Chapter 197: Jinchuriki
Naruto thought for a long time without reaching a conclusion.
Choosing the sub-cards wasn't difficult; he had several cards he rarely used, and keeping them would be a waste.
But he didn't know how to choose the main card.
He had several that he wanted to fuse and upgrade.
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For example, the Lishang card, the Merlin card, the Sun Breathing card, or even the Enma card would work.
Ultimately, Naruto decided to wait a bit.
Perhaps there would be better cards in the future, or he might need them for an emergency one day.
Naruto looked up toward Konoha.
Since he was already here, he would report the situation to Tsunade.
While he was at it, he'd have the Konoha Cola Shop set up a specialized commission for the three of them.
Otherwise, there would be no reason to stay in the Metropolis.
Naruto arrived at the Hokage Office and knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Tsunade lifted her head from a large pile of documents. Seeing Naruto, she froze for a moment before asking, "Why are you back? Wasn't it supposed to be half a month?"
Naruto gave a light cough and asked, "What should be done if the employer dies unexpectedly during a mission?"
"Unexpected death?"
Because it had happened last night, Tsunadehadn't received the news yet. She frowned. "Don't joke around. The employer is Fujiwara Kenichiro; how could he die unexpectedly?"
"It's an accident; no one can say for sure."
Naruto shrugged and couldn't help but chuckle. "The First Prince Enyoshi and Fujiwara Kenichirowere fighting over the'second most beautiful woman under heaven,' and he accidentally beat him to death."
???
Caught off guard, Tsunade's brain couldn't quite process it.
She couldn't understand.
If she remembered correctly, Fujiwara Kenichirowas over seventy years old, wasn't he?
Jealous rivalry at that age?
They sure know how to have a wild time.
"Are you telling the truth?"
Tsunade snapped back to her senses, her eyes full of doubt.
"It's naturally true. Big Sister Tsunade should receive the news very soon."
"I see."
Tsunade rested her chin on her hands and said, "Tell me the details."
In all her years, this was the first time she'd encountered such a thing, and she was actually quite interested.
Well, and it was a good excuse to take a break and slack off.
Naruto gave a general account of the events.
He omitted his own role in it.
To Tsunade, it sounded like they were at the Fujiwara estate following orders when Fujiwara Kenichiro brought the White Lotus Saintess home one day. Then the First Prince arrived with troops to demand her, and after an argument, a fight broke out.
"You did well."
Tsunade didn't blame them. "Not getting involved in the combat was the correct move."
If it came down to choosing between the Fujiwara Clan and the First Prince, she would certainly choose to help the First Prince.
After all, Konoha Village's funding came from the Daimyo.
Furthermore, a single word from the Daimyo could significantly reduce Konoha Village's mission volume.
One only needed to look at Sunagakure to understand.
Because they lost the war, the Daimyo issued an order that handed over many of the Land of Wind's missions to Konoha.
"Is the White Lotus Saintess really that charming?"
Tsunade's gaze shifted to Naruto as she asked, "In your opinion, who is more beautiful, me or her?"
Why does this sound so familiar?
Naruto complained inwardly. Should I perform a scene of 'Naruto admonishing the Hokage' for you?
"From a woman's perspective, it's naturally you, Big Sister."
Adding a prefix qualifier made the statement perfectly fine.
In truth, even without it, it was hard to say Tsunadecouldn't compare to Haku.
It could only be said they each had their own appeal.
It was like the endless debate between 'cute' and'sexy'.
It depended on personal preference.
There were already tons of Naruto fans who liked Tsunade.
Aside from her being 'broad-minded,' wasn't it because she was beautiful?
"At least you have a conscience."
Tsunade couldn't help but smile at his words. "Since the employer is dead, this mission won't be counted as a failure. We'll just consider it cancelled."
Mission successes and failures were clearly recorded in a Ninja's resume.
Naturally, the fewer failures, the better.
Tsunade was showing obvious favoritism by doing this.
However, she was different from Hiruzen Sarutobi's rigid adherence to rules.
If she was truly unhappy, she'd just leave.
She was nowhere near as obsessed with being Hokage as Danzo was.
Speaking of which, it was quite pathetic.
Danzo clearly had opportunities, yet he never succeeded once.
In the end, it was because he lacked public support.
Or rather, he didn't know how to put on a show.
One should be either a true gentleman or a hypocrite.
But Danzo was neither.
"Alright, go down and rest while waiting for the next mission. If you're bored, go help Jiraiya."
Tsunade waved her hand and said.
Naruto was a bit surprised.
Since when did she start feeling bad for Jiraiya?
That was a good sign.
Naruto now hoped Jiraiya would get married a step before he and Hinata did.
He pondered for a moment and didn't refuse, saying, "I understand."
