Adopted by Tsunade [179-180] (Patreon)

Chapter 179: Dragon Vein Time Travel and the Priestess

"Wood Release?"

Shukaku was a bit dumbfounded.

It instantly recalled that man.

Senju Hashirama.

Although Shukaku didn't participate in the Valley of the End battle like Kurama did, when Hashirama gathered the nine Tailed Beasts to distribute them among the Five Great Villages, Shukaku had the "privilege" of experiencing Wood Release firsthand.

It instinctively tried to flee, but more and more trees wrapped around it.

"Damn brat!"

Shukaku suddenly opened its mouth wide and used its trump card.

Tailed Beast Bomb.

Vast chakra gathered at breakneck speed.

Natsume clapped his hands together.

Sage Art: Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!

A seed sprouted in an instant, turning into a wooden dragon that bound Shukaku tightly.

The Tailed Beast Bomb in its mouth abruptly dissipated.

"Aaah!"

Shukaku screamed.

The wood dragon's bindings grew tighter and tighter.

In the end, it couldn't endure and shrank back into Gaara's belly.

Natsume snapped his fingers immediately.

The trees carried Gaara to him.

After losing its target, the wood dragon didn't disappear. Instead, it swiveled around.

Magnet Release: Sand Cushion!

Rasa's face changed drastically. He hastily used magnetism to draw gold dust in front of them, condensing it into a flying golden cloud.

"Danzō, aren't you going to make a move?"

As the words fell, another wood dragon soared into the sky and tangled with the incoming wood dragon.

Taking the chance, Rasa and the others jumped onto the sand cushion and moved away from the battlefield.

Natsume raised an eyebrow.

Shimura Danzō was brimming with massive chakra and natural energy.

"Not bad at all."

Natsume smiled and said, "Danzō, your sealing arts weren't learned in vain."

He had already sensed where that extra surge of power came from.

The Dragon Vein.

Combined with sealing arts, it produced an effect similar to a jinchūriki's.

"Natsume!"

Shimura Danzō said arrogantly, "Today is the day you die!"

He believed that with equal access to Wood Release, he would surely come out on top with his wealth of experience.

Natsume tugged at the corner of his mouth.

In fact, he had a very simple method right now.

He could just activate his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and directly control Shimura Danzō.

But those words made Natsume change his mind.

He loved nothing more than helping people fulfill their wishes.

Shimura Danzō had gained a huge amount of chakra, and for a short time, it did increase the power of his Wood Release.

But he was only using a segment of the Dragon Vein, not the complete thing.

And that fragment wasn't even on par with Shukaku.

"Where does your confidence come from?"

Natsume clapped his hands.

Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands!

Behind him, an enormous Thousand-Armed Kannon manifested in the world.

An overwhelming tide of chakra spread across the entire desert.

Rasa and the others, floating in the air, wore dumbfounded expressions, doubting their own eyes.

Before the Thousand-Armed Kannon, they were as insignificant as specks of dust.

But none were more shaken than Hiashi Hyūga and the others.

It was as if a bolt of lightning struck them, making their scalps tingle.

For the first time, they truly grasped Natsume's power.

The feeling was just too unreal.

Having grown up on the legends of Senju Hashirama's Wood Release, they were seeing legend become reality for the first time.

After the shock came an inevitable reverence.

"What… is this?"

Shimura Danzō's smile froze.

Without Sage Mode, he was destined to be unable to perform it.

"Impossible!"

Shimura Danzō snapped out of it and finally remembered what ninjutsu this was.

Senju Hashirama's strongest Wood Release.

He had only heard of the legend and had never seen it.

He hadn't expected to witness it today.

But he would rather he hadn't.

Especially because it was Natsume who had unleashed this technique.

It meant that a teenager already had the potential to stand shoulder to shoulder with the God of Shinobi.

"This isn't real! It's fake! It has to be fake!"

Shimura Danzō trembled with rage, disbelief written all over his face.

The corners of Natsume's mouth curled slightly.

The performance had reached its final act.

Hiashi and the others had already witnessed his power with their own eyes.

Soon, all in Konoha would submit.

Wood Release held a special place in their hearts.

Now, once more, it overlapped with the title of Hokage.

Natsume would become the Hokage with unparalleled prestige, second only to Senju Hashirama.

With that thought, he stopped wasting time.

The Thousand-Armed Kannon moved in response.

Countless sonic booms pierced the clouds.

A thousand giant hands clenched into fists and all came crashing down.

Turning Buddha into a Fist!

Under the fist, all beings are equal.

