Naruto: Drop System

"Move out!"

After defeating Hidan, Yagyu immediately took out a storage scroll, sealed away Hidan's corpse, and issued orders to Neji and the others.

As soon as he finished speaking, Yagyu was the first to leap away.

Neji quickly carried the weakened Lee on his back, while Tenten and Team 8 followed closely behind.

Shino Aburame caught up and directly asked the crucial question, "Yagyu, their uniforms are identical. Are they part of an organization?"

"Yeah,"

Yagyu nodded. "Kurenai-sensei and I encountered some of their comrades. The members of this organization are all S-rank rogue ninjas from different nations. The ones we met were Konoha's Uchiha Itachi and the 'Monster of the Hidden Mist,' Kisame Hoshigaki."

"Then why did you destroy their brains?"

Shino asked, puzzled. "Wouldn't it have been better to bring their brains back to the village for intelligence gathering?"

"I did it deliberately. I'll report the details to Lady Hokage later."

Yagyu's response implied that Shino shouldn't ask further.

Shino nodded slightly, showing no signs of being upset.

He knew Yagyu's character well. If Yagyu didn't want to explain, it meant that the organization they had encountered was beyond his current rank to deal with.

As for why Yagyu had destroyed the brains of both Kakuzu and Hidan, the reasons were simple—there were two.

First, Yagyu, as a time traveler, already knew far more than what Kakuzu and Hidan's brains could reveal.

When necessary, Yagyu would disclose key information to Tsunade. For now, however, the intel in their brains was not only useless but could also lead to misinformation.

If Konoha were to find out about the Akatsuki's Rinnegan too early, Jiraiya might remember Nagato and think his student was still alive—or worse, that someone had stolen his Rinnegan. This could lead to Jiraiya infiltrating Amegakure, triggering all sorts of butterfly effects.

Yagyu's current strength wasn't enough to save Jiraiya from Pain.

Even without having fought him, Yagyu could estimate Nagato's current power based on the original series.

Although Nagato was the gatekeeper of Kage-level power, he was already on a level far beyond the Five Kage—a completely different tier of strength.

Yagyu was also certain that Nagato's current power surpassed what he had in Shippuden.

Nagato's health would only worsen over time. In the original series, the Six Paths of Pain attacked Konoha in Year 64, while it was currently only Year 60.

In the original story, Naruto defeated Pain not only because Nagato's health had declined but also because Nagato had exhausted a significant amount of chakra before fighting Naruto, using Shinra Tensei on a massive scale.

Without using that large-scale Shinra Tensei, Nagato's Six Paths of Pain would have been much more formidable, with almost unlimited use of Shinra Tensei, Bansho Ten'in, and possibly even repeated use of Chibaku Tensei. Considering Nagato's current state in Year 60, his power would be far greater.

The second reason was that Yagyu planned to use the destroyed bodies of Kakuzu and Hidan to carry out some schemes of his own.

If successful, this would pave the way for Yagyu to further increase his power.

Not long after Yagyu and his team left, a figure slowly emerged from the ground near the crater Lee had created with his Reverse Lotus.

This figure wore a black cloak with red clouds and had a pitcher-plant-like structure on his head. His face was half black and half white. It was none other than Zetsu, the "Genbu" of the Akatsuki.

"There's a lot of blood here. Looks like the battle was intense,"

White Zetsu commented playfully as he surfaced. "I don't see any signs of Fire Style burning, so Hidan wasn't reduced to ashes."

Black Zetsu ignored White Zetsu, scanning the battlefield before turning to another area.

"This is… Wood Style?!"

Black Zetsu immediately recognized the nature of the trees before him. Shocked, he muttered in a deep voice, "No wonder they got into trouble. They encountered a Wood Style user!"

"Really?"

White Zetsu sounded skeptical. "Could it be the same as the Wood Style that Tobi and I have?"

"No, this is a real Wood Style user, not an experiment."

Black Zetsu's tone grew serious. "This level of Yang Release chakra—I've only seen it in the reincarnations of Ashura throughout history. Most likely, this generation's reincarnation of Ashura has awakened the Wood Style Kekkei Genkai."

"I thought the Senju Clan was extinct? How could Ashura's chakra reincarnate into a Senju descendant?"

White Zetsu asked.

"The Senju Clan hasn't disappeared. They've just merged into Konoha, which makes it harder to identify who awakened Wood Style."

