Adopted by Tsunade [99-100] (Patreon)

Chapter 99: Tsunade Who Wants to Be Hokage

The Great Slug Sage's large eyes flashed with a hint of mischief and curiosity.

Getting to see another side of Tsunade today was totally worth it.

Stoking the fire, it said, "Tsunade-sama is right. This is indeed extremely dangerous. Whether to train or not is up to you."

"I want to train."

Natsume nodded without hesitation.

"Why?!"

Tsunade frowned, a bit angry.

If it were someone else, she'd have just knocked them out and dragged them away—why bother with all this?

"Because I'm the man who will become Hokage!"

Natsume said with firm resolve. "If I back down over a little hardship, wouldn't that stain my dream?"

Under the darkening sky, Tsunade looked into his still-bright eyes and found herself momentarily dazed.

A moment later, she ruffled his hair into a complete mess, then said, "Since you want to train, let's give it a try."

Though she'd cured her hematophobia, what she feared most was history repeating itself.

Stopping Natsume earlier was for that reason.

But his words just now made Tsunade realize that a grown child should indeed make his own decisions.

Also… it was kind of cool.

Tsunade's heartbeat sped up noticeably.

"Sit."

The Slug Sage was quite pleased with Natsume's decision.

This kind of resolve is exactly what an heir should have.

It could have doused him with a mouthful of adhesive acid—Natsume wouldn't withstand that at his current level.

But the Slug Sage wouldn't do something murderous.

It tilted its head back and expelled a massive amount of natural energy.

The gloomy sky immediately drew together a thick bank of dark clouds.

Moments later, acid rain began to fall.

Natsume clenched his teeth hard.

Under the corrosion, his skin rapidly ulcerated and bled, then soon healed and carbonized, revealing fresh new skin.

Watching him, Tsunade's face was openly filled with worry and heartache, as if the acid rain were falling on her heart.

What shocked her was that he didn't scream from the pain.

For the first time, she realized that when it came to this dream, Natsume was truly serious.

Hokage, huh?

 Tsunade tightened her fist.

It might be unlikely for others, but Natsume's chances were actually quite high.

Because he was her student.

Originally, Tsunade had no interest in the Hokage position, but now a rare fighting spirit was stirred.

She had to pave the way for Natsume.

Unfortunately, Tsunade misunderstood his dream.

Still, by a twist of fate, it wasn't really a problem.

If Tsunade became Hokage, Natsume's dream would also be realized.

No issue there.

The Slug Sage controlled the intensity of the acid rain and stopped supplying natural energy after half an hour.

The sky abruptly brightened.

Before it could speak, Tsunade had already placed both hands on Natsume's back, bathing his wounds in a rapid flow of green chakra.

Moments later, he was as good as new.

Natsume opened his eyes, feeling power surging through his whole body.

"You okay?"

Tsunade moved to stand before him, then suddenly pulled out some clothes, and tossed them to him.

"I'm fine."

Natsume struggled to his feet, put on the clothes, and, seeing how tense she looked, couldn't help but smile.

Nice!

 Nailed it.

"Go back and change properly."

Tsunade instinctively glanced down, then lost her composure first and escaped with Reverse Summoning.

"Good job, little big brother."

Natsume marched out of Shikkotsu Forest, brimming with pride.

…

Afternoon.

Tsunade went to the Hokage building.

Natsume headed to Hinata's room.

He'd been coming by frequently to help develop her talents.

"Natsume-nii."

Hinata immediately felt her heart settle.

Every time she sparred with Hiashi or Neji, she got flustered.

But for some reason, with Natsume, everything felt orderly.

"Let's go."

Natsume patted his back.

Hinata rose on tiptoe and wrapped her arms around his neck.

The Mangekyō Sharingan opened.

Another little running away from home.

Hinata rested her cheek on Natsume's shoulder, gazing at the distant sky, and a hard-to-describe feeling welled up inside.

She suddenly understood Neji a little.

Freedom really is too precious.

"We're here."

Natsume patted her back.

"Mm."

Hinata came back to herself and reluctantly let go, standing on her own.

Natsume turned, looked into her eyes, reached out to stroke her black hair. "Let's begin."

His Mangekyō Sharingan spun.

The light faded from Hinata's eyes as she fell into a genjutsu.

Natsume didn't idle—he began practicing the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Before long, his brows lifted. He left a shadow clone to watch over Hinata.

