Naruto: Multiverse Character Templates Chapter 116: Cooperating with Pakura,

After they finished discussing the matter, Natsuki left the Hokage's office with Tsunade.

After leaving the Hokage Building, Tsunade said she was going to Konoha Hospital for surgery and told him to return to the Senju Clan compound on his own.

Natsuki watched her leave. After a brief mont of thought, he headed toward Konoha Maximum Security Prison.

Based on the current situation, cooperating with Pakura was not sothing that could easily succeed.

After all, the Third Kazekage was still alive, and the conflict between her and Rasa had not intensified yet.

The best ti to cooperate with her would actually be before Rasa and Suna's higher-ups planned to sacrifice her.

When a person was betrayed and isolated, they would grab onto any lifeline offered to them.

But that would be during the Third Shinobi World War, which was still a long ti away from now.

Natsuki's plan was to first express a preliminary willingness to cooperate with her.

Power had always been tempting.

If she was truly set on the Kazekage position, then sooner or later, she would have to cooperate with him.

Because it would be very difficult for her to beco the Fourth Kazekage on her own.

Natsuki had even thought about going to kill the Third Kazekage and framing Rasa or Reki for it.

In the original work, the Third Kazekage was killed by Sasori.

It was also because of his disappearance that the Third Shinobi World War broke out.

However, for the current Natsuki, killing the Third Kazekage would still be very difficult.

Especially in Suna.

If he truly wanted to kill him, he would still need to find a suitable opportunity.

As Natsuki thought about this, he soon arrived at Konoha Maximum Security Prison.

He walked forward and was just about to speak when the two shinobi guarding the entrance, or rather, the prison guards, recognized him.

"Natsuki-sama!"

The two prison guards called out very enthusiastically.

Natsuki was slightly startled.

These two prison guards looked a bit like his admirers.

But that was normal. The shinobi world respected strength, and his status was high enough as well.

"I want to see the Suna shinobi imprisoned here."

Natsuki got straight to the point.

He did not say he wanted to see Pakura because directly naming a target would easily arouse suspicion.

The two prison guards did not even ask for the reason and let him into Konoha Maximum Security Prison.

Natsuki could not help sighing at how fa and strength also brought a rise in status.

The current him, like Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru, could now move around Konoha by na alone.

Natsuki entered Konoha Maximum Security Prison.

Because it was a place used to hold prisoners, the layout was very simple, with one room next to another.

Each room had only one bed. There were no walls, only iron bars.

Natsuki's arrival drew the attention of many prisoners.

In particular, when the Suna shinobi imprisoned here saw him, they all showed looks of hatred.

After all, their crushing defeat was directly related to Natsuki.

Natsuki did not care about their gazes.

That was how chaotic tis were. If you did not kill them, they would kill you.

Since he had been born in Konoha, he was destined to be enemies with shinobi from other villages.

Rasa, Reki, Pakura, and the others were not ordinary Suna shinobi, so they were imprisoned separately.

Under the guidance of a prison guard, Natsuki went up to the second floor.

The rooms on the second floor were not next to each other and were spaced quite far apart.

This was to prevent them from communicating with each other.

Natsuki soon saw Pakura.

She sat on the bed, leaning against the wall. Her expression was calm as she stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.

When she heard footsteps, she turned her head.

When she saw Natsuki, her gaze sharpened.

Naturally, Pakura had a deep impression of him.

Not only had he defeated Rasa alone, he had also captured her alive together with Tsunade.

If not for him, Suna would not have been completely wiped out.

"What are you here for?"

Pakura asked coldly.

"To discuss cooperation."

Natsuki said with a smile.

"What cooperation could there be between us?"

Pakura was stunned and could not understand.

"Do you not want to beco the Fourth Kazekage?"

Natsuki looked at her and asked.

"I do."

Pakura reacted, then snorted coldly and asked, "But how can a Konoha shinobi like you help ?"

"With my status and strength, can I not help you?"

Natsuki asked back calmly.

Pakura could not help frowning.

The procedures and qualifications for competing for the Kazekage position and the Hokage position were more or less the sa.

Judging from Natsuki's current performance, barring any accidents, he would either beco the Fourth Hokage or the Fifth Hokage.

Even if an accident happened and he failed to beco Hokage, he would most likely beco a Hokage advisor or Hokage assistant.

