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Hokage Office.
Yugao Uzuki stood in the hallway and looked up, seeing Kurenai Yuhi. She was wearing a black, hip-hugging skirt, and her face held a faint blush and a slightly shy smile, making her look quite captivating. Kurenai Yuhi noticed her gaze, her body stiffened, and she instinctively looked away. After a moment, she smiled again and greeted her, "Yugao."
Yugao Uzuki nodded. "Hokage-sama asked me to come over." Although she was a little curious, she didn't ask further. Their relationship wasn't that close.
"I see," Kurenai Yuhi said with a smile. "You should go in. Don't keep Hokage-sama waiting too long."
Yugao Uzuki acknowledged her and walked towards the Hokage's Office.
"Oh, and Yugao," Kurenai Yuhi suddenly remembered something and asked, "How's Hayate doing?"
"Not very well," Yugao Uzuki glanced at her, answering.
"Have you taken him to the hospital?" Kurenai Yuhi paused. "The hospital recently got a new technology. I heard it can even regenerate severed limbs. It's truly amazing."
"Hayate's illness comes from his Scorched Release kekkei genkai," Yugao Uzuki said calmly. "It's incurable."
"I'm sorry," Kurenai Yuhi quickly said.
"It's fine. I've gotten used to it." Yugao Uzuki had seen too much death during her time with Orochimaru, so she didn't show much emotion. And, compared to the original story, her relationship with Hayate Gekkō wasn't that good. This was because she was taken as Orochimaru's disciple during her time at the Ninja Academy. Her interactions with Hayate Gekkō were quite limited.
Yugao Uzuki turned and knocked on the door. After getting permission, she opened it.
"Hokage-sama," she bowed, very respectfully. This was firstly because Sasame had taken her away from the dangerous Orochimaru. Secondly, it was the ninja instinct she had been trained to have over the years. Regardless of her feelings for Orochimaru, his orders had to be obeyed. Now that she had been given to Sasame, her loyalty had shifted.
"You're a contractor of Ryūchi Cave, right?" Sasame looked up and asked directly.
"Yes," Yugao Uzuki answered. "It's been a few years, but I'm not very gifted, so I haven't learned Sage Mode." Sasame raised an eyebrow. Her answer was more than what he had asked for. This frankness seemed to be her way of showing loyalty. Thinking of Orochimaru, Sasame truly felt that he was a skilled leader. All his subordinates were fiercely loyal to him, willing to sacrifice their lives. In contrast, Sasame could only threaten them with his strength to make them work for him. It was difficult to achieve what Orochimaru had. Therefore, he didn't actually trust Yugao Uzuki. But from her demeanor, it seemed she wasn't too fond of Orochimaru.
"I have a mission for you," Sasame took out a scroll. "I made a deal with the White Snake Sage, which gave Konoha Village more summoning contract slots. I called you here because I want you to lead them to Ryūchi Cave." Yugao Uzuki stepped forward, took the scroll without looking at it, and nodded. "Yes."
Sasame had divided the list into two groups: Jonin and talented Chunin or Genin in one group, and his acquaintances in another. The latter group included Hinata Hyuga, Ino Yamanaka, Kurenai Yuhi, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sasuke Uchiha. He planned to go with them personally. The contractors of the Three Great Sage Regions could theoretically summon any summoning animal. But the snakes of Ryūchi Cave were all quite bad-tempered. Snakes like Manda were difficult to control. Later, Sasuke Uchiha specifically found a snake named Aoda to be his exclusive summoning animal. Of course, times had changed. Sasame naturally wasn't afraid of Manda. Therefore, his purpose was simple: take Hinata Hyuga and the others there, beat up the strongest snakes, and then sign the contracts. At the same time, he would have the White Snake Sage test if they had the talent to learn Sage Mode.
"Take my order and gather the ninjas on this list. Take them to Ryūchi Cave," Sasame waved his hand. Yugao Uzuki bowed and left the office.
A moment later, Kurenai Yuhi walked in. "Sasame, they are all waiting for you in the plaza outside the Hokage's Office."
"You should come with us too," Sasame said, standing up and smiling.
"What's the mission?" Kurenai Yuhi asked, a little curious.
"I'll tell you later," Sasame teased. The two of them arrived at the plaza.