He himself turned and headed north.

The chakra fluctuations were growing stronger.

By a waterside, he finally saw two youths in Uchiha attire.

Both had their three-tomoe Sharingan open, sparring intensely—pretty brutal.

In battle, the Sharingan's greatest strength is prediction.

But when both sides have it, it turns into "I predict your prediction."

A real mind game.

One boy was Itachi.

The other girl was someone Natsume hadn't seen before.

Black hair, black eyes, young, gifted.

He could almost confirm it was Izumi.

A side character with little screen time.

She could be called Itachi's kindred spirit; she awakened three tomoe at thirteen.

In the anime, she died on the night of the clan massacre at the hands of Uchiha Obito.

Natsume's arrival was noticed by both, but it didn't affect them.

After a dozen minutes, Izumi lost.

Among the young generation's geniuses, few could match Itachi.

"Natsume, long time no see."

Itachi picked up the kunai and shuriken on the ground and greeted him.

Izumi looked surprised.

In her impression, it was rare for anyone to earn special regard from Itachi.

"Natsume?"

Izumi found the name oddly familiar, then realized, "Oh—you're Lady Tsunade's student. Hello, I'm Izumi."

Compared to Itachi's coolness, she was gentler and more enthusiastic.

"Nice to meet you."

Natsume replied sincerely.

In that moment, he was already considering how to earn Fate Points.

Because Izumi would be much easier to work with than Itachi.

Dying on massacre night is a pity—better to recruit her.

Ahem.

Natsume changed the subject. "I recall the Uchiha have a dedicated training ground. Why come to the Forest of Death to spar?"

Izumi hesitated at that.

"Recently, several ninja squads formed by our clansmen were attacked outside. All of them were acknowledged geniuses, so we came out to try our luck."

Itachi thought for a moment and answered.

He trusted Natsume more than most.

Besides, Natsume would learn of it soon anyway.

Natsume immediately thought of Orochimaru.

Only that research fanatic could execute so efficiently.

But he hadn't received any Fate Points.

Those missing Uchiha geniuses probably had no names in the original story.

There was one thing Itachi hadn't said.

Yes, the geniuses were attacked—but they didn't die. It was their teammates who did, and the corpses seemed to have been tortured.

PS: As for Tsunade's personality, some might feel she's too gentle with Natsume. That's because she's always seen him as a little brother who hasn't grown up yet. Later, she'll undergo a psychological shift—from sibling-like to romantic. Only then will her spoiled or fiery side show. It won't be excessive.

Chapter 100: Almost Bankrupted

Natsume didn't stay long.

Because Hinata was still in genjutsu.

He'd left a shadow clone, but that wasn't foolproof.

Speaking of which, Natsume had once tried discussing the same topic with Itachi.

That Hiruzen Sarutobi had betrayed the Will of Fire.

But as soon as he started, he nearly angered Itachi.

Natsume immediately understood that Itachi had likely been specially tutored by Hiruzen.

Makes sense.

Up to now, Hiruzen hadn't given up on the Uchiha.

But his methods were limited to Itachi.

Natsume returned to find that Hinata had woken early today.

Retrieving his shadow clone, he smiled. "Hinata, you improved."

"Eh?"

Hinata clearly hadn't realized, staring at him with wide eyes.

So cute.

Natsume pinched her cheek; her temperature shot up several degrees in an instant.

He wondered if Hinata had a built-in heater.

"Hinata, let's spar."

He ruffled her hair again before letting up.

Hinata, dazed, finally reacted nearly a minute later.

Head bowed, she asked, "Will… will I hurt you?"

"Silly girl."

Natsume lifted her chin, teasing, "In your current state, you can't hurt me. So open those lovely Byakugan."

Hinata turned into a steam engine again.

Moments later, she took some distance, opened her Byakugan, and settled into a Gentle Fist stance.

Natsume's eyes lit up.

Still as cute as ever, but now with a touch of cool.

Very different from her usual shy self.

It was his first time seeing it.

Hinata took a deep breath.

Her gaze reflected Natsume's chakra flow.

Before, she couldn't see through the body.

But with Natsume's help, now she could.

Only now did she realize how silly her earlier question was.

With Natsume unguarded, she clearly sensed that his chakra exceeded even Hiashi's.

Unbelievable.

He was only a few years older than her.

"Hinata, what are you looking at?"

