Adopted by Tsunade [75-76] (Patreon)

Chapter 75: Yin Seal, The Eternal God

"Wake up, Natsume-sama."

Slug Sage spoke, "This is your first time sensing nature energy, don't rush it, or problems might arise."

Natsume, who was meditating, immediately opened his eyes.

He did feel a bit physically uncomfortable.

If he kept sensing, he might end up petrified or suffer other natural phenomena.

At that point, he'd become a stone.

"At this stage, you need to use external aids for sensing."

Slug Sage's gentle voice sounded again, "Once you can sense without aids and master the knack, you'll move to the next stage."

"How long will it take?"

Natsume remembered that even with Naruto's talent, it took him a week before he didn't need to rely on toad oil.

But Naruto's total training time for Sage Mode wasn't long—just over half a month, which was terrifyingly fast.

In contrast, Jiraiya was much slower.

"If you're quick, a few days. If you're slow, it's hard to say. The longest contract holder I've seen took a year."

Slug Sage recalled.

That's quite a range.

Natsume got up, put on his clothes, and prepared to go back for a bath.

Feeling all sticky was unpleasant.

"That's it for training today. You two can come back tomorrow."

Slug Sage paused, then added, "If you're willing to stay in Shikkotsu Forest for a while, I'd be very happy to have you."

At the end, there was even a hint of excitement.

It was all due to loneliness.

But unfortunately, both Tsunade and Natsume had things to do in Konoha and couldn't stay.

They used the Reverse Summoning Technique.

The two returned home.

Natsume immediately ran to the bathroom to take a shower.

Tsunade lay on the sofa, turned on the TV, but was lost in thought.

Kids really do grow up.

What would the future hold?

Tsunade was a bit troubled.

But no matter what, she'd watch Natsume master Sage Mode before pulling away.

After all, a promise is a promise.

…

Afternoon.

Natsume took some time to visit the Gunma Casino in Tanzaku Quarters.

Because of Uchiha Shisui, he had specially built a small underground lab for Kabuto Yakushi to use.

"How's it going?"

Natsume opened the door, and a strong medicinal scent wafted out.

"Uchiha Shisui is out of danger," Kabuto replied without looking up, "but it'll take some time before he wakes up."

"Not bad."

Natsume nodded, then reminded, "You need to keep an eye on him, don't let him commit suicide."

"Don't worry. He won't get the chance."

Kabuto's tone was calm.

That's so like you.

Natsume could already see the makings of a future villain.

"Then keep busy, I won't disturb you."

He didn't know anything about medicine, so staying would just make him a burden.

After that, he went to play with Hinae and Karin for a while, then went home.

…

Half a month later, Natsume officially entered the next stage of Sage Mode training—the hardest part.

He had to draw natural energy into his body and balance it with his physical and spiritual energies in a 1:1:1 ratio, finally forming senjutsu chakra.

A very time-consuming stage.

But Natsume wasn't worried at all—in fact, he was quite happy.

For a simple reason.

His hug-pillow days were prolonged.

He couldn't miss out on Tsunade's opportunity.

Anyway, for now, the ninja world was relatively peaceful.

The biggest villains, Akatsuki, were busy making money.

Konoha and the Uchiha clan were searching for the missing Uchiha Shisui and a mysterious Wood Release user.

Sand, Rock, and Cloud villages had nothing major going on.

Only Mist Village was in deep trouble.

Because Uchiha Obito was avenging Nohara Rin.

Natsume planned to visit there to earn some fate points after mastering Sage Mode.

Another day of chakra exhaustion.

He felt weak in the legs, barely able to greet Slug Sage before leaving Shikkotsu Forest.

Tsunade would come by to watch his training whenever she could.

If she was busy, Slug Sage would look after him.

…

Tanzaku Quarters.

Natsume collapsed into Hinae's arms, closing his eyes, looking completely paralyzed.

"Give me a massage," he murmured weakly.

"You can bite me if you want," Hinae offered softly, stretching her jade-like arm to his mouth. She knew he was training Sage Mode lately and often ran out of chakra.

"What nonsense," Natsume mumbled, unwilling to do something so self-destructive.

Hinae bit her lip, feeling a bit helpless. After a moment, her face flushed slightly as she made a decision. Natsume was still lying there with his eyes closed when suddenly he felt something warm and soft press against his lips.

His eyes fluttered open in surprise to see Hinae had pulled aside her top, exposing her full, creamy breast. The rosy nipple brushed tantalizingly against his mouth.

"It's the effect of the Yin Seal," Hinae explained in a hushed tone, her cheeks pink. "Though I haven't finished mastering it yet. But my chakra-infused milk should help restore your energy quickly."

Natsume was stunned for a moment before instinct took over. He latched onto her nipple, drawing the warm, sweet liquid into his mouth. As he suckled, he could feel strength and chakra flooding back into his body.

