Chapter 572: Incredible Future

Sasuke looked at Kakashi and began to speak:

"Two years ago, I was on a mission with Rock Lee. At that time, we were protecting Wesley and had to kill a woman from an opposing faction."

Kakashi pondered for a moment, recalling that Wesley is one of Lord Charles's subordinate.

"That woman looked exactly like the one we encountered today," Sasuke continued. "I suspect she is the same person. In this world, it's impossible for two people to look exactly alike."

"However, I don't know how she could have been resurrected. I checked her body back then and confirmed she was dead."

Hearing Sasuke's words, Sakura breathed a sigh of relief, thinking, "Thank goodness Sasuke-kun doesn't like that type of woman."

Naruto, curious as always, suggested, "Maybe Rock Lee didn't actually kill her. Maybe she was just knocked out."

Sasuke shook his head. "My examination was thorough. She was definitely dead."

Naruto wanted to say more, but Kakashi interjected, "Lord Charles has always emphasized that this world contains different kinds of power. Perhaps someone revived her, or maybe they aren't the same person after all."

"Whatever the truth is, we'll report this situation back. The High Table is better equipped to handle investigations and record-keeping than we are. Once they look into it, we'll know the truth."

Sasuke nodded. As a member of the High Table, he could directly order an investigation into someone's background.

"Alright, let's not dwell on this too much. Our main task is to find the Golden Kingdom. Lord Charles mentioned this mission is tied to your Chunin exams. Completing it will allow you to be promoted to Chunin."

Naruto was the most excited upon hearing about the Chunin promotion. "Great! I'll definitely find this place."

Sakura also smiled with joy, but Sasuke remained indifferent. Having been in this world longer than the others and already surpassing Chunin-level strength, he didn't care much about the promotion. However, considering that Obito was a Chunin, Sasuke felt he couldn't lag behind his clan member.

Kakashi led the members of Team 7 as they resumed their journey to find the Golden Kingdom.

…

Meanwhile, on the other side:

Charles Doyle, after some contemplation, decided not to purchase Kushina Uzumaki immediately. His current funds were insufficient. Besides, with Naruto away, there wasn't an urgent need.

Charles believed that by the end of the month, he would have enough coins to recruit Kushina. If he has enough coins, he could also bring in a young Minato Namikaze, giving Naruto a complete family.

He wondered if the young Minato would feel a bit awkward about suddenly becoming a father, considering that during this period, Kushina was just his girlfriend and not yet pregnant.

With his plan set, Charles spent 50,000 coins to unlock a new battle slot. He then materialized Asuma Sarutobi and one of the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya.

…

After receiving the message from Charles, Orochimaru, Tsunade, Shikamaru and Anbu Yamato entered the conference room.

Tsunade spotted the two new arrivals. She didn't immediately recognize Asuma Sarutobi, but her eyes quickly landed on Jiraiya.

Seeing Jiraiya, Tsunade broke into a smile and promptly delivered a punch to his chest.

"Jiraiya, you're finally here, brought over by Lord Charles. Now our team of three is complete."

Orochimaru greeted him as well, "Jiraiya, long time no see!"

Jiraiya clutched the spot where Tsunade had hit him, yelling, "Ouch, you violent woman!"

"And it hasn't been that long. You just disappeared from my sight, and not even two seconds later, Lord Charles brought me over too."

Tsunade and Orochimaru quickly noticed Jiraiya's attire and understood the situation.

"That's your perspective. We've been in this world for quite some time now."

In the conference room, Charles spoke up, "Tsunade, Orochimaru, Jiraiya is your friend, so I leave him in your hands."

"Orochimaru, make sure to teach Jiraiya about the essential knowledge of this world."

"Yes, Lord Charles."

Tsunade, taking on the role of the big sister, said energetically, "Follow me, Jiraiya."

"Let's have a good reunion first. Later, Orochimaru will catch you up on this world's knowledge."

With that, Tsunade and Orochimaru led Jiraiya out of the conference room.

Meanwhile, Asuma Sarutobi was wide-eyed. He had just seen his father's murderer, Orochimaru, chatting and laughing with Tsunade and Jiraiya.

Although he wasn't entirely sure about his initial suspicions based on their appearances and attire, his mind was struggling to make sense of the situation.

"Shikamaru, this is your teacher, Asuma Sarutobi."

"I'll leave him to you. It's your responsibility to teach him the common knowledge here."

"Yes, Lord Charles."

Asuma's gaze fell on Shikamaru. Recognizing his student, he was relieved and surprised to see him in this world. Now, Shikamaru would be the one to explain things to him, which was fortunate as Asuma had many questions.

As Shikamaru and Asuma left, the conference room was left with only Anbu Yamato.

Yamato looked at Lord Charles, standing quietly without saying a word.

Charles then entered the system space and took down Anbu Yamato from the battle slot.

"Confirm retrieval of Anbu Yamato?"

"Yes!"

With Charles's confirmation, Anbu Yamato in the conference room began to turn transparent and slowly faded away.

Looking at the ninja cards of Anbu Yamato and Jonin Yamato, Charles decided to fuse them.

"Confirm fusion of Anbu Yamato and Jonin Yamato ninja cards?"

"Yes!"

With Charles's actions, the cards fused into a single entity: Yamato (Fused).

After the fusion was complete, Charles opened the ninja details to take a look. He noticed that Yamato's appearance had matured significantly, making him look older and more experienced. Additionally, his ninjutsu skills had increased. Most importantly, Charles found that Yamato's chakra reserves had more than doubled.

This increase was due to combining Jonin Yamato, who had reached his peak, with his Anbu self. The only thing left to confirm was whether Yamato's Wood Release (Mokuton) techniques had also improved.

After reviewing Yamato's ninja card, Charles placed him back in the battle slot.

"Please choose the specific location to deploy Yamato (Fused): previous location within three meters - any position - random deployment!"

"Previous location!"

With Charles's choice, Yamato reappeared in the conference room, but with noticeable changes in his attire and appearance.

The newly materialized Yamato stood motionless, as Charles knew he was absorbing his merged memories. As the combined memories from his future flashed through his mind like a movie, Yamato was astonished by all the events that had transpired.

The Third Hokage's death, Orochimaru's betrayal and killing of his teacher, Tsunade becoming the Fifth Hokage, and Yamato himself leading Team 7—all these events were beyond belief.

Yamato took a moment to sense his new strength, realizing that he was now far stronger than he had ever been, whether as an Anbu or as the Jonin in charge of Team 7.

Kneeling on one knee, Yamato respectfully said, "Thank you, Lord Charles, for this second chance."

"Rise, Yamato."

"Now, go to Training Ground 2. I want to see if your Wood Release abilities have improved."

"Yes, Lord Charles!"

With that, Yamato left the conference room and headed to Training Ground 2, eager to test his enhanced abilities.