Naruto: Multiverse Character Templates

One month later, in Amegakure.

Amayado, who had been making waves in Amegakure during this period, was now standing respectfully in front of Natsuki.

Amayado was currently Amegakure's acting leader, holding both status and authority.

But he knew very well that everything he had now had been given to him by Konoha and Natsuki.

Especially Natsuki.

As someone who had defeated Hanzō, he was not only powerful, but also held an extremely prestigious position in Konoha.

In front of him, Amayado did not dare show the slightest neglect.

Natsuki did not look at him. Instead, he was reading a document.

This document had been given to him by Taka. Its contents were about Amegakure's current situation.

At present, Amegakure was a mix of all kinds of people and was mainly divided into three factions.

One faction was led by Amayado. It had the largest number of people and held the advantage in Amegakure.

Another faction was led by Sanshōuo Hyōe. Like Sanshōuo Shintatsu, whom Natsuki had killed before, he had been deeply trusted by Hanzō.

Because of this, he had not followed Hanzō to the battlefield and had instead been left behind to protect Amegakure.

But he had never expected the always invincible Hanzō to be killed.

Still, he reacted quickly. After learning that Hanzō was dead, he tried to take over Amegakure.

In the end, Amayado and the others appeared halfway through. After escaping from prison, they forcefully took control of Amegakure.

Although Hyōe had temporarily submitted to Amayado due to strength, he believed there was something very wrong with Amayado and did not trust him.

After all, escaping from Konoha and returning sounded unreliable no matter how one looked at it.

The final faction was led by Genichirō. Those who supported him were all members of Amegakure's younger generation.

He believed that whether it was Hanzō or Amayado and the others, they were all defeated by Konoha and could no longer make Amegakure great again.

As young people, they had an infinitely possible future and potential, and they would definitely be able to recreate the glory of Hanzō's era.

On the surface, there was nothing wrong with these three factions, but in reality, there were serious problems.

There was no need to say much about Amayado's backer. It was Konoha.

But Hyōe and Genichirō also had backers behind them, or rather, someone among them had a backer.

Haru and Taka had not yet confirmed which force it was.

The only groups capable of hiding their traces from them were the ANBU of the Five Great Villages or Danzō's Root.

However, Natsuki suspected that the backer behind Genichirō was Danzō and Root.

The reason was simple.

Taka and Haru had accidentally discovered that Genichirō and the others were conducting experiments to transplant salamander poison sacs in an attempt to create a second Hanzō.

It was not that Natsuki looked down on Amegakure's shinobi, but under their long-term state of war and poverty, it was impossible for them to have the ability to conduct such experiments.

Aside from that, where had the salamander poison sacs come from?

Hanzō's corpse had been blown to pieces by explosive tags.

The salamander Ibuse had also become his summoning beast.

The most likely source was Shintatsu's corpse.

Of course, perhaps Amegakure had other salamander poison sacs.

"Deal with Genichirō's matter first."

Natsuki thought for a moment and said, "We cannot allow a second Hanzō to appear."

In truth, even if the salamander poison sac experiment succeeded, it would be very difficult for a second Hanzō to appear.

Aside from poison, Hanzō also had powerful swordsmanship and Water Release.

That was very difficult to replicate.

Natsuki's main purpose was to drive Danzō and Root out of the Land of Rain.

There was an old saying, how could one allow another to sleep beside one's bed?

Moreover, he was worried Danzō would notice Nagato and the others.

Nagato's Rinnegan was far too obvious.

In the original work, it was precisely because Danzō noticed Nagato and the others that he went to cooperate with Hanzō and sow discord.

"Natsuki-sama."

Haru immediately said, "We have already found Genichirō's laboratory."

"Amayado, place the blame for Genichirō's disappearance on Hyōe."

Natsuki put down the document in his hand and said.

"Yes, Natsuki-sama!"

Amayado quickly nodded.

"Taka, your squad will continue investigating Hyōe and his people. See whether they reveal any flaws after being framed."

Natsuki gave another order.

"Yes, Natsuki-sama."

Taka immediately responded.

After Natsuki finished assigning tasks, he left the office with Haru.

"Genichirō's laboratory is not in Amegakure."

As Haru walked, she said, "It is in a cave outside the village."

