Adopted by Tsunade [249-250] (Patreon)

Chapter 249 – The Revived Nohara Rin

Konoha’s research building.

Chakra turned into wind, howling through the air.

Kabuto Yakushi looked at the White Zetsu in the middle of the room, his hands rapidly forming seals.

This White Zetsu was not a real White Zetsu, but rather something pieced together from cultured White Zetsu cells.

In short, it had no soul.

Under the pull of chakra, the White Zetsu’s body kept trembling, faint lights like scraps of paper floating around it.

But after a brief moment, it fell back to the ground.

The expected resurrection did not occur.

“As expected, we really do need a living sacrifice.”

Watching from the side, Natsume commented with some emotion.

“Remember to capture a few living White Zetsu.”

Kabuto lowered his hands and reminded him.

Natsume nodded and turned to leave.

White Zetsu had two main sources.

First, humans who had been caught in the Infinite Tsukuyomi and transformed.

Second, White Zetsu grown from the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and Hashirama’s cells.

The one hundred thousand White Zetsu in the Fourth Great Ninja War were all made using the second method.

Although the two kinds of White Zetsu were quite similar, the first kind was undoubtedly stronger.

After Natsume had traveled through the Dragon Vein, in order to avoid excessive butterfly effects, he had Kaguya create quite a number of White Zetsu.

The White Zetsu currently under Uchiha Obito and Black Zetsu’s command were actually his doing.

He just didn’t know if they had all been deployed yet.

But that didn’t matter.

For now, White Zetsu basically served as surveillance devices.

In other words, there should be some even in Konoha.

Natsume opened Sage Mode, and his sensory perception spread out.

Before long, he locked onto two White Zetsu.

He turned back.

Kabuto blurted out, “That fast?”

“It was never anything difficult.”

Natsume tossed the unconscious White Zetsu down and said, “Summon.”

Kabuto nodded and began forming seals again.

This time, it worked.

The body of the White Zetsu gradually transformed into the form of a young girl.

Nohara Rin.

She looked blankly at the two unfamiliar young men in front of her.

“I… wasn’t I dead?”

The Pure Land.

Essentially the underworld.

All shinobi, after they die, have their souls enter the Pure Land.

And they should retain their memories from the living world.

For instance, the Sage of Six Paths had once summoned the deceased Kage of previous generations.

They were no different from when they were alive.

“You did die, but now you’re alive again.”

Natsume paused, then said, “Although it doesn’t quite count as truly living. You’re just temporarily remaining in the living world thanks to a jutsu.”

“Who are you?”

Rin roughly understood the situation now, and asked gravely, “Why did you resurrect me?”

Perhaps because she had already experienced death once, she was calmer than he had imagined.

“I’m the Sixth Hokage, Natsume.”

Natsume answered.

“Sixth?”

Rin froze for a moment and then asked, “How long have I been dead? How is it already the Sixth?”

Her memories were still at the time of the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato—her teacher.

In her view, Minato was so young, he should have lived for a long time.

“It’s hard to explain clearly in a short time.”

Natsume smiled lightly. “How about I let the person you want to see most tell you?”

“Kakashi, is he okay?”

Once reminded, Rin hurriedly asked.

She didn’t ask about Uchiha Obito, because he had died even earlier.

“Not that great.”

Natsume shook his head. “Ever since the two of you died, he’s been rather depressed.”

Rin’s expression dimmed at that.

She had already somewhat expected it, so she wasn’t too surprised.

“Where is he?”

Rin’s tone carried a hint of pleading. “I want to see him.”

Ever since she was revived, she could vaguely feel that she was under control and unable to move.

“To avoid scaring people, you’ll stay here for now.”

Natsume thought for a moment. “As for Kakashi, I’ll have him come see you.”

How to make the best use of Nohara Rin was something worth planning carefully.

There was no need to rush.

Besides, letting her see Hatake Kakashi should net him quite a bit of Fate Points.

He just wasn’t sure whether Rin herself could contribute.

