Naruto: Multiverse Character Templates

Although Natsuki had planned to go to the Land of Demons after the New Year holiday, he was not actually able to leave that quickly.

The reason was simple.

He first needed to create the Black Holy Grail.

Otherwise, if Mōryō broke free and he did not have the Black Holy Grail, he would only be able to seal it again.

Releasing it only to seal it again would be pointless.

Fortunately, he had unlocked Infinity Castle.

Using the construction of the alternate dimension as an excuse, Natsuki temporarily kept Nawaki occupied.

Nawaki showed great enthusiasm for building houses.

Aside from him, Kushina and Nonō also wanted to have their own rooms inside the alternate dimension.

The alternate dimension was very spacious. There would be no problem even if each of them had their own house.

With a wave of his hand, Natsuki allowed them to build their own homes according to their preferences.

Since the alternate dimension was fixed in place, he only needed to grant them permission, and they could freely enter and exit it.

Natsuki then returned to the capital of the Land of Rain.

"Natsuki-sensei, Yukina awakened a spatial Blood Demon Art. She can create a fixed alternate dimension!"

When Yahiko saw him, he immediately spoke with excitement.

"I think it can serve as Akatsuki's secret base!"

"I came back to discuss that with you."

Natsuki nodded, then asked, "Where do you plan to place this alternate dimension?"

"Natsuki-sensei, why ask that?"

Yahiko was puzzled.

"Shouldn't we just place it here?"

"I want to place it in Amegakure," Natsuki replied.

Yahiko, Konan, Nagato, and Yukina looked at one another. None of them had expected that answer.

"Akatsuki's goal is to restore peace to the Land of Rain."

Natsuki spoke calmly.

"Because of that, Amegakure is extremely important. It must eventually belong to Akatsuki."

Yahiko's eyes immediately lit up.

Naturally, he had thoughts about Amegakure.

After all, the current Akatsuki was not an organization recognized by the great nations.

If Akatsuki could replace Amegakure, then it would become a legitimate shinobi village, and many of its actions would have proper justification.

"But Akatsuki can't defeat Amegakure right now," Nagato said.

"I believe Akatsuki will surpass Amegakure one day!"

Yahiko clenched his fists.

"Good."

Natsuki concluded, "Then we won't use this alternate dimension for now. We'll wait until Amegakure is taken."

He did not tell them that Amegakure was already under his control.

There was no need.

In his plan, Akatsuki would eventually fight Amegakure.

That battle would be the test of their strength.

If they could not even defeat Amegakure without Hanzō, then they would have no way to establish themselves in the shinobi world.

After finishing his discussion with them, Natsuki went to the orphanage.

"Lord Natsuki."

Chino quickly walked over.

"How is the orphanage doing?" Natsuki asked.

"Four orphans have mastered Soru so far," Chino replied.

Natsuki nodded in satisfaction.

Taijutsu training had always been hardest at the beginning.

After all, it required a certain physical foundation.

As time passed, the children in the orphanage continued growing stronger.

The further along they progressed, the more orphans would learn the Konoha Six Powers.

With some luck, nine orphans might master Soru this year.

Even if luck was poor, there should be nine by next year.

At that point, Natsuki would be able to unlock the Door-Door Fruit from the Blueno Template.

"Lord Natsuki."

Chino continued, "The research institute in the Land of Snow sent news last week. Both the rainwater collection device and the rainwater purification system have been successfully developed."

Natsuki thought that this was an unexpected pleasant surprise.

However, it was also reasonable.

Compared to computers and the internet, rainwater collection and purification systems were much simpler.

In addition, Natsuki had gathered the best researchers from the Land of Rain, the Land of Snow, and the Land of Demons to work day and night.

For results to appear only now was already somewhat slow.

Still, considering the era, it was understandable.

"Have them send people here immediately and establish a factory in the Land of Rain to begin production."

Natsuki paused before saying, "Remember, do it in the name of the daimyō of the Land of Rain."

He was preparing to make use of the unspoken rules of the shinobi world, or rather, the shinobi code.

If he did business with Sunagakure under the name of Amegakure or Akatsuki, there was a high chance they would be swallowed whole.