After leaving the Hokage Office, he went to the main branch of the Konoha Cola Shop.
The Hyuga Clan was a large family with many assets.
There were always clansmen who weren't suited to be Ninjas.
Since the Cola Shop opened, more than half of them had flocked there.
If it weren't for Naruto and Sasuke's shares, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a family business.
The general manager was named Hyuga Chiwa.
She was a woman in her forties.
"Auntie Chiwa, help me with something."
Naruto had her post a mission commission.
Immediately after, he saw Tsunade again.
"..."
Tsunade curled her lip.
Are you trying to exploit a bug with me?
But it didn't violate any regulations.
Even as the Hokage, she couldn't stop an employer.
"You did well; don't do it again next time," Tsunadesaid, tossing the mission scroll to him.
"Fine, I definitely won't let you know next time."
Naruto put away the scroll and said with a smile.
Tsunade glared at him upon hearing that.
What do you mean 'won't let me know'?
Does this brat have other businesses besides the Cola Shop?
"I'm leaving now."
Naruto vanished before her eyes before she could respond.
Tsunade chuckled. "Your personality is really nothing like Minato's."
Returning to the Metropolis in the Land of Fire, Naruto told Neji and Hinata about the mission.
Neji gave him a strange look.
One could actually do things this way?
If they were ruthless enough, couldn't the Hyuga Clan help them pad their mission count?
He quickly shook his head.
To think he would have such a thought. He really was being influenced after spending so much time with this guy.
As for Hinata, she had no objections.
Naruto had Neji go help En Yui.
The first task was the investigation into Toyota Shinji.
With the intelligence network built by the White Lotus Sect and the remnants of the First Prince's influence, they naturally figured out the status of the investigation.
Unsurprisingly, it was biased toward the First Prince.
"Although Fujiwara Kenichiro supported the Second Prince, this matter was his own initiative. It'll be a bit troublesome to point the results toward the Second Prince."
En Yui tapped the table, speaking thoughtfully.
"Then forge the evidence."
Neji spoke without any emotional fluctuation; after a few days, he had grown accustomed to this.
"How do we forge it? If we create it out of thin air, the Second Prince will definitely deny it vehemently," En Yui asked.
"The Second Prince doesn't need to know."
Neji pondered and said, "Use letters—letters that hadn't been sent out yet."
"In that case, why forge them?"
Naruto, who had been idly playing with Hinata's hand, looked up and said, "Just have Fujiwara Kenichiro write the letter himself."
En Yui was slightly stunned and shrunk her neck back. "Hey, hey, hey, don't scare me!"
After a few days, her relationship with Naruto had become much more familiar and was no longer as distant as before.
"I'm serious. Just wait."
Naruto patted Hinata's hand, let go, and appeared directly in Otogakure.
Sasuke was fighting with Senju Tobirama.
He was at a disadvantage.
Naruto gave it a glance and then ignored it.
However, Senju Tobirama became thoughtful after noticing him.
Did he sense the Nine-Tailed's chakra?
But he couldn't be sure.
"Senior Kabuto."
Naruto called out as he pushed open the door.
What met his eyes was Yakushi Kabuto holding a Daruma doll, smiling as he played with two young children.
Upon seeing him, the smile immediately vanished.
"What is it?"
Yakushi Kabuto spoke coldly.
At the same time, he handed the black Daruma to the nanny beside him.
Naruto looked at the black Daruma.
It reminded him of the days he played Onmyoji.
He hadn't expected Yakushi Kabuto to have such a gentle side.
He wondered if Orochimaru would also show a smile while coaxing children.
He didn't dare imagine it.
"This attitude is quite different from just now."
Naruto said with a sigh, "I am your junior, after all."
"..."
Yakushi Kabuto's mouth twitched.
Don't try to act close with me.
He frowned and said, "Speak if you have something to say; don't waste time."
"I need you to do me a favor."
Naruto smiled. "A small matter: use Edo Tensei on an ordinary person."
Yakushi Kabuto's face instantly went dark.
What was that?
Do you really think this place is your home?
Coming and going as you please... uh, it actually seemed to be the case. Setting that aside, Edo Tensei was going too far.
Yakushi Kabuto's eyes darted around, and he said, "You're an outsider. If you want to use Edo Tensei, you have to pay a price."
"And what is the price, Senior Kabuto?"
Naruto raised an eyebrow and asked, "If it's too much, our deal ends here."
"You have the Flying Thunder God Technique; can you go to Danzo's place and steal a set of documents?"
Yakushi Kabuto's words were something Narutohadn't expected.
Good grief!
If Senju Tobirama, who was fighting Sasukeoutside, knew the Flying Thunder God was being used like this, would he be so angry he'd regret creating it?
