You Should Leave the Group, You're Embarrassing!

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 all afternoon.

Now it was time to rest and get to know their teammates.

"I'm Shisui Uchiha, a jōnin. I have the Three Tomoe Sharingan and specialize in Fire Style, Kenjutsu, and Genjutsu."

Shisui Uchiha took the lead in setting an example and introducing himself.

When carrying out missions, understanding your teammates' abilities was quite important.

That way, they wouldn't have to wonder who to rescue in a crisis—or waste time rescuing the wrong person.

For example, if Shisui Uchiha encountered an enemy, he had nothing to worry about.

Shizune, on the other hand, was different.

"Tsunade, Medical Ninja."

Tsunade said it casually.

They all knew about her battle record 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."

Itachi Uchiha was clearly a little stronger now than he had been in the original story.

The reason was Orochimaru.

Aside from all kinds of instruction, Orochimaru would occasionally force him to drink some mysterious liquid.

Of course, during these two-plus years of war, Itachi had also grown tremendously.

Not to mention Shisui Uchiha's guidance.

"My name is Mitaraishi Anko. I'm currently a Chūnin."

Compared with Itachi Uchiha's aloofness, Mitaraishi Anko was quite enthusiastic. "I can use Fire Style, but what I'm best at is the Snake Style Ninjutsu my teacher taught me."

A young girl playing with snakes at such a tender age—she had gone astray.

Looking at her, Natsume remembered her sweet-potato shape, which in turn reminded him of that meme.

I see it now. It's a Tiger tank.jpg.

Sweets are harmful.

"Uzuki Yugao."

The purple-haired girl had a cool, distant air about her. "I specialize in my teacher's Snake Style Ninjutsu and Taijutsu."

Natsume didn't quite remember what her personality had been like in the original story, but his current impression of her was that she greatly resembled Orochimaru.

Another child successfully converted by Orochimaru's silver tongue.

She really was beautiful, though. Unfortunately, her sickly boyfriend would never have the chance to enjoy it.

"I'm currently a Genin, but thanks to a special technique my teacher taught me, I can possess strength close to that of a jōnin for a short time."

Uzuki Yugao paused before revealing her secret.

It wasn't really a secret, either. She had used it many times over the past two-plus years, 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 didn't know the exact progress he had made.

But after so much time, it was only natural that he had achieved some results.

Forget the Heavenly Curse Mark; an inferior Earthly Curse Mark should have been possible.

Moreover, judging from the three people's introductions, only Uzuki Yugao had one.

Clearly, she had been treated as an experimental subject.

She was less important than Itachi Uchiha's Sharingan and didn't have as deep an emotional bond as Mitaraishi Anko.

She was merely a bonus.

Orochimaru could use her for experiments without feeling any heartache even if she died.

It was certainly dangerous, but for an ordinary civilian like Uzuki Yugao, whose aptitude was mediocre, it was still an opportunity she could accept.

This was a rare path to becoming stronger.

The others didn't even have the chance to become experimental subjects.

Natsume was thinking about something else now.

Had Orochimaru tampered with her Cursed Seal?

Given his personality, the probability was practically one hundred percent.

And then there was the fact that he had specifically arranged for Shisui Uchiha to lead the team.

His ulterior motive was obvious.

The battlefield was ever-changing, and even Shisui Uchiha could run into trouble.

For example, if he encountered the Fourth Raikage.

If Orochimaru suddenly appeared during their fierce battle and ambushed Shisui Uchiha, he might very well obtain his Mangekyō Sharingan.

"I'm Natsume. I specialize in Water Style and Earth Style. I have a large amount of Chakra, and my strength is close to that of a jōnin."

"Kabuto Yakushi, Genin, Medical Ninja."

"Shizune, Chūnin, Medical Ninja."

Shisui Uchiha was stunned for a moment. Two Medical Ninjas—wasn't that a little extravagant?

Their team didn't have a single Medical Ninja, but fortunately, they were powerful enough not to need one.

"Everyone, get some rest."

Once the introductions were finished, Tsunade said, "Maintain your stamina. Our upcoming mission will be extremely dangerous."

"Yes."

The others replied in unison.

Natsume and Itachi Uchiha didn't go to sleep. They were responsible for the first half of the night.

"Old classmate, it's been many years. I've heard quite a bit about your achievements. You're one of the outstanding members of the younger generation now."

Natsume jumped into a nearby tree, leaned against the trunk, and began making small talk.

"Thank you."

Itachi Uchiha watched their surroundings warily and answered seriously, "You're not bad either."

Either?

Natsume was slightly startled.

What does that mean?

Did someone let the secret of my strength slip?

"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, unlike his former coldness.

As long as someone acknowledged the Will of Fire, Itachi would regard them more highly.

And Natsume didn't merely acknowledge it—he could also offer many new ideas, which was especially rare.

"The Hokage is too kind. I still have a long way to go."

Natsume smiled. "When it comes to the Will of Fire, the Hokage is the role model we should all follow."

Ugh!

That kind of talk is really hard to stomach.

Still, gaining Itachi Uchiha's trust might prove useful later.

He had no interest in saving the Uchiha Clan.

Given their personalities, 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, why would he need them?

However, Natsume was interested in the Sharingan.

A plug-and-play power-up.

What a waste to hand them over to Shimura Danzō.

He couldn't even defeat Sasuke Uchiha, who had only just awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan. In the end, he had tried to trade his life for another's, only to seal away half a bridge with his life.

Leave the group! How embarrassing!

But to obtain Destiny Points, he had to manipulate the few named supporting characters in the Uchiha Clan a little.

The two chatted for half an hour.

Under Natsume's silver tongue, Itachi Uchiha's impression of him changed greatly.

Later that 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 people set out again.

Along the way, Shisui Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha were responsible for scouting.

Although the Sharingan couldn't see as far as the Byakugan, it made up for that with its versatility.

Since they were infiltrating, they avoided every enemy they encountered instead of charging in and slaughtering them.

Eventually, they reached their destination.

The main base of Kumogakure.

Upstream from the river.

"Do you think they'll use a flood attack?"

When Natsume saw the terrain, he immediately thought of the scene from the Three Kingdoms where the seven armies were drowned.

"Not a bad idea, but it's impossible."

Shisui Uchiha explained, "Most Ninjas can walk on water. There might be some brief confusion, but once they reacted, a flood attack would lose its meaning."

"True."

Natsume nodded.

On the contrary, this environment was even more suitable for Water Style Ninjas.

And Konoha clearly had more Water Style Ninjas than Kumogakure.

"Once night falls, we'll split into two groups to investigate. Our team will search the surrounding area for anything unusual."

Tsunade ordered, "Shisui, without alerting the enemy, capture two people and use the Sharingan to hypnotize and interrogate them."

"Yes."

Shisui Uchiha nodded.

In fact, he quite liked this order.

Hypnotizing a jōnin with an ordinary Sharingan was rather difficult, but he had the Mangekyō Sharingan.

That would allow them to find out more quickly what Kumogakure was really planning.