Naruto: Drop System

"Then… I hereby declare that the second Five Kage Summit is now in session!"

Inside a certain tent stood five television sets, each connected by tubes that transmitted chakra.

At this moment, five faces lit up the screens—Gaara, Mei Terumī, Ōnoki, the Fourth Raikage, and Mifune the summit's host.

Meanwhile, Tsunade—wearing the Hokage hat—sat before the five TV sets.

Yes, the Five Kage were currently holding their meeting via these "chakra televisions."

With Mifune's words, the meeting commenced. At once, the hot-tempered Fourth Raikage began to rebuke:

"Hokage, you owe me an explanation this time. Are you aware how much damage your village's Hiruko—and the Second Hokage's Edo Tensei—have done to us in Kumogakure?!"

"We already addressed that in the Land of Iron, Lord Raikage,"

Tsunade replied, exasperated.

"If you keep harping on it, you're just wasting pointless chakra."

"Hmph!"

The Fourth Raikage snorted, folding his arms.

"Originally, this operation against the Akatsuki had nothing to do with me. But chasing that terrorist group cost Kumogakure a grievous loss—you other villages must give me an explanation and compensation."

"You should feel lucky you joined in, Lord Raikage,"

Mei Terumī, who had decided to side with Konoha, responded coolly:

"Otherwise, if this raid had failed—or if the Akatsuki managed to seal seven Tailed Beasts and flee—then their next target would be your Eight-Tails, Gyūki. By then, any regrets would be too late."

Hearing that, the Fourth Raikage's anger briefly paused, and he fell silent.

Indeed, had he not taken part, he might still have underestimated the Akatsuki. Then, if the Akatsuki won or escaped with seven Tailed Beasts sealed, the next stop would certainly be Killer Bee. Even reanimated Raikage-level threats like the Third Raikage required the A–B Combo just to fight to a draw. If the Akatsuki invaded Kumo—unless they somehow showed mercy—Kumogakure could face an outcome worse than Konoha under the Nine-Tails' assault. In this operation, though the cost was high, it made the Fourth Raikage realize the Akatsuki's genuine power and threat. Only by uniting could they hope to crush that terrorist faction; if left to pick off each village one by one, the balance of the shinobi world would crumble. Having thought it through, the Fourth Raikage said no more.

Seeing he had calmed down, Ōnoki finally spoke:

"Edo Tensei is formidable, yes, but compared to those undead, each with an immortal body… those creatures that roam underground at will—impervious to any sensor—and can mimic someone's face and even their chakra signature, are far more troublesome."

After finishing, Ōnoki looked to Tsunade:

"Princess Tsunade, I want to ask: can the Yamanaka clan instantly uncover the fakes, rather than making everyone retreat to have them read minds one by one?"

"No, the Yamanaka secrets don't reach that level."

Tsunade shook her head. Seeing the Five Kage's disappointment, she then added:

"But we in Konoha do have someone who might be able to see through those disguises immediately."

"Lord Yagyu?"

The Five Kage and Mifune naturally assumed so.

"No."

Tsunade again shook her head, giving a name they never expected:

"It's our Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, Uzumaki Naruto."

"Meaning?"

All five Kage and Mifune frowned in confusion.

"My grandmother—First Hokage's wife, Lady Mito—was the first Nine-Tails Jinchūriki and a perfect host. She possessed a special sense that could perceive good and evil."

Tsunade smiled with confidence:

"But that perception wasn't an Uzumaki Kagura Mind's Eye ability; it was the Nine-Tails' power."

The Kage brightened, grasping her point.

"Then why the chatter? Have your Nine-Tails Jinchūriki help us,"

the Fourth Raikage prodded impatiently.

"I want that too, but Naruto isn't a perfect Jinchūriki yet,"

Tsunade replied with a shrug.

"We in Konoha don't have a method to help him reach that state, so…"

She paused, staring at the Fourth Raikage. The other Kage, realizing what she implied, turned their eyes toward his visage on the TV.

"Hmph, quite the sneaky plan, Hokage."

The Fourth Raikage snorted:

"No explanation or compensation for our losses, yet you want Kumogakure's secret for forging a perfect Jinchūriki? How shameless."

"That's not how it is, Lord Raikage,"

Tsunade answered with a playful smile:

"It's all for the sake of the shinobi world's peace."

"Indeed, Lord Raikage—don't be so petty," Ōnoki added, a bit sardonic.

"Hmph, I'm not as thick-skinned as you lot,"

The Raikage retorted. Then:

"I can have Bee teach your Nine-Tails Jinchūriki how to control the beast's power. But sealing Tailed Beasts only gives us so much time—if he fails to master it in that window, Konoha must lead the attack on Amegakure for us and punch a path through."

All eyes, including Mifune's, turned toward Tsunade.

"Agreed."

Tsunade nodded without hesitation.

Even if the Fourth Raikage hadn't demanded it, Konoha needed and intended to do so anyway. They aimed to destroy the Rinnegan this time. Missing the chance now would complicate matters later.

Seeing Tsunade so forthright, the Fourth Raikage dropped the matter:

"Then send your Kyuubi Jinchūriki and Wood-Style ninja here. Mastering Tailed Beast power requires a certain place."

"All right. I'll have Yagyu take Naruto there right away."

