Talent Entry Ninja of Konoha

"By the way, have you investigated Obito?"

While observing Konoha in this parallel world, Ryosuke asked Sakumo next to him.

Along the way, when villagers saw Sakumo, the Fourth Hokage, they would smile and nod in greeting, and some would even give him food.

It was clear that Sakumo was very popular among the common people.

Otherwise, he would not have been selected as the Fourth Hokage.

Although the choice of Hokage is actually decided by Konoha's ruling council, public approval is also an important factor.

If someone is widely disliked, even if the council supports them, it would be pointless.

"I've checked, but the current Obito is normal, just a regular Chūnin. He's in Minato's team—my son Kakashi is also in that class." Sakumo said.

"That's right, it's probably coming soon." Ryosuke said.

After all, if you count the time, Obito "died" after Kakashi became a Jōnin at the age of 12.

And now, Kakashi is 12 years old, and Sakumo mentioned in the group before that his son had just been promoted to an official Jōnin not long ago.

So, if nothing unexpected happens, this is likely the time for Madara to manipulate Obito and fake his death.

"It's not easy to intervene in this matter. As Hokage, I can't personally go to the front line." Sakumo said with a troubled expression.

In fact, when Minato's team had left the village earlier, Sakumo had considered going with them.

But Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't approve this. There was nothing he could do.

"Leave it to me. I just have something to ask Madara." Ryosuke said lightly.

His purpose in coming to this parallel world was simple—to convert more advanced talent entries.

And Madara was still alive, albeit very old.

But that didn't matter. Ryosuke could still extract three gold talent entries from him.

Additionally, there was Obito in this world.

He was curious—would Obito in two different worlds yield the same talent entries?

If they were identical, he would have to upgrade and synthesize them.

If they were different, he could equip them separately.

However, if Obito's life experience remained unchanged, there was a high probability that his talent entry wouldn't change either.

"Sakumo-senpai, you might as well tell me in detail about some of the unique aspects of your world." Ryosuke said on the way.

"Well, let's start with some well-known figures. What about the legendary Sannin here? Has Orochimaru defected?"

Considering that Sakumo in this world was a disciple of Sarutobi Hiruzen, Ryosuke suspected that the Sannin's story might have some changes here.

"Orochimaru hasn't defected yet." Sakumo said, shaking his head.

But Ryosuke's words made him think.

So… does that mean Orochimaru will defect in the future?

Why?

Sakumo really wanted to ask, but for now, he answered Ryosuke's initial question.

"As for Jiraiya, he's currently on the front line at Kumogakure."

"As for Tsunade, he's on the front line at Sunagakure." Sakumo said.

"He?"

Ryosuke paused, turning to look at Sakumo.

"Did you just refer to Tsunade as him?"

"That's right."

Sakumo nodded and said, "Actually, I wanted to mention this earlier but forgot. In my world, Tsunade is a man."

Ryosuke: "…"

Tsunade is a man?!

That's a big difference!

Ryosuke truly hadn't expected this. It genuinely surprised him.

"Anything else?" Ryosuke asked.

He wanted to see if there were any other major differences in Sakumo's world.

"I'm not sure—Ryosuke, is Orochimaru in your world male or female?" Sakumo asked.

Ryosuke hadn't brought it up before, which was why Sakumo asked.

"Male." Ryosuke said.

Although Orochimaru's gender had become ambiguous over time, at this particular point, before experimenting with body-switching techniques, he was still biologically male.

"Well, in my world, Orochimaru is a woman." Sakumo said.

Ryosuke: "…"

Aunt Snake?!

Is this really you?!

Ryosuke shook his head in disbelief. He hadn't expected Orochimaru in this parallel world to actually be Aunt Snake.

Hmm.

Would she be attractive, though?

That thought popped into Ryosuke's head.

But he quickly shoved the idea away.

Terrifying!

Horrifying!

Why would he even think that?!

That's still Orochimaru!

"Well, it seems our worlds are quite different." Ryosuke said.

As they continued talking, Ryosuke learned even more differences between the two versions of the world.

For example, in Sakumo's world, the famous Ino–Shika–Chō trio were all sisters.

Their clans had a matriarchal tradition, with the clan leaders always being women.

They also had a tradition of inviting talented outsiders to marry into their clans.

So… Ino didn't exist?

Would there even be a Shikamaru in this world?

Additionally, Minato was single.

Yes!

In this world, he had never pursued Kushina.

According to Sakumo, this version of Minato was an ascetic warrior, completely devoted to training and perfecting his skills.

As a result, he might actually be even stronger than the Minato of other worlds.

Sakumo himself admitted he wasn't Minato's match.

The two had sparred before.

Against Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique, Sakumo had no countermeasures.

