Naruto: Drop System

"You're from that organization?" Orochimaru's body tensed upon realizing that Hundred Faces had come for the "Kūchin" ring. His expression turned serious as he asked.

"I'm not right now, but I will be soon," Hundred Faces replied calmly. His black eyes suddenly transformed into crimson, three-tomoe Sharingan, stunning Orochimaru and the others.

"Sharingan?!" The trio exclaimed almost in unison, with Uchiha Sasuke particularly excited, nearly rushing forward.

However, with just a glance from Hundred Faces, Sasuke's expression turned dazed. Orochimaru, on the other hand, found his body immobilized, as the world around him twisted into a blood-red space.

The ground resembled a calm lake, while a pair of massive, moon-like three-tomoe Sharingan eyes floated in the sky above. Orochimaru felt the intense pain from several large black iron stakes driven into his body.

This scene and pain were all too familiar to Orochimaru, as the memory of it was still fresh, despite several years having passed. It had left a deep impression on him.

Since becoming one of the greats in the ninja world, Orochimaru had never been so easily defeated. Even against a younger Hiruzen Sarutobi, he could last a few moves. But in the past few years, as one of the legendary Sannin, he had been instantly defeated by two young men, both of whom weren't even adults yet.

Those two were Uchiha Itachi and Yagyu.

Itachi's method of defeating him was through this same combination: the Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes technique and the basic Binding Illusion. Despite not even being a Mangekyō-level illusion, Itachi had effortlessly taken him down.

And now, Orochimaru had fallen to the same combo again.

Just like years before, Orochimaru was instantly defeated, unable to resist. In fact, he was even less capable of resisting now than he had been back then.

Years ago, he hadn't split his soul again or undergone another reincarnation. Now, however, having recently split off another fragment of his soul and undergone yet another reincarnation, his mental strength was far weaker than before.

Even though Hundred Faces' Sharingan wasn't at the Mangekyō level, it could still easily control Orochimaru.

"Orochimaru-sama, wake up!" Kabuto's voice broke through the blood-red space like a shattering mirror. The illusion collapsed, and Orochimaru returned to the real world, drenched in cold sweat after Kabuto had disrupted his chakra flow.

Looking at Hundred Faces, who hadn't attacked him despite controlling him, Orochimaru felt a mixture of envy and curiosity towards those eyes. "Are you an Uchiha who's been wandering outside?" Orochimaru asked.

"Yes, I am… Uchiha Yusuke," Hundred Faces replied with his arms crossed, his expression filled with disdain. "That was just a warning. If you're smart, hand over the 'Kūchin' ring now."

Seeing the characteristic arrogance of the Uchiha, along with the illusion capabilities only they could fully harness, Orochimaru was now fully convinced that Hundred Faces was indeed an Uchiha.

Glancing at Sasuke, who was still in a daze, having clearly been caught in the illusion as well, Orochimaru's wariness of Hundred Faces' strength remained, but he began negotiating. "I'll give you the ring, but Sasuke came to me willingly. You can't take him."

"I have no interest in the younger brother of the one who slaughtered his entire clan," Hundred Faces replied, clearly impatient. "If not for the fact that his goal is also to kill Itachi, I would've killed him long ago."

Hundred Faces added arrogantly, "When that brat wakes up, tell him that I will personally kill Uchiha Itachi and bring the weasel's head to him."

There was no doubt now—this man was a surviving Uchiha.

Orochimaru, who was initially cautious, now found much of his fear dissipating. Most members of the Uchiha clan had notoriously bad attitudes, and many couldn't handle being around them.

But that awful attitude was also a reflection of their authenticity. The way Hundred Faces acted now reminded Orochimaru very much of how Sasuke had been during the Chunin Exams—so pure and straightforward.

If this was the extent of his strength, then going after Itachi would be suicide.

Realizing that Hundred Faces' true goal was the Kūchin ring and not Sasuke, Orochimaru didn't hesitate. He spat out a scroll, unfurled it, and retrieved a decayed hand from which he took a ring and tossed it to Hundred Faces.

Hundred Faces caught it, then vanished in an instant. In less than three seconds, his presence had completely disappeared from Orochimaru and Kabuto's perception, as though he had vanished into thin air.

