Interlude: Shimura Kagero

Shimura Kagero watched the Jinchuuriki march from the room in silence, the clicking of the door shutting behind him echoing like a ringing chime bell.

His last words replayed in her head—words of naivety and lack of understanding. Speaking of such delusions of grandeur when he knew not the responsibilities and burden that came with it made such a child unfit for the position of Hokage. If not for her suspicions, he would not be worth her time.

"Well, Kagero-hime. Have anything to report?" The Shimura heir turned to the Hokage. She knew the report she needed to give, yet she also knew the importance of her findings. The village would gain nothing from hiding this information, nor would there be any gain if she revealed it. Unfortunately for her, no matter how much she wished to keep this information for her father, it was likely the only thing keeping her from T&I.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," she said reluctantly, ready to reveal what she'd suspected and concluded about the Jinchuuriki. "It is as I suspected. Uzumaki Naruto has developed a Kekkei Genkai. I know not what it is, but I suspect part of its ability is to suppress his emotions willfully. I know not his other abilities, but I do know his uses are limited and very sensitive to my chakra. I also suspect it is the reason we cannot feel the Kyuubi's within him."

The Hokage looked ponderous, likely contemplating which parts of her statement were true or false. Fortunately for the old man, nothing she said was a lie. It was her true suspicions about the Jinchuuriki piled into one report, though that did mean she didn't augment certain information.

"And which questions did he use such abilities on?"

"Only the third, Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen immediately looked to the Yamanaka for confirmation. As Shimura expected, the man shook his head. "Uzumaki-kun's chakra flow is unlike any I've ever dealt with, Hokage-sama. Typically, a youth of his age's chakra stream is vibrant since their bodies are naturally full of energy. However, his chakra flow is slow. If I hadn't been connected with the boy, I'd likely question if he was even alive."

The Yamanaka's analysis was not too far from her own. As a sensor, she prided herself on sensing the flow of chakra within a given area. Due to being born with Hyper-Chakra Sensitivity, her sensing abilities grew to be far better than those of the average Shinobi. She could sense a Shinobi several miles away, even if she couldn't see them, and could feel chakra being molded. It was a skill her father noticed in her and made her worthy of his teachings.

Yet, if her eyes weren't directly on Uzumaki Naruto, she wouldn't even know he was there. Just thinking of him weaponizing such an ability was a terrifying prospect in a world where the unnoticed prosper.

"I see..." The Hokage gave a smile to Shimura and said, "Thank you for your honesty, Kagero-hime. We are truly fortunate to have you. You are dismissed."

Kagero gave a brief salute to the Hokage before disappearing in a shunshin. Appearing outside Hokage Tower, she was just in time to see the Jinchuuriki disappear down the road.

The true extent of his power plagued her. She felt her analysis of the boy's Kekkei Genkai was accurate, yet knew there was more to it that she simply couldn't figure out. If he was truly capable of suppressing his emotions at will, then what was the point of that first pulse? What exactly did he do yesterday, and why was she the only one capable of sensing it?

Her brow tightened. It mattered not what his intentions were. What truly mattered was, until her investigation was concluded, Uzumaki Naruto was a threat to the Hidden Leaf.

Leaping from her perch, she headed straight to the Shimura compound. She needed to report her findings to Danzo-sama immediately.

A/N: 1 of 8 interludes in this story. Most will be a side story of characters that do not get screen time while the others are basically continuations of the story.

Not much to say other than thank you to everyone who reviewed their thoughts on the latest chapter. Really appreciate it! Also, for some reason I cannot see the views on any of my latest chapters. All day 0, so don't know if new readers are even able to see this story... fanfiction, please fix :(

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