Naruto: Drop System

These past few days, Yagyu experienced firsthand what it felt like to be a superstar, similar to Naruto after saving Konoha and the ninja world. Upon learning that there was someone in the village, besides the Hokage, who was a direct descendant of the First Hokage and possessed his legendary Wood Style bloodline limit, crowds of villagers gathered outside Yagyu's house daily.

Not only were Konoha's villagers present, but many common folk from the Land of Fire and even neighboring countries traveled long distances to either gather outside Yagyu's home or to visit the forest created by his Advent of a World of Flowering Trees.

It was just like when people traveled far to witness the Sharingan during the Chunin Exams.

Wood Style was even more famous than the Sharingan, as it was a bloodline limit that only the God of Shinobi had before Yagyu. Now, with Yagyu as the sole known wielder of Wood Style, and being a descendant of the Senju clan, he had essentially become a national treasure.

Even Karin was so overwhelmed by the attention that she had been staying at Tsunade's house for the past few days.

Yagyu was in the same situation.

Until the public frenzy subsided, he had to use Transformation Jutsu just to go out in public.

As a result, Tsunade arranged a mission for Team 8, hoping it would give Yagyu some time to relax until things calmed down. And the person who made the mission request was none other than... Shino Aburame.

"Shino, what's going on?" Kurenai Yuhi placed her hand on Shino's shoulder and scolded, "If you need help, just tell your teacher. Why go through the trouble of making a mission request?"

"Yeah, Shino, we're all teammates. We're here to help you," Hinata added with a nod.

Yagyu frowned slightly, clearly displeased. "Shino, do you not see us as your comrades?"

"No, it's not like that. Let me explain," Shino, usually cool and mysterious, seemed flustered as he shook his head and hands. "This mission was actually requested by my clan. I need to find an extremely rare insect known as the Dream-Scent Bug. These insects are incredibly scarce, only laying eggs every few years, and there's only a ten percent chance of finding them. I didn't want to waste your time."

"Even so, it would just be a little time wasted. We could use it as a chance to relax," Kurenai said as she playfully tapped Shino on the head. She then turned to Tsunade, who was frowning in thought, and said, "Lady Hokage, please cancel Shino's mission request. Team 8 would like to request a few days off instead."

After speaking, Kurenai looked at Yagyu and Hinata. "You two don't mind, right?"

"Of course not."

"Mhm."

Both Yagyu and Hinata smiled and nodded in agreement.

"You guys…" Shino felt a warm surge in his heart, though it was hard to tell his expression behind his glasses and high collar.

Tsunade didn't immediately approve Kurenai's request. She still wore a thoughtful expression, as if something had just dawned on her. Suddenly, she looked surprised and asked Shino, "Shino, this rare insect you mentioned—is it the Micro-Scent Bug?"

"Yes, Lady Hokage," Shino replied respectfully.

"Micro-Scent Bug?" Hinata looked at Shino in confusion, while Yagyu and Kurenai, like Tsunade earlier, fell into deep thought.

Before they could recall anything, Tsunade began to explain, "The Micro-Scent Bug is an endangered insect. Due to its extreme rarity, the Aburame clan stopped using it and now protects it. The last time the Aburame clan used the Micro-Scent Bug was during the Third Great Ninja War."

"It's said that its sense of smell is thousands of times more sensitive than that of ninja hounds, earning it the nickname 'The Dream-Scent Bug.'"

"Thousands of times more sensitive than a ninja hound's sense of smell?!" Kurenai and Hinata were both stunned, and even Yagyu was quite surprised.

If that was true, it suddenly made sense why the Third Hokage chose to remove Kiba from Team 8 rather than Shino.

Konoha had three great sensory clans, with the Hyuga clan ranked first, followed by the Inuzuka clan and the Aburame clan. Both the Inuzuka and Aburame clans specialized in sensory perception based on smell.

It was hard to determine which clan was superior in sensory abilities. However, ninja often relied on ninja hounds from the Inuzuka clan for tracking because they were affordable and easy to train.

Dogs, after all, are man's loyal companions.

Unless someone was an Aburame, most ninjas—both men and women—would prefer using dogs over bugs.