Natsume returned to the Hokage’s office.

He waited a good while, but the Fate Ring never chimed with a notification.

Alright then.

Natsume’s hope fell flat.

The Rin revived via Impure World Reincarnation was still technically a dead person, so she wouldn’t grant Fate Points.

The bug he’d been hoping for didn’t appear.

“Kurenai.”

Natsume summoned Kurenai and asked, “Is Hatake Kakashi in the village?”

“He is.”

Kurenai flipped through some documents and said, “His squad just returned from a mission.”

“Have him come over.”

Natsume ordered.

Kurenai nodded and left.

Not long after, there was a knock at the door.

“Hokage-sama.”

Hatake Kakashi was still dressed in that eternally unchanged jōnin uniform.

“There’s something I need to tell you.”

Natsume looked at his dead-fish eyes and couldn’t help sighing inwardly.

In a sense, what he was about to do was rather cruel.

Losing something, regaining it, and then losing it again.

But perhaps this would also be a good thing.

Hatake Kakashi up to now had never truly bounced back.

Especially under Natsume’s influence, he had never become the team leader for Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura.

With Rin appearing again, she should be able to talk some sense into him.

“What is it?”

Kakashi didn’t show much fluctuation.

His life might have only missions left in it now.

“You know about Impure World Reincarnation, right?”

Natsume took out a file. “Take a look.”

Kakashi accepted it, puzzled, and after a quick scan, asked in astonishment, “There’s actually such a… jutsu?”

What he actually wanted to say was “such a shameless jutsu.”

But noticing that it had been developed by Senju Tobirama, he very cleverly swallowed those words.

What could he say?

Although Kakashi was tempted by its effect, with his personality, he would never cast it.

First, he feared disturbing the souls of the departed.

Second, because it required living sacrifices.

Kakashi looked at Natsume, wanting to say something but hesitating.

Called here and specifically shown Impure World Reincarnation—

Did Natsume intend for him to be the caster?

But he really didn’t want to do that.

“Impure World Reincarnation concerns a certain top-secret project of Konoha.”

Natsume began waving the big-flag talk. “The reason I’m telling you is that the person brought back by it has something to do with you, so we plan to have you look after her for a while.”

“Who is it?”

Kakashi’s eyes lit up. Obviously, he hadn’t guessed it was Rin, because Natsume had said she had “something to do with him.”

He subconsciously assumed it was some shinobi he’d once worked with.

“Go to the research building.”

Natsume smiled slightly. “You’ll know when you get there.”

So mysterious?

Kakashi pondered but didn’t ask further.

He gave a small bow, then took his leave and headed straight for the research building.

…

[Because of your actions, Hatake Kakashi’s fate has changed. You have gained 60 Fate Points.]

Soon, the Fate Ring chimed.

Natsume breathed a sigh of relief.

Looks like Rin’s “talk-no-jutsu” isn’t weak at all.

Next up was the Third Raikage.

Although he was meant to be a sparring partner prepared for Sasuke, for the best effect, Natsume didn’t plan on telling Sasuke ahead of time.

So, arranging things as a mission suited the situation better.

Natsume rubbed his chin, thought for a while, and formed a plan.

This time, he didn’t intend to bring Naruto and Hinata, but Sakura and Ino.

Yes—two medical-nin.

That should give Sasuke a real push to work hard.

There was no need to say anything about Sakura.

He was bringing Ino because he had promised earlier to take her on an outside mission.

He hadn’t expected it to be delayed this long.

Hinata was fairly obedient.

Even if he didn’t bring her, she wouldn’t complain.

But Naruto would probably make a huge fuss.

Still, it wouldn’t be too much trouble.

Naruto’s personality was easy to handle.

Natsume planned to toss him to Might Guy for a couple of days, letting Guy take him on missions temporarily.

Anyway, as long as Naruto had missions, he didn’t care whose they were.

With that in mind, Natsume had Kurenai bring over the latest mission list.