But doing it under the name of the daimyō of the Land of Rain was different.

After all, Sunagakure would not lightly offend a daimyō.

Amegakure bordered the Land of Wind. If it developed, it would also issue many missions to Sunagakure.

Especially now that Hanzō was no longer there.

"Yes, Lord Natsuki."

Chino immediately answered.

Natsuki then returned to Yahiko and the others.

While teaching them, he waited.

One week later, researchers from the Land of Snow arrived, bringing the rainwater collection and purification systems with them.

With the help of the daimyō of the Land of Rain, a factory named Hope was successfully established.

Natsuki looked into the situation.

If they wanted to produce clean drinking water for the market, they would need at least another three months.

Three months was not long.

Especially since selling it to Sunagakure would require building transportation pipelines.

With that thought, Natsuki said goodbye to Yahiko and the others, then headed for Sunagakure.

Two days later, he arrived at Sunagakure.

Using Full Mimicry from the Kibutsuji Muzan Template, Natsuki transformed into an ordinary-looking young man and entered the village smoothly.

Outside of wartime, the great shinobi villages were not especially strict when checking outsiders.

Of course, if someone chose to sneak into Sunagakure instead of entering through the main gate, the difficulty would rise sharply.

After all, as one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Sunagakure had a sensory barrier.

Still, stopping a true expert was not very realistic.

Natsuki simply found it too troublesome.

Besides, with Full Mimicry, he did not need to go through so much effort to infiltrate Sunagakure.

Pakura was very well known in Sunagakure.

After asking around briefly, Natsuki learned where she lived.

He soon arrived at her home.

Probably because she had not yet returned from work, her house was empty.

Natsuki was not in a hurry and waited at the entrance.

Half an hour later, Pakura appeared in her usual backless outfit.

When she saw the unfamiliar Natsuki, she immediately became alert.

However, this was Sunagakure, so she was not too worried that something would happen.

"Who are you?" Pakura asked as she walked forward.

"Natsuki," he answered.

"You really are bold."

Pakura's gaze sharpened.

"Aren't you afraid I'll arrest you?"

"We are partners, after all. I believe you won't," Natsuki said casually.

"Even alliances signed between shinobi villages can be torn up at any time, let alone a verbal partnership."

Pakura snorted softly.

"Then you can try and see whether you capture me or I capture you."

Natsuki did not seem concerned.

"What do you want from me?" Pakura asked after two seconds of silence.

To be honest, for a brief moment, she had truly wanted to capture Natsuki.

With his current identity and status, capturing him would be a major achievement.

However, when she thought about his strength, she abandoned the idea.

Even though this was Sunagakure, and she could mobilize many shinobi in a short time, the price of capturing someone with Kage-level strength would be extremely high.

Even if they succeeded, the losses would outweigh the gains.

It might even provoke a war between Sunagakure and Konoha.

If another war broke out, Sunagakure would almost certainly lose again.

"I heard your current situation isn't very good," Natsuki said with a faint smile.

"You want to target Rasa?" Pakura instinctively frowned.

"Konoha and Sunagakure only recently signed an alliance. If I kill Rasa, it will damage Konoha's credibility."

Natsuki shook his head.

"I'm talking about something else."

"What?" Pakura asked in confusion.

She could not imagine how Natsuki could help her.

"Isn't Sunagakure short on money?" Natsuki asked in return.

"You're going to give me money directly?"

Pakura raised an eyebrow, her expression a mixture of surprise and doubt.

"How much money could you possibly have?"

She could not be blamed for asking.

After all, the amount of funding required by a shinobi village was astronomical.

How could Natsuki possibly have that much money?

Especially when it came to one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

Aside from the five great nations, most smaller nations could barely afford to maintain one.

"I'm not giving you money. I'm offering you a business deal."

Natsuki smiled.

"I brought something that both Sunagakure and the Land of Wind lack the most."

"Something we lack the most?"

Pakura instinctively began thinking.

"You mean water?"

Sunagakure and the Land of Wind lacked two things the most, money and water.

If he was not giving money, then it had to be water.

"Correct."

Natsuki reminded her, "As you know, Amegakure is effectively under Konoha's control now."

"The water you're talking about is rainwater?"