By breeding and raising ninja hounds for others, the Inuzuka clan, while not the most powerful, maintained their status as one of Konoha's great ninja clans.

In sensory perception, the Inuzuka clan had a slight advantage.

However, in combat, the Aburame clan's insects were far more dangerous and tricky, with many even possessing venom, giving the Aburame an edge in battle.

On the surface, it seemed the two clans were evenly matched, each with its strengths.

But now, with the appearance of the Dream-Scent Bug, the Inuzuka clan couldn't compare. The depth of the Aburame clan's resources was on a whole different level.

A bug with a sense of smell thousands of times greater than a ninja hound's—what did that even mean? It wasn't just about the range of detection. The bug could probably detect things a dog couldn't even sense.

It could possibly track faint traces that had long since dissipated.

Realizing this, Yagyu couldn't help but feel a chill.

He genuinely had no idea such a creature as the Micro-Scent Bug existed.

Had he known, he certainly wouldn't have only washed away his scent in the Naka River during the Konoha Crush Plan.

Fortunately, the Aburame clan had stopped using and protected the bug. Otherwise, Yagyu might have left a fatal flaw.

As this thought crossed his mind, Yagyu realized that he might have underestimated the ninja clans.

Konoha might no longer be the strongest in terms of overall power, but it definitely had the deepest foundations.

The Aburame clan alone possessed both nanoscopic poisonous insects and the Dream-Scent Bug. Who knew what other secrets the other clans had hidden away?

Seeing Team 8's stunned expressions, Shino adjusted his glasses but remained silent. Though his mood had been heavy, it lightened considerably.

In truth, Shino had no choice but to seek out the Micro-Scent Bug.

Because... he was under a lot of pressure!

Kurenai's abilities had already reached their peak, so when she saw how exceptional Yagyu was, she could afford to take it easy.

But Shino, being in the same class as Yagyu and Hinata, couldn't afford to slack off.

Yagyu, now revealed to have Wood Style, was the superstar of the ninja world and almost guaranteed to be the future Sixth Hokage.

Hinata wasn't just the eldest daughter of the Hyuga clan's main branch; she had recently become a disciple of the Fifth Hokage. If she learned Tsunade's monstrous strength, Hinata would become an incredibly well-rounded Taijutsu master, with her small frame hiding an enormous amount of chakra, which even insects would envy.

Hinata was destined to become a major figure in Konoha.

In the context of the exceptional 60th generation, Hinata could potentially be in the top five, just behind Yagyu, Sasuke, and Naruto.

Compared to these two monsters, Shino felt painfully average.

He was far weaker than Yagyu in combat, and even in sensory perception, he was inferior to the more versatile Hinata.

If he didn't improve soon, he feared he would only drag them down.

So, after reviewing his clan's records, Shino made a rare request to his father—to allow him to search for the Micro-Scent Bug.

If he could find it, Shino would be among the top sensory ninjas in Konoha and wouldn't be a burden to Yagyu and Hinata.

Aware of Shino's pressure, his father, Shibi Aburame, agreed.

And so, here they were now.

Had Yagyu known Shino's thoughts, he would have burst out laughing.

Who would have thought that his mere presence would put so much pressure on Shino, the most reliable and mysterious undefeated champion of their generation?

"I see. I approve your request for time off," Tsunade said after confirming that Shino's quest for the Micro-Scent Bug was genuine. Originally, she had just wanted to give Yagyu a mission to let him relax, so she immediately granted Kurenai's request for a vacation.

With that, Team 8 returned to pack their things and, for the first time in several months, left the village together.

This time, Yagyu was in a great mood.

Unlike their previous outings, they didn't encounter any formidable enemies.

There were no Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, no Akatsuki's deadliest duo, and no immortal duo.

Without Yagyu, Team 8 might have been annihilated already.

Of course, without Yagyu, they probably wouldn't have run into such powerful enemies in the first place.

On this journey, it wasn't until after Hinata helped Shino find the Micro-Scent Bug that they encountered a few weak ninja also searching for the bug's eggs.

These enemy ninja controlled bees to ambush Team 8, but before Yagyu or Kurenai could act, Hinata used her Rotation to block all the bees. Then, with incredible force, she unleashed several chakra blasts, far more powerful than anything she had shown during the Chunin Exams, forming air cannons that instantly killed the enemy ninjas.