With a position of such great authority, even while staying in Konoha, he could have a major influence on Suna.

"Then you ca too early. After you beco Hokage, we can talk about cooperation again."

Pakura shook her head and said.

"By then, Rasa will already have beco the Fourth Kazekage. Would there still be any need to talk?"

Natsuki explained, "The current you has value, and the future has value. That is why we can talk about cooperation."

Pakura fell into thought after hearing this.

Natsuki's aning was simple. He wanted them to cooperate first.

Before Rasa beca the Fourth Kazekage, he would have enough ability to help her.

It had to be said that Natsuki was very confident.

After all, there were many geniuses in the shinobi world, but most of them died halfway.

Natsuki was certain that he would have the ability to help her in the future.

However, the probability of him surviving was indeed high.

After all, he could already defeat Rasa at such a young age.

In a few more years, he would probably possess Kage-level strength and could beco Hokage at any ti.

But what about her?

Without Natsuki's help, could she beco the Fourth Kazekage?

The answer was no.

Pakura understood Suna's situation very well.

When it ca to the probability of becoming the Fourth Kazekage, she was even lower than Reki.

"What do you want?"

Pakura narrowed her eyes and asked.

There was no such thing as free help.

Especially soone like Natsuki, a super genius. What he wanted would definitely be considerable.

Although Pakura wanted to beco the Fourth Kazekage, she could not betray Suna.

If Suna was gone, or if it was controlled by Konoha, then what aning would there be in becoming the Fourth Kazekage?

"Since it is cooperation, then we help each other."

Natsuki said casually, "For example, during the next Shinobi World War."

"The next one?"

Pakura was slightly startled.

"Kumo and Kiri did not participate in this Shinobi World War."

Natsuki said with certainty, "I believe the next Shinobi World War is unavoidable."

Pakura could not help falling silent.

This kind of thing was indeed very likely to happen.

It was just that Suna had already suffered terrible losses in this Shinobi World War. Would they still participate in the next one?

Pakura thought of the Third Kazekage again.

She had her answer.

The Third Kazekage was very ambitious. On top of that, the greater the risk, the greater the reward.

If Suna could win in the next Shinobi World War, they could make up for the losses from this one.

"I ca this ti only to reach a preliminary understanding with you."

Natsuki continued, "As for the specific terms of cooperation, we can discuss them later. If you are not satisfied, then we do not have to cooperate."

Pakura thought for a long ti and finally agreed.

This matter had no downside for her.

Of course, the premise of cooperation was that she could beco the Fourth Kazekage and would not betray Suna.

"Happy cooperation."

Natsuki smiled and did not say anything else.

He had achieved his goal, and it had gone relatively smoothly.

After all, he had not proposed any cooperation terms and had handed the initiative to Pakura.

On top of that, she did indeed have thoughts about becoming the Fourth Kazekage, so she did not refuse.

Of course, it was also possible that Pakura had only pretended to agree.

But it just so happened that Natsuki did not trust her either.

After all, Suna had not abandoned her yet. There was no need to say which side she would choose between Konoha and Suna.

"Why did you not look for Rasa or Reki?"

When he was about to leave, Pakura suddenly asked.

"You are more pleasing to the eye."

Natsuki waved his hand and said.

He could not possibly say that he had chosen her because she would be abandoned by Suna in the future. If he did, Pakura would think he was a fool.

Pakura could not help freezing, completely unable to understand his thoughts.

After leaving Konoha Maximum Security Prison, Natsuki returned to the Senju Clan compound and continued his training.

A month quickly passed.

October 1st.

After Natsuki and Nonō finished breakfast, they arrived at the Anbu training ground.

The Anbu had an office in the Hokage Building.

But as an independent organization, they also had their own office building, which was the Anbu base.

The Anbu training ground was located inside the Anbu base.

Because of the Anbu's special nature, although the Anbu base was not far from the Hokage Building, it was very secluded. There were no Konoha residents nearby.

"Natsuki!"

When Kushina saw him, she waved from a distance.

It was obvious that she was very happy today. Her face was full of smiles.

It was not only because she saw Natsuki, but also because she had rarely been able to leave the Senju Clan compound.

On the fifteenth of last month, Sakumo's son, Kakashi, had been born safely.

After that, he held a seventh-night celebration for him and specially invited Natsuki.

