"Orochimaru, it has been a long time."
Orochimaru's pupils contracted sharply.
This voice, this tone...
Impossible!
That person should still be in the Hidden Gento Village "poisoned and comatose," so how could he possibly appear here?
"You are...!"
Before he could finish his sentence, Nanashi's appearance suddenly changed, replaced by Gento's sharp-featured face.
In just an instant, it reverted to Nanashi's disguise.
"Shhh."
Gento smiled meaningfully.
"Orochimaru, we are teammates, so do not get so excited."
The snake loosened its grip, sliding down from Gento's body, and obediently retracted into Orochimaru's sleeve.
Orochimaru's genjutsu was also released. He retreated a few steps, leaning against a tree by the roadside, staring vigilantly at Gento in front of him.
"Gento... Uchiha."
Orochimaru's voice was wary.
"To think you self-directed and performed a transformation into Nanashi, even personally joining the Akatsuki!"
Gento did not deny it but instead continued:
"If I did not come personally, how would I know what tricks you are up to?"
Orochimaru fell silent for a moment, his eyes flickering.
He extended his tongue and licked his lips, his voice returning to that hoarse tone:
"Then, how do you plan to handle me, Gento? Kill me to silence me? Or..."
"Kill you?"
Gento shook his head.
"I would be quite reluctant to do so. As for my matters, you just need to act as if you know nothing."
"In exchange, the Hidden Gento Village can provide you with a handsome sum of funds to sponsor your scientific research."
"There is only one condition: when I need you, you must stand on my side."
Orochimaru was silent for a moment, and then he laughed hoarsely.
"Hehehe... Interesting, truly interesting."
He licked his lips, an excited light shining in his eyes.
"The Feudal Lord of the Land of Hot Water and Master of the Hidden Gento Village actually infiltrated the Akatsuki personally to act as an undercover agent."
He reached out his hand, palm facing up:
"Deal."
Gento gripped his hand. The two looked at each other, each harboring their own thoughts.
After releasing his hand, Gento took a step back and formed hand seals.
Chakra surged, and a Shadow Clone split from his body, landing by his side, its appearance still resembling Nanashi.
"My clone will go with you to collect intelligence."
"My main body still has other things to do."
Orochimaru sized up the Shadow Clone and nodded, then turned and walked in the direction of the Hidden Leaf Village.
Gento's Shadow Clone followed behind him.
Gento's main body remained in place, watching the two walk away.
"Flying Thunder God!"
In the next instant, he was already standing in the study of the Hidden Gento Village's palace.
"It is still most comfortable at home."
He rotated his shoulders.
"Instead of spending time helping the Akatsuki collect Tailed Beast intelligence, I might as well stay home more to accompany the women in practicing taijutsu."
Just as his voice fell, the study door was pushed open.
Mabui walked in, her dark professional attire outlining her curvaceous figure.
She held a document in her hands, freezing slightly upon seeing Gento.
"My Lord, you are back. I have good news to tell you."
"What good news?"
"Lady Rin gave birth two days ago; it is a boy."
Gento's eyes lit up:
"Rin gave birth? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
Mabui sighed helplessly:
"My Lord, you instructed that unless there is an emergency, I should not actively contact you..."
Gento was choked up for a moment, letting out two dry laughs:
"Alright, alright, where is the child?"
"In Lady Rin's room. Do you want to go and see?"
Gento did not answer and had already strode out of the study.
Rin's room was on the east side of the palace, a south-facing warm chamber.
Pushing open the door, soft bedding was laid out on the tatami mats, and a faint fragrance of milk permeated the air.
Rin Nohara was leaning against the headboard, cradling a swaddled infant in her arms.
She wore a light pink casual kimono, her collar slightly parted, revealing a sliver of her fair neck.
Her short deep brown hair had grown slightly longer than a few years ago, draping at the sides of her shoulders and making her round face appear even softer.
Giving birth had given her a touch of mature charm, and the gentleness of a first-time mother emanated from her eyes.
Hearing the movement, she raised her head and saw Gento standing at the doorway.
"You... you are back..."
Gento walked over, sat by the bedside, and reached out to wrap his arm around her shoulders.
"Thank you for your hard work."
Gento leaned down and kissed her on the forehead.
"Let me see the child."
Rin handed over the swaddled bundle in her arms.
The moment he took the child, the system notification sound resounded in his mind.
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host on successfully siring an offspring! Triggering "Many Children, Many Blessings" reward!]
[Reward being distributed...]
[Please choose one of the following randomly generated traits by the system as the descendant's talent bonus:]
Five options surfaced before Gento's eyes:
⟩ Scant Chakra: This child is born with a relatively small amount of chakra, but due to this, his chakra control precision is high, with every shred of chakra being utilized to the limit.
› His ninjutsu consumes less, his hand seals are faster, and his chakra shape transformation is more refined, giving him a natural advantage in fields requiring precise control.
⟩ Barrier Mastery: This child is born with a high learning talent for barrier-type ninjutsu, allowing him to quickly master, improve, and create barrier techniques.
› The barriers he sets up last longer, cover a wider range, and have a significantly increased difficulty to dismantle.
› He can perceive the weak points of barriers and can also dismantle others' barriers in a short period of time.
⟩ Ice Release Talent: This child is born mastering the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, which fuses water and wind, and can use it without any cultivation.
› He can manipulate ice crystals for offense, defense, and sealing, and can even create an ice mirror maze to trap enemies or move around.
› His Ice Release multiplies in power in cold environments and can also play a huge role in places with abundant water.
⟩ Wanderer: This child is destined in this lifetime to be unable to stay in one place for long, always on the road, always saying farewell.
› He naturally yearns for the faraway and loves to explore the unknown, but because of this, he has far more opportunities than ordinary people to encounter fortuitous chances, lost ninjutsu, ancient ruins, and hidden powerhouses.
› He will witness a broader world and get to know all kinds of people.
› This trait grants him a massive increase in the learning speed and power of space-time ninjutsu; the more places he travels and the broader his horizons, the higher the bonus to his space-time ninjutsu, and this bonus has no upper limit.
› Furthermore, his wilderness survival ability is strong, making him unlikely to get lost or trapped.
⟩ Business Genius: This child is born with a strong business mind, proficient in ninja tool trade, intelligence trading, and resource allocation.
› He can keenly capture market trends, buying and selling at the most opportune moments.
› He can secure maximum benefits through negotiation and can also obtain scarce resources through his network of connections.
Gento's gaze slowly swept across these five traits.
First to be ruled out was Scant Chakra; this talent trait's power was too low.
Barrier Mastery and Ice Release Talent each had their merits, but they were not stunning enough.
Business Genius, if nurtured well, could make him a finance minister, but it was not what he wanted most.
His gaze landed on the fourth trait, Wanderer.
This was a very special talent.
Instead of directly increasing combat strength, it enhanced space-time ninjutsu through "travels."
The further he traveled and the more he saw, the stronger he would become.
And the bonus had no upper limit!
With this talent trait being so incredibly powerful, wasn't it insanely overpowered?
If this child traveled to enough places in the future...
The picture would be too beautiful to even imagine.
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