Both Orochimaru and Kabuto felt a chill run down their spines.

His speed and ability to conceal his presence were both top-tier, possibly on par with a secret technique.

Could he really be a wandering Uchiha? Or had he used this secret technique to escape the Uchiha clan's massacre and Konoha? Maybe after hearing about Itachi's recent return to Konoha, he tracked down the organization through their uniforms?

These thoughts circled in Orochimaru's mind.

Hundred Faces remained shrouded in mystery, but due to his chakra and Sharingan, neither Orochimaru nor Kabuto ever linked him to Yagyu. Even though Yagyu had only just left the day before, and Hundred Faces appeared the next day, Orochimaru merely attributed it to the timing of Itachi's return to the village.

This was the result of the fusion between the Wood Clone and the Disguise Technique—a seamless deception.

Even though shadow clones can use the Disguise Technique, they couldn't achieve the same effect as the Wood Clone.

"Orochimaru, where did that guy go?!" Sasuke's voice suddenly cut through Orochimaru's thoughts.

Sasuke, who had earlier appeared dazed, now looked anxious.

Orochimaru understood Sasuke's reaction. After all, this "Uchiha Yusuke" was now his only living clan member aside from Itachi.

Having believed he was the last of his clan, Sasuke's shock at discovering another survivor was understandable.

"Sasuke, he's gone," Orochimaru replied, relaying Hundred Faces' message. "He seemed quite displeased with you for being Itachi's brother. He also told me to let you know that he plans to kill Itachi himself and bring you his head."

Hearing this, Sasuke's expression shifted, and after a moment, he regained his composure. "That guy's too arrogant. His chakra isn't even as strong as mine. He has no idea how powerful Itachi is."

"Maybe, but his speed and stealth are impressive. Even if he can't beat Itachi, he might be able to escape," Orochimaru remarked with a smile.

"Let's hope so," Sasuke muttered, his mood seeming to lift.

Orochimaru thought Sasuke was happy because he had discovered he wasn't alone, and he could understand that feeling. However, he was unaware that the three-tomoe Sharingan could be used not only for casting illusions but also for communicating.

Orochimaru assumed that Sasuke had fallen under Hundred Faces' illusion because the latter didn't want to talk to the younger brother of the man who had slaughtered their clan.

What he didn't know was that Sasuke and Hundred Faces had actually conversed within the illusion space.

As to what they discussed, only Sasuke and Hundred Faces knew.

After this brief interlude, Orochimaru, Sasuke, and Kabuto continued their journey to another hideout.

Unlike the frantic rush of their departure, Jiraiya and Naruto took five days to return to Konoha after confirming that Orochimaru had not yet taken over Sasuke's body. During their journey, Jiraiya, as usual, found ways to squander Naruto's small frog wallet on his own pleasures.

It wasn't until Naruto's mission savings were almost entirely depleted that Jiraiya finally brought him back to Konoha.

Once Naruto had packed his belongings, he learned about Sakura's current situation from somewhere and went with Jiraiya to the Hokage's office.

"You're taking Naruto out to train?" Tsunade, after sending Naruto off to the training grounds to find Sakura, looked at Jiraiya with a serious expression.

"Yes," Jiraiya replied, his usual playful demeanor replaced by seriousness. "I had this in mind even before I went to find you. The disbanding of Team 7 just accelerated my decision."

"I was planning to continue investigating the Akatsuki, but there's no need anymore. The information Yagyu gathered has confirmed that the Akatsuki's targets are the Jinchuriki and the Tailed Beasts."

"Though we don't yet know why they're targeting the Jinchuriki or what they plan to do with them, those mysterious individuals will eventually come after Naruto. Before that happens, I want to take Naruto out to train, temper his character, and help him attempt to harness the power of the Tailed Beast."

"As the Jinchuriki of the strongest Tailed Beast, if Naruto can become a perfect Jinchuriki, he won't have to fear their ambitions."

Tsunade, with her arms crossed, tapped her fingers against her arm, deep in thought.

After a moment, she nodded. "Alright, but how long will you be gone?"

"No more than three years," Jiraiya said, raising three fingers. "The kid's full of drive right now, constantly pestering me to take him on this training trip so he can defeat Orochimaru and bring Sasuke back."

