Gains and Return

At that moment, in a barren forest more than fifty miles from Iwagakure.

Natsume's figure suddenly appeared.

"Phew—"

Natsume, who had teleported here with the Flying Thunder God Technique, let out a long breath.

He slowly shook his head, easing the nausea caused by the long-distance space-time jump.

Clearly, even after beginning to master this Space-Time Ninjutsu, he still wasn't very proficient.

He would need to get used to it gradually.

On top of that, several fierce battles, a long-distance sprint, and the repeated use of Space-Time Ninjutsu... had nearly drained Natsume's chakra.

Otherwise, he would've given that old bastard Ōnoki another beating while he was at it.

He wouldn't have left just like that.

At that moment.

Taking advantage of the night, Natsume casually leaped onto a tree.

He quietly sensed his surroundings.

Only after confirming that no one else was nearby did he sit cross-legged.

He swallowed two chakra-restoring pills, quickly replenishing nearly half his chakra.

This was the Ninja World, a place filled with danger.

At all times, Natsume had to maintain a certain level of combat strength and a reserve of chakra.

A shinobi without chakra was like a tiger without claws.

Even a shinobi skilled in Taijutsu would be much weaker without chakra to bolster them.

Having watched so many famous dramas and movies in his previous life, Natsume didn't want to get caught off guard and suffer a humiliating defeat.

A few minutes later.

Only after his combat strength had recovered did Natsume feel a little more at ease.

Then he began to tally up what he had gained that night.

First: acquiring two medical ninja, Kabuto and Nonō, was naturally a good thing.

Second: he had looted Iwagakure's Vault and brought back seventy million ryo, equivalent to seventy million Gold Coins. He'd made a fortune!

Not only would those seventy million Gold Coins let him splurge in the system again and increase his strength,

but the seventy million ryo he'd gotten for free would also greatly ease the financial pressure on his own Flame Hidden Village. It would be enough to speed up the village's basic construction and provide for the clan's food, clothing, housing, and transportation.

Of course, those were all material gains on the surface.

Aside from the material gains,

he'd also benefited quite a bit in other, less tangible ways.

The biggest of those was that he'd gotten Konoha and Akatsuki to shoulder the blame for him!

Tonight's operation—

from his clothes to his actions to every verbal hint—

throughout the entire operation, Natsume had deliberately disguised himself as a member of Akatsuki, and one with close ties to Konoha at that.

In the end, he'd even gone so far as to reveal the Flying Thunder God Technique to Ōnoki.

He'd shown it off right in front of him.

His goal was to direct Iwagakure's suspicions and fury toward Konoha.

Given Iwagakure's longstanding hatred of Konoha,

after tonight, they were sure to resent it even more.

In the future, all he'd need to do was fan the flames a little, and Iwagakure would surely launch a full-scale attack on Konoha.

That would let him and Flame Hidden Village watch from the sidelines and reap the benefits.

On the other hand,

he'd also exposed a glimpse of Akatsuki's threat and strength.

He figured that someday, when a certain Obito-bro appeared before Iwagakure's shinobi in a red cloud cloak and a mask,

they'd give him quite the "welcome."

Tsk, tsk, tsk!

Let's take half a second to mourn Obito-bro in advance...

After sorting out his gains and making sure he hadn't left anything behind,

Natsume immediately set out for his own Flame Hidden Village.

He'd been away for more than a day.

It was time to hurry back. Hopefully, nothing had happened in the village.

The next evening.

Dust-covered from the journey, Natsume finally made it back to his village.

The village had been peaceful over the past two days.

Under the leadership of several clan elders, all the clan members had been working enthusiastically on the new village, and everything was thriving.

It was plain to see—

compared with its bare-bones state when they first arrived, the village had become much more colorful.

Even on the main street,

several snack shops had opened. A few elderly men were cheerfully selling all sorts of snacks and sweets, drawing the adoration of a crowd of children.

If they were still living in Konoha, such a warm scene would never have appeared.

There, any gathering of more than three Uchiha would be secretly monitored by Konoha.

No wonder so many Uchiha had been driven to rebel and flee.