Even though Rasa summoned vast amounts of gold dust at extreme speed to shield everyone, they still couldn't escape.

Maki, Kankurō, and Temari could only watch as the near-invincible Magnet Release in their hearts turned into "porcelain release," shattering on contact.

In the end, as the fists fell, they coughed blood and slipped into unconsciousness.

However, Natsume did not go for the kill.

Keep them as leeks to harvest, to continuously contribute Fate Points.

Under his control, trees swiftly bound the unconscious Sunagakure shinobi.

"Huh, so it was a shadow clone?"

Natsume was a bit surprised.

Shimura Danzō wasn't the real body.

Gotta admit, the "Pot Kage" has some real tricks.

His sensory perception expanded.

Natsume instantly locked onto his location.

Right before the Dragon Vein.

At that moment, he was madly absorbing a massive amount of energy.

Natsume's heart skipped a beat—this was bad.

Shimura Danzō intended to increase his strength, but this would undoubtedly trigger the Flying Thunder God kunai left by Namikaze Minato, thus causing time-space travel.

"Uncle Hiashi, suppress them and take them back to Konoha. Leave the specifics to Lady Tsunade."

Natsume appeared before a still-stunned Hiashi and the others, quickly gave instructions, and then used the Flying Thunder God Technique to rush to the Dragon Vein.

Now that the dust had settled, even if he vanished for a while, it wouldn't be a big problem.

With Tsunade's temperament, plus Rasa and the others already captured, there was no reason for Konoha to suffer losses.

Even if they did, once he returned, he'd make them cough it all back up.

"Natsume!"

Right then, Shimura Danzō looked deranged.

Chakra and natural energy poured into his body as if they were free.

This caused the Hashirama cells in his right arm to run amok—they had already started sprouting.

Seeing this, Natsume didn't hesitate to summon the wood dragon again.

The wood dragon could absorb chakra, pulling the chakra that Danzō had absorbed right back out of him.

"I won't allow it!"

Shimura Danzō, of course, knew the wood dragon's effect.

At that moment, a three-tomoe Sharingan appeared.

Then blood sprayed from his entire body.

Reverse: Four Symbols Seal!

Natsume was taken aback.

He hadn't expected Danzō to still have a Sharingan tucked away.

Guy had some stuff.

In an instant, black sealing marks expanded outward from Danzō as the center.

Affected by this, the Dragon Vein erupted completely.

The Flying Thunder God kunai in the underground sealing array lit up at once.

This was getting complicated.

Natsume thought for a moment and said, "Sacred Ring of Fate, recommend me something to save my life."

[Resurrection Plate: Automatically activates just before your death, transporting you back to the Shinobi World and restoring all injuries.]

[Price: 300 Fate Points.]

[Note: If not used, you can refund it anytime.]

Natsume's eyes lit up.

This was good.

Great value.

And refundable.

Three hundred Fate Points for a life? Worth it.

With his current Fate Points, he could buy ten lives—invincible.

Of course, trading for lives was the last resort.

He still preferred exchanging for power-ups.

Like the Rinnegan.

He was still far short, though.

After exchanging for the Resurrection Plate, Natsume used the Flying Thunder God Technique to avoid the Reverse: Four Symbols Seal.

But just then, he felt space around him twist.

His vision blurred, his body weakened, and chakra bled away in torrents.

The Flying Thunder God's cost depends on the object's size and the distance of transport.

Now caught in a time-space turbulence, his Sage Body's vast chakra, plus the Dragon Vein's energy, flung him toward an unknown world.

Only when the immense chakra contained in his Sage Body was nearly exhausted did he crash to the ground with a boom and pass out.

He didn't know how long had passed.

…

[Because of your actions, the fates of Shimura Danzō, Rasa, Gaara, Shukaku, Kankurō, Maki, and Temari have changed. You gained a total of 460 Fate Points.]

Natsume finally regained consciousness.

He felt a peculiar energy repairing his body.

It was a bit like natural energy, yet different.

Natsume slowly opened his eyes and saw a white-haired girl.

She wore a red-and-white Priestess's outfit. With sleeves rolled up, her pale wrist pressed to his chest.

That strange power flowed from her palm.

"You're awake?"

The girl exhaled, withdrew her right hand, wiped her sweat, and asked, "What's your name? Who are you?"

During treatment, she'd realized Natsume might not be human.

Because he possessed an absurd physique and a power different from hers.

Natsume examined her and increasingly felt she resembled Shion, the Priestess of the Land of Demons from the original story.

"Where is this?"

"You should answer my question first."

The girl frowned slightly in displeasure, but still said, "This is the Land of Demons."