He wanted to see if there were any familiar ones he could use as practice runs for original-plot missions.

But after flipping through, he found none.

Which was reasonable.

He couldn’t just randomly decide to go out and expect to bump into one.

Natsume pondered for a bit and then ordered ANBU to send over an intelligence summary.

If Konoha had none, then he’d take a look at the other villages.

“A jōnin from Takigakure, Suien, has defected?”

Natsume raised an eyebrow.

The name sounded familiar.

He quickly remembered.

This should be from an anime-only arc.

The rogue-nin Suien joined forces with Amegakure and planned a coup d’état against Takigakure.

But they ran into Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, and thus failed.

Takigakure, in the original, was quite a notable village.

Because it possessed a tailed beast.

Of the nine tailed beasts, eight were distributed among the Five Great Villages.

Only the Seven-Tails had been given to Takigakure.

As for why, it was never mentioned.

Natsume guessed it might be because Takigakure’s location was rather special.

The hidden village was behind a massive waterfall in the Land of Waterfalls—kind of like a hidden paradise.

It had never been invaded by other shinobi villages or countries.

Of course, to someone like Senju Hashirama, even the safest geographic environment was meaningless.

So Natsume had no idea exactly why they’d been given a tailed beast.

Now, Suien had only just defected, so there should still be some time before the original storyline’s incident.

Amegakure’s involvement wasn’t hard to understand—most likely, they were after the tailed beast.

Naturally, Natsume wasn’t going to just sit and wait. His idea was to have the Third Raikage, posing as a member of the Heaven’s Mandate, contact Suien.

Another self-directed play would begin.

He really was working hard.

Natsume felt very dedicated to his role.

And he wasn’t even asking Sasuke for anything in return—truly a good person.

Well, he could always get some reward from Mikoto.

Natsume stood up at once.

He activated the Flying Thunder God Technique.

He appeared in the Uchiha compound.

Natsume pushed open the door.

Mikoto was sitting on the sofa with her eyes closed.

She wasn’t sleeping, but refining chakra.

In truth, she worked no less hard than Sasuke; she spent most of her days training herself.

Before Natsume could walk up to her, Mikoto had already opened her eyes.

For shinobi, that sort of awareness was instinctive.

A smile appeared on Mikoto’s face. She was about to rise when Natsume stopped her.

Because she was at home, she was wearing a loose white long-sleeved top.

He stroked her smooth, long hair. “In a while, I’m planning to take Sasuke out on a mission.”

Mikoto bit her lip at that, and asked haltingly, “Will… will it be… dangerous?”

Standing above her, Natsume could clearly see her delicate collarbones.

A knowing warmth spread through her, and she shifted forward, her hands moving to his pants.

She tugged them down just enough, freeing his hardening cock. Her fingers wrapped around it, stroking slowly at first, feeling it throb in her grasp.

Leaning in, she took him into her mouth, her tongue swirling as she sucked gently, her movements rhythmic and intimate.

Natsume smiled, his hand in her hair. “But don’t worry, nothing life-threatening.”

Mikoto hummed around him, the vibration sending a shiver through Natsume, as she continued sucking while murmuring softly, her words muffled but clear enough.

“I know... but as a mother... I can’t help worrying.” She pulled back briefly to speak, stroking him with her hand before taking him deep again, her cheeks hollowing with each bob of her head.

Natsume's breath hitched, his grip tightening slightly. “You understand the logic.”

She nodded without stopping, her eyes lifting to meet his as she sucked harder, her free hand resting on his thigh.

The act was a quiet comfort amid her concerns, her mouth working him with tender insistence.

Natsume's groans grew low and steady, building until he tensed, cumming inside her mouth with a final thrust. Mikoto swallowed it all, her throat moving as she savored the moment, then gently pulled away, licking her lips.

 She sighed inwardly.

 If only she were strong enough herself, how great that would be.

 She had already learned from Natsume about Itachi’s true level of strength—stronger than she had imagined.

 Just awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan wouldn’t be enough to defeat him.

