Naruto: Multiverse Character Templates

After they finished the hot pot, the New Year holiday came to an end.

On the first day back at work, Natsuki arrived at ANBU headquarters on time.

He sat behind his desk and began the day's work.

The first task was part of ANBU's routine duties.

He needed to organize all the intelligence ANBU had gathered during the New Year holiday.

The reports covered everything from the major nations to the various shinobi villages.

After reading through them, Natsuki found one piece of information that interested him.

Sasori, Chiyo's grandson from Sunagakure, had graduated from the Academy early and become a Genin.

According to the report, he was only seven years old.

He was the same age as Konan and Nagato.

Graduating at seven undoubtedly made him an exceptional genius.

However, that was not surprising.

When Sasori first appeared in the original story, he had possessed the presence of a true expert.

He had also been only fifteen or sixteen years old when he killed the Third Kazekage.

Natsuki rubbed his chin.

Because of the butterfly effect caused by his actions, Sasori's parents had not died.

The chances of Sasori killing the Third Kazekage were now extremely low.

Natsuki then thought of Pakura.

They had previously agreed to cooperate, but they had yet to decide on a specific project.

However, Pakura's current situation in Sunagakure was not particularly good.

Rasa had distinguished himself and was already widely regarded as the next Kazekage.

There was little she could do about that.

Rasa had studied under the Third Kazekage and learned Magnet Release.

In Sunagakure, Magnet Release held a status comparable to Mokuton in Konoha.

Clearly, Pakura could no longer compete with Rasa politically.

An idea suddenly occurred to Natsuki.

He now knew what kind of cooperation he could offer her.

Economic cooperation.

Under normal circumstances, Pakura would also lose to Rasa economically because Rasa's Magnet Release allowed him to extract gold from the desert.

However, Natsuki could help her by providing water.

The Land of Wind and Sunagakure suffered from an extreme lack of water because of their desert environment.

The Land of Rain, however, possessed abundant water resources because of its climate.

Each side could obtain what it needed, making the arrangement beneficial to both.

The current problem was that Akatsuki's research department had not yet developed a rainwater purification system.

There was also the issue of transportation.

If Natsuki unlocked the Door-Door Fruit, transportation would become simple.

However, he could not spend every day maintaining a spatial door.

The transportation problem could be left to Pakura.

They could build underground pipelines or construct a canal above ground.

With Sunagakure's capabilities, either option was possible.

Of course, those were matters for the future.

The current priority was recruiting more researchers so they could develop the rainwater purification system as soon as possible.

Natsuki returned his attention to the reports and continued organizing the intelligence.

Once he had selected the important reports, his first task was complete.

The second matter was personal.

Asahino's squad had finished investigating Ice Release.

There were currently no Ice Release shinobi in Kirigakure.

However, they had identified five villages in the Land of Water where it snowed throughout the year.

After reading the information on all five villages, Natsuki immediately determined which one Haku's mother lived in.

The reason was simple.

That village possessed an intense hatred of kekkei genkai.

Haku's tragedy had begun because of Ice Release.

His family of three had originally lived happily together.

One day, however, Haku's father discovered that his mother possessed Ice Release and gathered the villagers to kill her.

Haku witnessed everything and awakened Ice Release out of fear.

He used Ice Release to kill his father and the villagers before fleeing in a panic.

From that point onward, he became an orphan and survived by begging throughout the Land of Water.

Eventually, he met Momochi Zabuza, who took him in and turned him into a tool for killing.

Haku was roughly three years older than Naruto.

Under normal circumstances, his mother was probably around Minato's age, or perhaps two or three years older.

Of course, other possibilities existed.

After some thought, Natsuki decided not to bring Nawaki or Nonō this time.

There probably would not be any fighting.

Even if there was, they would only be dealing with ordinary villagers.

Judging from the original story, Haku's father and the other villagers were not shinobi. Otherwise, they would not have been killed by Haku immediately after he awakened Ice Release.

After finishing his work, Natsuki left ANBU headquarters.

The only disappointing part was that Hiruko still had not been found.

However, that was not surprising.

ANBU had been searching for Hiruko ever since he defected, but they had never managed to locate him.

Natsuki only vaguely remembered that Hiruko had conducted his Chimera Technique experiments inside a valley.

Unfortunately, there were countless valleys throughout the shinobi world, so finding the correct one would take time.