"Teacher Sasame!" Naruto Uzumaki asked excitedly. "Is this a big mission?" He said this because there were quite a few people this time. Hinata Hyuga and Ino Yamanaka thought so too, but they also felt a little regretful that they wouldn't have a chance to be alone with him. Only Kurenai Yuhi, who knew Sasame better, thought otherwise. This was too strange.
"Do you all know about Ryūchi Cave?" Sasame smiled and asked.
"Ryūchi Cave, one of the three great summoning animal sanctuaries," Ino Yamanaka said. "Lord Orochimaru's summoning animals are from that place." Although the three sacred lands were secretive, the ninja clans had some knowledge of them. Ino Yamanaka was a member of a ninja clan. Of those present, only Kurenai Yuhi was probably not too familiar with it. But with the mention of Orochimaru, she roughly understood the significance of Ryūchi Cave. After all, his exploits were widely known in Konoha Village; everyone knew he had a fierce, large snake.
"I called you all here to take you to Ryūchi Cave," Sasame said. Without waiting for anyone's reaction, he used the Flying Thunder God Technique.
When they opened their eyes again, they were already in Ryūchi Cave. On their way to the White Snake Sage's temple, he explained Sage Mode to them. This made everyone present a little excited. After all, it meant they could become stronger. This was especially true for Sasuke Uchiha. He had suffered a crushing defeat against the Third Raikage and had been training diligently since. Sasame glanced at him. He didn't have Sage Mode in the original story. Given Orochimaru's personality, he would have definitely let him learn it. The only explanation was that he couldn't.
"Hokage-sama," before they even reached the temple, the White Snake Sage had already sensed them and came out to greet them. Its attitude was very gentle. As for the three Great Snake Princesses, they were still in Konoha Village teaching Kabuto Yakushi Sage Mode.
"White Snake Sage, please test them to see if they can learn Sage Mode," Sasame said casually.
"No problem," the White Snake Sage nodded. Under normal circumstances, to learn Sage Mode, one had to pass the trials of the three Great Snake Princesses. These trials were not tests of talent, but of character. There was also an element of luck. Now, that phase was completely skipped.
"I will infuse natural energy into each of you," the White Snake Sage looked at the group. "Absorb it according to the method I teach you. If you can't handle it, and your body starts to turn into a snake, it means you have no talent or that it will be very difficult for you to learn." The five of them all nodded seriously.
The White Snake Sage began the test. Previously, anyone who started to turn into a snake would be immediately devoured. Because of Sasame, their lives were spared. In the end, only one person had the talent: Naruto Uzumaki. Kurenai Yuhi, Hinata Hyuga, and Ino Yamanaka were disappointed, but they were also quite calm about it. Sasuke Uchiha, however, was so angry his body trembled. His dōjutsu power also increased significantly. He had once again lost to Naruto Uzumaki. If no one had talent, he could have accepted it. But why did it have to be like this?
The rest of the matter was simple. Sasame took them around and beat up all the snakes, including Manda and Aoda. This trip, he successfully earned a hundred thirty points of Destiny Value. Naruto Uzumaki remained in Ryūchi Cave. The other four returned to Konoha Village after signing the contract. Sasame was calm about only Naruto Uzumaki having the talent. This was normal. After all, not many people in the original story could learn Sage Mode. But there were other ways. For example, the Cursed Seals of Heaven and Earth. However, their side effects were still too great. And Orochimaru was a bit too handsy. Sasame thought of Kabuto Yakushi again. He could have him spend some time researching it; that might work.
Land of Waves Daimyō's palace.
Sasame appeared in Tayuya's room. He was a little astonished. Tayuya was sleeping on the sofa, wearing a kimono nightgown. She was as quiet as a girl next door. Sasame shook his head, walked up to her, and pinched her nose.
"What are you doing?" Tayuya suddenly opened her eyes, her face full of vigilance.
"How can you kill me if you're sleeping?" Sasame asked with a smile.
"Mind your own business!" Tayuya snorted coldly. "I'll kill you someday!"
"You're so confident," Sasame casually took out a lollipop and offered it to her.
"What's this for?" Tayuya's face stiffened. "Even if you bribe me, you can't change your fate!"
"I just found it on the ground," Sasame raised an eyebrow. Tayuya was so angry she wanted to spit fire. She immediately swatted the lollipop away. "What do you take me for?!" Her hair also floated up. Sasame reached out and ruffled her head. Tayuya's body trembled, and the anger on her face visibly disappeared.