And Minato in this world had also developed techniques like Wind release: Rasenshuriken.

He was basically a fusion of Naruto and Minato.

Maybe this was the benefit of staying single—more time to train and study ninjutsu.

After some discussion, Ryosuke started feeling hungry, so Sakumo took him to Konoha's most famous Ichiraku Ramen for lunch.

Even though this was a parallel world, Ichiraku Ramen remained unchanged.

The owner was still Teuchi. But Ayame was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, there was a boy who looked a lot like Teuchi.

That was Teuchi's son in this world!

"Two Boneless Ramen!"

Sakumo brought Ryosuke inside and greeted the boss with ease.

"It's the Fourth Hokage, please sit down!"

The ramen shop owner smiled warmly, looking as harmless as ever.

Ryosuke glanced at him and felt a flicker of curiosity.

'Interesting.'

He sat down calmly, watching the boss prepare ramen.

In his previous life, there were internet jokes about the ramen shop owner.

Things like "Ōtsutsuki Teuchi" and such.

But Ryosuke could say with certainty that the ramen shop owner in his world was just an ordinary man.

But he definitely wasn't an Ōtsutsuki.

However...

The ramen shop owner in Sakumo's world was different.

Ryosuke sensed a very familiar energy from him.

That's right!

It was the aura of the Ōtsutsuki clan.

'Could this world's Teuchi actually be Ōtsutsuki Teuchi?' Ryosuke thought to himself.

Was this some grand cosmic entity just living a simple life?

Ryosuke secretly shook his head, still observing both the owner and his supposed son.

Well... the son seemed normal and not some disguised Ōtsutsuki.

But...

This couldn't be the owner's biological son.

Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense for an Ōtsutsuki to have a completely ordinary human child.

Maybe he was artificially created, like White Zetsu, but more refined.

Or perhaps, he was simply adopted.

Who knew?

Ryosuke had no interest in digging deeper.

Soon enough—

Their ramen arrived.

"Try it. I've always thought Ichiraku Ramen is the best in Konoha." Sakumo said.

Ryosuke picked up his chopsticks and took a bite.

Oh?

Not bad!

Ichiraku Ramen in this world had a unique taste.

Compared to his own world's version, it had a special quality to it.

How to describe it?

The key was in the noodles themselves.

After all, this ramen was made by an Ōtsutsuki.

Not an ordinary man like in Ryosuke's world.

"Amazing taste!"

Ryosuke commented.

Sakumo chuckled.

As they ate, they chatted about casual topics.

The ramen shop was empty today.

Teuchi watched them with a smile but couldn't help but wonder.

'Who is this boy?'

'Why does he feel so dangerous?'

'Could he be from the Ōtsutsuki clan?'

Once they finished, Sakumo paid. Ryosuke's money might not work here, after all.

Different world, different currency.

Leaving the ramen shop, Ryosuke told Sakumo he wanted to explore alone.

Sakumo hesitated but, seeing Ryosuke's insistence, agreed.

Besides, he had to return to the Hokage's office.

Otherwise, Sarutobi Hiruzen would overthink things again.

Sigh~!

People with complicated minds tend to complicate everything.

Sakumo had no intention of reclaiming full Hokage authority. Lately, he had been focused on training.

After all, he had joined the Hokage chat group.

And according to the Sixth Hokage, Ryosuke, the group would expand, potentially adding group tasks in the future.

If his strength was too weak, he might not even qualify.

Speaking of weak, Sakumo thought about Sarutobi Hiruzen in the group.

"So... is the Third Hokage really the weakest?" Sakumo pondered.

After all, he ranked at the very bottom.

Though, Sakumo himself wasn't far above.

After parting ways with Sakumo, Ryosuke wandered through Konoha.

At the same time, his Kagura Mind's Eye spread across the entire world.

Except for certain areas that blocked his senses, he could see almost everything.

"Obito and the others are still on a mission. Madara hasn't made a move yet, but it should be soon."

"The Akatsuki's base is still in Amegakure, but the central tower blocks my senses. Interesting... It seems the Akatsuki of this world is different!"

"Hmm? Danzō is placing a curse mark on his subordinates? Of course. Even in another world, he's just as despicable."

"This hidden island… Must be the Kara Organization's base. Just like in my world, they chose an overseas location."

"Oh~! Is that the male version of Tsunade? He's quite handsome. Still has time for romance on the battlefield? Heh~!"

"Well… Aunt Snake does look pretty, but still… that's Aunt Snake. It's okay to admire from a distance but I shouldn't get involved!"

Ryosuke observed everything with Kagura Mind's Eye.

While some locations blocked his senses, most were under his watch.

This allowed him to discover many interesting things.

After exploring Konoha, he planned to visit these places.

Gathering biological biopheromomes from a parallel world…