Becoming a God by Increasing Favorability in Naruto

After accepting the mission, Furen checked the schedule. The Great Shrine Ceremony was in three days, giving him some time to prepare.

"Please take care, Furen," Tsunade said softly.

Furen had just returned from a negotiation mission in the Land of Snow that lasted over half a month. Now, barely two days later, he was setting off again. Anyone else would be exhausted from such high-intensity tasks. Tsunade was beginning to feel a sense of concern for him.

"No problem, Lady Tsunade." Furen flashed a confident smile, concealing his plans.

His first stop was to visit Sasuke, who, after awakening from Itachi's Tsukuyomi, had grown increasingly violent, realizing his own weakness. Furen wasn't visiting out of concern or any sense of bond. Instead, he wanted to ensure that Sasuke and his actions remained within his control, minimizing potential disruptions.

Furen was indifferent to the changes in Sasuke or anyone else. His focus was on maintaining control over as many aspects as possible. His strength wasn't yet at the level where he could ignore everything. Many powerful figures lurked in the shadows: the Rinnegan-wielding Six Paths Pain of the Rain Village, Obito Uchiha manipulating the Akatsuki from the shadows with his Kamui Mangekyo, the slumbering Madara Uchiha, Toneri Otsutsuki on the moon, and the sealed Kaguya Otsutsuki. Not to mention Momoshiki and Urashiki, whom even Kaguya feared.

There were too many formidable figures hiding in the shadows, and reducing as many variables as possible was essential.

"Waiting on Tayuya's intel… Orochimaru's worn-out body can't hold out for much longer," Furen murmured.

After confirming Sasuke's state, Furen returned home to prepare.

The next day, he departed for the Land of Tea, which bordered the Land of Fire.

The Land of Tea, a small country without ninjas, was a peninsula state abundant in fresh water. The quadrennial Great Shrine Festival filled the villages with a unique energy.

"Jirocho, where is the person I'll be protecting?" Furen asked as he walked through the village streets with his client, Jirocho Wasabi.

Jirocho pointed to a man sitting on a nearby stone. "That's Idate Morino."

Furen nodded and approached Idate.

"I'm a ninja from Konoha, here to protect you during the event."

Idate glanced at Furen and scoffed. "I've told Lord Jirocho many times, I don't need any—"

Before he could finish, Furen shot him a piercing look.

Idate froze, his words caught in his throat, and his gaze became blank as he fell silent.

Using the Mind-Body Disturbance Jutsu, Furen controlled him completely, unfolding Idate's memories in the form of a scroll in his mind.

Furen wasn't here to waste time with a trivial mission. He only cared about information on Aoi Rokusho and the Thunder God Sword.

In Idate's memories, Furen recognized Aoi Rokusho's appearance. As expected, the items stolen from Konoha were all in Aoi's possession. Idate was like Naruto, who had been deceived by Mizuki into stealing the Scroll of Seals.

"Now to wait for Aoi Rokusho to appear. If I remember correctly, he was hired by the opposing faction for this festival." Furen patted Idate's cheek. "You behave yourself tomorrow."

Idate nodded mechanically and walked away to rest.

Furen turned and walked back toward Jirocho.

"It seems you've gotten acquainted," Jirocho said.

Furen nodded. "Yeah, sort of…"

The next day, the Great Shrine Ceremony in the Land of Tea began.

The competition involved representatives from the Mustard and Wasabi factions. They would depart from Keishi Port, cross the sea to the Amakusa Shrine in the northeast, retrieve a Dragon-Tiger Orb from the shrine, and race southward to the Great Shrine. The first to arrive would secure the victory.

Furen looked around and didn't see any sign of Aoi Rokusho among the Wasabi faction's representatives. After a thorough check, he frowned. "Could his memories have been wrong?"

"Ready… begin!"

The festival's quadrennial race officially started. The Mustard faction's runner, Ikuto, boarded a boat to Amakusa Shrine, while Idate turned and ran in the opposite direction, seemingly abandoning the race.

"Where did Aoi Rokusho go?"

Furen knew that Idate had calculated that the opposing sea route would be slowed by the wind, so he planned to take the land route to gain an advantage. But the others were unaware, and they began scolding Idate.

Furen frowned, then relaxed, performing the Shadow Clone Jutsu. "I won't let you escape…"

He sent clones along both routes the contestants took, while his main body followed Idate.

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T/N:

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