Under the cover of night.
Tsunade's team and Shisui Uchiha's team, eight people in all, gathered together.
They had already left the Konoha camp and traveled for an entire afternoon.
It was time to rest and get to know their teammates.
"I'm Shisui Uchiha, a Jonin with the Three Tomoe Sharingan. I specialize in Fire Style, Kenjutsu, and Genjutsu."
Shisui Uchiha took the lead and introduced himself.
When carrying out missions, knowing one's teammates' strengths was quite important.
That way, when danger struck, they would not fail to provide aid—or waste time trying to rescue someone unnecessarily.
For example, if Shisui Uchiha encountered an enemy, there was no need to worry about him.
But Shizune was different.
"Tsunade. Medical Ninja."
Tsunade spoke casually.
Everyone knew about her accomplishments anyway, so there was no need to go into detail.
"Itachi Uchiha, Chūnin, Two Tomoe Sharingan. I specialize in the same things as Brother Shisui."
The current Itachi Uchiha was clearly somewhat stronger than his original counterpart.
The reason was Orochimaru.
Aside from all sorts of instruction, he would occasionally make him drink some unknown liquid.
Of course, over the past two-plus years of war, he had also grown tremendously.
Not to mention Shisui Uchiha's guidance.
"My name is Mitaraishi Anko. I'm currently a Chūnin."
Compared to Itachi Uchiha's aloofness, Mitaraishi Anko was rather enthusiastic. "I know Fire Style, but what I'm best at is the Snake Style Ninjutsu my teacher taught me."
A girl playing with snakes at such a young age. She had gone down the wrong path.
Looking at her, Natsume recalled her sweet-potato form, which in turn reminded him of that meme.
I saw it. It was a Tiger tank.jpg.
Sweets really did ruin people.
"Uzuki Yugao."
The long-haired, purple-haired girl had a cool temperament. "I specialize in my teacher's Snake Style Ninjutsu and Taijutsu."
Natsume could not quite remember what personality she had in the original story, but she now gave him a feeling remarkably similar to Orochimaru.
Another child successfully talked into submission by Orochimaru.
Still, she was indeed beautiful. What a pity her sickly boyfriend would never get to enjoy it.
"I'm currently a Genin, but I have a special ninjutsu taught to me by my teacher. For a short time, it lets me attain strength close to that of a Jonin."
Uzuki Yugao paused before revealing her secret.
Actually, it was not much of a secret. Over the past two-plus years, she had used it many times, and quite a few people knew about it.
Natsume narrowed his eyes.
That description sounded far too much like a Cursed Seal.
After obtaining Jugo, Orochimaru had begun researching it.
Natsume did not know the exact progress.
But after so much time had passed, it was perfectly normal for him to have achieved some results.
Perhaps not the Heavenly Curse Mark, but a lesser Earthly Curse Mark was certainly possible.
And judging from the three people's introductions, only Uzuki Yugao had one.
Clearly, she had been treated as an experimental subject.
She was not as important as Itachi Uchiha's Sharingan, nor did she share as deep an emotional bond as Mitaraishi Anko.
She was merely an extra.
Orochimaru used her for experiments, and even if she died, he would not feel any regret.
It was certainly dangerous, but for Uzuki Yugao, an ordinary civilian with mediocre talent, it was also something she could accept.
This was a rare path to becoming stronger.
Others did not even have the chance to become experimental subjects.
What Natsume was thinking about now was something else.
Had Orochimaru tampered with her Cursed Seal?
Given his personality, the odds were practically one hundred percent.
And he had specifically appointed Shisui Uchiha to lead the team.
His intentions could not have been more obvious.
The battlefield changed by the moment. Even Shisui Uchiha could suffer an upset.
For instance, if he encountered the Fourth Raikage.
If, while the two fought fiercely, an Orochimaru suddenly appeared and ambushed Shisui Uchiha, it was possible that he could obtain his Mangekyō Sharingan.