There was also the information on the Yomi Cult.

Kakuzu had already sent someone to deliver it.

Natsuki planned to visit the Yomi Cult after some time.

He returned to the Senju clan compound.

With the New Year holiday over, Nawaki, Nonō, and Kushina had resumed their training.

After practicing Rankyaku for two months, they had basically mastered it.

"I'll teach you the final technique of the Konoha Six Powers, Kami-e."

Natsuki walked over to them.

He taught them until evening, then informed them that he would be leaving on an ANBU mission the following day.

Since it was an ANBU mission, he would not be bringing them along.

Although Nawaki and the others found it unfortunate, none of them complained.

During dinner that evening, Natsuki learned something unexpected from Tsunade.

Minato had already gone to Mount Myōboku to learn Sage Mode.

Barring any accidents, he would most likely master it before the Third Shinobi World War.

Combined with the Konoha Six Powers, he would undoubtedly become even stronger than the Yellow Flash from the original story.

Natsuki was not particularly concerned.

After all, he possessed plenty of advantages of his own.

Nawaki, however, felt a growing sense of danger.

If things continued like this, the gap between him and Minato would only grow larger.

He could not accept that.

The following day, Natsuki left Konoha with Asahino's squad and headed toward the Land of Water.

The Land of Water was an archipelago.

Its largest island was located in the southeast.

Both the Land of Water's capital and Kirigakure were situated there.

The village Natsuki was heading toward was in the northeastern region of the country.

After reaching the southeastern coast of the Land of Fire, he changed his mode of transportation and continued by ship.

Four days later, he finally arrived at his destination.

It was a village covered in snow.

Natsuki entered the village.

He had never seen Haku's mother before, but since she had awakened Ice Release, she had to possess chakra.

Regardless of a shinobi's strength, there would always be chakra inside their body.

As long as she possessed chakra, a sensory technique could detect her.

With a casual wave of his hand, Natsuki ordered Asahino's squad to spread out and search the area.

He activated electromagnetic sensing himself.

As Natsuki walked along the street, the nearby villagers watched him curiously.

Very few outsiders visited their small village. Since Natsuki was young and striking in appearance, he naturally attracted attention.

Natsuki ignored them.

Before long, he detected a faint chakra signature.

He walked directly toward it.

Soon, he saw a young woman wearing a white apron.

She had long black hair, delicate features, and a calm appearance that resembled Haku when he dressed as a girl.

Natsuki immediately identified her as Haku's mother.

She was working as a server in a small restaurant.

Aside from her, there was also a young man and a woman inside.

After thinking for a moment, Natsuki decided not to approach her immediately.

He moved to a secluded corner and summoned Asahino's squad.

"Investigate this restaurant and the people working there," Natsuki instructed.

Asahino nodded before disappearing again.

Natsuki found a tree, climbed onto one of its branches, and sat down.

As he waited, he opened his system.

He currently possessed many character templates, but unlocking most of their abilities required time.

The ability he was currently working toward was Accelerated Regeneration from the Kibutsuji Muzan Template.

Its unlock condition was mastering the Mystical Palm Technique.

Although both were A-rank techniques, the Mystical Palm Technique was more difficult to learn than Chakra Enhanced Strength.

Natsuki had also been learning too many ninjutsu at once, so he had not completely mastered it yet.

However, he was close.

At most, it would take another month or two.

Aside from that, he also needed to learn the Chinoike clan's Blood Secret Technique to unlock the Blood Demon Art from the Kibutsuji Muzan Template.

Natsuki did not have to wait long.

Half an hour later, Asahino returned.

He verbally reported the circumstances of the three people working in the restaurant.

The young woman's name was Yukina. She had fled to the village alone five years earlier.

The woman who took her in was named Naomi.

Naomi's husband had died young and left her with a son, the young man named Katsuri.

The three of them supported themselves by running the restaurant.

Natsuki nodded slightly.

An idea suddenly occurred to him.

Although Asahino had not discovered where Yukina originally lived, her past was most likely connected to Kirigakure.

After all, Kirigakure was the only place known to have produced Ice Release shinobi.

Natsuki did not know what had happened five years ago, but internal conflict was common among the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

Konoha and the Uchiha clan were a classic example.

In the original story, Kirigakure had also wiped out the Kaguya clan, which possessed Shikotsumyaku.

With that thought, Natsuki entered the restaurant.