Hinae gasped softly, running her fingers through his hair as she cradled him to her chest. "That's it," she cooed. "Drink your fill."

After several long moments, Natsume reluctantly pulled away, licking his lips. "Yin Seal—the eternal god!" he exclaimed reverently.

He relaxed against Hinae's soft body, reaching over to massage her breasts in gratitude. She shivered at his touch, her eyes becoming moist with pleasure.

"We should be careful," she whispered. "If Karin walked in, it would be quite the predicament."

But neither made any move to separate as Natsume continued to knead and caress her sensitive flesh.

He had to admit—the Uzumaki clan really was blessed.

…

Who knows how long passed before Natsume woke up.

He had fallen asleep during the massage.

It was just too comfortable.

Plus, he was tired from Sage Mode training that morning.

Natsume wiped his fingers, remembering how his unconscious hand had been through just now.

"I'll come again tomorrow."

"Mm."

Hinae answered softly with her head down.

After he left, she collapsed onto the sofa as if all her strength had left her.

Focusing on one thing was tiring enough, but she had to focus on three things.

Natsume stopped by the ninja academy.

He looked over and saw people sparring on the playground—not far away.

And they were familiar faces.

Sasuke and Naruto.

Natsume became interested and went over.

"You are…?"

The first-grade Class A teacher, Hirai Hikari, noticed him and asked.

"I'm Natsume. I know Naruto and Sasuke, so I came to take a look."

Natsume replied, watching the battle in front of him.

The fight had just started—they were comparing taijutsu and ninja tools.

The fight was pretty even; it was hard to tell who had the upper hand at the moment.

"Oh, it's you."

Hirai Hikari smiled. "I've heard your name, you're quite impressive."

Natsume's achievements had been heavily promoted by Hiruzen Sarutobi.

He was now a famous genius in Konoha, just like Kakashi Hatake had been.

The situation in the field changed.

Sasuke, unable to win, quickly pulled back, gritted his teeth, and began weaving hand signs.

Fire Style: Great Fireball!

But it wasn't a huge fireball like in the original, just a basketball-sized one.

Clearly, he hadn't mastered it yet.

But given his age, it was impressive.

Unfortunately, he was up against Naruto.

Sasuke already had a few cheats, but Naruto was just playing on another level.

He started the game with maxed-out chakra stats.

Wind Style: Gale Palm!

Naruto clapped his hands. His chakra turned into violent wind, blowing out the fireball and knocking Sasuke away.

"Naruto wins."

Hirai Hikari immediately announced, "For this test, Naruto is still number one."

Naruto ignored him and ran to Sasuke, reaching out with a bright smile.

"Sasuke, are you okay? I just got lucky this time. Next time might be different. Let's work hard together!"

Sasuke snorted and brushed his hand away, sulking and clearly unconvinced.

Chapter 76: Partial Expansion Jutsu

"Big brother!"

Naruto spotted Natsume and dragged the reluctant Sasuke over.

"This is my new friend, Sasuke—a really talented genius!"

"I'm not your friend!"

Sasuke interjected grumpily, "You're just a stepping stone on my ninja path. I'll kick you aside one day!"

"You two get along well."

Natsume couldn't help but laugh.

Without the trauma of the Uchiha Clan Massacre, Sasuke was still a normal kid.

Because of his lifelong bond with Naruto, he enrolled early, but lost every sparring match so far.

Over time, he naturally grew dissatisfied.

"Sasuke, let me introduce you."

Naruto understood his personality and just ignored his words.

"No need."

Sasuke put his hands in his pockets and lifted his chin. "He's my brother's friend; I probably knew him before you did."

Boys—even the smallest things become a competition.

"Where's your brother? Why isn't he picking you up?"

Natsume glanced around. It was already after school, but he hadn't seen Itachi.

"He's really busy now. My mom always picks me up."

Sasuke's expression dimmed. Compared to his mom, he preferred his brother.

At that moment, a bearded ninja appeared in front of them.

Natsume was puzzled until Naruto shouted, "Uncle Sarutobi!"

"I'm Sarutobi Seinosuke."

Sarutobi Seinosuke smiled, "You're Natsume, right? The old man at home always talks about you."

Old man? Another Sarutobi…

Could he be Hiruzen Sarutobi's eldest son—the mysterious father of Konohamaru?

Natsume was stunned.

Naruto added, "He's Grandpa Hokage's son, and my current Wind Style teacher."

Makes sense.

Having his own son teach the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is perfectly logical.

Because of Natsume, Naruto enrolled early and showed talent in Wind Style.

Currently, Danzo Shimura is the strongest Wind Style user in Konoha.

But Hiruzen wouldn't approve of that.

Kakashi specializes in Sharingan and Lightning Style, not a good fit either.

So, it was given to Sarutobi Seinosuke.

"See you, big brother."

Naruto left with Seinosuke.

Only Sasuke was left.