"Sign this," Sasame took out the Ryūchi Cave contract scroll.
"What is this?" Tayuya jumped up from the sofa. "Is it another perverted item?" As she spoke, she opened the scroll. Upon seeing the contents, she froze. She knew about Ryūchi Cave, and had even seen Manda a few times. After all, she was once Orochimaru's subordinate.
"You... you..." Tayuya pointed at Sasame, unable to form a complete sentence for a long time. She understood the value of this scroll. This was one of the Three Great Sage Regions. And he was giving it to her?
"What about me?" Sasame reached out. "If you don't want it, give it back."
"Of course I want it!" Tayuya put her hands on her hips and shouted. "If you want to die, don't blame me!"
"You just reminded me," Sasame said with a look of realization. "It wouldn't be fair to just give it to you for free."
"..." Tayuya clenched the scroll. "Are you going back on your word?"
"I'm not," Sasame casually snatched the scroll. "I can erase your name at any time."
Tayuya's face stiffened. "You bastard!" she said angrily.
"Tsk," Sasame sat on the sofa. "Thank you for the compliment."
"..." Tayuya gritted her teeth. After a moment, she asked, "What do you want?"
"I want to adopt a cat," Sasame tilted his head.
"Impossible!" Tayuya glared at him. "You're humiliating me!"
"Then you don't want the summoning animals of Ryūchi Cave?" Sasame patted his thigh and asked.
"..." Tayuya was silent. After a moment, she reluctantly crawled into his arms.
"You're not as good as my black cat," Sasame stroked her hair, then let her go. "Let's leave it at that."
"How am I worse than that black cat?!" After he left, Tayuya stomped her feet in anger. After a moment, she picked up the lollipop on the sofa, tore off the wrapper, and put it in her mouth. "You bastard, you pervert, I'll bite you to death!" she said, chewing the lollipop. The sweet taste mixed with the bitterness in her heart. It made her completely unable to sleep.
Sasame opened Yugito Nii's door. The black cat looked up, saw him, and quickly jumped to his side.
"Meow~" Her tone was a little urgent.
Sasame picked up the black cat, sat on the sofa, and held one of her paws, gently caressing it. Her paw was soft and delicate; it felt very comfortable. The black cat relaxed, enjoying it. Her tail swayed slightly with her mood. Sasame said nothing, just petted the cat. The room was very quiet. After a moment, Sasame patted her head. She looked at him shyly, showing her cat instincts, and began to groom her slightly messy fur.
After a long while, Sasame said with emotion, "You're getting better at this."
The black cat had no time to reply.
"But I also know what you're waiting for," Sasame said with a smile. "The Two-Tails' name is Matatabi, right?" The black cat bit her lip.
"Matatabi is indeed very powerful," Sasame stroked her head. "But you can't defeat me. You probably know that too, which is why you plan to use it to escape."
The black cat remained silent.
"So, do you want to test it?" Sasame's lips curved slightly. The black cat's face showed a pained expression. After a moment, she drank some water.
"How do we test it?" Yugito Nii wiped her mouth. When it came to Matatabi, she had regained her original identity. Sasame didn't mind. He used the Flying Thunder God Technique. The two of them arrived in the Land of Snow.
"Kaguya," Sasame walked over and kissed her face. Yugito Nii was stunned. Not because of their intimacy. But because she had seen Ōtsutsuki Kaguya before. But she was in disguise then. Now, she wasn't. Yugito Nii felt an indescribable aura. She was clearly not an ordinary person. Ōtsutsuki Kaguya glanced at Yugito Nii, or more accurately, at Matatabi. Sasame leaned in and whispered a few words to her, holding up a finger.
"Okay," Ōtsutsuki Kaguya held out her hand. Yugito Nii's vision blurred, and her consciousness appeared in the sealing space. Along with her was the mysterious ninja from Konoha. She was a little disbelieving, but then she felt a surge of joy. The sealing space was controlled by her and Matatabi. Ōtsutsuki Kaguya had just delivered herself to them. As long as she could control her consciousness, she could threaten Sasame. Thinking of this, she shouted, "Matatabi, get her!" But Matatabi didn't respond. At this moment, she noticed its complex expression: confusion, affection, and fear.
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if you want more updates == supports with power stones
Power Stones==Bonus Chapter