Naruto narrowed his eyes and said, "I can, but I also need to know what those documents are."
Yakushi Kabuto's expression stiffened as he looked at him, weighing the pros and cons in his mind.
With Otogakure's current situation, infiltrating Danzo's territory to steal something was extremely difficult.
It wasn't that it was impossible.
It was just that the cost would be very high.
Plus, Orochimaru had been quite physically weak lately.
"It doesn't matter if you know about those documents."
Yakushi Kabuto said after some thought, "If you can steal them, you can naturally read them."
"We're all Konoha people; how can you call it stealing?"
Naruto said with a smile, "I'm just helping Lord Danzo keep them safe."
Yakushi Kabuto was stunned.
This level of shamelessness was truly impressive.
He even doubted if Naruto really came from Konoha.
What happened to the Will of Fire you learned?
Yakushi Kabuto had stayed in Konoha for a long time, and the vast majority of Konoha Ninjas felt quite traditional to him.
While some were abnormal, none were like Naruto.
"Aren't you afraid the people in Konoha will find out?"
Yakushi Kabuto couldn't help but ask.
"Even if they find out, they can't do anything to me."
Naruto shrugged.
Sorry, a Jinchuriki can truly do whatever they want.
"..."
To be honest, Yakushi Kabuto was a little envious.
He snapped back and said, "In a secluded alley in the southeast of Konoha Village, there's a bookstore called Birdhouse. It's actually a secret base for Root. Infiltrate it and find a book or materials called 'Valley of Hell'."
Valley of Hell?
Naruto thought for a bit.
It sounded familiar yet very strange.
The familiarity came from the fact that place names like 'Valley of Hell' were quite common.
"Alright, I've got it."
Naruto nodded in agreement and appeared on the streets of Konoha.
After getting a map, he quickly arrived at the bookstore.
After Jiraiya took over Root and the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seals were removed, he had gained several reformed Root members.
With their help, many Root bases had been wiped out.
But only two or three people knew about the deeper bases.
Yakushi Kabuto knew either because of information he gathered when he was a Root member or from following Orochimaru.
After all, Orochimaru and Danzo had once had a period of seamless cooperation.
He activated Kagura Minds Eye.
Naruto immediately sensed the situation in the base below.
There were nine people.
Their strength was decent: seven Chunin and two Jonin.
Naruto transformed into a random young man wearing a pair of sunglasses.
"What book would this customer like to buy?"
The owner said with a pleasant smile.
Naruto used his middle finger to pull down his sunglasses, revealing his Sharingan.
"Take me below."
The owner nodded.
He turned and walked into the back room. After a few operations, a secret underground passage was revealed.
"Go on, just act like you didn't see me."
Naruto waved his hand and followed the steps deep into the passage.
There were electric lights on both sides, so it wasn't dark.
After walking for half a minute, it opened up into a large hall.
"Wha—"
With a glare from Naruto, the Root Ninjaimmediately froze in place.
Then he glared eight more times, catching everyone.
He couldn't help but marvel at how effective the Mangekyo Sharingan was.
Without preparation, it was very hard to escape an ambush.
Of course, if one's strength was sufficient, they could break free even if they were caught.
It was just that for Naruto, there weren't many Ninjas in the entire Ninja World who could be called strong enough.
"Go and get 'Valley of Hell' for me."
Naruto ordered casually.
A Root Ninja immediately turned, took a book from the shelf, and handed it to him.
It was a book with a crimson hue.
Naruto opened it curiously.
"Ketsuryugan?"
He let out a small sound of surprise.
Distant memories surfaced.
The Ketsuryugan was a Bloodline Limit similar to the Sharingan.
Those who possessed it were called the Chinoike Clan.
They had a history of grievances with the Uchiha Clan.
Before Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara's time, a daughter of the Chinoike Clan married the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning, but she was slandered due to the jealousy of the primary wife.
In a rage, the Daimyo exiled the Chinoike Clan to the Valley of Hell.
And the ones responsible for guarding them were the Uchiha Clan.
Time passed.
Due to various reasons, the Chinoike Clan was nearly extinct.
If Naruto remembered correctly, there should only be two clan members left now.
They were even more pathetic than the Uchiha Clan.
At least the Uchiha still had three.
"Why does Yakushi Kabuto want these materials?"
Naruto rubbed his chin.
Orochimaru couldn't get the Uchiha brothers, so he found a new love?
He put away the materials and went to the Anbu, telling Jiraiya about this location.
He ran off before the other could speak.
It left Jiraiya incredibly frustrated.
He had no choice but to take Anbu members to conduct a sweep.
That night, upon receiving the news, Danzo was so angry the eyes on his arm throbbed with pain.
Thanks to the big boss 'A Bag of Heavenly Pepper i' for the tip.