Though a Wood Clone was technically a clone jutsu, in practice it resembled the Shadow Clone technique far more closely—it possessed independent thought.

  The principle behind it was simple.

  In the original series, Yamato once reabsorbed his Wood Clone, transforming it into a seed.

  In other words, that seed maintained a chakra resonance with the original body, allowing it to function just like a Shadow Clone.

  Even more impressive, it could exchange information with the user in real time.

  Orochimaru’s courtyard, under the shroud of night, was cloaked in a dim, oppressive darkness.

  Natsume moved cautiously, eyes scanning the area. The pce was deserted.

  Frowning, he pushed open the doors to the main hall.

  At the same time, deep beneath the surface—in the underground boratory…

  Orochimaru held a scalpel, calmly dissecting a corpse.

  A moment ter, a white snake slithered toward him, tongue flicking, hissing in his direction.

  “An uninvited guest. A stranger. The chakra… unfamiliar and strange.”

  Orochimaru understood the serpent's words and raised an intrigued eyebrow.

  Gncing down at the corpse, he casually tossed aside the scalpel.

  It was the body of a shinobi who had possessed a kekkei genkai.

  After losing his student, Nawaki, Orochimaru had come to recognize the limits of his own mortality.

  So he pursued two paths simultaneously—developing the Living Corpse Reincarnation technique to attain immortality, and researching kekkei genkai to shatter natural limitations.

  But both experiments had proven extremely difficult.

  And so far… neither had borne much fruit.

  Still, he wasn’t in a rush. He had all the time in the world to deal with this unexpected visitor.

  Orochimaru left the b and ascended to the main hall.

  The moment he saw Natsume, his slit-pupiled eyes narrowed.

  Something felt… off.

  But he couldn’t put his finger on it.

  He licked his lips and raised a hand—several venomous snakes shot out from his sleeves, coiling toward Natsume to entangle him.

  Anything interesting had to be seized immediately—who knew if they’d try to flee?

  Pleasantries weren’t his style.

  He much preferred to capture a subject, strip them yer by yer, and slowly unravel their mysteries.

  But in the next instant, something happened that caught Orochimaru completely off guard.

  The bound Natsume abruptly transformed into a tangle of wooden branches, which twisted around and entangled the snakes instead.

  A chaotic tangle ensued—snakes binding wood, wood binding snakes—in a bizarre loop of mutual restraint.

  Orochimaru stood frozen.

  He, who aspired to master every jutsu in existence, recognized the technique immediately.

  The Wood Clone Technique.

  Back when he’d colborated with Shimura Danzo, they’d experimented with Hashirama’s cells—trying to transpnt them into shinobi and infants in hopes of replicating Wood Release.

  But the rejection rate was catastrophic. Every single test subject had died.

  In the end, he and Danzo had been forced to shelve the project.

  And now, out of nowhere… a ninja with Wood Release had appeared?

  It was no wonder he was so stunned.

  “So this is the legendary hospitality of one of the Three Legendary Sannin—Orochimaru?”

  Another Natsume strolled casually through the doorway. “If so, I must say, I’m thoroughly disappointed.”

  Orochimaru’s expression darkened, though he made no move to attack.

  He could tell—this Natsume, like the previous one, was a Wood Clone.

  “Let me guess what you're thinking.”

  Natsume pulled out a chair and sat down like he owned the pce, completely at ease.

  His eyes were calm—devoid of the fear or reverence most shinobi showed when facing Orochimaru.

  He was clearly confident. Dangerous.

  “You’re wondering… if all the Wood Release experiments failed, then how the hell can someone like me use it?”

  Natsume smiled zily. “Am I right?”

  Orochimaru’s eyes widened.

  Bullseye.

  But very few knew about those experiments.

  He couldn’t have leaked it—had Danzo?

  “Who exactly are you?”

  Orochimaru’s gaze turned sharp, full of killing intent. He hated being out of control.

  “Who I am isn’t important. What matters… is what I can offer you.”

  Natsume lifted a teacup and said calmly, “Like making your dreams come true.”

  “My dreams?”

  Orochimaru sneered. “You think you know my dreams? And that you can grant them?”

  “Immortality. And omniscience.”

  Natsume’s smile deepened. “I know a great many secrets.”

  Orochimaru’s composure finally cracked.

  Impossible. Absolutely impossible!

  How could anyone know that?

  Only he knew what y in the depths of his ambition.

  Did I let it slip?

  Nonsense.

  “Who are you?!”

  Same question—but this time, it came from a pce of dread.

  A stranger who knew all his secrets—that was a horror few could comprehend.

  Natsume let out a soft chuckle.

  Ah… the power of asymmetrical information.

  Like a character from The Eminence in Shadow, he spoke cryptically: “I am destiny. Hidden within destiny. The hunter of those bound by destiny. Do you understand?”

  To be honest, he’d shamelessly borrowed the line from the second male lead in that series.

  Orochimaru tilted his head. What the hell was that supposed to mean?

  But Natsume wasn’t lying.

  He had the Ring of Fate—and he was ready to hunt fate itself.

  “Guess you didn’t get it,” Natsume sighed, tone full of disappointed teacher energy.

  “……”

  Even Orochimaru found himself annoyed for once.

  Could this guy just speak normally for five seconds?

  “Not understanding isn’t a big deal. Let’s talk business.”

  Natsume raised two fingers. “I want Hashirama cells. In exchange, I’ll give you two secrets.”

  Orochimaru’s eyes sharpened.

  So the mysterious man wanted something.

  But that also meant… he wasn’t all-powerful.

  He had weaknesses. He could be bargained with.

  Orochimaru licked his lips—a gesture he made whenever excited.

  “You know how valuable Hashirama’s cells are. What if your ‘secrets’ aren’t worth the price?”

  “I’ll give you a small one up front. If we strike a deal, I’ll give you the big one.”

  Natsume clearly anticipated this, and stayed perfectly calm.

  “You’d make a fine long-term partner. What do you think?”

  Orochimaru frowned.

  Truth be told, he hated working with people who knew everything about him while he knew nothing about them.

  But Natsume knew too much. And if Orochimaru wanted to dig deeper, cooperation might be the best route.

  “That depends on the value of your secret. If it’s good… I might consider it.”

  “The Wood Release experiments you ran with Danzo… one subject survived. He awakened Wood Release.”

  “What?!”

  Orochimaru could no longer keep his composure.

  Danzo… you bastard, you lied to me?!

  “That subject is still in Root. Codename: Kinoe.”

  He was, of course, referring to Yamato.

  Yamato’s fate had always been to leave Root and join the ANBU. Even his name, “Yamato,” had been given by the Third Hokage.

  But Natsume wondered—what if Yamato had stayed with Orochimaru? How would his story unfold?

  Most transmigrators would hesitate to interfere with canon.

  But with Natsume’s system, canon was destined to colpse.

  He would do whatever it took to grow stronger.

  Because when you’re strong enough—who cares about “plot”?

  Orochimaru took a deep breath. “I’ll verify your information. If it checks out… we have a deal.”

  “Pleasure doing business.”

  Natsume smiled and, right in front of Orochimaru, dispelled his jutsu.