At the celebration, he agreed to Natsuki's challenge and would serve as the opponent for his Jonin assessnt.

In the end, Hiruzen set the date of the Jonin assessnt for October 1st.

Originally, Kushina was not allowed to co and watch, but Natsuki ca up with a reason.

That was that with Hiruzen and Tsunade present, even if sothing happened, they would be able to stop it in ti.

"Tsunade-sensei, Kushina, Nawaki, good morning."

Natsuki walked forward and greeted them one by one.

"Sensei and Sakumo have not arrived yet, so you will have to wait for a while."

Tsunade reminded him.

"That is fine."

Natsuki said without concern, "It is not the scheduled ti yet anyway."

"How is it? Are you confident?"

Nawaki patted his shoulder and asked.

"Before fighting, I am always confident."

Natsuki said casually.

The corner of Nawaki's mouth twitched.

Was that not obvious?

"If he had no confidence, why would he designate Sakumo as his opponent?"

Tsunade said with a smile.

"That is true."

Nawaki asked again, "Sis, who do you think will win?"

"Naturally, I believe in Natsuki."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow and teased, "He is my taijutsu teacher now, after all."

If she were being honest, she felt it was fifty-fifty. Either of them could win.

When Nawaki heard this, he imdiately sighed.

Speaking of taijutsu, he had clearly started learning before Tsunade, but his progress had fallen behind hers.

Tsunade had already learned Soru and Shigan, and she was now learning Geppo.

Nawaki had only just learned Soru and was now learning Shigan.

Even Kushina was about to catch up to him.

This was not actually a problem of talent, but a problem of the body.

The Rokushiki placed great importance on physical strength.

When one's physical strength was sufficient, learning them beca very fast. So people could even learn them just by imitation, like Luffy.

While chatting with them, Natsuki looked at his system.

Over the past month or so, he had gained quite a bit.

First, he had learned Lightning Release: Earth Flow, bringing the progress for the Misaka Mikoto Template's Lightning Giant to one-fifth.

After that, he had chosen another Lightning Release ninjutsu called Lightning Release: Swift Thunder Arrow.

Its effect was to gather Lightning Release chakra in the right hand, then release several arrow-shaped bolts of white lightning from the palm to attack the target.

Second, he had developed a Magnet Release ninjutsu called Magnet Release: Iron Sand Wall, bringing the progress for the Misaka Mikoto Template's Iron Sand Sword to one-fifth as well.

Magnet Release: Iron Sand Wall was also one of the Magnet Release ninjutsu mastered by the Third Kazekage.

Its effect was to use electromagnetic force to manipulate nearby iron sand and form a wall in front of him.

How should he put it?

Natsuki's progress was still pretty good.

But most likely, he would not make it in ti for Konoha's war against A.

Fortunately, that was not too much of a problem.

The most troubleso part about A was Hanzō's poison, and he was already unafraid of it.

Aside from the Misaka Mikoto Template, he had also unlocked one ability, which was Shuzo Template's Tekkai.

The unlock condition for Tekkai was to use his body to withstand enemy attacks in five battles.

Because he had to take the attacks head-on, Natsuki naturally would not look for Tokubetsu Jonin or Jonin.

He made up a reason, saying he wanted to go out and gather inspiration for creating taijutsu, then accepted five C-rank missions.

After fighting so wandering Genin, he successfully unlocked Tekkai.

Although Tekkai had high defensive power, it had one problem. He could not move while using it.

Natsuki was also considering whether he could modify Tekkai so that it could be used while moving.

But for him, that would take quite a bit of ti.

He could try it when he had free ti.

Nine o'clock in the morning.

Hiruzen and Sakumo appeared on ti at the Anbu training ground.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

Sakumo spoke.

"We only just arrived."

Tsunade shook her head and said.

"Since everyone is here, let us begin today's Jonin assessnt."

Hiruzen said with a smile, "I am looking forward to today's Jonin assessnt."

Regardless of whether Natsuki won or lost, it would be enough to prove that he was a genius among geniuses, and one of the best shinobi among the younger generation.

But winning and losing were still different.

If he won, it would an that Natsuki's strength had already reached the elite Jonin level, making him a true powerhouse.

For Konoha, this would undoubtedly be an enormous blessing.

The current Konoha had practically reached an unprecedented peak.

At the top, there were Hiruzen, Danzō, Homura, and the others.

