"How long will it take?"
Naruto grumbled internally.
At first, he had been excited about the divine evolution of his soul, but now that thrill had faded, leaving only the dullness and tedium of waiting.
[Please be patient, host. It will take one hundred days to complete the fusion.]
"What?! One hundred days? By the time this is done, I'll have missed the entire season!"
Naruto was beyond frustrated. After thinking for a moment, his eyes suddenly lit up, "Right, I have the Hyperbolic Time Chamber! Couldn't I use that to speed up the fusion process?"
[During the divine fusion process, the host cannot engage in any actions. Please be patient and wait.]
"…"
Naruto was utterly speechless.
The inability to do anything meant that he was stuck waiting in place, and he couldn't even return to the Naruto World during this time.
"Won't I starve to death?"
Naruto was extremely worried. His thoughts were conveyed through his consciousness, but he couldn't even move his mouth, let alone eat. He felt completely helpless.
[Host, please do not worry. With a divine body, you do not need food to survive. If necessary, the system will call down heavenly thunder to assist in maintaining your divine health.]
"No, no, no."
Naruto sighed in resignation. He certainly didn't want to make things worse by being struck by lightning again, especially for no reason.
"Right, let me check in on Sandaime."
Although he couldn't move, Naruto didn't want to just sit idly by.
He had once obtained a pinhole camera, but he was in such a hurry to leave Konoha that he didn't take it with him. It was still in the Hokage's Office.
From the Hokage's Office, Naruto could access the latest news from Konoha and quickly learn about important events in the other villages as well.
It would be like watching a video… passing the time while staying connected to the world and not falling out of touch with everything happening.
Buzz!
In front of Naruto, a massive screen appeared out of nowhere. With just a thought, Naruto activated a holographic projection.
Simply put, it was as if Naruto was standing in the Hokage's Office, experiencing everything firsthand.
'As expected of the system's reward, it was top-notch. Even though I wasn't physically in the same world, I could still watch things unfold in real time.'
'The only flaw was that I was a mere spectator, unable to speak or change anything.'
Naruto just hoped that Sandaime wouldn't make any foolish decisions. Otherwise, the anxiety would surely drive him mad.
As Naruto was lost in his thoughts, the door to the Hokage's Office opened, and a Shinobi rushed in with a nervous expression: "Hokage-sama, Danzo-sama is dead!"
Bang!
Sandaime slammed his hand onto the desk and stood up, "What? I saw him just last night! There was no unusual activity overnight, so how could he suddenly die? What happened?"
The Shinobi reported, "We don't yet know who the attacker was. They set up a barrier to block any detection before they attacked Danzo-sama. The scene of the battle was chaotic, but all the techniques used were Danzo-sama's own. There were no signs of the attacker's presence, indicating that they were someone powerful and very cautious."
As he listened to the report, Sandaime activated his crystal ball.
Naruto's attention was also focused on the crystal ball.
Within the crystal ball, Danzo's residence appeared clearly.
But it wasn't a residence anymore, it was a ruin. The ground was uneven, and charred buildings were toppled all around, evidence of an intense battle that had taken place.
'What on earth is going on?'
Naruto thought to himself, 'In the original work, it was Sasuke who killed Danzo, and Sasuke should have been with the unknown system's owner at this point. If Sasuke were in control, he would have gone after Itachi, not come to Konoha to kill Danzo. So, this couldn't have been Sasuke's doing.'
'But if it wasn't Sasuke who did it, who else would choose to attack at Danzo at this time?'
'Since I hadn't intervened with Konoha's matter, the world would certainly follow the events as they happened in the original work. At this point in the original work, Danzo should still be alive.'
'No, there's one more person who can change the course of things… the unknown system owner!'
'That guy is very likely another transmigrator, maybe someone who has also watched Naruto, so he manipulated Sasuke to carry out major events from the original work. This would increase Sasuke's protagonist aura, and thus, his luck would grow stronger.'
'If that's the case, when the system owner attempts to possess or steal Sasuke's luck, they would gain even more.'
"'amn it!'
Naruto cursed inwardly. If it weren't for the fact that his divinity fusion was restricting his movement, he would have gone to investigate by now.
All he could do was feel anxious, and it was truly unbearable.
…
Meanwhile, in a forest.
Sasuke was soaking in a medicine barrel that emitted a green glow, with a figure in a black robe standing beside him.
Sasuke turned his head and asked, "Have you analyzed the results?"
The black-robed man replied in an androgynous voice, "It will take another hour."
"Then I'll leave it to you."
Sasuke didn't speak further. He was glad to have encountered the figure in the black robe, as it had allowed him to quickly find a clue. He couldn't help but recall the events of the past couple of days.
…
The day before yesterday.
He and the black-robed figure had been moving through the woods and finally arrived at a small town early yesterday morning.
Perhaps because it was morning, the streets of the town were empty. Seeing Sasuke looking around, the black-robed figure asked, "What are you looking for?"
Sasuke didn't hide the truth, "I'm looking for the local intelligence organization."
"Wait here a moment."
The black-robed figure said this, then stood still. A faint green light began to emanate from their body.
Not long after, the figure spoke again, "Follow me."
Sasuke was a bit puzzled but still followed along…
They passed through several streets, and in a narrow alleyway, the black-robed figure stopped in front of an old tavern with a worn-out sign.
"This is?"
Sasuke was puzzled. Even if he was hungry from the journey, this wasn't exactly the place he'd expect to eat.
The black-robed figure spoke nonchalantly, "This is the intelligence organization."
"Really?"
Sasuke hesitated, and doubt appeared in his eyes.
While he was glad to have the black-robed figure with him, he'd remained cautious the entire time. When they first entered the town, Sasuke had noticed from the black-robed figure's movements that they seemed unfamiliar with the area.
However, he felt the green light from the black-robed figure had clearly involved some kind of secret technique, so since they were here, Sasuke decided it wouldn't hurt to check it out.
Sasuke pushed open the tavern's door. The interior was no different from an ordinary tavern. Perhaps due to the early hour, there were only a few patrons inside.
Sasuke walked straight to the counter. The bartender, yawning, asked, "What can I get for you?"
Sasuke got straight to the point. "I'm not here to drink. I only need information."
Sensing that Sasuke is a Shinobi, the waiter's expression changed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure, "Sir, we're just a tavern here. We don't have the kind of information you're looking for."
"Oh? Really?"
Sasuke's keen perception was no joke. He could tell from the bartender's changing expression that the bartender was desperately trying to hide something.
This attempt to cover up only made Sasuke more certain that this place was, indeed, an intelligence organization.
"I won't make things difficult for you," Sasuke said coldly, "Have the person in charge come out and speak with me. Otherwise, don't blame me for destroying this tavern..."