"Welcome."

Yukina approached him.

"What would you like to eat?"

"I would like to speak with you."

Natsuki smiled.

Yukina froze.

"Hey, what do you mean by that?"

Katsuri immediately stepped in front of Yukina and looked at Natsuki warily.

He suspected that Natsuki had taken an interest in her.

Ever since Naomi had taken Yukina in, Katsuri had viewed her as his future wife.

Naomi had also promised to arrange their marriage once Yukina was older.

Now that someone far more handsome than him had appeared, Katsuri naturally felt displeased.

"Yukina, do you still remember your homeland?" Natsuki asked, ignoring him.

"Her homeland?"

Naomi also came over.

"Guest, what is your relationship with Yukina?"

"I belong to the same clan as her," Natsuki answered.

Shock appeared on Yukina's face.

She clearly remembered that everyone from her clan had died.

How could another clan member still exist?

"I can prove my identity," Natsuki said after a brief pause. "However, I need to speak with Yukina alone."

"Yukina, we don't know where this person came from. Don't believe him!"

Katsuri immediately raised his voice.

Hesitation appeared on Yukina's face.

"Yukina is living well here. She has no need for clan members she has never met before."

Naomi glanced at Katsuri before speaking bluntly.

"Guest, please leave."

"Naomi-san, I want to speak with him," Yukina said after making her decision. "But please don't worry. I won't leave. This is my home."

Naomi frowned slightly.

Since Yukina had already said that much, refusing might damage their relationship.

Katsuri wanted to object.

However, since Naomi had agreed, he remained silent.

Natsuki and Yukina moved to one side.

"What proof do you have?"

Yukina looked at Natsuki, still unconvinced by his earlier claim.

Natsuki raised one hand.

Ice Release chakra gathered in his palm and formed an ice shuriken.

"Ice Release?"

Yukina's eyes widened instinctively.

"Have you awakened Ice Release?" Natsuki asked as he dispersed the shuriken.

Yukina extended her hand and created an identical ice shuriken.

"I hope you will leave with me."

Natsuki nodded slightly.

"This village harbors an intense hatred of kekkei genkai. If your ability is exposed, your life will be in danger."

"That won't happen."

Yukina shook her head.

"I don't trust the other villagers, but I trust Naomi and Katsuri."

"Is that so?"

Natsuki raised an eyebrow.

"Then are you willing to test that trust?"

"You mean revealing Ice Release in front of them?" Yukina asked instinctively.

"A secret cannot remain hidden forever. They will discover your Ice Release sooner or later."

Natsuki spoke seriously.

"It would be better to reveal it yourself and observe their reactions. If they can accept you, then you can remain here."

Hesitation appeared on Yukina's face.

"It seems you don't truly trust them," Natsuki said with a smile.

"I do trust them."

Yukina took a deep breath.

"We'll tell them right now."

Natsuki nodded.

The two returned to the restaurant.

"Yukina!"

Katsuri quickly approached her.

"He really is a member of my clan," Yukina said.

"Then are you going to leave?"

Katsuri's expression changed dramatically.

"I'm not leaving," Yukina answered firmly.

"Good girl."

A smile appeared on Naomi's face.

"Did you hear that? You can leave now!"

Katsuri turned toward Natsuki.

"But there is something I need to confess."

Yukina suppressed her anxiety.

"You would discover it eventually, so I think it is better to tell you now."

"What is it?" Katsuri asked in confusion.

"I possess a kekkei genkai, Ice Release."

Yukina extended her hand and created another ice shuriken.

Katsuri froze before instinctively taking two steps backward.

Naomi's smile also vanished as her expression changed dramatically.

"I promise that I won't use Ice Release in the future."

After seeing their reactions, Yukina felt a sense of foreboding.

Even so, she chose to continue trusting them.

"Why didn't you tell us before?"

Katsuri recovered and asked angrily.

Yukina trembled in fear.

She had never seen such a frightening expression on his face.

"This is a serious matter. Sit here while we discuss it."

Naomi grabbed Katsuri and led him outside.

Yukina stared after them, her thoughts falling into complete turmoil.

Natsuki shook his head.

He could not understand why they hated kekkei genkai so much.

However, this hatred did not exist only among the civilians of the Land of Water. Even the shinobi of Kirigakure shared it.

Kirigakure had once gone through a special period known as the Bloody Mist era.

