Cursed Seal transformation.
Natsume looked at Tayuya as she was now and couldn't help raising a brow.
If she'd been a little lamb just now, she now barely counted as a bigger lamb.
Her strength had indeed improved quite a bit.
"I'm going to kill you!"
Tayuya's eyes brimmed with wildness.
Her expression was all ferocity; as she spoke, her little tiger-like fangs flashed with a cold gleam.
She was an experimental subject who had survived slaughter, far more ruthless than her peers.
"Kill me? You think you can?"
Natsume couldn't help but laugh.
"Bastard!"
Tayuya instantly flew into a rage and lost her reason. She lunged, swinging her fist straight at him.
Thud.
Natsume caught her small fist.
Tayuya struggled madly, but to no avail.
Her base strength was too poor; no matter how much it was amplified, there was a limit.
Natsume didn't need Wood Release or Sage Mode to subdue her with ease.
"I'll kill you!"
"I'll kill you!"
"I'll… kill… you!"
"Guh… kill me!"
Her voice shifted from murderous fervor to resentful unwillingness tinged with shame and anger.
Natsume casually produced a disciplinary ruler and struck Tayuya with it, again and again.
He'd bought this ruler back when he was teaching Karin.
Of course, she was fairly obedient, so he'd never used it on her.
"Naughty children need a spanking."
With a straight face, Natsume kept striking as he reached curiously toward the horn on her head.
The Curse Seal transformation changed a person's appearance and body drastically.
Even Sasuke couldn't hold up—going from handsome to edgy non-mainstream.
But Tayuya only got prettier.
Natsume suspected Orochimaru had done that on purpose.
Pity it was only a horn—no ears, no tail.
Though it was possible.
Like going for the Two-Tails, for example.
Tayuya, still struggling, shivered and bit her lip. "Don't… touch my horn…"
Natsume raised a brow.
Do newly grown horns have sensation?
He casually spent a bit of Fate points to check Tayuya over. Sure enough, no hidden backdoors had been left behind.
"I know you want to kill me, but with your current strength, that's nothing but wishful thinking."
Natsume put away the ruler. "But I can give you a chance—one assassination attempt a day. Fail, and you'll face severe punishment."
As the saying goes, teach according to aptitude.
If Orochimaru valued her, her talent was naturally solid.
Raise her a bit and she could be useful to Natsume.
Her competitive nature could also be leveraged to speed up her growth.
Pressure makes progress, after all.
Hearing this, Tayuya lifted her head, eyes murderous as she glared at Natsume. "You'll regret this!"
"Yeah, yeah, sure."
Natsume's perfunctory reply made her anger surge yet again.
But as her wits returned and the Curse Seal state receded, she immediately fainted.
"Showing off isn't great, you know."
Natsume patted her red hair. "Be good and take a nap."
…
Noon.
After lunch, Natsume met Terumi Mei again.
She looked terrible, her eyes brimming with anger.
"You were right."
Terumi Mei took a deep breath. "Ao has detected anomalies. There's a very high chance the Mizukage has been controlled."
Natsume understood her unguarded emotion.
This kind of thing was indeed too unbelievable.
Let's just say the legend of those eyes is no exaggeration.
That goes for the Sharingan and the Byakugan.
Ao's Byakugan has more than one achievement to its name.
In the original story, Shimura Danzo used a stolen Mangekyo Sharingan to control Mifune of the Land of Iron; Ao discovered that too.
"Thank you."
Terumi Mei looked at him, a mix of feelings in her eyes.
If Natsume had wanted to sell this intel, it would easily be worth hundreds of millions to Kirigakure.
But he'd given it for free—truly unfathomable.
"Does this make us even?"
Natsume asked with a smile.
Terumi Mei paused for a few seconds, then nodded.
She knew he meant the matter of concealing his identity.
Indeed.
She'd suspected him, even been wary.
But with such a big favor on the table, calling it even was acceptable.
It's just that his motives still kept her from fully trusting him.
"As for opening a new sea route, we'll wait until the Mizukage is freed from control."
Terumi Mei thought a moment.
"Of course."
Natsume noticed her hairstyle was still the wavy curls he'd given her. He smiled and asked, "What's your plan?"
"First, find the mysterious powerhouse controlling the Mizukage."
At that, Terumi Mei subconsciously glanced at him, met his eyes, and quickly looked away. "Please give us a bit more time."
The subtext was that he shouldn't get involved.
That was normal.
With his identity unclear, he really wasn't suitable.
But he wanted in.
"Need my help?"
Natsume then dropped the piece of news that made Terumi Mei uneasy. "That mysterious powerhouse is no pushover. You probably won't be able to handle him."
In the original story, it wasn't spelled out.
But Natsume suspected it was most likely Obito getting tired of the game and allowing Terumi Mei and the others to retake Kirigakure.
Otherwise, even without calling on members of Akatsuki, his Mangekyo Sharingan and Wood Release could casually inflict devastating losses.
Terumi Mei fell silent.
Natsume had already helped them greatly; there was no reason for him to lie now.
The fate of Kirigakure hinged on this battle.
Failure was not an option.
Terumi Mei gritted her teeth. "What's the price?"
As soon as she said it, she pursed her lips, worry flickering in her eyes.
Natsume's last quote of two hundred million had scared her.
Now it was something this important—the price would naturally be steep.
Speaking those words took immense courage.
She was already thinking about how to earn money later to repay the debt.
Natsume smiled.
This young lady had a cute side too.
But he couldn't work for free.
Hmm, this plot felt familiar.
To save a failing school, the heroines decide to debut as idols.
Terumi Mei had always presented herself as dignified and calm.
But as Mizukage, debuting to save the bankrupt Kirigakure should be acceptable, right?
Quite interesting.
A striking contrast.
As for the audience—he alone would suffice; no need to let others benefit.
"Here."
Natsume produced a contract. "I'll help you rescue Yagura Karatachi. In return, you'll work for me for a year. I won't make you do anything embarrassing. How about it?"
Terumi Mei skimmed it quickly and exhaled in relief.
This was a fair deal.
A jōnin-level kunoichi working for him for a year was worth quite a bit.
Terumi Mei signed her name, sealing the contract.
Natsume put it away. "Call me when it's time."
Terumi Mei nodded, then added, "If we don't need you to make a move, the contract is void."
She still didn't fully trust him and added an extra layer of insurance.
"Fine."
Natsume agreed.
"Thank you."
Terumi Mei didn't know if today's choice was good or bad, but it was all for Kirigakure.
She probably wouldn't regret it… right?
Watching her leave, Natsume turned back to the room. Tayuya had already woken up.
He'd worried she'd get hungry, so he'd left plenty of pastries on the table.
And caught her red-handed.
"Tastes terrible!"
Tayuya was ungrateful as ever. She turned to sit on the bed, head tilted away from Natsume—but the corner of her eye couldn't help drifting to the pastries.
After the Curse Seal state, she'd burned a lot of energy and was starving.
Natsume thought to himself that he lived up to his name—he'd raised a tsundere little kitten.