"Then you're Shion?"

Natsume thought to himself that he'd actually crossed over to the Land of Demons.

Fortunately, he hadn't gone far.

"No, there's no Priestess named Shion here."

The girl shook her head. "I'm called Kukuri. And you?"

Not Shion?

Natsume was slightly startled.

It seemed he was in the Land of Demons, but the timeline had shifted back quite a bit.

Shion was about the same age as Uzumaki Naruto.

If it were after her time, the Priestess would surely be recorded—there's no reason she wouldn't know the name.

If it's before, it's hard to pin down the exact year.

"Who is Hokage of Konoha now?"

Natsume thought for a moment and asked again.

"Which country is Konoha in? And what is Hokage?"

Kukuri tilted her head, puzzled. "Are you from Konoha?"

Natsume was stunned.

What the hell!

What era did I cross into?

Konoha doesn't even exist?

The chaos of the Warring States?

Forcing himself to calm down, Natsume asked, "Do you know Senju Hashirama?"

Kukuri shook her head.

"???"

Natsume couldn't stay composed.

If it were the Warring States, Hashirama would already be renowned.

Could it be even earlier?

Wouldn't that be the time when Ōtsutsuki Kaguya descended upon the Shinobi World?

Chapter 180: The Era of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya

Natsume didn't ask further.

There were many things he should confirm on his own.

Those questions he'd just asked had probably already aroused Kukuri's suspicion.

But that couldn't be helped.

Who'd have thought he would travel this far?

He had thought a few decades would be the limit; now he was straight into the Warring States.

And at this point, Hashirama either didn't exist yet or hadn't been born.

But whether this was the era of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's descent remained uncertain.

There was a simple way to find out.

Chakra.

That foreign energy was spread by the Sage of Six Paths, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo.

Kukuri before him didn't have chakra.

Given this was the Land of Demons, that was still within normal expectations.

In the original, Shion was the same—she possessed a special Priestess power.

Clearly, this was one of the native power systems, likely a variant of natural energy.

"My name is Natsume."

He thought for a bit and gave his real name.

No big deal.

In the Shinobi World, people with the same name are countless.

"Thank you for saving me."

Even though he had the Resurrection Plate and couldn't die, Kukuri's rescue let him remain in this world.

At least it preserved the possibility of earning Fate Points.

"It was destiny that guided our meeting."

Kukuri shook her head. "As a Priestess, I have some prophetic ability."

Natsume immediately thought of Shion.

She possessed the Death Prophecy and could foresee others' deaths.

Extremely precise.

By the original setting, Shion was the most gifted and powerful Priestess in history.

Kukuri likely didn't match her.

Through prophecy, Natsume also thought of the Great Toad Sage.

This also suggested they were indeed native power users.

"What kind of prophecy?"

Natsume asked with some curiosity.

The Great Toad Sage could vaguely predict a specific future event, which was relatively concrete.

He wondered how far Kukuri's prophecy could go.

"I don't know."

Kukuri shook her head. "It's like a sudden feeling. Yesterday I was guided, and so I found you."

"With a prophecy that vague, you believed it so easily?"

Natsume rubbed his chin. "What if I had ill intentions? Wouldn't your prophecy have harmed you?"

"I can tell good omens from bad."

Kukuri looked at him, eyes full of curiosity.

"No wonder."

Natsume felt this prophecy was more like a sense for fortune and misfortune.

If it benefited her, she could approach.

If it didn't, she'd quickly avoid it.

In other words, seek benefit and avoid harm.

"Then, can you tell me your background?"

Kukuri finally asked the biggest question in her heart.

"It's complicated."

Natsume smiled. "Since your prophecy has told you I'm a good person, set aside your curiosity for now."

The two looked at each other for a moment, and Kukuri nodded.

Priestess are attendants who serve the gods.

Her nature was kind. She wouldn't resort to violence just because Natsume wouldn't reveal his background.

Besides, she suspected she couldn't beat him.

Natsume's constitution was very special.

Even without treatment, he would recover soon.

That feeling was very godlike.

"Thank you."

Natsume had been thinking that if things went south, he would use his ocular power.

Fortunately, things ended smoothly.

He didn't need to act against his savior.

"Then rest for now."

Kukuri smiled, stood up, and left the room.

Only then did Natsume have time to check his body.

How to put it?

Pretty miserable.

After exchanging for the Sage Body, the vast chakra it afforded had been completely squandered.

Natsume never thought he'd see the day.

Fortunately, chakra can recover.

It would just take some time to fully replenish.

Not a big problem, though. