Adopted by Tsunade [113-114] (Patreon)

Chapter 113: Clear Skies Bolster Confidence

Natsume noticed Yamanaka Ino's gaze.

Ever since he mastered Sage Mode, his everyday perception had improved a lot.

How to put it?

Right now, Yamanaka Ino could only be called cute—she wasn't exactly stunning.

Once she grew up, especially after marriage, though, her looks and figure would skyrocket explosively.

As for her best friend, Haruno Sakura, she was like a flat tablet—plain as a board.

Natsume flashed her a brilliant smile.

Yamanaka Ino trembled slightly, her face flushing as she looked away, shy.

"You okay?"

Sakura turned and, seeing her expression, looked like she'd seen a ghost.

"I'm fine."

Ino had wanted to glare at her, but with that handsome guy in the distance, she instantly switched to a ladylike whisper.

"Fine, my foot."

Sakura's eyes went wide—she was a breath away from asking if Ino had fallen under a genjutsu.

"Big brother."

Sasuke ran over.

Only then did Sakura notice Natsume.

She blinked. So handsome.

She'd thought Sasuke-kun was already unrivaled in looks, but this guy was even more handsome. Who is he?

"Big brother!"

Naruto trotted up. "Long time no see."

"There's an entrance assessment today. Do your best."

Natsume patted his shoulder. "First place has your name on it."

"First place is mine!"

Sasuke suddenly turned, serious. "I'll definitely beat him today!"

He'd trained hard all vacation and grown stronger, so he brimmed with confidence.

Naruto didn't get mad; instead he grinned brightly. "Sasuke, I'm looking forward to it."

Sasuke snorted and ignored him.

"Naruto, that's your brother? How come you never mentioned him?"

Ino bounced over with a sweet girlish smile, full of energy.

Her eyes looked at Naruto, but the corner of her gaze kept sneaking peeks at Natsume.

From far away earlier, and now up close—his looks felt like heaven's handiwork.

No way he and Naruto were blood-related.

That thought flashed through Ino's mind.

In truth, given Minato's looks, Naruto wasn't bad—he just never tidied himself up.

"I'm Natsume."

Natsume took the initiative. "When Naruto was little and bullied by brats, I helped him out."

"Wait!"

Naruto was a step too late—his black history got exposed.

"Wow, didn't expect that."

Ino was surprised.

Naruto's performance at school was too dazzling.

Even the chūnin instructors said they weren't his match—he was clearly the top of the entire school.

And someone like that used to get bullied by brats and needed rescuing?

Quite the contrast.

Sasuke, who had been chatting with Itachi, perked up his ears.

Interesting.

He noted to remember this.

To him, Naruto was too perfect.

Kind, cheerful, monstrously talented—everything.

No weaknesses to be found.

"Alright, everyone, get to school or you'll be late."

Natsume clapped to remind them.

Naruto bolted.

If he stuck around, who knew how much more black history would get aired.

Sasuke also hurried after him.

He was excited to finally test his training results.

Sakura instinctively followed Sasuke.

After a few steps she looked back and called, "Ino, let's go!"

Only then did Ino reluctantly leave.

"And you?"

Natsume turned and asked, "Want to go watch?"

"Sorry, I don't have time."

Itachi, after watching Sasuke disappear, said, "Things are busy in the Anbu lately."

"Oh? What happened?"

Natsume asked casually.

Itachi paused; this was classified.

But thinking of Natsume as Tsunade's student, he didn't hide it.

"The Hokage's son, Sarutobi Seinosuke, has gone missing."

"Missing? Who would dare pull that off?"

Natsume feigned surprise and asked.

"Don't know."

Itachi frowned lightly. "We've been investigating for days with no trace."

"Then go handle it."

Natsume waved, ending the chat.

He said goodbye to Itachi and headed for the academy field.

He arrived just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was rambling on.

"Good morning, students. Next, I'll talk about six points…"

Even with his son missing, it didn't stop him from preaching the Will of Fire.

After all, that was the most important thing.

Tradition couldn't be dropped.

Natsume remembered he came every year at opening to give a speech.

The content was more or less the same.

An hour later, the speech ended, and they got to the main event.

The entrance assessment.

Naruto and Sasuke had advanced to the fourth year.

Hinata, Ino, and Sakura were in the second year.

Oh, and Neji and his group were in the third year.

In theory, the assessment was by grade.

But the school encouraged cross-grade challenges.

Thanks to Naruto's existence, it had now become downward challenges.

Spectator stands were set up along the edge of the field.

Natsume sat there with the other parents.

He had a few matches he wanted to watch.

Fortunately, they weren't all happening at once.

Under Natsume's vacation training, Hinata had improved noticeably, shocking her teacher and classmates.

Because of her personality, she hadn't even cracked the top five in class.

Mainly because Class 2-A included most of the Konoha 12 standouts.

Inuzuka Kiba, Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, Aburame Shino, and so on.

Hinata hadn't been ranking before.

But today she stunned everyone, beating them all to take first in class.

As for Class 4-A, no surprise—the final match was between Naruto and Sasuke.

Their fight was arguably the highest level the academy currently had, drawing a lot of attention.

"Wonder if Sasuke can shake off the eternal runner-up shame?"

Shikamaru yawned lazily. "Just thinking about fighting a monster like Naruto makes it such a drag. If it were me, I'd just forfeit."

"Hmph, Sasuke-kun isn't like you!"

Sakura clenched her fists and yelled, "Go, Sasuke-kun!"

Her shout set off a chain reaction.

"Sasuke's definitely popular with the girls."

Chōji said around a mouthful of chips.

"Tch, arrogant punk!"

IKiba grumbled. "He won't beat Naruto anyway."

Ino, meanwhile, was scanning the stands for Natsume.

But there were too many people, and her view was blocked.

Hinata, with her Byakugan advantage, did spot Natsume.

Sasuke kept a cold face but secretly clicked his tongue.

So noisy. You're messing up my performance!

He took a deep breath. "Naruto, prepare to taste defeat."

The rain had stopped, the sky had cleared, and Sasuke felt like he had it in him again.

Chapter 114: A Little Wood Release Shock for the Nine-Tails

Thanks to Natsume's help, Naruto had awakened his talent early, which made his personality deviate from the original.

He didn't need pranks—his sheer strength and sunny, open nature had earned him the recognition of many peers.

Though to villagers who didn't know the truth, the fox seemed even more frightening.

Sasuke hadn't experienced the night of the massacre, so his personality wasn't extreme—within normal bounds.

But he still had the Uchiha clan's pride.

So running into Naruto often left him fuming.

Natsume thought he was looking more and more like Minato.

A little sun.

But being too friendly made his opponents feel stifled.

Like Sasuke.

Every time he sparred with Naruto and lost, all he got was comfort.

He'd rather be yelled at.

The match on the field began.

Natsume, though, was chatting and laughing with Rinka in the stands.

After witnessing Hinata's astonishing improvement, this lady couldn't help wanting to share her joy, so she struck up a conversation.

"I've always worried about her. Hiashi has such high expectations, and I feared one day she might crack under the pressure."

Rinka's eyes grew moist as she spoke, the ample curve beneath her kimono swaying slightly.

"Seeing her like this now, I'm both happy and heartsore—no idea how much effort she put in in private."

Listening to her, Natsume suspected she might be considering him as a potential future son-in-law.

Because soon enough she started sharing Hinata's black history.

If the girl were here, she'd probably faint on the spot.

And never dare face him again.

The fight on the field had reached a fever pitch.

Naruto had patched up his weaknesses in taijutsu and tools, thoroughly outmatching Sasuke.

But he was generous by nature and didn't go for the kill, so they looked evenly matched.

Only Sasuke knew the truth.

Always just a little short.

The more they fought, the more frustrated he got.

He finally pulled away and formed hand seals.

Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!

A massive fireball suddenly bloomed on the training ground.

This time Sasuke brought out the full power of this C-rank technique.

An ordinary genin probably couldn't take it.

Let alone academy students.

Most of the spectators were stunned.

Naruto, however, didn't flinch. He backed up while weaving signs.

Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!

Another C-rank.

The most basic wind technique, simply generating a gale—its force tied to the user's chakra.

And Naruto's chakra far exceeded even a jōnin's.

The huge storm smashed the fireball and, without losing momentum, surged toward Sasuke.

He looked as if stunned, too slow to dodge.

In the next instant, Naruto used Body Flicker to appear before him, scooped him up, and ran, dodging the gale.

"Put me down! I don't need your help!"

Sasuke snapped back to his senses, face flushed.

He struggled to his feet and looked at the distant storm, feeling a bit dejected.

"Um… you okay?"

Naruto scratched his head sheepishly.

"…"

Sasuke fumed.

That smile again—it made him hard to perform.

Couldn't beat him, couldn't yell at him.

So annoying.

"You've improved fast."

Naruto gave a thumbs up, imitating the green-clad weirdo they'd met recently, flashing bright teeth. "I had to use full power to block it."

"Really?"

Sasuke was half skeptical.

If it was full power, he could accept it.

Meant the gap wasn't huge.

"I wouldn't lie to you."

Naruto's sincere, sunny smile made Sasuke nod despite himself.

Good. There's hope.

The same-grade matches wrapped up.

Next came cross-grade or down-grade challenges.

But after watching Naruto and Sasuke, no one dared overreach.

"As expected of Naruto."

Rinka, knowing his identity, couldn't help but sigh.

If the Fourth were still alive, Naruto would probably be enjoying flowers and cheers now.

Sadly, there was no applause.

Except from Shikamaru and a few others.

Natsume, meanwhile, was thinking it might be time to undo Naruto's seal and let him talk with the Nine-Tails.

By his plan, once Tsunade became Hokage, he would replace Shimura Danzō as the Hokage's advisor and take control of Root.

Then, when Naruto graduated, he'd serve as his team leader, teach him well, and ultimately have him send Hiruzen Sarutobi on his way.

The Nine-Tails was one of Naruto's biggest hacks—couldn't be wasted.

In the original, Naruto and Kurama didn't get along early on.

Natsume could help.

Or rather, give the Nine-Tails a small Hashirama-style Wood Release shock.

"Natsume, I'm heading back to prepare lunch. See you next time."

Rinka stood.

The assessments on the field had ended.

Students were returning to class.

"Goodbye, auntie."

After chatting more with Rinka today, Natsume finally understood where Hinata's personality and figure came from.

Definitely not from that old stick Hiashi.

He withdrew his gaze, scanned the area, and noticed Hinata hadn't left yet. He used Body Flicker to appear before her.

"Natsume-nii!"

Hinata's tone held a hint of joy. She looked up and asked, "How did I do today?"

Her Byakugan eyes brimmed with a desire for praise—like a little girl begging for candy.

"Beyond my expectations."

Natsume patted her head. "I'm sure you saw how shocked everyone was."

"I…"

Hinata hesitated, then swallowed her words.

Right now she only wanted his praise and attention.

Everyone else didn't matter.

"What's wrong?"

Natsume noticed her sudden blush and was puzzled.

"N-nothing."

Hinata shook her head. "Natsume-nii, I'm going to class. See you tonight."

She finished and trotted off.

Natsume blinked, then smiled.

He didn't know what it was, but cute was all that mattered!

He turned—and saw a little girl not far away.

Delicate features, a cool expression, shoulder-length brown hair, looking at him curiously.

Natsume raised an eyebrow.

He sensed a faint trace of a familiar chakra nature.

Yin Release—the power of yin, born of spiritual energy governing imagination, creating form from nothing.

The Mangekyō Sharingan possesses the pinnacle of Yin Release; its ocular powers fit that creation from nothing standard.

No matter how outrageous the wish, a matching eye technique can be born—power varies, of course.

Generally, if a shinobi is consciously controlling it, you wouldn't notice their chakra fluctuations.

Byakugan excluded, naturally.

Natsume felt intrigued, because this Yin Release was very pure.

He stepped forward. "I'm Natsume. What's your name?"

The little girl noticed him, blushed slightly, and said shyly, "I'm Kurama Yakumo."

She realized that staring at someone like that really wasn't very polite.