Naruto: Drop System

After using the Mayfly technique to leave the base, Yagyu didn't immediately depart from Otogakure and the Land of Rice Fields. Instead, he returned to the spot where he had separated from his Wood Clone. Emerging from the ground, Yagyu formed a single-hand seal and used Ice Release chakra to freeze the moisture in the air, creating an ice mirror that floated before him.

Yagyu then removed his red contact lenses and formed another single-hand seal. A branch extended from his body, rapidly transforming into a Wood Clone with abundant chakra.

Looking at the clone, Yagyu smiled and said, "I'll leave the rest to you."

"No problem," the Wood Clone replied, forming hand seals as its appearance changed into that of a black-haired, black-eyed young man. Only its chakra remained to be disguised, and it would have no connection to Yagyu.

The clone's black eyes suddenly turned into crimson three-tomoe Sharingan, and with a slight smirk, it declared, "From now on, my name is... Hundred Faces!"

"Take care of it, Hundred Faces," Yagyu said, patting the clone's shoulder before once again using Mayfly to disappear into the distance.

Meanwhile, the Wood Clone, now calling itself Hundred Faces, also used Mayfly, sinking into the ground to find a ninja in the Land of Rice Fields with chakra, absorb their chakra, and use the Disguise Technique to complete its transformation.

Indeed, Yagyu's plan was not yet finished. The reason he had let Orochimaru and Kabuto escape in Tanzaku Town wasn't just to gain the previous Hokage's training insights. It was also to allow Orochimaru to continue training Uchiha Sasuke while Yagyu's Wood Clone used the Disguise Technique to impersonate someone and eventually extract Indra's chakra from Sasuke.

This was the core of Yagyu's entire plan and the biggest reason he didn't stop Sasuke from leaving.

But there was no need for Yagyu to handle this personally—this task was better suited for a Wood Clone.

In fact, only a Wood Clone could handle this. Yagyu's current strength far surpassed Sasuke's, and since Indra's chakra was one of the highest-level golden orbs he had encountered, Yagyu's chances of triggering it through direct combat were slim, unless he got as lucky as he did when he first awakened his gaming system.

This was proven by his six years at the ninja academy—his own body's strength made it harder to gain rewards.

A physical clone was the only way to increase the drop rate. The task of extracting Indra's chakra could only be entrusted to a clone.

With the Disguise Technique, the Wood Clone could absorb another's chakra and perfectly mimic their appearance and chakra signature. Even if it used Wood Release, no one would link it back to Yagyu.

If it encountered an undefeatable enemy, the clone could escape by using the Mayfly technique to flee underground.

This mission was in safe hands with the Wood Clone.

After entrusting the long-term task of extracting Indra's chakra to the Wood Clone, Yagyu quickly used Mayfly to return to Konoha.

Though Jiraiya and Naruto had only been gone for a few hours, Yagyu had already traveled to the Land of Rice Fields and back, showcasing the incredible speed of the Mayfly technique.

The only technique faster than this would be a space-time jutsu.

By the time Yagyu returned to Konoha, it was already dark.

Rather than immediately informing Hinata, Sakura, and Ino of the good news that Tsunade had agreed to take them as disciples, Yagyu first returned home. After enjoying a meal meticulously prepared by Karin, he took a bath, then sat cross-legged on his bed, starting to organize the training insights of the previous Hokage.

In the past, Yagyu's aptitude for ninjutsu had been average. After gaining chakra control from Sakura, he became a genius at shape manipulation and found it easy to grasp basic nature transformations, but for more advanced techniques like the Spiraling Water Blade, he had needed Ice Release to succeed.

But now, Yagyu had become a genius in both shape manipulation and nature transformation.

Especially in nature transformation, Yagyu's talents would continue to grow, eventually surpassing his skill in shape manipulation.

During his journey back, Yagyu had created several Wood Clones and sent them across the ninja world. They absorbed chakra from various people and used the Disguise Technique to blend in, collecting intelligence and capturing ninja to help Yagyu improve his chakra attributes.

As his chakra attributes multiplied, Yagyu's mastery over the Five Elements Ninjutsu would soon surpass both Hiruzen Sarutobi and Orochimaru.