The two concealed their traces and soon arrived at the destination.

"Natsuki-sama, I'll go in first to check the situation."

After Haru finished speaking, she disappeared from where she stood.

Natsuki waited for a few minutes before she reappeared.

"Genichirō is not inside."

Haru explained, "There are not many people who can transplant salamander poison sacs. During this period, he has been searching everywhere for suitable test subjects."

"Control the laboratory and wait for Genichirō to return."

Natsuki was too lazy to look for him, so he said directly.

Haru nodded. Then with a wave of her hand, her three teammates immediately appeared as well.

The four infiltrated the laboratory. Before long, they successfully completed the mission.

After the sounds inside ended, Natsuki walked into the laboratory.

The laboratory was very crude.

Natsuki had learned pharmaceutical work from Tsunade for some time. After looking around, he found that much of the equipment was incomplete.

This would make the transplant experiment's failure rate even higher.

But the remaining equipment was indeed enough to conduct transplant experiments.

Natsuki looked at the people Haru had captured.

They were shinobi, but they had no combat ability. They belonged to the rare category of research personnel.

In Konoha, aside from Konoha Hospital, only Root had a large number of research personnel.

Because Root liked to conduct all kinds of experiments.

Especially experiments involving Hashirama's cells.

Natsuki remembered that there was a Root researcher named Tanuki Shigaraki who had completed an experiment called Gozu Tennō.

It involved transplanting Hashirama's cells into a summoning beast, ultimately creating the summoning beast Nue.

Its effect was to absorb a massive amount of chakra before self-destructing, and its power was extremely astonishing.

"Where are you from?"

Natsuki asked.

"I... we are Amegakure shinobi."

One of the researchers answered.

Seeing that he refused to tell the truth, Natsuki handed the task over to Haru.

As an intelligence organization, ANBU naturally had plenty of interrogation methods.

He turned and left, arriving outside the cave.

Electromagnetic Wave Sensing!

Clairvoyance!

Natsuki raised his head and looked into the distance.

Time slowly passed.

Half an hour later, Haru appeared behind him.

She said in a deep voice, "Two of the researchers are from Root. They brought the main equipment and technology."

Natsuki thought to himself that it was just as expected.

But he did not say much and merely nodded.

A moment later, his thoughts moved as he sensed eight Amegakure shinobi approaching the cave.

Natsuki rubbed his chin.

Could Root have only sent two researchers?

He sighed and felt a little regretful.

Genichirō's faction was made up of young people, so their strength was poor. Only he could barely be considered a Jonin.

Natsuki had read his file. Genichirō specialized in Water Release.

A Water Release Jonin was of no use to him. He was too lazy to personally make a move.

Just as he was preparing to have Haru's squad deal with Genichirō, he suddenly sensed two extremely faint presences.

"Eight Amegakure shinobi are approaching."

Natsuki immediately said, "Haru, take your people and deal with them. Just capture Genichirō."

After saying this, he leaped away and used Soru to quickly leave.

Haru paused slightly.

Although she did not understand why Natsuki had suddenly disappeared, she still carried out his order.

In the distant forest.

Two Root shinobi stood expressionlessly on a tree.

Their mission was to monitor Genichirō and the others. Once the experiment to transplant the salamander poison sac succeeded, they would notify Danzō.

Danzō's original plan had been to cause trouble in Amegakure to hinder Natsuki.

After all, Natsuki had taken the mission that should have belonged to him.

As long as Natsuki performed poorly, Hiruzen would become dissatisfied with him.

But after arriving in Amegakure, Danzō discovered what Genichirō and the others were doing and immediately changed his plan.

He wanted to create a second Hanzō.

If he succeeded, he would be able to control a Kage-level powerhouse. There was no need to explain the benefits.

As for Natsuki, the order Danzō gave was to avoid contact with him as much as possible and only cause trouble in secret.

First, because Natsuki was powerful, and Root could not find a shinobi capable of defeating him.

Second, because contact with him made exposure easy.

At that time, if Natsuki reported the matter to Hiruzen, Danzō would inevitably be scolded again.

But man proposes, heaven disposes.

Danzō could never have expected Genichirō and the others to be so useless, allowing ANBU's Fourth Division to easily uncover their background.