 She would also have to awaken Susanoo.

 But Mikoto, up to now, had no idea how to reach that stage.

 It was very likely a matter of talent.

 Just awakening the Mangekyō had been extremely difficult for her.

Her mouth moving with tender urgency until Natsume tensed, cumming inside her mouth in hot spurts.

Mikoto swallowed every drop, her throat bobbing as she held him there a moment longer before pulling away, licking her lips clean.

 “Go wash up a bit.”

 Natsume stepped back slightly.

 “Mm.”

 Mikoto’s eyes lowered slightly as she nodded.

 She stood and headed toward the bathroom.

…

Natsume pulled his gaze back and moved to another room.

Yugito, of the Two-Tails, looked up at the sound and saw him.

Her eyes immediately lit up, and she hurried over.

Before Natsume could speak, she was already licking him all over somewhat messily.

Quite an enthusiastic cat.

Natsume froze for two seconds, then reached out to stroke her soft back.

After having his face covered in drool, he picked up the black cat and sat down on the sofa.

“Do you miss Kumogakure?”

Natsume suddenly asked.

The previously hazy-eyed black cat instantly sobered up, her body trembling. She subconsciously tried to get out of his arms, but was held tightly and couldn’t move.

“If you do, just meow once.”

Natsume casually kneaded her soft fur.

“Meow…”

The black cat blurted out.

The tension in her body relaxed again.

She squinted in comfort.

Natsume leaned in and sniffed at her neck; there was a faint fragrance.

“You’ve been doing pretty well lately. I can take you back to Kumogakure for a visit.”

The black cat opened her eyes wide, surprise and joy mixed with a faint fear inside them.

All in all, her feelings were very complicated.

She wanted to go back to Kumogakure, but not like this.

If someone saw her in her current state, she’d rather not return at all.

The black cat tilted her head to look at Natsume, her eyes revealing her confusion.

She wanted to know exactly what he had in mind.

“Don’t worry.”

Natsume smiled. “As long as you behave, I won’t make things hard for you.”

The black cat gave a small sound in response, adjusted her position, and curled up in his arms.

At the same time, her tail swayed slightly before his eyes, expressing her feelings.

“Meow.”

Soon, warm breath rose from his embrace.

Natsume nodded in satisfaction.

But he also understood that Yugito had not truly immersed herself in the role.

If she ever saw an opportunity, she would tear out his throat without hesitation.

Watching the black cat work so hard to please him, Natsume leaned back on the sofa.

He closed his eyes and quickly drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 250 – Black Cat and Milk

Night.

On a slanted peak outside Kumogakure.

Borrowing the light of the high-hanging moon, Natsume could clearly see the vast village below his feet.

Standing beside him was Yugito.

She was still wearing her skintight cat-girl outfit, with a loose cloak thrown over it.

Aside from the cat ears on top of her head, no one would notice anything strange at a glance.

Yugito’s pupils reflected her hometown, a look of longing on her face.

She sank into her memories.

At the same time, there was a faint regret.

If only she hadn’t provoked Natsume back then.

She would still be a shinobi of Kumogakure, and not a cat like she was now.

“Matatabi, is there any chance?”

Yugito’s consciousness sank into the sealing space.

“I still need time.”

Matatabi sounded a bit embarrassed. “This sealing jutsu is far more troublesome than I thought.”

“It’s fine.”

Yugito shook her head.

Matatabi was her good friend and would naturally do its utmost.

It wouldn’t lie to her.

This only showed how powerful the sealing techniques of the Uzumaki clan truly were.

But they weren’t absolutely perfect.

That gave Yugito hope and kept her from plummeting fully into despair.

Sometimes, under Natsume’s massage techniques, she really did feel like giving up.

But when she thought of Kumogakure and of Matatabi, she clenched her teeth and endured.

Because she knew her persistence wasn’t in vain.

Once she escaped, she would definitely repay Natsume properly.

