A few minutes later.
Natsume wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, enduring the backlash.
With a delighted, satisfied look, he put away the Kunwu Divine Blade.
After testing it just now, he had managed to figure out the other two abilities of the Divine Blade.
They were domineering and amazing!
But at his current level, he still couldn't fully control them or use them for long, so he could only keep them in reserve as trump cards.
With that, he suppressed the churning blood and energy in his body, then put away the Divine Blade.
Natsume began to sort through what he had gained that night.
The nine ninjutsu he had exchanged for earlier went without saying.
As for that unbelievably lucky "ten-pull"—
It had brought Natsume a total of:
3 Chakra-Recovery "Pills";
2 Intermediate Healing "Pills";
2 Intermediate Space Scrolls;
1 Beginner Healing "Pill";
1 S-Rank Space-Time Ninjutsu, the "Flying Thunder God" Technique;
1 Divine Weapon, the "Kunwu Blade";
[Current Balance: 340 Gold Coins]
Finally.
Natsume spent another 300 Gold Coins to increase his chakra capacity by 3 cards, bringing his total chakra up to 9 cards.
That left him with a pitiful 40 Gold Coins.
Gold Coins really didn't go far!
He'd thought that with nearly eight thousand Gold Coins, he was practically rich.
Who knew he'd be back to square one in a single night...
Of course, tonight's haul had still been reassuringly substantial.
All in all.
Natsume was certain that even without using the "Mangekyō Sharingan," he could now fight on equal terms with his former self.
With the "Mangekyō Sharingan," his overall strength would increase at least threefold!
Even against the current Five Kage, he'd have a good chance of winning!
After sorting through his gains, Natsume sat cross-legged inside the house and meditated in silence.
He slowly recovered his chakra.
Before long, it was midnight.
Natsume's chakra had returned to its peak.
"Nichiyo."
He called softly.
A moment later, a figure darted into the room and knelt before Natsume on one knee.
"Young Clan Head, I'm here!"
"I'm going away for a while. I'll be back in two days at the earliest, five at the latest."
"While I'm gone, stay here and turn away all visitors. Tell them I'm studying a new ninjutsu to increase my strength."
"I'll leave a Summoning Beast behind while I'm away. If anything major happens in the village, or if it comes under attack, have 'Mooncake' reverse-summon me immediately!"
"Understood!"
Uchiha Nichiyo nodded firmly.
He was a little curious about why the Young Clan Head was leaving at a time like this.
But it had to be something important.
And if anything did happen, the Young Clan Head could return instantly through a Summoning Beast.
So there was no need to worry too much about safety for now.
All he had to do was fulfill his duty to the best of his ability!
"Summoning Technique!"
Natsume quickly formed the hand seals and summoned his beast.
"Poof!"
A tiny, adorable panda appeared inside the house.
"Mooncake, I'll have to trouble you again this time!"
Mooncake helplessly waved a paw, already regretting signing a contract with this brat.
He was the third-in-command of the mighty and powerful Mo Beast clan!
How had he ended up as this brat's personal panda, summoned whenever he pleased?
But in the end, tempted by twenty portions of fresh bamboo shoots—
He reluctantly agreed to Natsume's request, promising to help if a crisis arose.
With the village's defenses more or less taken care of, Natsume flashed away, slipping out of his Flame Hidden Village beneath the cover of night.
He didn't let too many clan members know.
After all, as long as he was "officially" in the village, the clan members would feel more at ease.
Soon after he left the village, Orochimaru's silhouette emerged from the gloom in the distance.
"Right on time!"
"How could I neglect a request from you, Natsume?"
Orochimaru twisted his slender waist and gave a sinister smile.
At the same time, his gaze was immediately drawn to the weapon hanging at Natsume's waist.
Thanks to his keen spiritual perception, even from this distance, the blade gave him a sense of razor-sharpness, as though it could tear his very soul apart.
"What an incredibly sharp aura!"
"Could such a precious divine weapon really exist?"
Orochimaru exclaimed in amazement.
Even with all his knowledge, he couldn't recognize the Divine Blade's origins!
But he was absolutely certain that it was no ordinary weapon. In all likelihood, it was another divine weapon!
"What? Want to test it against your Kusanagi Sword?"
Natsume gave a scornful smile, rested a hand on the hilt, and asked directly.
Orochimaru was even more startled. He hurriedly waved his hands and offered a slightly teasing smile to reassure him.
"Of course not... I wouldn't dare compete with you, Natsume."
"By the way, are you going alone on this mission, Natsume?"
"I thought you might bring a few Uchiha guards with you."
Orochimaru asked, feigning concern.
In his opinion, the trip to Iwagakure was bound to be fraught with danger.
If Natsume brought a couple of guards with Sharingan, and they happened to die in battle, Orochimaru might be able to pick up a Sharingan or two along the way.
He had so many experiments waiting to be tried with the help of Sharingan!
"No need. I'm enough on my own!"
"You can leave those people behind, too. Bringing a bunch of dead weight will only slow me down."
Natsume glanced past Orochimaru. His scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan glowed with a frightening light in the darkness.
The Sound Four, hiding dozens of meters behind Orochimaru, all shuddered, their scalps tingling.
At Natsume's current strength, the Sound Four were no different from chicks. He could crush them at any moment with his eyes closed.
Bringing those deadweights along would only slow him down.
"Very well. We'll do as you say, Lord Natsume!"
Orochimaru nodded in agreement.
He quickly waved the Sound Four away.
To be honest, in the face of absolute strength, the little shinobi he'd trained were still far too green.
And his improved "Ninja Art: Four Violet Flames Formation" still needed some work.
Never mind. He'd leave them behind to guard Otogakure.
After a brief exchange.
Natsume and Orochimaru set out.
They headed for Iwagakure.
According to Natsume's memories from his previous life, at this point in time—
Danzo should have been giving orders to "Kabuto" and the orphanage director, the "Wandering Shrine Maiden," Yakushi Nonō, who were both undercover in Iwagakure, setting the two against each other.
Danzo's mission for Orochimaru was to deal with whichever of the two survived, to prevent any information from leaking.
Natsume didn't care what benefits Danzo had promised Orochimaru.
He cared about Kabuto and Yakushi Nonō, two rare medical ninjas.
In fact, to be fair—
Kabuto was indeed one of the villainous bosses later on.
But at this point, he wasn't a bad person. He was still just an inexperienced boy who wanted to save the Orphanage and its director.
His later descent into darkness was purely because he accidentally killed the director and completely broke down.
So it was well worth preventing this tragedy and recruiting two precious medical ninjas for his newly established Flame Hidden Village.
After all, the Uchiha Clan, descendants of Indra, had almost no Yang Release ninjas.
Let alone medical ninjas.
Natsume certainly didn't want to see a huge village without even a single medical clinic.
That would be pathetic...
Of course, saving people was the main reason for going.
Whether he could also take a detour to Iwagakure's Vault and bring back a few "souvenirs" was another matter entirely.
Before you continue