Although the Fourth Raikage was furious, he did not pursue.
One, he feared an ambush.
Two, over a hundred ninja were being electrocuted—there was still a chance to save them.
Natsume and the others ran for an hour before stopping.
"Lady Tsunade," Shisui looked grim. He had almost lost his Mangekyo Sharingan.
If Kotoamatsukami fell into the wrong hands, it would be a disaster.
"My squad has some issues to resolve. Please give us some time, Lady Tsunade."
"Alright."
She was curious, but Shisui made it clear he wanted her to stay out of their team's business.
Natsume wanted to eavesdrop, but wasn't invited.
He could only watch as Shisui and Itachi carried the unconscious Yugao into a tent.
Jealous? No, just sympathetic.
Two Sharingan users—no one could withstand their combo of hypnosis and interrogation.
But knowing Orochimaru, he would probably erase any traces.
Natsume didn't want trouble for now—he just wanted to focus on his experiments.
…
"Wake her up," Shisui said coolly. He had grown cold toward Yugao.
Itachi knelt beside her, worked for a few minutes, and Yugao woke up.
"What happened?"
She looked confused.
"Do you remember what just happened?"
Shisui frowned.
"I remember fighting Cloud ninja with you—and then I used the curse mark jutsu my teacher gave me, and blacked out."
She held her head, shaking it, but remembered nothing else.
Orochimaru.
Both Shisui and Itachi thought of that name.
He had planted the curse mark. Its loss of control must be connected to him.
"Look into my eyes," Itachi said, his three-tomoe Sharingan spinning.
Yugao looked up blankly, her eyes losing focus.
"Who was it?"
He asked.
Hypnosis could push her into her subconscious and overcome some jutsu.
"I don't know," she shook her head.
Clearly, Orochimaru had covered his tracks well.
"Shisui, what do we do?" Itachi said heavily. "We have no proof. We can't accuse Orochimaru."
He'd lost the last bit of respect for his former teacher.
Orochimaru had treated him well, but now he saw his true colors.
"Even if we had proof, just Yugao alone wouldn't be enough to bring him down," Shisui mused.
Orochimaru's position in Konoha was too high. Unless the Third Hokage ordered it, no one would dare touch him.
"Should we tell the Hokage?" Shisui hesitated.
If Sarutobi Hiruzen knew, he would surely investigate, and the Mangekyo Sharingan would be exposed.
"Let's wait. The Uchiha clan hasn't reached the breaking point yet," Shisui thought.
If the Uchiha did rebel, he would reveal Kotoamatsukami to Hiruzen, control Fugaku, and prevent a pointless fight.
"For now, we put this aside," Shisui said worriedly. "Now that I'm on guard, he won't get me. But you're in danger."
Itachi fell silent.
Now, it was clear—Orochimaru had taken him as a student with ill intent.
If he stayed, he'd likely be betrayed.
"Shisui, now that I've awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan, can you tell me how to get the Mangekyo?"
To handle Orochimaru and the Uchiha, he needed more power.
He believed, as in the original story, that with enough power, he could save everyone.
In the end, this thinking led to the Uchiha massacre.
He thought his way was right.
He endured disgrace, became a criminal, and bore all the village's and Sasuke's hatred and darkness.
Natsume could only think: Stay away from the Uchiha, cherish your life, and read more books.
"Mangekyo Sharingan?" Shisui fell silent.
Itachi was gifted, and likely to awaken it.
But that pain was not for everyone.
To gain it meant to gain and lose love—awakening could happen because of his parents, brother, or his best friend—Shisui himself.
"You've just awakened three-tomoe, and you're still young. It'll be hard to get Mangekyo soon," Shisui smiled gently. "And the method won't work if I say it out loud. You'll know when the time comes."
…
Natsume calculated his Fate Points.
After the windfall just now, he had about 900 points total.
Not a lot, but not little.
In the Fate Shop, a Sage Body cost 3,900 points.
Even more than Wood Release.
But it made sense.
This wasn't Hashirama's Sage Body, but the Sage of Six Paths' body.
With it and Wood Release, Natsume would be nearly invincible.
Well, except for the Otsutsuki—aliens from space.
Sage Mode was much cheaper—1,500 points.
If Natsume hadn't learned Sage Mode in Shikkotsu Forest, he'd consider redeeming it.
As for other things, there were too many.
His real favorite was the Flying Thunder God Jutsu.
It cost 1,000 points.
Very tempting.
After redeeming, he'd be fully proficient.
It was handy, but he could try learning it first.
Before long, as Natsume was mulling it over, the three came out, Yugao still dazed.
"Lady Tsunade, it's resolved," Shisui reported.
"Let's head back," Tsunade said.
She didn't ask for details—everyone had secrets, and she wasn't that nosy.
If it were Natsume's secret, though, she might peek.
When the group returned, they were greeted like heroes.
Konoha's spies had already sent word.
The war had lasted nearly three years, but this was the biggest victory.
They'd wiped out dozens of Cloud ninja in one go.
Even if most were genin, it was a huge blow to the Hidden Cloud.
Now, they had two choices: reinforce and escalate the war, or accept defeat and sue for peace.
The latter was more likely.
Better to cut their losses.
Uchiha Fugaku was thrilled—two Uchiha geniuses were key contributors, and Itachi was his own son.
His son's glory was his own.
Proof of his excellent parenting.
Hyuga Hiashi, on the other hand, was upset—he'd only gained minor credit.
If the Uchiha had done as poorly as he had, it'd be fine. But both Shisui and Itachi had outperformed everyone.
Seeing the Uchiha thriving was harder to bear than death.
"Fugaku, tell our spies in Iwagakure to stir up some trouble," Tsunade said. The war's goal was met; it was time to pressure Hidden Cloud into suing for peace.
"No problem," Fugaku replied. He didn't want to keep fighting either.
He'd been away for two years—his younger son, Sasuke, might not even recognize him.
Itachi had grown so much—it was Sasuke's turn now.
…
…
Three days later, the Fourth Raikage formally requested peace.
Cloud's envoys would soon arrive in Konoha to negotiate.
With the war over, Tsunade and company could finally go home.
Honestly, after half a month away, Natsume missed home.
Maybe that's the lure of returning home.
PS: Some readers felt the Fate Shop was too vague. This chapter lists some things the MC wants to redeem:
Sage Body: 3,900 Fate Points
Six Paths Sage Body, not just Hashirama's.
Sage Mode: 1,500 points.
Flying Thunder God: 1,000 points, instantly mastered after exchange.
Other items omitted.