whiplash broke people. Despair collapsed into disbelief so fast it left many laughing and crying at the same time.

Most assumed Tōma had created the clone mid-fight.

Only a handful understood the truth.

And for them, the relief came with a bitter edge. Someone else’s shadow clone had reached heights they would never touch in a lifetime.

Then—

A figure appeared in front of the Allied Forces, standing calmly in midair.

Short black hair. Familiar face. The white Hokage cloak fluttering in the wind.

Fujimoto Tōma.

The real one.

He hovered effortlessly, no Magnet Release involved. The moment he left the Dragon Vein, he had fully stepped into the Six Paths realm. Walking on air was second nature now, though he still admitted Susanoo wings were faster.

His gaze shifted to Naruto.

The Nine Tails had fully manifested, overflowing with violent intent. Naruto had completely lost awareness. He couldn’t even sense that Tōma was alive.

"...Still a lot to work on," Tōma said lightly.

He stepped forward.

In the next instant, he was standing in front of the massive fox. His palm pressed gently against its forehead.

The Nine Tails roared—

Then went silent.

The violent chakra vanished. The enormous body dissolved into light, and Naruto fell from the sky.

Tōma caught him.

He tapped Naruto’s chest with two fingers. Green light spread instantly, restoring torn flesh and damaged chakra pathways.

Naruto’s eyes fluttered open.

"Tōma...? You’re alive?!" Tears welled up as he grabbed him midair. "I knew it! I knew you wouldn’t die!"

"Relax," Tōma said, smiling as he ruffled Naruto’s spiky hair. "I’m not that easy to kill."

"Heh... told everyone you were the strongest," Naruto sniffed, grinning stupidly.

Tōma sighed. "And you need to stop losing control like that. If I had died, rampaging wouldn’t have helped anyone."

Naruto scratched his head, speechless.

Tōma understood. He tapped Naruto’s forehead gently instead.

Inside the Nine Tails’ inner world, Tōma faced the Yang Nine Tails.

"So," the fox grumbled, "you’ve reached the old man’s level."

"Want to stop being just hatred and malice?" Tōma asked.

The fox froze.

They spoke quietly.

When it was over, the Yang Nine Tails nodded.

"Then help him next time," Tōma said. "If Naruto loses control again."

"Hmph. Not many left who can push him that far," the fox snorted. "And those people don’t die easily."

As Tōma turned to leave, a low voice followed him.

"I’ve got it."

He smiled. Still a tsundere fox.

Back in the real world, Tōma looked at Sasuke. The darkness around him had faded. No tomoe had formed in his Rinnegan.

If Tōma truly had died, maybe Sasuke would’ve crossed that line.

"Was this fun to you?" Sasuke asked coldly.

"Not fun," Tōma replied. "Interesting."

Sasuke frowned.

"You have Naruto. You have me," Tōma continued. "Rivals. Companions. I don’t."

His gaze shifted to Madara, who was still recovering, watching but not interfering.

"I want someone who can push me," Tōma said calmly. "A fight where I don’t hold back."

The words sent chills through the non–Leaf shinobi. If this man ever chose to fight the world...

No one could stop him.

"But that was just a shadow clone," Tōma went on. "And even that... was addicting."

Sasuke was silent for a long time.

"...Then I’ll become strong enough to face you," he said finally.

"Me too!" Naruto shouted.

Tōma nodded. "Good."

He glanced at Sasuke’s eyes. "Did you feel it? That power."

Sasuke hesitated, then nodded.

"Remember it," Tōma said. "The Rinnegan can go higher."

A ripple of space opened.

A hand reached out and yanked someone through.

"Kakashi?"

He stumbled forward, stunned. He’d been healing inside Kamui space, and suddenly—grabbed.

His eyes widened when he spotted Madara.

"...Obito?" he blurted.

"Dead," Tōma said calmly. "I killed him."

Kakashi froze, grief and relief mixing in his expression.

Then his wounds vanished completely.

"...That’s not medical ninjutsu," Kakashi muttered.

Tōma didn’t explain.

Another spatial ripple appeared.

From beside Obito’s corpse, a hand emerged.

Tōma pulled the body through.

Without a word, he extracted Obito’s remaining eye, refined its power, and placed it into Kakashi’s right socket.

Kakashi didn’t resist.

Moments later, he opened his eyes.

Black pupils.

Then—Mangekyō Sharingan.

Both of them.

"...I can turn them off?" Kakashi whispered.

"Minor adjustment," Tōma said with a smile.

He already knew what came next.

With a few upgrades...

The strongest Kakashi was about to enter the battlefield.