"I'm Natsume. I specialize in Water Style and Earth Style. I have quite a lot of Chakra, roughly at the level of a Jonin."
"Kabuto Yakushi, Genin, Medical Ninja."
"Shizune, Chūnin, Medical Ninja."
Shisui Uchiha froze for a moment. Two Medical Ninjas? Wasn't that extravagant?
Their team did not even have one Medical Ninja, but fortunately, they were strong enough not to need one.
"Everyone, get some rest."
Once the introductions were over, Tsunade said, "Keep your strength up. The mission ahead will be quite dangerous."
"Yes."
The others answered in unison.
Natsume and Itachi Uchiha did not go to sleep. They were taking the first watch.
"Old classmate, it's been years. I've heard quite a few stories about you. You're one of the finest of the younger generation now."
Natsume leaped onto a nearby tree, leaned against the trunk, and began chatting.
"Thank you."
Itachi Uchiha vigilantly watched the surroundings, his expression extremely serious. "You're not bad either."
Either?
Natsume was slightly stunned.
What did he mean?
Had someone leaked news about me?
"The Hokage often praises you in front of me. He even showed me the article you wrote about the Will of Fire. It was very good."
Itachi Uchiha's attitude had clearly softened. He was no longer as cold as before.
As long as someone acknowledged the Will of Fire, Itachi would view them more favorably.
And Natsume did not merely acknowledge it. He could also offer many new ideas, which was especially rare.
"The Hokage praises me too highly. I still have a long way to go."
Natsume said with a smile, "When it comes to the Will of Fire, the Hokage is the example the rest of us should follow."
Ugh!
Those words were really hard to stomach.
But gaining Itachi Uchiha's trust could prove useful later.
He had no interest in saving the Uchiha Clan.
Given their temperament, even if he saved them, it would be difficult to make them wholeheartedly loyal and willing to work for him.
Unless he possessed the strength to suppress them.
But if he had that kind of strength, what would he need them for?
Still, Natsume was interested in the Sharingan.
A plug-and-play cheat accessory.
Handing them over to Shimura Danzō would be such a waste.
He could not even defeat Sasuke Uchiha just after Sasuke awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. In the end, he tried for a one-for-one trade, only for one life to seal half a bridge.
Leave the group already! You're embarrassing yourself!
The Uchiha Clan's named supporting characters would need some minor maneuvering, though, in order to obtain Destiny Points.
The two chatted for half an hour.
Under Natsume's persuasive words, Itachi Uchiha's impression of him changed greatly.
In the latter half of the night, Shisui Uchiha and Kabuto Yakushi took over the watch.
Natsume crawled into his sleeping bag and spent the rest of the night there.
The next day.
The eight set off once more.
Along the way, Shisui Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha were responsible for scouting.
Although the Sharingan could not see as far as the Byakugan, it was more versatile.
Since this was an infiltration mission, they avoided every enemy they encountered rather than charging through them.
Eventually, they reached their destination.
Kumogakure's main camp.
It was located upstream of a river.
"Do you think they might use a flood attack?"
Seeing the terrain, Natsume immediately thought of the flooding of the Seven Armies from the Three Kingdoms.
"Not a bad idea, but it's impossible."
Shisui Uchiha explained, "Most ninjas can walk on water. It might cause brief chaos, but once they reacted, a flood attack would lose all meaning."
"That's true."
Natsume nodded.
On the contrary, this environment was better suited for Water Style ninjas.
And Konoha clearly had more Water Style ninjas than Kumogakure.
"After nightfall, we'll split into two groups and investigate. Our team will examine the surrounding area for anything unusual."
Tsunade gave the order. "Shisui, as long as you do not alert the enemy, capture two people and use the Sharingan to hypnotize and interrogate them."
"Yes."
Shisui Uchiha nodded.
In fact, he liked this order quite a lot.
Ordinary Sharingan hypnosis had difficulty affecting Jonin, but he possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan.
He could find out more quickly what Kumogakure was planning.
Before you continue