"Izayoi-kun, she's so pitiful."
Watching Karin leave with the shadow clone, Hinata's expression was filled with sympathy.
She'd thought her younger self, timid and meek before Izayoi, was as low as it got.
But compared to Karin, she'd been far better off.
The girl's eyes were heart-wrenching.
"People like her are everywhere. Some are even worse off," Izayoi said, patting Hinata's head with a smile. "We can't help everyone. All we can do is protect those closest to us."
"Mm."
Hinata nodded firmly.
She wasn't some saint—her empathy stemmed from Karin being Izayoi's kin, stirring her feminine sensitivity.
Turning to Shino Aburame, who'd returned, Izayoi asked, "What scroll did they have?"
"A Heaven Scroll," Shino replied.
"Perfect. We've got an Earth Scroll."
Izayoi handed their team's scroll to Shino. "You hold onto both."
Catching the implication, Shino said, "We've got both scrolls. Why not head straight to the central tower?"
Izayoi glanced in a certain direction. "No rush. There's still a problem to deal with."
Hinata's expression shifted, recalling Izayoi's words in the bathroom and her Byakugan's intel. "Izayoi-kun, are you going after that Sand ninja with the gourd?"
"No, someone even stronger."
Izayoi shook his head, instructing Hinata and Shino, "Head to the tower's entrance and wait for me. I'll join you after handling this issue."
"Yes."
Knowing Izayoi's immense strength, Hinata nodded obediently.
Seeing even Hinata comply, Shino agreed, "Got it."
After parting with Hinata and Shino, Izayoi flickered toward Team 7's location.
Indeed, the second person whose fate Izayoi aimed to change was Sasuke Uchiha.
With his current setup, only defeating Kage-level opponents boosted his entry drop rate.
Neither Zabuza Momochi, Raiga Kurosuki, Haku, nor Ranmaru had yielded entries.
Izayoi's power far outstripped theirs.
Beating them offered only a slim chance of low- or high-tier entries.
He'd tried killing enemies and even used shadow clones with minimal chakra to fight alongside him—no entries dropped.
This meant neither clones nor killing raised the drop rate.
Kage-level ninja in this era were scarce.
To farm entries for points, Izayoi had two options.
First, uncover hidden mechanics in the talent entry system to boost drop rates.
Second, hunt ultra-high-tier entries to break down into points.
Kage-level entries topped out at purple, yielding only four-digit points when decomposed.
Above purple were gold and red entries, maybe even unknown tiers.
Decomposing gold or red entries meant random five- or six-digit points.
With insane luck, a red entry could yield over 990,000 points, enough to upgrade a red entry to an unknown tier at a 1:1 ratio.
Until he found new mechanics, Hinata, Sasuke, and Naruto were his targets.
Of the three, Izayoi valued Sasuke most.
His talent was unmatched, his growth the fastest.
Raising Sasuke's strength would increase Izayoi's drop rates.
Thus, Izayoi had to change Sasuke's fate, keeping him in Konoha for easy entry farming.
Sasuke's loyalty rivaled Karin's.
In the original story, after Naruto beat sense into him, Sasuke abandoned fame and fortune, serving Naruto faithfully abroad, barely returning home—so much so he nearly fought his own daughter.
In the One Piece world, he'd be the Roronoa Zoro—a perfect second-in-command.
Such talent, Izayoi wouldn't let Orochimaru steal.
A white glint flashed in his eyes, and his speed surged.
…
Meanwhile, Team 7 faced off against a Grass ninja.
"You've got a Heaven Scroll, so you must want my Earth Scroll, right…?"
Orochimaru, disguised as a Grass ninja with Face-Paint Erasure, dangled the Earth Scroll. Under Team 7's wide-eyed stares, he tilted his head back and swallowed it.
"He… he ate the scroll!" Naruto gaped.
"What's his body made of? A secret technique or kekkei genkai?" Sasuke analyzed coolly.
Sakura, trembling, hid behind Sasuke and Naruto.
"Let's get started… the scroll battle."
Having swallowed the scroll, Orochimaru smirked playfully at Team 7. "I'll be going all out, you know!"
Boom—
An invisible shockwave of killing intent roared from Orochimaru.
Team 7 froze, then collapsed, faces pale, breathing ragged.
"Urgh…"
Sasuke, the team's strongest, vomited on the spot.
"Genjutsu? No… that's killing intent!"
Staring at Orochimaru, Sasuke's eyes mirrored the terror he'd felt facing Itachi Uchiha. "Just his killing intent let us see our deaths. Who is this guy? Why is someone like this in the Chunin Exams?!"
Both radiated killing intent, but the Sand ninja with the gourd was leagues below this Grass ninja.
No—it was a different dimension entirely!
"Damn it… don't think you can scare me…"
Naruto's voice broke through.
Sasuke instinctively turned.
Unlike him, Naruto hadn't vomited. Gritting his teeth, he stood, hands forming seals.
For some reason, Sasuke's fear of Orochimaru vanished.
If even this dead-last wasn't scared, what was he afraid of?
His gaze hardened, black eyes shifting to scarlet two-tomoe Sharingan.
"Don't underestimate me! I'm the man who'll become Hokage!"
Naruto shouted at Orochimaru, "Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"
Pop, pop, pop…
A series of balloon-bursting sounds echoed through the forest.
Each was accompanied by a puff of white smoke.
The smoke formed a vast white fog.
As a breeze cleared it, three hundred Narutos filled the forest.
"Sasuke, Sakura, get back!"
The clones hoisted Sasuke and Sakura, passing them hand-to-hand to the rear.
The real Naruto and remaining clones formed seals, yelling boldly, "Watch me blow you away!"
Seeing Naruto summon so many clones and form that seal, Orochimaru, who'd been toying with them like a cat with mice, tensed. "That chakra… could this kid be…?"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Three hundred voices roared in unison.
---
Every 200 power stones 1 bonus chapter will be uploaded faster.
And if you want to read 30 chapters early, you can visit: Patre on . com / KangTL (REMOVE SPACE)