"Is this Wood Style user from Konoha?"

"I don't know. It's possible they're a descendant of the Senju or Uzumaki clans living outside of Konoha. Both clans are descendants of Ashura, and the previous host of Ashura's chakra was Hashirama Senju. It's not impossible that this generation's reincarnation inherited the Wood Style Kekkei Genkai."

"So, what should we do next?"

White Zetsu asked.

"First, we'll report this to… no, to Lord Madara and Nagato. Then, we'll send out White Zetsu clones to investigate."

"Should we search the area to see if we can find Kakuzu and Hidan's bodies?"

"Let's search. Hopefully, Kakuzu didn't bring the Akatsuki's funds scroll with him. If he did, we might not have enough funds to wait for the Three-Tails to be resurrected."

"Got it."

Zetsu quickly left after a brief search yielded no results. They immediately headed back to report to Uchiha Obito and Nagato.

Meanwhile, Yagyu felt a surge of surprise.

To avoid the enemy tracking the noble of the Land of Birds through their scent, Team 3 and Team 8 kept a kilometer's distance while escorting them.

With Hinata and Neji using their Byakugan to monitor the noble's convoy, Yagyu summoned his virtual panel to check the light orbs dropped by Kakuzu.

After Kakuzu's death, he dropped twelve light orbs—four blue and eight white.

What surprised Yagyu most were the four blue orbs.

The information on the four blue orbs read as follows:

[Space Pouch: Fire Attribute (Blue)][Space Pouch: Water Attribute (Blue)][Space Pouch: Earth Attribute (Blue)][Space Pouch: Wind Attribute (Blue)]

Yes, all four blue orbs were chakra attributes.

One of them, Fire, was an attribute Yagyu didn't possess. If he fused with it, Yagyu would gain all five chakra natures, just like Tobirama Senju, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Orochimaru, making him one of the rare shinobi with all elemental affinities.

What surprised Yagyu even more were the other three blue orbs.

He already had the attributes for Water, Earth, and Wind!

Could it be that he could obtain duplicates of abilities he already possessed?

Until now, Yagyu had never received duplicate abilities from enemies. He had assumed that once he acquired something, enemies wouldn't drop it.

Now it seemed that wasn't the case.

What would happen if he fused with attributes he already had? Would it improve his elemental transformations, or something else?

If it enhanced his elemental transformations, could he keep collecting these attributes and eventually raise them to the highest level, forming new jutsu—possibly even Kekkei Genkai?

Countless ideas flashed through Yagyu's mind, and he found them highly plausible.

Thinking this over, Yagyu's mood instantly brightened.

He had thought he'd already understood the system, but now it seemed the system still had hidden surprises.

What a miscalculation!

If Yagyu had known about this when he was younger, he would've had his Shadow Clones attend school instead.

As long as his Shadow Clones had less chakra than his classmates, the drop rate would be much higher. He might have already collected numerous chakra attributes and wouldn't have needed to rely on Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, and Sakura for drops over the past six years.

He had been too strong!

But knowing this now wasn't too late!

Originally, Yagyu had hated escort missions, but now he didn't mind wasting time on them.

From now on, he could go on missions and send his Wood Clones to capture rogue ninjas and shinobi from other nations, binding them until they dropped chakra attributes!

With that in mind, Yagyu silently merged the four blue orbs and the eight white orbs.

The eight white orbs contained Kakuzu's five elemental jutsu and combination techniques.

Even powerful combination jutsu were still rated as white orbs in the system.

Only certain unique secret techniques were rated blue, such as the Nara Clan's Shadow Imitation Jutsu.

Over an hour later, Yagyu's Wood Clones had successfully escorted the noble's convoy to their destination in the Land of Birds.

After receiving the final payment and a well-rated mission scroll from the steward, the clones immediately returned to Yagyu.

Having spent half a month outside the village, Team 3 and Team 8 began their journey back to Konoha.

Their return was far faster than their journey there.

If they didn't rest and just ate soldier pills when they were tired, they could return to Konoha from the Land of Birds in just one day.

"Wood Style? Are you certain?"

At this moment, Zetsu had already reported the gathered intel to Uchiha Obito, who had rushed over to meet with Tendo Pain.