Pakura reacted, and her pupils suddenly contracted.

Why had no one in Sunagakure thought of this before?

The answer had clearly been right in front of them.

"I had people develop rainwater collection and purification systems."

Natsuki nodded.

"After purification, the rainwater can be used as drinking water."

Pakura's heart shook.

She subconsciously began pacing.

Although she was a shinobi, she immediately realized the terrifying business potential and the benefits this could bring her.

Natsuki's gaze fell on her exposed back.

Her outfit exposed her back down to the waist, matching her fiery personality.

"What do you think?" Natsuki urged. "Will you cooperate with me?"

"Yes," Pakura answered without hesitation.

Just as Natsuki had said, Amegakure was currently under Konoha's control.

Sunagakure could not touch it, nor could they bypass Konoha and conduct this business alone.

Their only option was to cooperate with Natsuki.

As for Natsuki, Pakura was not his only possible partner.

If he went to Rasa or Gravel, they would most likely set aside their grudges and cooperate with him.

After all, this matter benefited all of Sunagakure and could even influence the Land of Wind.

Sunagakure mainly needed water for drinking.

But the Land of Wind could use water for irrigation.

For the entire Land of Wind, this was a temptation that was nearly impossible to refuse.

"I need you to solve the transportation problem."

Natsuki suggested, "You can build underground pipelines. Surface routes are possible too, but they won't be as secure."

Pakura nodded.

If they built the pipelines underground, they could deliberately make the routes complex.

That way, even if someone tried to sabotage them, it would not be easy to locate and destroy the correct pipelines.

"That won't be difficult."

Pakura paused before asking, "What are the specific terms of cooperation?"

For shinobi, building transportation pipelines was simply a matter of using ninjutsu.

Besides Wind Release shinobi, Sunagakure also had plenty of Earth Release shinobi. They were more than capable of completing the work.

"You won't be cooperating with me. You'll be cooperating with the daimyō of the Land of Rain."

Natsuki shook his head.

"After some time, the daimyō of the Land of Rain will send a professional to discuss the details with you."

Naturally, he was referring to Kakuzu.

The business in the Land of Demons had already stabilized and no longer needed Kakuzu to personally oversee it.

On top of that, if the matter with Mōryō was resolved smoothly, Miroku would also provide her full support.

At that point, there would be even less reason to worry about the Daybreak Company's business.

Kakuzu could return to the Land of Rain and focus exclusively on the rainwater trade.

"You actually convinced the daimyō of the Land of Rain?"

Pakura was somewhat surprised.

"As long as there is money to be made," Natsuki said with a smile.

Pakura truly had a traditional shinobi mindset.

She had not even considered that he might be controlling the daimyō of the Land of Rain.

However, that was understandable.

Even when Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage, was reduced to mining gold to support the village, he had never considered controlling the daimyō of the Land of Wind.

After all, if he controlled the daimyō and forced him to increase financial support for Sunagakure, he could solve the village's financial crisis.

Natsuki could only say that the shinobi world seemed to have its own strange rules.

These shinobi clearly possessed overwhelming power, yet they were excessively obedient to the established order.

"Fine."

After thinking for a moment, Pakura took out a kunai.

"My name is personally engraved on this. It can serve as proof."

"Pleasure doing business with you."

Natsuki accepted the kunai.

"Pleasure doing business with you," Pakura replied.

She looked at him with a brief daze.

She had not expected Natsuki to bring her such an enormous surprise this time.

Water was undoubtedly one of the lifelines of both Sunagakure and the Land of Wind.

If she could control it, her chances of becoming the next Kazekage would increase greatly.

She just did not know what conditions Natsuki would propose.

"I should remind you that Rasa and the others will definitely set their sights on this business. You need to be careful."

Natsuki paused.

"They might even make a move against you."

"I agree with the first half."

Pakura's tone was cool.

"You don't need to worry about me. I know what I should do."

Natsuki realized that she was somewhat similar to Nawaki. She held a naive trust in her village.

No wonder Sunagakure had used her as a scapegoat and sent her to her death in the original story.

After all, anyone more calculating would never have ended up in such a situation.

At the very least, they would have arranged for someone else to die in their place.