Though he was indeed very strong, Yugito still believed that the Fourth Raikage was better.

Probably… right?

“What are you thinking about?”

Natsume turned his head and noticed that her eyes had lost focus, as if she were being controlled.

Of course, with his experience, he could tell at a glance that she was communicating with Matatabi.

They were probably discussing how to escape.

Maybe someday he’d have a talk with Matatabi—

Crushing her last shred of hope.

“N-nothing.”

Yugito snapped out of it and looked down at the ground, not daring to meet his gaze.

Natsume could hear the insincerity in her voice, but he didn’t care.

He ran a hand through her hair, finally resting it at her neck.

“Where are Kumogakure’s shinobi buried after they die?”

Yugito froze.

What kind of question was that?

She’d thought he’d come here to carry out some mission.

She had even been thinking about how to pass a message to the Fourth Raikage.

But this was completely different from what she’d imagined.

“There’s a memorial stone on the southeast side of the village.”

Yugito answered after thinking.

No matter what Natsume intended, she didn’t dare disobey him right now.

Besides, this wasn’t some big secret.

Natsume could learn it by controlling any Kumogakure shinobi, so there was no reason to hide it.

“Take me there.”

Natsume’s hand slid from her hair and closed around the collar at her neck.

With a light tug, the leash extended.

“Y-you promised me—”

Yugito’s face went pale with fright.

If she went into Kumogakure like this, she’d rather die.

“It’s nighttime. No one will be around.”

Natsume grinned. “What’s there to be afraid of? You’re used to it anyway.”

Yugito’s expression was ugly.

But she didn’t dare say more. She turned back into a black cat, agile on all fours, and headed for their destination.

Natsume held the leash and followed at a leisurely pace.

Before long, they reached the memorial stone.

It wasn’t all that different from Konoha’s.

Natsume sensed a few ANBU and casually split off a shadow clone to knock them out.

Because it was night, the area was very quiet.

Even so, the black cat’s body was tense with nerves, terrified that someone would come by.

At the same time, there was an inexplicable rush of intense excitement.

Natsume quickly scanned the gravestones and stopped at the one for the Third Raikage.

Kumogakure was a battle-hardened village whose traditions were exceptionally fierce.

The strongest in each generation would carry the name “A.”

For example, the first four Raikage were officially all called “A.”

Natsume suspected the author had just been too lazy.

But by the time of the Fifth Raikage, Darui, that naming scheme had disappeared.

Judging from his performance, Darui really wasn’t all that.

Far inferior to the first two Raikage.

Yugito noticed what Natsume was doing and grew more and more confused.

What in the world was he up to?

Had the Hokage of Konoha really come all the way to Kumogakure just to pay respects?

Impossible.

Yugito didn’t believe that someone as demonic as Natsume would have such sentiments.

Besides, Natsume was so young—how could he have any ties to Kumogakure?

While Yugito was lost in thought, she suddenly widened her eyes.

“What are you doing?!” she blurted.

Natsume had already kicked the ground, exposing the Third Raikage’s coffin deep below.

The Raikage of Kumogakure had all specialized in taijutsu.

Their bodies were incredibly strong.

In a world where most shinobi traded defense for attack, they had both high offense and high defense.

Among the Five Kage, aside from the Hokage, they were the strongest.

In the Fourth Great Ninja War, the Fourth Raikage had served as the supreme commander of the Allied Shinobi Forces.

That alone showed his strength.

If someone like Shimura Danzo had been in that position, everyone would have doubted it.

Because anyone able to become a Kage was a genius with pride.

In this world, they had very advanced techniques for preserving bodies.

The Third Raikage’s corpse was perfectly intact.

Natsume took out the Sword of the Thunder God and a storage scroll, cut off a small piece of the body, and then restored the corpse to its original state.

“What exactly are you doing?”

Seeing that he hadn’t answered, Yugito asked again.

The Third Raikage was one of the shinobi she respected most.

What Natsume was doing was nothing short of desecration—

Just like with Impure World Reincarnation, it was something to be reviled.

