Orochimaru Steals Danzo's Man

"Why did I feel like he was incredibly weak?"

Orochimaru stared at the place where Natsume had disappeared, a question rising in his mind.

Those two Wood Clones had not made him feel threatened in the slightest.

They were like Genin.

But could someone with Genin-level strength possibly know so many secrets?

Obviously not.

The only explanation left was that he was feigning weakness to keep others from gauging his true strength.

"What a troublesome fellow."

Orochimaru's wariness toward Natsume rose once more.

This person was extremely dangerous.

He could not afford to let down his guard when dealing with him.

Next was Shimura Danzō.

A dangerous glint flashed through Orochimaru's eyes.

He and Shimura Danzō were partners.

Each held the other's secrets.

Once those secrets came out, even if they did not kill them, they would still leave them badly wounded.

Thus, the two had reached a rare balance.

But now Orochimaru was furious.

Because of Hashirama Senju, Wood Style had become the strongest Kekkei Genkai and was also the bloodline limit he wanted most.

Even the Sharingan had to be placed second.

Shimura Danzō's betrayal was something Orochimaru could not tolerate.

But confronting him face-to-face would probably be useless.

Unless he captured Shimura Danzō.

Orochimaru planned to infiltrate Root himself and investigate.

With his strength, no one would discover him.

Not even Root.

He could have sent others to gather information.

But he was worried about alerting the enemy.

It was safer to do it himself.

Orochimaru did not hesitate and immediately headed for Root.

Under the cover of night, his infiltration was nearly flawless, and no one noticed him.

Root had many secret bases.

Orochimaru had worked closely with Shimura Danzō on Wood Style, so he knew quite a bit about them.

And Natsume had already told him that the survivor's codename was Kano.

In other words, he was now a Root member.

That narrowed the scope.

He only needed to investigate Root's Training Bases.

Orochimaru released his snakes.

Before long, they found their target.

The northern part of Konoha.

Orochimaru entered a building.

This was one of Root's training facilities.

As Konoha's most powerful organization, Root's training was exceedingly brutal.

It was enough to turn any member into a powerful, emotionless tool.

It brought the essence of a ninja to its fullest extent.

Naruto was supposedly a hot-blooded manga.

But setting Naruto Uzumaki aside, ninjas were cold-blooded killers.

For the sake of missions and their ninja village, they could kill anyone without principle, whether women, the elderly, or children.

If a profession like ninja really existed in reality, you should run as far away as possible.

There were quite a few people in the building.

Orochimaru quickly locked onto one member.

Ten-year-old Yamato.

He was very patient and followed him until he used Wood Style Ninjutsu.

"So it was true?"

Orochimaru's heart jolted.

The Mysterious Person had not lied.

And this was only the small secret.

Then what was the big secret?

Could there be something more valuable than Wood Style?

For a moment, Orochimaru was filled with intense curiosity.

As for Yamato, he silently took him away.

The next day.

Natsume sensed the Sacred Ring of Destiny tremble and woke up.

Because of your actions, Yamato's fate has changed. You have gained 90 Destiny Points.

Ninety points meant Yamato's fate had diverged completely from the original plot.

It would be difficult for him to join the Anbu again.

Natsume stroked his chin, thinking of something.

Later on, Yamato would become Naruto Uzumaki's squad leader.

The reason was that Wood Style could suppress the Nine-Tails inside him.

"Could I use this chance to get close to Naruto Uzumaki?"

Natsume thought about it. It really was possible.

Because by then, Tsunade would already be Hokage.

She knew that he possessed Wood Style.

After gaining Destiny Points, the thing Natsume most wanted to exchange for was the Sage Body.

Sage Body plus Wood Style was a perfect match.

But unfortunately, ninety Destiny Points were far too few.

Natsume had exchanged for Wood Style Talent because it came with a beginner's ninety-percent discount. Its original price had been nine hundred Destiny Points.

Exchanging directly for Wood Style required two thousand Destiny Points, nearly twice as much.

And the Sage Body was even more precious than Wood Style, costing three thousand nine hundred Destiny Points.

"I'll take it slowly."

Natsume was not in a hurry. He was only seven years old, and he had plenty of time.

For now, he would just enjoy Sister Tsunade's love.

"Natsume, good morning."

Tsunade was busy in the kitchen. When she saw Natsume, she stopped what she was doing, raised her head, and flashed a brilliant smile.

Natsume's mood instantly brightened.

A wonderful day had begun!

Honestly, waking up to see a stunning beauty smiling at you—how could that not make you happy?

"Natsume, time to take your medicine."

Shizune suddenly appeared.

Natsume's smile immediately froze.

What a terrible big sister.

He picked up the bowl, gulped it down in a few mouthfuls, then ran to Tsunade and opened his mouth. The meaning was obvious: he wanted candy.

"Natsume, get it yourself. I'm busy."

Tsunade was making rice balls and had no free hands.

Natsume paused slightly.

At his current height, his eyes were level with Tsunade's waist.

But she did not have any pockets.

Where was it?

Natsume's gaze finally settled on the black cloth sash around her waist.

There was nothing visible on the exposed portion, so it had to be beneath her apron.

He reached out and fumbled around. Sure enough, he found candy.

Besides that, he felt a warm touch.

It was the warmth of her body, transmitted through her clothes.

Tsunade glanced down instinctively, but she did not pay it any mind.

Her personality was nothing like that of an ordinary young girl. She would not blush over a touch.

Besides, Natsume was not an outsider.

After eating the candy, the bitterness in his mouth disappeared.

Natsume ran to the living room to wait for breakfast.

Shizune was reading nearby.

This had become her usual routine lately.

"Today, I'll take you to school."

After breakfast, Tsunade said, "Shizune, stay here and keep studying."

Since she had promised Natsume, she would not stop him.

Besides, once he started school, she would have more time to gamble.

At night, she could teach him properly.

Natsume was rather looking forward to school.

He hoped to meet plot characters so he could obtain Destiny Points.

It was just that his timing was not ideal.

Naruto Uzumaki and the rest of the Konoha Twelve would not start school for another six years.

And Kakashi's generation had already graduated four or five years ago.

Natsume was stuck in the middle, with few plot characters he could encounter.

Konoha Ninja Academy.

It had not suffered too much damage during the Nine-Tails Attack. After half a month of repairs, classes resumed today.

As a transfer student, Natsume would join Class 1-A.

"Lady Tsunade."

Naoto Yamanaka, Class 1-A's teacher, said warmly, "I've received the notice. Don't worry, I'll take good care of Natsume."

Tsunade nodded.

In name, Natsume was her disciple.

There were not many people who would dare bully him.

"Natsume, I'll come pick you up after school."

Tsunade rubbed his head, then turned and left.

"Natsume, I'm Naoto Yamanaka. You can call me Teacher from now on."

Naoto Yamanaka said with a smile, "Come on, let's go meet your classmates."

As a transfer student, Natsume was effectively a new student, so he could not escape the classic self-introduction.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Natsume. I don't have any particular hobbies. I only want to live a peaceful life."

Though it was an utterly ordinary sentence, it still drew quite a bit of attention.

Because he was handsome.

Many of the little girls stared at him without blinking.

"Natsume, sit by the window in the last row."

Naoto Yamanaka patted his shoulder and said, "Your deskmate is Itachi Uchiha. He's the top student in our grade. You'll learn a lot from him."

This was clearly a special arrangement because of his identity as Tsunade's disciple.

But Natsume froze where he stood.

He had never expected his deskmate to be Itachi Uchiha.

I really know how to come up with titles, hahaha.