During that time, shinobi who possessed kekkei genkai were relentlessly hunted down.

Although Obito's control over the Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura, had influenced the situation, the Bloody Mist era had most likely begun much earlier.

The reason was Zabuza.

During his graduation exam, he had killed every student in his class.

Despite killing all of them, he had not received any punishment.

That most likely meant the Bloody Mist era was already underway.

At that time, Obito was still in Konoha and had only recently graduated.

"We'll wait."

Natsuki looked at Yukina.

"If they haven't betrayed your trust, they will return soon."

Yukina nodded as hope rose in her heart.

Natsuki activated electromagnetic sensing.

He raised an eyebrow after sensing Naomi and Katsuri speaking briefly before leaving.

They soon gathered a group of villagers and began heading toward the restaurant.

Just as they had in the original story, they made the same choice.

Thinking about it carefully, it was not surprising.

Katsuri had killed Yukina and then tried to kill Haku.

If he was capable of killing his wife and son, then it was even easier now, when he had not yet married her.

Yukina heard the dense sound of approaching footsteps and instinctively turned around.

She froze.

Naomi and Katsuri had led a group of villagers to surround the restaurant.

They were carrying axes, kitchen knives, and other weapons.

Their intentions were obvious.

"Why?"

Tears began flowing down Yukina's face.

"Yukina, if we had known you possessed a kekkei genkai, we never would have taken you in!"

Katsuri spoke viciously.

"You two had better surrender quietly!"

Naomi threatened them.

"Do you want me to kill them?" Natsuki asked softly.

"Please, take me away."

Yukina spoke with complete despair.

Natsuki placed a hand on her shoulder and used Geppo.

He leaped upward, broke through the roof amid the startled cries of Naomi and the others, and rose into the air.

Natsuki casually threw two kunai before leaving at high speed.

After leaving the village, he landed and released Yukina.

Yukina collapsed onto the ground and began crying.

"There's no need to cry for people like them."

Natsuki waited for a while before crouching down and extending his hand.

"You still have a better future ahead of you."

"Are we going back to Kirigakure?" Yukina asked, looking up at him through her tears.

"No."

Natsuki shook his head.

"I'll take you to the Land of Rain. I established an organization there called Akatsuki."

"What does that organization do?"

Yukina wiped away her tears.

"It exists to bring peace to the shinobi world."

Natsuki paused as blood emerged from his hand.

"Your strength has stagnated for five years, so I want you to accept my blood."

He then explained the benefits and drawbacks of the Blood Curse.

"I accept."

Yukina agreed without much hesitation.

After being betrayed by Naomi and Katsuri, she had lost all hope.

Perhaps the Blood Curse could grant her a new life.

Yukina's information immediately appeared before Natsuki.

[Name: Yukina.]

[Race: Human, Demon.]

[Ability One: Partial Demonization. Locked.]

[Effect: Transforms the user into a half-human, half-demon state, increasing attack power, speed, and regenerative ability.]

[Unlock Condition: Comprehend it independently.]

[Ability Two: Full Demonization. Locked.]

[Effect: Completely transforms the user into a demon, further increasing attack power, speed, and regenerative ability at the cost of greater energy consumption.]

[Unlock Condition: Comprehend it independently.]

[Ability Three: Blood Demon Art: Infinity Castle. Locked.]

[Effect: Creates a fixed alternate dimension that the user can freely control.]

[Unlock Condition: Comprehend it independently.]

[Ability Four: Blood Demon Art: Eyeball Clones. Locked.]

[Effect: Creates eyeball clones and allows the user to share their vision. The eyeball clones are extremely fragile and will burst if squeezed.]

[Unlock Condition: Comprehend it independently.]

[Remark: Once unlocked, you will also obtain the corresponding Blood Demon Art.]

A pleasantly surprised expression appeared on Natsuki's face.

Yukina had unexpectedly obtained the Blood Demon Arts of Nakime, one of the Twelve Kizuki.

If she unlocked Blood Demon Art: Infinity Castle, Akatsuki would gain an extremely secure base.

Although it was a fixed alternate dimension, entering or leaving it required Yukina's permission and control.

That meant enemies would have no way to infiltrate it.

The eyeball clones would also be extremely useful, making them comparable to half a White Zetsu.

In the future, Akatsuki's intelligence organization could also be placed under Yukina's management.

(To be continued.)