So Yugito was furious.

But with her on all fours, she didn’t look too threatening.

“You want to know?”

Natsume squatted and pinched her chin. “But that attitude just now wasn’t very friendly.”

“…”

Yugito realized how dangerous her reaction had been.

If she angered Natsume, who knew what he would do.

Her eyes quickly grew clear again.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly.

“How obedient.”

Natsume grinned. “I’ve finished my business. Do you want to see your old friends?”

Yugito’s heart moved, but she quickly shook her head.

She absolutely couldn’t let them see her like this.

And with Natsume’s strength, anyone below the Fourth Raikage and Killer B was at risk.

She didn’t want to be his guide.

So, better not to see them at all.

“Really not going?”

Natsume raised an eyebrow. “I’ve already given you the chance. Don’t blame me later.”

Yugito lowered her eyes, thought for a moment, and shook her head again.

She still didn’t trust Natsume, afraid he would do something that would harm Kumogakure.

“You really care about this village.”

Natsume stroked her cheek. “If, one day, Konoha defeats Kumogakure, what will you do?”

“T-that’s… impossible.”

Yugito blurted the first word with force, then remembered her situation and lowered her voice.

In her mind, Konoha and Kumogakure were about equal.

Either side would have a hard time defeating the other.

She even thought Kumogakure had the advantage.

After all, Konoha lacked unity.

In recent years, there had been endless incidents and a steady stream of defectors.

“I’m a bit hungry.”

Natsume abruptly changed the subject. “What do you like to eat?”

“Dorayaki and milk.”

Yugito answered without thinking, then blinked.

“You’re kind of interesting.”

Natsume smiled. “Let’s go have a late-night snack in Kumogakure before we leave.”

“You’re going back on your word.”

Yugito trembled, full of resistance.

“It’s just dinner.”

Natsume shrugged. “If you’re afraid of being recognized, wear a hat.”

Yugito clenched her teeth and could only agree.

Because it was nighttime, most of the shops in Kumogakure were closed.

But a few were still open.

Dorayaki, though called food, was really more of a dessert.

The two of them picked a small izakaya.

Once inside the private room, Yugito let out a quiet sigh of relief.

At least Natsume hadn’t lied.

The food arrived.

Natsume casually set a plate of dorayaki down on the floor.

Yugito was used to this and said nothing.

The milk, however, took a long time.

She waited an hour before she could drink it.

“Let’s go back.”

Natsume set down his chopsticks, looking refreshed.

Yugito wiped the milk from the corner of her mouth and quietly finished the last dorayaki.

The two of them left Kumogakure.

Natsume first returned Yugito to the Land of Waves, then went back to Konoha himself.

It was already late at night.

But the light in the room was still on.

Ever since Natsuko had been born, that had become normal.

Babies were like that—their sleep schedule was irregular.

Natsume opened the door.

Tsunade put a finger to her lips and shushed him softly.

In front of her was a cradle.

Natsuko was already asleep.

Natsume nodded and turned off the light.

Tsunade yawned, slipped into bed, and hugged him. “I’m a bit tired.”

“I’ll give you a massage.”

Natsume reached out to knead the soft, full pillow in his arms.

“You’re thinking dirty thoughts again.”

Tsunade pressed her face against his, grumbling, but didn’t pull away.

“So are you.”

Natsume slid his arms under her armpits and wrapped them around her, forming hand seals.

A soft layer of chakra enveloped them both, forming a soundproof barrier.

“Now we won’t disturb our daughter’s sleep.”

Natsume smiled.

Tsunade said nothing, just gave a small hum as her legs wrapped around his waist.

A faintly annoyed look crossed her face as she spent the whole night punishing this scoundrel.

…

A new day.

A forest on the border of the Land of Waterfalls.

Suien, a jōnin of Takigakure.

Dissatisfied with the new leader Shibuki, he had chosen to defect.

He couldn’t understand how someone so timid could lead Takigakure.

