"This mysterious man will, barring surprises, go looking for Uchiha Itachi before long. All you have to do is wait, and you'll see him."
Seeing Orochimaru agree, Natsume spoke up.
If Uchiha Obito pulled a low-probability move and didn't go see Itachi, that wasn't on him.
"Why would he seek out Uchiha Itachi?"
Orochimaru frowned and couldn't help asking.
Although Itachi had left him and joined the ANBU, Orochimaru still regarded him as something in his pocket.
"What do you think?" Natsume replied.
"The Mangekyō Sharingan."
Orochimaru's face changed.
Yet another competitor stealing his business.
"I'll throw in one more piece of intel."
Natsume improvised. "He's actually in the same organization as me, but I don't like him, so feel free to kill him."
Orochimaru was slightly taken aback. No wonder he knew the man's movements so well.
"All right then, hand over the three things I want, and I'll tell you how to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan."
Natsume paused and said nothing more.
"Give me a moment."
Orochimaru turned and left.
…
A few minutes later, he handed Natsume three scrolls.
Impure World Reincarnation, the Flying Thunder God Technique, and the Cursed Seal.
Natsume pretended to read them, but in truth spent three points of Fate Points to verify their authenticity.
The first two were fine; the last triggered a warning.
The Cursed Seal had been tampered with.
"Orochimaru."
Natsume looked up, tossed the Cursed Seal scroll back, and said, "If this is your level of sincerity, our cooperation ends here."
Orochimaru's heart skipped a beat. He found it unbelievable—how could someone spot the problem after a single read?
Even a human experiment expert couldn't be that fast.
But there was no point in asking why now.
Orochimaru opened the scroll, scanned it, and tried to smooth it over: "That was an older scroll—I grabbed the wrong version."
"We're both smart. No need for excuses."
Natsume smiled. "I'm not angry, but a mistake calls for compensation."
Plain words, yet steeped in authority.
Orochimaru couldn't help paling.
The sense of danger spiked sharply.
"The method for the Cursed Seal is complicated."
After a brief pause, Orochimaru said, "I can give you a talented subordinate as a reference subject."
Good grief. Poisoning me to my face?
The change in Natsume's expression didn't escape Orochimaru, so he added, "This subordinate will absolutely have no problems. You can examine her however you like."
"Oh? What's her name? If I'm not satisfied, you'll have to replace her."
Natsume didn't mind gaining another plant.
He had enough strength and wasn't worried.
Of course, the premise was that he could earn Fate Points.
Truth be told, among Orochimaru's subordinates, he actually wanted Guren.
She had the rare Crystal Release and was quite strong.
An instant combat asset.
Unfortunately, Orochimaru probably wouldn't part with her.
Before he got Uchiha Itachi or Uchiha Sasuke, Guren was his reserved perfect vessel.
"Tayuya."
Like a salesman, Orochimaru said, "She's young, but she's extremely gifted in summoning and genjutsu. I've already implanted the Cursed Seal of Earth in her."
Natsume was slightly taken aback.
Tayuya, one of the Sound Five.
Red hair, foul-mouthed, competitive.
She was a bit similar to Karin.
But she clearly wasn't from the Uzumaki clan.
Her summoning aside, her genjutsu was indeed impressive.
A rare sound-based genjutsu—she excelled at the flute.
Among the Sound Five, aside from Kimimaro, the other four were outstanding survivors of Orochimaru's many experiments.
But Orochimaru didn't value them particularly highly.
In the original story, to get Uchiha Sasuke, the Sound Five all died.
Sending one now made sense.
Natsume nodded. "Fine."
First, because he could earn Fate Points.
Second, because Tayuya was still young and hadn't fully gone down the wrong path—she could be taught.
At this point, she didn't have much loyalty to Orochimaru.
Given their experiences, the Sound Five—Kimimaro excepted—should resent him.
But later, realizing Orochimaru was simply too powerful, and abiding by the law of the strong, they didn't dare betray him.
Before long, Natsume received a new Cursed Seal scroll—this time with no issues.
He nodded and stated the conditions for awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Six words: Gain love, then lose love.
It required an extreme surge of emotion.
Hatred or love both worked.
But compared to the latter, the former was clearly easier.
So most Mangekyō holders opened their eyes through "forever losing their beloved and finding ruin everywhere they looked."
After listening, Orochimaru unraveled many doubts.
Such as why Senju Tobirama had said the Uchiha were born evil.
The Mangekyō was strength—and a curse.
Because they lost their love, they fell into extremity, drifted into radicalism, and most likely descended into darkness.
Without overwhelming strength like Senju Hashirama's to suppress it, anyone facing such a terrible power would inevitably harbor suspicion.
"Tayuya."
Orochimaru clapped his hands.
A red-haired young girl walked out with a scowl.
She was clearly furious.
She had thought that after fighting her way through hell and earning Orochimaru's regard, she'd be on a bright path.
Who could have guessed that only a few days later, she'd be handed off to someone else.
At that moment, she resented not only Natsume but also Orochimaru.
[Because of your actions, Uchiha Obito's fate has changed. You gain 70 Fate Points.]
[Because of your actions, Uchiha Itachi's fate has changed. You gain 56 Fate Points.]
[Because of your actions, Tayuya's fate has changed. You gain 40 Fate Points.]
[Because of your actions, Orochimaru's fate has changed. You gain 23 Fate Points.]
Hearing the prompts, Natsume chuckled softly. "Till next time, then."
He stepped forward, grabbed Tayuya, and prepared to spend two points of Fate Points to take her away.
The next moment, a force of resistance surged.
"Don't touch me!"
Tayuya's eyes were icy as she gritted her teeth.
Natsume finally got a taste of her competitiveness and foul mouth from the original.
Her personality was indeed forceful.
But… interesting.
Natsume ignored her words and took her away.
Orochimaru frowned. There it was again.
Completely undetectable.
To him, disappearing in an instant like that was more terrifying than the Flying Thunder God.
…
Tayuya opened her eyes and found herself in a strange room.
"Baka! Hentai! Urusai!"
She instinctively took a step back, her face flushing with anger and suspicion. "What are you trying to do?!"
"At your age, where did you even learn that kind of bad words?"
Natsume frowned. "Come here, let me examine you."
Although Orochimaru had said there'd be no issues, his words were never trustworthy.
As for developing any untoward thoughts about a little brat—impossible.
Natsume only intended to raise her as a subordinate.
After all, his organization was, to this day, a one-man show.
"Get lost!"
Tayuya roared. Her red hair fluttered.
At the same time, her skin and eyes turned black, and white horns sprouted from her head.