Tsunade answered solemnly:

"According to Yagyu's intel, the Akatsuki aren't sealing the Five-Tails now but the Four-Tails instead. They lost Sasori and Uchiha Itachi, leaving only seven members. Sealing might be slower than before—maybe four to five days per beast.

They'll need rest in between, so our think tank believes that sealing from Four-Tails to Seven-Tails at once requires at least fifteen days, possibly twenty or more.

Let's set a deadline of ten days. Whether Naruto succeeds or not, we'll launch our assault, with Konoha at the front. All you have to do is follow up behind us."

"All right."

The Five Kage and Mifune agreed, then their TV feeds flickered with static as the chakra link ended.

When the meeting concluded, Yagyu immediately brought Naruto to Kumo's staging area, and from there used Flying Thunder God to teleport with him and Killer Bee multiple times, eventually arriving on a giant turtle island.

"You only have ten days."

Yagyu told Bee and Naruto:

"After that, whether you succeed or not, one of my Wood Clones will bring you back."

"Yes."

Naruto nodded, wearing an uncharacteristically stern expression, clearly aware of the burden he bore. He had to become a perfect Jinchūriki in order to minimize war casualties—and to confront his "senior" who killed Pervy Sage.

"Good. Off you go."

Satisfied, Yagyu formed a Wood Clone; his true body teleported back to Konoha's camp. Then he summoned Sasuke, Sakura, and Hinata, instantly returning with them to Konoha.

"…I'm leaving it to you now, Hinata, Sakura."

Yagyu explained the operation to transplant Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan into Sasuke's eyes, then produced two bottles of green liquid. Each bottle contained a Mangekyō. He handed them to Hinata and Sakura:

"We're just doing an eye transplant? No problem—leave it to us,"

the two girls said, relieved it wasn't some intractable medical case requiring both. Sakura even patted her modest chest, grinning confidently.

For standard medical-nin, ocular transplant could be a major challenge; but with a bit of skill, it was considered relatively basic. Remember how back in Kakashi's youth, the young Rin did Obito's transplant in mere moments. Hinata and Sakura—two of Tsunade's prized pupils—had done this many times with 100% success. Letting the pair do it was basically overkill, but seeing Yagyu's caution, both took it seriously.

In less than half an hour, they finished and successfully placed Itachi's Mangekyō into Sasuke's orbits. Sasuke's removed eyes soaked in green fluid inside a jar. Glancing at the black pupils in that jar, Yagyu looked at Sasuke—eyes swathed in bandages—and asked:

"How does it feel?"

"Ah…"

Reclining on a surgery table, Sasuke allowed a faint smile:

"I can sense Itachi's ocular power."

"Perfect."

Yagyu nodded:

"Once you fuse Itachi's Mangekyō with your own, both patterns will merge into a new design—Eternal Mangekyō. If it succeeds, you'll know—remove the bandages yourself. If it fails, it'll cause you pain, and you'll need your old eyes put back in. So for the next few days, just lie still. I'll leave a Wood Clone here to watch over you."

"Got it."

Sasuke nodded seriously:

"I'll succeed."

"I believe it."

Yagyu gave a light laugh.

As he said, if a Mangekyō user implants another's Mangekyō, there's a chance the two ocular powers combine, forming a new one that no longer weeps blood or damages vision—an "Eternal" power. But because ocular rejection risk was high, success wasn't guaranteed unless the eyes came from a close relative. Even then, it's not 100%. However, Yagyu knew Sasuke's success was a foregone conclusion because Sasuke was Indra's reincarnation. Even if he never transplanted Itachi's eyes, he only needed to evoke the ultimate Yin power within to gain Eternal Mangekyō. This simply accelerated the timeline. And once Sasuke had an Eternal Mangekyō, with the upcoming Six Paths "hack," he might unlock the Six-Tomoe Rinnegan, using Mangekyō and Rinnegan together without regression or strain.

"Naruto's off training to master the Tailed Beast's power—I'm looking forward to seeing you both evolve."

Leaving that remark, Yagyu formed a Wood Clone to care for Sasuke as he fused his eyes, then left the hospital with Hinata and Sakura without hurrying to the front. Instead, he took them to his own home.

"Big Bro, you're back!"

No sooner had they opened the door than Hanabi rushed up to greet him. Behind her stood Uchiha Hikari—blushing shyly, also wanting to dash over but too reserved to do so.

"Yep, we're home for a meal and a bath. Have you two eaten?"

"Not yet."

"I'll cook for you guys."

"Sure, sure…"

The five of them—three older, two younger—spoke like a family as they entered the living room. The once-quiet house soon glowed with warmth.

Meanwhile, in a certain underground laboratory, the lights shone brightly.

"Orochimaru, given our arrangement, it's time for you to act."

A White Zetsu clone half-emerged from the floor, addressing Orochimaru, who was dissecting one of its "brethren."

"I'm well aware of the war's current state,"

Orochimaru said, removing his mask. Glancing at the mangled White Zetsu on the operating table, then at another bed where a pale cadaver's white hair had recovered its dark color and withered flesh restored robustly—looking nothing like a corpse—Orochimaru smirked with satisfaction:

"Once the Five Great Villages confirm a way around your infiltration, they won't dare strike without caution. By then, if they attack again, I'll step in, just as promised.

I'm quite curious whether my guess is correct… if the Six Paths Sage's legendary power still exists, or if it's continued on in this way."

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