In the middle, there were Sakumo, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Orochimaru, Fugaku Uchiha, and others.

Below them, there were Natsuki, Minato, Nawaki, and others.

Of course, this excluded Hashirama's era.

After all, he alone could stand against thousands of troops, not to ntion that Tobirama, Mito, and the others were there at the ti.

Hiruzen also had a small thought of his own.

Natsuki was Orochimaru's student.

If Sakumo lost to Natsuki, he would be too embarrassed to compete with Orochimaru for the position of Fourth Hokage.

Although Hiruzen understood Sakumo's personality and knew he had little interest in the Hokage position, it was better to be safe.

In the competition for Fourth Hokage, he supported his own student more.

"I am also looking forward to it."

Sakumo smiled and said, "I have long wanted to see Natsuki's swordsmanship."

Previously, he had not paid much attention to Natsuki.

After all, Natsuki was young, and Sakumo had only regarded him as a genius.

But after Konoha's war against Suna ended, he had already begun treating Natsuki as an opponent of equal strength.

The two walked into the field.

Sakumo reached out and gripped the short sword on his back.

Natsuki took out Kurosawa and placed it at his waist.

"Begin."

Hiruzen looked at the two of them and spoke.

Clear and Serene!

Natsuki first activated the ability from the Sasaki Kojirō Template, entering a state where his mind was as still as water.

Against Sakumo, he could not afford even the slightest carelessness.

After activating Clear and Serene, he could discard unnecessary emotions, preventing emotional fluctuations from affecting his swordsmanship.

Sakumo sensed a slight change in him, but did not think too deeply about it. Holding his short sword, he moved.

His body suddenly vanished, and a silver flash of blade light appeared in Natsuki's vision.

So fast!

Although Natsuki already knew that the defining trait of Hatake swordsmanship was speed, actually facing it still surprised him.

Fortunately, he had the extraordinary reaction speed from the Kirigaya Kazuto Template and the Clairvoyance from the Heroic Spirit Emiya Template.

He accurately locked onto Sakumo's short sword.

In an instant, he drew his sword from its sheath.

Clang!

That silver flash of blade light suddenly stopped.

A hint of admiration appeared in Sakumo's eyes.

Many Jonin could not block his sudden opening strike.

Sakumo slightly turned his wrist. His short sword slid downward, scraping sparks against Kurosawa as it cut down and thrust straight toward Natsuki's abdon.

One-Sword Style, Lion Strike!

Natsuki did not bother with the short sword stabbing toward his abdon. Instead, he gripped Kurosawa with both hands and slashed down with force.

Sakumo could not help frowning.

This heavy slash looked as if it was going to cut him in half.

He did not hesitate to withdraw his short sword. His body avoided the strike, and after stepping forward to the left, he turned and thrust again.

Using his height advantage, he stabbed toward Natsuki's head.

Natsuki thought to himself that Sakumo was indeed an assassin-type swordsman.

Normally, shinobi who used swords mostly relied on movents such as slashing, chopping, and sweeping.

But Sakumo was different. He used thrusting attacks more often.

He was practically using his sword like a dagger.

However, what he used was a short sword, so calling it a longer dagger was not wrong.

Natsuki felt the sharpness coming straight at him.

Because of Clear and Serene, he was extrely calm right now.

He instantly made his response.

Water Breathing, First Form, Water Surface Slash!

Natsuki turned Kurosawa. Water surged out, and he slashed horizontally. The trendous force made Sakumo retreat.

Sakumo was not affected in the slightest.

He pressed his short sword down, spun into the air, and his short sword brought up a whistling wind as he slashed horizontally.

Natsuki imdiately retreated.

"That is the taijutsu he created himself, right? Soru?"

Seeing this, Hiruzen could not help asking.

He had heard Tsunade explain in detail the process of Natsuki's battle with Rasa, so he knew about the taijutsu Natsuki had created.

"Mm, a very good taijutsu."

Tsunade nodded and said, "He also taught it to , Nawaki, and the others."

"He truly does not hold back much."

When Hiruzen heard this, he smiled.

Of course, saying he did not hold anything back was a little exaggerated.

But in Hiruzen's view, being willing to teach Tsunade, Nawaki, and the others was enough to prove Natsuki's loyalty to Konoha.

Keeping a little for himself was not a problem.

(To be continued.)

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