The two Root shinobi also never expected Natsuki to discover them from such a distance.

At this moment, a mass of shadow had already reached behind them.

Natsuki immediately canceled Shadow Space and leaped up.

Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux!

Considering that they were in the Land of Rain, he used Water Breathing.

In an instant, the nearby rainwater became violent.

Drawn by Water Release chakra, it fell from the sky like a waterfall.

The two Root shinobi subconsciously turned their heads and saw a roaring water dragon flying toward them.

While stunned, they hurriedly counterattacked.

The Root shinobi on the left drew a ninja blade and charged forward.

The Root shinobi on the right directly abandoned his teammate and used the Body Flicker Technique to retreat.

With a clang, Natsuki's Minazuki struck the ninja blade of the Root shinobi on the left.

Then the water dragon opened its mouth and bit at him.

In an instant, the water flow swallowed him.

The tremendous impact made him let out a pained cry.

Then he was knocked into the sky by the water dragon.

Just as Natsuki was about to step forward and finish him off, he sensed a sharp aura.

It was a shuriken wrapped in Wind Release chakra, flying toward him at extremely high speed.

It was Wind Release: Shuriken used by the other Root shinobi.

Water Breathing, First Form: Water Surface Slash!

Natsuki suddenly swung his blade and knocked the shuriken away.

Geppo!

With a burst of speed, he leaped up and clenched his fist, striking the Root shinobi in midair.

A terrifying force exploded at the man's neck.

His vision went black, and he fainted.

Natsuki turned his head as dazzling lightning spread out.

The range of the lightning was extremely wide. It not only covered him, but also the Root shinobi he had knocked unconscious.

If he dodged, the unconscious Root shinobi would most likely lose his life.

"Root really is ruthless."

Natsuki stood in front of the lightning. Armament Haki emerged from his body and turned into a barrier, blocking the lightning.

He had already understood what the Root shinobi before him was thinking.

To put it simply, he wanted to silence his comrade and then escape.

The minds of Root shinobi had corresponding secret techniques implanted in them.

Once someone tried to extract their memories, the secret technique would trigger and destroy those memories.

As long as no evidence was captured, Danzō could argue his way out.

With his relationship with Hiruzen, even ironclad evidence would not cost him his life.

Let alone evidence that was not ironclad.

Natsuki had never thought this incident alone could make Danzō fall out of favor.

It was enough if he could disgust him and vent some anger.

If he wanted to deal with him, he had to start from other areas, such as the human experiments Danzō had carried out.

In the original work, Danzō and Orochimaru were actually very similar.

But Danzō had Root and disguised himself better, preventing Hiruzen from discovering what he had done.

Natsuki's plan was to deal with Danzō after taking control of ANBU.

With him taking the lead, it would be easier to trigger a new character template.

Previously, when he and Tsunade captured Pakura alive together, it had not triggered a new character template.

The likely reason was that he had not been the one taking the lead.

A piercing thunderclap rang out.

The Root shinobi formed hand seals, and the lightning across the sky transformed into countless kunai that flew toward Natsuki.

If he did not get rid of his teammate, there would be no meaning in escaping.

After all, if his teammate was captured by Natsuki, Root could be exposed.

Water Breathing, Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust!

Instead of retreating, Natsuki advanced. Gripping Minazuki, he thrust forward.

His speed was extreme. The water flow carried the blade light and crashed into the lightning.

An explosion erupted.

Water splashed everywhere as the lightning kunai were sent flying one after another.

But quite a bit of lightning also surged toward him along the water flow.

Natsuki ignored the lightning.

He looked at the Root shinobi.

The instant their eyes met, he activated Figure Eyes.

The Root shinobi's face inevitably turned blank.

The lightning landed on Natsuki's body but failed to cause any effective damage.

Because he had activated Armament Haki in advance.

Water Breathing, Fourth Form: Striking Tide!

Taking advantage of the moment when the Root shinobi was caught by Figure Eyes, Natsuki turned his wrist.

A stream of water like a high-pressure water gun struck him.

The Root shinobi's entire body was sent flying.

Geppo!

Natsuki's body flashed in front of him.

He clenched his fist and slammed it into the man's abdomen.