Seeing her hesitate, Natsume called out, "Let's start."

Then he remembered the Byakugan's x-ray-like function.

Was the little one… ahem, probably not.

Otherwise, she would've fainted already.

Hinata stepped forward and struck a quick punch.

Natsume raised his arm to block.

Not bad power.

Hinata shifted from fist to palm, her chakra forming needles that hit his tenketsu.

Natsume's forearm tingled slightly, and he felt his chakra flow skew.

He nodded inwardly.

In normal combat, Byakugan, Gentle Fist, and point-striking are actually quite strong.

Unfortunately, ordinary Hyūga tend to cap out at jōnin.

In the late-game kaiju slugfest, they're relegated to support.

Unless they evolve into Tenseigan.

But that's very hard.

Either you stack a massive amount of Byakugan, or you combine with Ōtsutsuki chakra.

For the former, even slaughtering the entire Hyūga clan might not be enough.

For the latter, Ōtsutsuki are few and strong—you can't beat them.

While dodging, Natsume pondered how to strengthen Hinata.

A name suddenly popped into his head.

Kimimaro.

He had a bloodline limit that was absolutely connected to the Ōtsutsuki—Shikotsumyaku, the Dead Bone Pulse.

And the Kaguya clan seemed to have generational ties with the Hyūga.

Kind of like the Uchiha with the Senju or Uzumaki.

Natsume leaned back to avoid Hinata's kick.

He then tapped her shoe with a palm, and the force made her stagger back.

He hurried forward to steady her. "No need to keep going. I've got a good grasp of your current level."

"Is it… bad?"

Hinata asked, a bit dejected.

"Of course not."

Natsume smiled and tapped her nose. "You're really strong. Next time you spar with Neji, you can beat him."

"Really?"

Hinata forgot her shyness for a moment, looking at him with expectation.

"Have I ever lied to you?"

His hand slid over her soft cheek and gave it a final rub.

Realizing what he was doing, Hinata's brain short-circuited.

"Let's go get dango."

He spared the about-to-faint girl and changed the topic.

Hinata, still hazy, was led to a dango shop. The noise snapped her back.

Earlier, Natsume had worried about the Hyūga clan.

Now? Nothing to fear.

Hyūga ninja didn't frequent dango shops much anyway, so they ran into none.

Under the owner's horrified gaze, Hinata calmly ate nearly a hundred skewers.

He almost listed her as his most most most welcome customer.

One Hinata equals ten customers.

…

Night fell.

They chatted idly.

Mostly Natsume talking, Hinata listening quietly, occasionally showing a shy smile.

Even so, for the Hyūga heiress, it was an unforgettable experience.

Natsume walked Hinata to her room. They said goodbye, and he vanished from sight.

When he got home, Tsunade was waiting on the sofa.

She sniffed. "You smell like dango. You went to see Hinata again, didn't you?"

Natsume stiffened, but to his surprise, Tsunade's expression was normal.

What's going on?

 Just then, Tsunade said, "To preserve their bloodline, the Hyūga mostly marry within the clan, especially the main family. Do you understand what that implies?"

"Huh?"

Natsume didn't follow at first.

"You need to work hard."

Tsunade glared at him. "If you want to realize your dream, only then might you be able to marry the main family's heiress in the future. Got it?"

She had decided she would keep living with Natsume.

But given public opinion and their age gap, marriage would likely be with someone else.

Though she felt a pang of resentment, she wasn't about to be a malicious woman who breaks people up.

In a sense, it was compensation.

Natsume felt inexplicably flustered.

She's already arranging this?

Good grief!

 Was Tsunade going to run off again?

But there was no sign of that.

"I will."

Pushing aside his suspicion, Natsume asked seriously, "By the way, sis, when are you becoming Hokage?"

"Why do you ask?"

Tsunade raised a brow.

"Because only when you become Hokage will my dream be realized."

He paused, then added, "And with Konoha as it is now, you're the most likely."

Smart since he was a kid, this one.

Tsunade sighed. "You're too young. Otherwise, I wouldn't have to be Hokage at all."

"…"

Natsume thought, good thing I'm young.

Otherwise, with Tsunade's personality, she'd probably make me Hokage right away.

Then my dream would go bankrupt.

Now that she had the idea, he'd have to help.

After all, he alone knew Hiruzen Sarutobi planned to cling to the Hokage seat until death.