And what made it worse was that he was Shibuki’s teacher.

In other words, everyone had chosen his student.

That left him furious.

He could no longer stay in Takigakure.

But that didn’t mean he’d given up.

Suien had been planning for a long time.

He was going to ally with another village, then retake Takigakure.

As for which village, he had tentatively decided on Amegakure.

The Five Great Villages were too powerful; cooperating with them would be asking to be devoured.

And on top of that, Takigakure’s relations with them were generally decent.

If he approached them, he was more likely to be captured instead.

But outside the Five Great Villages, the other ninja villages were pitifully weak.

Takigakure could rank at the top of that tier.

So that left only one choice—

Amegakure.

Home of Demi-God Hanzō, it had once shone brightly and was no weaker than Takigakure.

“Who’s there?”

Suien suddenly felt a surge of alertness.

A burly man in a black cloak appeared.

His face was hidden in the shadow of his hood, making it impossible to see his features.

But from his appearance, he was not a pursuer from Takigakure.

Suien didn’t relax because of that.

He was a rogue-nin now.

Chances were, there was already a bounty on his head.

“Who are you?”

Suien asked in a low voice.

“I want to work with you.”

The Third Raikage, revived by Impure World Reincarnation, spoke according to Natsume’s instructions.

“Work with me?”

Suien raised an eyebrow, his expression odd.

He was already a rogue-nin, and yet someone was coming to him seeking cooperation.

“I can help you seize control of Takigakure.”

The Third Raikage said calmly.

Suien narrowed his eyes.

The stranger’s tone was very calm, as if he was completely confident.

But Suien didn’t believe it.

Takigakure had a jinchūriki.

In the entire ninja world, there were very few people who could rival tailed beasts.

Almost all of them were in the Five Great Villages.

Beyond them, there was only Hanzō the Demi-God.

“Do you really have that kind of power?”

Suien asked bluntly. “Though we’re not one of the Five Great Villages, Takigakure is nothing to be taken lightly.”

The Third Raikage lifted his hand, lightning crackling.

His entire arm lit up.

Suien’s breath caught; a powerful sense of danger washed over him.

He instinctively leapt back.

The Third Raikage’s hand, like a blade, stabbed toward the ground.

In an instant, the earth shook and split.

A several-meters-long fissure opened up.

Suien’s face turned pale as he stepped forward and peered in—

He couldn’t see the bottom at a glance.

Terrifying.

What kind of jutsu was this?

“My apologies. It seems I underestimated you before.”

Suien changed his attitude at lightning speed, now showing respect.

“It’s fine.”

The Third Raikage withdrew his hand and asked calmly, “Will you cooperate now?”

“What do you want in return?”

Suien thought for a moment and asked.

If the price was small, he might as well try.

After all, to enlist the help of Amegakure and Hanzō would require a huge price.

“I’ve heard Takigakure has a treasure called the Hero Water.”

The Third Raikage paused. “I don’t want much.”

The Hero Water, when drunk, increased a shinobi’s chakra by dozens of times.

But it traded blood for chakra.

The side effect was a shortened lifespan.

Suien nodded. “If you can help me take Takigakure, I can spare a few of Hero Water.”

How to put it—

Empty promises for now.

After all, he didn’t have any Hero Water on him.

If this mysterious man really was that powerful, giving him some would be no problem.

..

Meanwhile.

Hokage’s office.

Sasuke, Sakura, and Ino were gathered together.

When Natsume announced that they would form a temporary team to carry out a mission, each of their expressions was… interesting.

Sakura was delighted to be teammates with Sasuke.

Ino was also in a good mood—she would finally be going out on a mission with Natsume.

Only Sasuke was a bit annoyed.

Losing his two familiar and powerful teammates made him uncomfortable.

Still, now that he’d awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, not having teammates to steal his kills was actually an advantage.

The only downside was that Sakura was too noisy.

Hmph. Women only slow down my blade.

For some reason, Sasuke found himself missing Naruto.