That meant no one among Sunagakure's higher-ups had supported Pakura.

"Good luck."

Natsuki said nothing more.

If Rasa and the others truly made a move against Pakura, it would actually benefit their cooperation.

Taking ten thousand steps back, even if Pakura died, it would not have much impact on him.

If Rasa and the others wanted to conduct the rainwater business, they could not bypass Amegakure or the Land of Rain.

In other words, they could not bypass Natsuki.

Aside from the Land of Rain, it would be extremely difficult for other nations to provide such a large water source.

Even if they could, cooperation might not be possible.

The other four great nations and villages would certainly not agree.

As for smaller nations and villages, they were often influenced by the major powers behind them. Sabotaging such a business would not be difficult.

Natsuki turned and left.

After returning to the capital of the Land of Rain, he had Fūshin take people to the Land of Demons to replace Kakuzu and notify him to return.

Fūshin had already unlocked Blood Demon Art: Storm Blades. Combined with his Typhoon Release, he was more than capable of temporarily overseeing the Land of Demons.

Natsuki did not have to wait long.

Three days later, Kakuzu returned to the capital of the Land of Rain.

Natsuki then brought him to the Hope Water Factory.

"It's truly a simple yet unexpectedly profitable business," Kakuzu said with emotion.

The Land of Rain had existed for so long, yet no one had thought of using rainwater to make money the way Natsuki had.

No, perhaps someone had come up with the same idea.

They simply had not possessed his capabilities or methods.

Developing rainwater collection and purification systems was not something an ordinary person could accomplish.

"I called you back so you could take charge of the Hope Water Factory."

Natsuki smiled.

"I've already negotiated with our first client, Pakura of Sunagakure."

"You're cooperating with Pakura of Sunagakure?"

Kakuzu's tone inevitably carried some surprise.

Whether it was Natsuki or Pakura, both were significant figures in their respective villages.

If news of their cooperation spread, the Kage of both villages would probably become suspicious of them.

"We're simply exchanging what each side needs."

Natsuki casually handed him Pakura's kunai.

"Take this kunai and find Pakura to discuss the specific details of cooperation."

"What is our bottom line?" Kakuzu nodded and asked.

"Naturally, we take the largest share."

Natsuki smiled.

"At least seventy percent. As for the rest, that depends on how you negotiate."

"Do you have leverage over Pakura?" Kakuzu asked curiously.

Seventy percent was an extremely exaggerated share.

Without some kind of leverage, he felt it would not be easy to negotiate.

"Nothing special. She wants to become Kazekage," Natsuki replied.

"I see."

Kakuzu understood immediately.

"You can also use Pakura to open business channels in the Land of Wind. The true major client is actually the Land of Wind."

Natsuki continued, "But I expect Pakura will also get involved and use the Land of Wind to make it easier for her to become Kazekage."

"I understand. I'll make everything clear with her."

Kakuzu's spirit rose, and he became highly motivated.

"This is a major business opportunity."

A business involving one of the lifelines of the Land of Wind could earn far more money than a few bounty missions.

He increasingly felt that his past habit of running around collecting bounties had been a waste of time.

It was truly a pity that he had not met Natsuki earlier.

The following day, Kakuzu left for Sunagakure.

Natsuki did not continue waiting for the result. He returned to Konoha.

The negotiations with Pakura would certainly not end in a day or two, and he had no interest in waiting.

In any case, Kakuzu would send someone to inform him when the time came.

Another two months passed.

On the first day of March, Natsuki finally met the ninja cat sent by Granny Cat.

He immediately followed it to the abandoned district.

"Only one of the materials you requested couldn't be found."

Granny Cat got straight to the point.

"But I heard it may be in the Land of Demons."

"Thank you, Granny Cat."

Natsuki accepted the summoning storage scroll.

After opening it and checking the contents, he found that only one material was missing.

It was a material called moonstone.

That was precisely the key material needed for the Black Holy Grail.

In the Land of Demons?

That was quite the coincidence.

But after thinking about it carefully, it made sense.

The Black Holy Grail blueprint provided by the system was already a localized product of this world.

This moonstone was most likely connected to Mōryō in some way.

(To be continued.)