Natsume stayed, seeing Mikoto and wanting to say hello.

"Aunt Mikoto."

"Natsume? Long time no see."

Mikoto was surprised, "How's Lady Tsunade?"

"She's doing well. No worries about food or clothes."

Natsume's answer made Mikoto laugh.

"That's a funny way to put it."

She patted Sasuke's head, "I have to go make dinner. Let's talk next time."

Natsume watched them leave, then went home.

…

A new day.

Morning Sage Mode training, afternoon at Gunma Casino.

After replenishing chakra, Natsume ran to a nearby grove.

He wanted to train his eyes.

His sparring partner was, of course, Hinae.

She was quite strong now.

With her huge chakra reserves and sealing jutsu training, she was at least special jonin level.

"Come on, attack me."

Natsume activated his Sharingan, three tomoe spinning.

For just eye training, there was no need for the Mangekyo.

"Careful."

Hinae immediately threw six shuriken, fast and with varied trajectories, dazzling to the eye.

But in Natsume's eyes, they were slow.

He dodged easily and raised his hand, "Use Shadow Clone Jutsu."

A single Hina wasn't enough of a challenge.

But with nine at once, even Natsume would have a hard time.

An afternoon passed; he was covered in battle scars.

Luckily, with Hinae, who wasn't a medical ninja but had natural healing talent, minor injuries were no problem.

…

Night

At the barbecue shop.

Natsume was packing a late-night meal for Hinata.

He ran into an old acquaintance.

Shitō Akimichi.

Back during the Konoha-Cloud war, their team had saved this jonin.

"Natsume!"

Shitō Akimichi's chubby face broke into a goofy smile, "Let me pay."

"Uncle Shito."

Natsume quickly shook his head, "No need to trouble you."

"Nonsense! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't even have the chance to eat barbecue now."

Shito turned to the owner, "Put it on my tab!"

"Alright!"

The Akimichi clan are regulars here, so the owner smiled, "That'll be 120,000 ryo."

"…?"

Shito nearly fell over.

"I'll take care of it."

Noticing his expression, Natsume quickly paid.

Jonin are supposed to be rich, but in reality, not so much.

After all, an S-rank mission pays just over a million ryo.

But there aren't that many S-rank missions to do.

As for the 120,000 ryo, it was because Hinata's appetite had grown again.

"No way!"

Shito quickly waved his hand, "I'll pay!"

Although it hurt, it was a life debt.

"Uncle Shito, if you really want to thank me, how about teaching me a jutsu?"

Natsume suddenly had an idea.

"No problem!"

Shito patted his chest, "What do you want to learn?"

"Partial Expansion Jutsu."

Natsume wanted to say Multi-Size Jutsu, but that was a clan secret, so he settled for the simpler version.

Shito hesitated.

Technically, even the simplified version shouldn't be taught.

But Natsume had saved him, and he was Tsunade's student—no way he'd betray Konoha.

Besides, the Akimichi clan's core secret is the special food pills, their forbidden medicine.

Just learning Partial Expansion doesn't mean much.

"Alright."

Shito nodded, "When do you have time?"

"How about tomorrow at 1 pm, at Training Field 4?"

Natsume breathed a sigh of relief.

Partial Expansion Jutsu enlarges a part of the body.

How big depends on chakra control.

Natsume wanted to combine it with Sage Mode, which would be extremely powerful.

[Because of your actions, Tsunade's fate has changed. You gain 6 Fate points.]

[Because of your actions, Hinata's fate has changed. You gain 6 Fate points.]

[Because of your actions, Karin's fate has changed. You gain 6 Fate points.]

Natsume's eyes widened.

Is this for real?

These actions can change fate?

And three sixes in a row.

To this, Natsume could only say: Nice job!

After saying goodbye to Shito, he returned home, then used Reverse Summoning to appear before Hinata.

Since he visited every night, Hinata was used to it now.

She was no longer startled like before.

"Natsume-nii."

Hinata gave a cute, slightly shy smile, full of joy.

Seeing Natsume was now the thing she looked forward to most every day.

Because her days were so hard.

Training, training, and more training—plus her father Hiashi's disappointed look and Neji's cold attitude.

"Barbecue tonight."

Natsume patted her head, "I'll buy you chicken legs tomorrow."

For some reason, Hinata's favorite food was chicken legs.

If this were his previous life, she'd be crazy for KFC's Crazy Thursday.

"So tasty…"

Hinata said as she ate, "I—I'll pay you back for the food someday."

She meant the cost of the late-night snacks.

Natsume was stunned.

He remembered that Hinata was the real rich girl here.

And Tsunade's riches were fake.

Tsunade still hadn't paid off all her debts.

Plus, Tsunade didn't like gambling in Gunma Casino—she thought it wasn't exciting enough, always going to others instead.

Natsume wanted to be a kept man, but as a man, he had to have some skills.

Raising Hinata? No problem!