Hearing that Kakuzu and Hidan had been killed by a Wood Style user, Obito, whose face was hidden beneath his mask, and Nagato, who was controlling Tendo Pain, both showed expressions of disbelief.

For them, the appearance of Wood Style—such a legendary Kekkei Genkai—at such a crucial moment was far from good news.

Obito asked cautiously, "Are you sure it was real Wood Style?"

"Yes,"

Black Zetsu confirmed, "The chakra contained in that Wood Style is on the same level as the Wood Style that Lord Madara fought against Hashirama Senju."

"Who is it?"

Obito asked in a low voice, "Is it a descendant of Hashirama?"

"I don't know."

Black Zetsu shook his head. "By the time we got there, the battle was over. All we found was some blood, but neither Kakuzu, Hidan, nor their enemy."

"Wood Style has only ever belonged to Hashirama. Only those of the Senju bloodline can truly wield its full power."

Obito said with certainty, "It's unlikely this is a rogue descendant of the Senju Clan. This Wood Style user is likely a shinobi from Konoha—perhaps even one of their hidden trump cards."

"If this Wood Style user really is from Konoha, then it means Kakuzu and Hidan's bodies have fallen into their hands."

Tendo Pain spoke coldly, "While Kakuzu and Hidan didn't know about the Gedo Statue, they were aware of my Rinnegan and Amegakure's secrets."

Hearing this, Obito's face beneath the mask darkened.

A few seconds later, he spoke with a feigned calm, "Leave it to me. I won't let any of you be exposed."

"Are you sure?"

Tendo Pain glanced deeply at Obito.

"It's a simple matter,"

Obito replied confidently. "The only ones in Konoha capable of reading memories from living people and corpses are the Yamanaka Clan with their Mind-Reading Jutsu. If that Wood Style user is truly from Konoha, then Kakuzu and Hidan's bodies will certainly be sent to their Interrogation Unit. I'll strike then."

"Very well, it's in your hands."

Tendo Pain nodded. "The Three-Tails will likely revive in a few years. I don't want to accelerate the plan or relocate the Akatsuki's base prematurely."

"Don't worry."

With those words, Obito wiped his hand over his body, disappearing into thin air as he phased into the Kamui dimension.

At the same time, Zetsu sank into the ground using the Mayfly Technique, vanishing from sight.

In no time, Obito and Zetsu had left Amegakure and reappeared in a sunny location.

"Black Zetsu, send some White Zetsu clones to infiltrate Konoha. Have them gather intel on this Wood Style user and keep an eye on their Interrogation Unit."

Obito commanded, "And just in case this Wood Style user really is a rogue descendant of the Senju Clan, spread more White Zetsu clones across the nations."

"If they used Wood Style once, they're bound to use it again."

"I understand."

Black Zetsu nodded. He was even more concerned about this Wood Style user than Obito and Nagato.

After all, only he knew that this Wood Style user was undoubtedly the reincarnation of Ashura.

Once the Wood Style user's identity was confirmed, he would know where this generation's reincarnation of Indra was.

If the Wood Style user was a Konoha shinobi, Indra's reincarnation was almost certainly Uchiha Sasuke.

If the Wood Style user was a rogue descendant of the Senju Clan, it would mean that a rogue Uchiha also existed—and that this Uchiha had a higher chance of being Indra's reincarnation than Sasuke.

Indra and Ashura were destined to cross paths—it was a fate that spanned millennia, a rule of the universe.

In every generation, Ashura and Indra's reincarnations were always the most powerful and exceptional members of the Senju and Uchiha clans.

If this Wood Style user really was a rogue descendant of the Senju or Uzumaki clans, then Uchiha Itachi could also be a potential candidate for Indra's reincarnation.

After all, only three living Uchiha were known to exist: Uchiha Obito, Uchiha Itachi, and Uchiha Sasuke.

Obito could be ruled out. If he were Indra's reincarnation, possessing half of Hashirama's cells would have caused his ocular powers to surge uncontrollably long ago.

A Uchiha whose ocular power had reached its peak could summon Susano'o with a single eye—or even without eyes. Obito clearly didn't have that capability.

If Itachi wasn't Indra's reincarnation, it would mean there was a fourth unknown Uchiha still alive somewhere, which would be very bad news for the ninja world.

With this in mind, Black Zetsu once again sank into the ground, preparing to send out a large number of White Zetsu clones to gather intel across the nations.

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