"Alright," Tsunade agreed, then added, "But if you're taking the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki out of the village for such a long time, you'd better inform those old geezers."

"Ha! This toad sage doesn't deal with those old fogeys. That's your job, Fifth Hokage!" Jiraiya quickly made his escape, laughing as he left, leaving Tsunade fuming.

Not long after, two figures, one tall and one short, carrying large backpacks, left Konoha.

When Yagyu arrived at Tsunade's office later with lunch for her and the girls, he learned from Tsunade that Jiraiya and Naruto had left.

This news took Yagyu by surprise.

They left so soon?

But soon after, Yagyu had a realization.

In the original story, Jiraiya and Naruto had only trained for two and a half years, not the full three. The first six months had been delayed because Jiraiya had received intelligence about the Akatsuki and postponed the training.

As a result, Naruto had remained in Konoha for an additional six months, carrying out missions with the reformed Team 7 and other teams.

But now, the butterfly effect had taken hold.

By eliminating the Immortal Duo, Yagyu had prompted Tsunade and Jiraiya to learn about the Akatsuki's plans earlier than in the original timeline. This meant they no longer needed to investigate the organization's motives.

Without needing to chase down minor leads, they could focus on something far more important: training Naruto to harness the power of the Tailed Beast and become a perfect Jinchuriki.

Thanks to Yagyu's influence, the new generation of the Sannin had already begun their training under the original Sannin.

Who knew if their strength would surpass the original timeline's when Shippuden came?

One thing was for sure, though: Sasuke and Sakura would be much stronger than they were in the original timeline.

Recalling the intel sent back by his Wood Clone, Yagyu's lips curled into a satisfied smile.

Hundred Faces had accomplished everything smoothly. Now it was only a matter of time before Sasuke took the bait.

As he watched the new generation of Sannin begin their respective training, Hinata, Ino, and Karin were also, with Yagyu's guidance, charting a path completely different from the original story. Their potential was quietly evolving.

Yagyu himself wasn't slacking off during this period of accumulation either.

After delivering lunch to Tsunade, he quietly snuck into the Forbidden Jutsu Archive to study the jutsu within.

This time, he wasn't just reading the Sealing Scroll. He used his Shadow Clone technique to read through various types of jutsu scrolls, especially those related to Fire Style and Lightning Style jutsu.

Once the Shadow Clones had memorized everything, Yagyu dispelled them and relayed all the newly acquired knowledge to Hundred Faces in real-time.

In the Land of Rice Fields, beneath a certain plain, lay one of Orochimaru's many hidden bases, a vast underground space.

After abandoning his previous hideout, Orochimaru brought Kabuto and Sasuke here.

He then sent Kabuto out to gather some subordinates from other bases.

Meanwhile, Orochimaru handed Sasuke a few scrolls and left him to his own devices, asking him to wait patiently in the base.

Unlike Jiraiya and Tsunade, who preferred to teach Naruto and Sakura the basics first, Orochimaru saw no need to teach Sasuke, the prodigy, those fundamentals.

Once they had settled down, Orochimaru planned to improve Sasuke's strength through real combat.

There was no better way to unlock a person's potential than a life-and-death battle.

After sending Sasuke off, Orochimaru secluded himself in his lab, tinkering with who knew what.

One day, in the dimly lit room where Sasuke was reading a scroll by candlelight, his expression suddenly changed.

A figure emerged from one of the dark corners of the room—a figure that looked exactly like Sasuke.

Sasuke activated his three-tomoe Sharingan but couldn't detect any flaws.

As if realizing something, Sasuke's shocked expression returned to its usual calm. He quickly put away his scroll and left the room, heading for one of the underground base's exits.

As he sped out of the hideout and took off in a certain direction, he never once saw Orochimaru.

There were only three possibilities for this.

One, Orochimaru had noticed but trusted Sasuke so much that he didn't try to stop him.

Two, Orochimaru had already followed him but was so good at concealing his presence that Sasuke hadn't noticed.

The third possibility was that Orochimaru hadn't realized Sasuke had left, still thinking he was in his room.

Sasuke was sure it was the third.

The "Sasuke" left behind in the room and his ability to slip away unnoticed were thanks to "Uchiha Yusuke."

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