In addition to his progress in shape and nature manipulation, Yagyu's proficiency in Yin and Yang Release was also impressive, thanks to the talents he gained from Kurenai's Genjutsu Specialist, Ashura's chakra, and his Sharingan.

At this point, Yagyu could be considered an all-around genius in ninjutsu.

With such talent, he was more than qualified to learn all of Tobirama Senju's forbidden techniques.

Yagyu had already begun practicing them, but he had made little progress. The explanations in the Scroll of Seals outlined only the principles and training methods of these techniques, with no detailed insights.

It was clear that Tobirama had intentionally withheld this information, leaving only the bare essentials for true geniuses to master the techniques—just as Minato had mastered the Flying Thunder God and Orochimaru had mastered Edo Tensei.

Perhaps even Kato Dan's Spirit Transformation Technique had been one of Tobirama's inventions.

S-rank jutsu were techniques that couldn't be mastered through hard work and talent alone; they required a genius's touch.

Although Yagyu's talents had evolved, it would still take years to master a single forbidden technique. And to master multiple or all of them within a few years was impossible.

Even if Tobirama Senju were to be reincarnated and start over with no memories, it would still be impossible for him to master all the forbidden jutsu in just a few years.

This was why Yagyu had sought their insights.

With the insights from these legendary ninjas, Yagyu, whose talents were already extraordinary, would have a clear path forward.

And if this path didn't work out, Yagyu still had an experiment in mind that, once completed, would offer him an even better shortcut.

But Yagyu preferred to see if he could master these forbidden techniques through his own efforts, without relying on his special abilities.

Only by doing this would he have the confidence to one day fuse the Kekkei Genkai into a Kekkei Tōta.

Before long, Yagyu had finished organizing the training insights into phases and planned to use shadow clones to assist in his training.

With that, he turned off the lights and went to sleep.

The following morning, Yagyu asked Karin to invite Ino, Hinata, and Sakura over to his house.

It had been over half a month since Tsunade had taken over as the Fifth Hokage.

The Jonin were still busy, while the younger generation had finished their low-level missions and now had some free time.

Teams 8 and 10 were waiting for their respective leaders, Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma Sarutobi, to return from their missions. Occasionally, they received notifications from the Hokage's office to complete solo D-rank missions or to take on joint missions like the B-rank mission Team 8 had recently done with Team Guy.

But both Yagyu and Shikamaru were now Chunin, qualified to lead their own squads and take on low-level missions.

However, with Choji still in the hospital and Yagyu staying inactive, both Teams 8 and 10 were essentially on vacation.

Sakura, on the other hand, had nothing to do. Since Team 7 disbanded, she had spent most of her time volunteering as a nurse at Konoha Hospital.

Thus, when Karin invited the three girls over, they quickly arrived at Yagyu's house.

"Tsunade-sama wants to take us as her disciples?! Is that true?!" Ino exclaimed in excitement, rushing over to Yagyu.

Seeing Yagyu nod with a smile, Ino immediately jumped for joy. "This is amazing! I'm going to be a disciple of one of the legendary Sannin and the Hokage!"

Hinata and Sakura also beamed with joy.

Tsunade was the idol of countless women, and becoming her disciple was the dream of many young girls.

Now that dream had come true!

If not for Hinata and Sakura's more reserved personalities, they might have shouted in joy as well.

Even so, both were visibly excited, clenching their fists in anticipation.

Watching the three girls overflowing with happiness, Yagyu smiled and said, "Tonight, I'm hosting a banquet at Tsunade-neechan's house to celebrate you becoming her disciples. From tomorrow, you'll be learning under Shizune-neechan, and whenever Tsunade-neechan has time, she'll personally teach you."

"If you have any questions, feel free to ask me."

Ino, Hinata, and Sakura all nodded vigorously, feeling as though they had been hit by a wave of happiness.

Not only were they becoming Tsunade's disciples, but they could also rely on Yagyu for guidance. It felt like returning to the days when they trained together.

It was a reality that had seemed too good even to dream about.

Click!