The Root shinobi crashed to the ground and, like his teammate, fainted.

Natsuki nodded slightly.

He glanced at the system. The progress for Misaka Mikoto Template Ability Two had increased by another fifth.

But what surprised him was that the progress for Retsu Unohana Template Ability Five had also increased.

From the looks of it, the previous Root shinobi knew genjutsu in addition to swordsmanship.

But because of Natsuki's sneak attack, he never had the chance to use genjutsu.

Natsuki grabbed the two Root shinobi and turned back toward the cave.

At this time, Haru and the others had also finished their battle and captured Genichirō.

"Your squad will send them back to Konoha."

Natsuki said with a smile, "Make sure to personally hand them over to Hokage-sama."

He could have gone back to Konoha with them.

But he had just taken time to return once last week.

"Yes, Natsuki-sama."

Haru and the others immediately responded.

Amegakure's matter temporarily came to an end, and Natsuki returned to the Land of Rain's metropolis.

Two days later.

Konoha, Hokage's office.

"Hokage-sama."

Haru took out a scroll and said, "This is what Natsuki-sama asked me to hand over to you."

"Why didn't Natsuki come back?"

Hiruzen accepted the scroll and asked casually.

"The matter in Amegakure has not been completely settled."

Haru answered.

Hiruzen nodded and opened the scroll.

But after only one glance, the expression on his face immediately froze.

Because he saw a familiar name, Danzō.

Hiruzen's gaze darkened as he continued reading.

After finishing it, he could not help flying into a rage.

Having Natsuki handle Amegakure had been a mission he personally assigned.

Danzō had grown resentful and gone to obstruct Natsuki. This was simply reckless, showing no regard for him at all.

Moreover, Danzō had actually dared to try creating a second Hanzō behind his back.

"Go call Danzō here."

Hiruzen said expressionlessly.

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Haru turned and left.

A moment later, Danzō walked in.

Just as he was about to speak, he noticed Hiruzen's expression, and his heart suddenly tightened.

What had happened?

Could Hiruzen have learned about what he had done in Amegakure?

Danzō suddenly remembered.

The ANBU shinobi Haru, who had just informed him, came from Natsuki's Fourth Division.

Had the worst-case scenario happened?

"Hiruzen."

Danzō's expression did not change as he asked, "You called for me?"

"What did you do in Amegakure?"

Hiruzen questioned.

In an instant, Danzō confirmed that his guess had become reality.

At the same time, he decided in that very instant to tell everything.

He understood Hiruzen.

At a time like this, denying it no longer had any meaning.

"I received intelligence that Genichirō of Amegakure was attempting to create a second Hanzō."

Danzō slowly said, "A second Hanzō had to be in our hands, so I sent people to Amegakure."

"Is that all?"

Hiruzen asked with dissatisfaction.

"Hiruzen, what do you mean?"

Danzō asked in return, "Are you suspecting that I had another purpose in sending people to Amegakure?"

"I already said before that everything concerning Amegakure would be handed over to Natsuki."

Hiruzen naturally would not be fooled by his little tricks and asked, "Why did you not communicate with me about this in advance?"

Danzō's expression froze.

This was indeed the biggest flaw.

According to Konoha's rules, whether ANBU or Root, any mission carried out outside the village had to be reported to the Hokage.

Although Danzō often hid things from Hiruzen, if they were truly discussing the rules now, then this became his problem.

"The success rate of the salamander poison sac transplant experiment was very low."

Danzō argued, "I had originally planned to report to you after the experiment succeeded."

"Do you think I will believe that reason?"

Hiruzen casually threw the scroll to him and asked, "How do you intend to handle this?"

Danzō froze for a moment, then opened the scroll.

After reading it, he could not help gnashing his teeth. Damn Natsuki, ruining his plans again.

"Hiruzen!"

Danzō began playing the emotional card and said, "You really have to believe me. Everything I do is for Konoha!"

"Enough! You are confined for half a year, and Root is not allowed to interfere in Amegakure's affairs again!"

Hiruzen snorted coldly and said, "Otherwise, I will not let you off lightly!"

Hearing this, Danzō secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

This punishment was nothing to him.

As expected, his old friend Hiruzen still cared about him.

(To be continued.)