Sure enough, deciding to lead the clan out of Konoha had been a wise choice!

After returning, Natsume discovered that Orochimaru and the others hadn't come back yet.

That wasn't surprising.

After all, he had traveled alone and moved very quickly.

The others had two "deadweights" with them, so it was only natural that they were slower.

And after witnessing the power of his Susanoo with Divine Blade,

Orochimaru probably wouldn't dare think of turning against him anytime soon.

There was no need to worry.

Natsume quickly slipped back to his residence.

"Young Clan Head! You're back!"

Uchiha Nichiyo, who had been diligently standing guard, lit up with joy when he saw Natsume return.

The days without the Young Clan Head here to oversee things had been truly unsettling.

"Mm. Is everything all right in the village?"

"Everything's fine."

"Good."

"By the way, where's Mooncake?"

Natsume looked around and only then noticed that the little fat panda, Mooncake, wasn't there.

"Oh! Lord Mooncake is soaking in the bath in the back courtyard..."

"Soaking in the bath? You even built a hot spring?"

"Well... it was Lord Mooncake's request. And we thought you might want to relax when you got back, too, Young Clan Head."

"So we built a simple one..."

Nichiyo stammered, looking a little embarrassed.

"You guys! The village isn't even finished, and you're already busy with all these fancy extras."

"And Mooncake's gotten pretty bold, ordering you all around..."

Natsume chided him with a laugh.

He wasn't actually angry. It was just the clan members' way of showing their kindness.

Besides, after a long journey home,

a soak in a hot spring to relax really did sound wonderful.

Wasn't that one of the things he wanted from a life of "quality"?

"All right, I'm back now, so there's nothing to worry about."

"You can go."

"Oh, and for the next two days, you and Toh and the others outside don't need to stand guard."

"You all deserve a couple of days off to rest..."

"No, Young Clan Head, we..."

"Don't argue. Just do as I say. The village is only getting started, and your families need your help, too. Don't waste time fussing over it."

"Well... all right!"

Nichiyo felt a warmth in his heart. He didn't protest and quickly agreed.

Then he left.

Besides, they all knew how strong the Young Clan Head was.

Though they were posted here as guards, it wasn't clear who was protecting whom.

After seeing Nichiyo off, Natsume headed to the back courtyard.

Sure enough, as soon as he entered,

he felt a wave of hot spring steam wash over him, soothing his pores and making him relax.

Beside the steaming pool,

the palm-sized Mooncake was soaking in the hot spring, looking completely at ease as he munched on a tender bamboo shoot.

It was as if his whole life as a panda was nothing but bliss.

"Damn, even this panda knows how to enjoy himself better than I do..."

Natsume took off his clothes and jumped straight into the hot spring.

A huge splash drenched Mooncake on the edge of the pool, turning him into a "drowned rat."

"Who?! Who? Who's disturbing my bath?"

Mooncake leaped up in fright, roaring and brandishing his claws.

"Damn, it's you, brat! You got back pretty fast..."

"Lord Mooncake, you sure know how to enjoy yourself! You've been soaking for ages. Are you cooked yet?"

Natsume teased him with a grin.

"You little brat, what are you talking about? How could I be cooked?"

"You splashed me with water, and I haven't even settled the score with you! And now you dare to be so disrespectful to me!"

"Just you wait. I'm coming over to rip you apart!"

Mooncake roared.

First, he carefully set down the half-eaten bamboo shoot.

Then he paddled toward Natsume, claws raised.

Unfortunately, Mooncake was only the size of a palm, and by the time he reached the middle of the pool,

he was clearly running out of strength...

Before long, he was flailing helplessly, slowly sinking beneath the water.

Only a string of bubbles remained.

Natsume glanced at Mooncake.

The soothing hot spring made him too lazy to bicker with the panda. As a Summoning Beast, there was no way he could actually drown, anyway...

So he stretched out and soaked in the hot water, easing the fatigue from his body.

At the same time, taking advantage of this moment of relaxation,

he sank his consciousness into the system again, ready to begin another round of "splurging"!