Her attacks were so powerful that the ninja were sent flying, coughing up blood, with their internal organs ruptured.

They quickly died where they landed.

This was how much Hinata had grown.

The Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist was already an advanced form of chakra control.

After becoming Tsunade's disciple, Hinata didn't immediately start learning Tsunade's super strength, as Sakura had, but instead incorporated the basic principle of the technique—chakra bursts—into her Gentle Fist.

This caused the power of her Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm to skyrocket.

Hinata, now studying the Healing Palm and some sealing techniques, had already achieved chakra control worthy of learning the Rotation.

Aside from a few secret Gentle Fist techniques, Hinata had mastered nearly all of the Hyuga clan's Taijutsu.

In fact, Hinata no longer needed to learn any more secret Gentle Fist techniques.

What she needed was to carve her own path, breaking through the Hyuga clan's limit, which made it difficult for them to produce Kage-level shinobi.

By mastering a balance of hard and soft Taijutsu, offensive medical ninjutsu, and possibly some sealing techniques, Hinata could raise her potential.

Seeing the dead bees and the defeated ninjas, Yagyu's memory stirred.

He remembered now!

He had seen this arc with the Micro-Scent Bug.

But what had stood out to him was the image of Hinata training her Gentle Fist under a waterfall at night, her movements as graceful as a dance.

It was one of her few iconic scenes.

If he remembered correctly, Hinata had even been captured by these ninjas.

But seeing these corpses, all killed by Hinata, Yagyu smiled in satisfaction.

Under his guidance, Hinata had already become far stronger than her original self.

Once she mastered Tsunade's super strength or further integrated chakra bursts into her Gentle Fist, like she had with her Vacuum Palm, by the time Shippuden came around, Hinata could very well surpass Sakura in strength. Even if she didn't learn the Strength of a Hundred Seal, she wouldn't be much weaker.

Hinata's transformation was so significant that it also meant Ino was rapidly progressing.

By the time Shippuden arrived, Konoha might very well have four Tsunade "knock-offs."

Thinking about this filled Yagyu with anticipation for Shippuden.

After this minor incident, Team 8 helped Shino collect the Micro-Scent Bug eggs and began their journey home.

Knowing that Yagyu was still "homeless," Team 8 didn't rush back to Konoha but instead continued their leisurely return, just as they had on their way out.

This time, Kurenai took them on a different route, leading them through various small towns, where they sampled local delicacies and drinks.

Whenever they passed through a scenic area, Kurenai had Yagyu take out his camera and snap photos of her and Hinata, or have Team 8 pose for group pictures.

Before they knew it, their time away from the village had stretched to over ten days.

Poof!

One day, while Yagyu was taking photos of Kurenai and Hinata, he suddenly vanished in a puff of white smoke.

"A shadow clone?" Shino and Hinata both instinctively assumed the Yagyu with them had been a clone.

"No, it wasn't a shadow clone," Kurenai said, her expression turning serious. "That was a reverse summoning technique. Yagyu has been summoned by a summoning beast."

"Yagyu-kun's summoning contract is with the Shikkotsu Forest, one of the three great summoning regions," Hinata said. "I'll summon a slug and ask what's going on."

As she spoke, Hinata prepared to form hand seals for the summoning.

Poof!

Before she could summon anything, a puff of white smoke appeared out of nowhere.

Yagyu reappeared in his original spot, camera in one hand and a scroll in the other. With a serious expression, he handed the scroll to Kurenai. "Sensei, we've received an emergency mission."

Kurenai opened the scroll, her face becoming just as serious as she read. She turned to Team 8 and said, "The Land of Wind has come under attack by an unknown enemy. Sunagakure has requested help from Konoha, and Lady Hokage has ordered us to go and support them immediately. Let's move!"

With that, Kurenai led the way, disappearing in a blur.

Team 8 followed closely behind.

Yagyu couldn't help but feel resigned.

He had hoped this trip would be a relaxing getaway, but it seemed fate had other plans. Could it be that having Asura's chakra really did come with the protagonist's curse?

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