Seeing the three girls smiling happily with adorable expressions, Yagyu couldn't help but pull out his camera and capture the moment.

"Hey—Yagyu, you took a secret picture of us again!"

"Delete it right now! We probably look awful from that angle!"

"Hehe... I got the camera! Hold him down, and I'll take some embarrassing pictures of Yagyu! Karin, come help us!"

As the four girls surrounded him, Yagyu laughed and said, "How about we take a group photo instead?"

"Good idea!" Ino and the other girls immediately stopped playing around and tidied up their appearances. Two stood beside Yagyu, while the other two stood behind him, each striking a different pose for the camera.

With the help of a shadow clone, the five of them beamed at the camera, capturing their first group photo.

After the playful interlude, the group left Yagyu's house to shop for ingredients for the banquet.

That night at Tsunade's house was bound to be lively.

Meanwhile, having been urged by Naruto to move faster, Jiraiya had finally arrived in the Land of Rice Fields. After contacting members of the Fuma clan, they quickly discovered the location of Orochimaru's base.

At the same time, Orochimaru learned of Jiraiya's arrival.

After careful consideration, Orochimaru decided to abandon his base, taking Kabuto and Sasuke to a new hideout, much like in the original timeline.

Following the failure of his plan to destroy Konoha, the village had been relentlessly searching for Otogakure ninja on the border of the Land of Rice Fields, either killing them on sight or capturing them for interrogation.

At the rate things were progressing, it was only a matter of time before his base was discovered.

With Kimimaro, the Sound Four, and Guren all dead, Otogakure was already a shell of its former self.

Moreover, many of the clans from the Land of Rice Fields, who had been subdued by force, were likely to rebel once Konoha's forces advanced deeper into the country.

Even if Orochimaru could fend off Jiraiya this time, more ninja would inevitably come next time.

So instead of dealing with that, Orochimaru decided it was best to relocate and focus on training Sasuke for his body transfer in three years.

With that, Orochimaru and Kabuto packed up their most important belongings and left the base with Sasuke.

By the time Jiraiya and Naruto arrived, Orochimaru had long gone, leaving behind only a few abandoned subordinates and the imprisoned clansmen of the Land of Rice Fields.

Just like in the original timeline, Jiraiya and Naruto defeated the remnants, including some subordinates still under Orochimaru's curse seals, and freed the surviving prisoners from the underground jail. From a member of the Fuma clan, they learned that Orochimaru had already transferred his soul into Fushi's body.

Knowing that Orochimaru had a three-year cooldown before he could transfer again, Naruto sighed in relief.

Jiraiya ruffled Naruto's hair and smiled. "Now you can focus on training with me, right?"

"Yeah!" Naruto nodded firmly, determination shining in his eyes. "In three years, I'll stop Orochimaru and bring Sasuke back to Konoha!"

"Well then, let's head back so you can pack your things and say goodbye to your teammates and classmates."

Meanwhile, as Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Sasuke were heading to their new base, a figure appeared in their path.

It was a young man around twenty years old, with black hair and black eyes, wearing a black cloak.

Upon seeing him, Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Sasuke all reacted with caution.

They hadn't sensed his presence at all during their journey.

The three weren't weak by any means, and anyone capable of avoiding their detection was surely no ordinary individual.

Sasuke instinctively activated his three-tomoe Sharingan to examine the young man but quickly relaxed.

Though he couldn't explain how this person had avoided their senses, his chakra wasn't stronger than Sasuke's—certainly not stronger than Orochimaru's.

"Are you Orochimaru?" the black-haired young man asked. He was, of course, Yagyu's Wood Clone, now using the alias Hundred Faces.

"And who might you be?" Orochimaru asked cautiously, unlike Sasuke, who hadn't underestimated this mysterious person who dared to confront them.

In the world of ninja, the unknown was always dangerous.

This man knew who Orochimaru was, meaning he likely understood Orochimaru's abilities.

But Orochimaru and his companions knew nothing about him, making it impossible to gauge whether he had a way to take them down in a single blow or possessed some ability that countered theirs.

Sure enough, Hundred Faces' next words made Orochimaru's face change dramatically: "You have the 'Sky Ring,' don't you?"

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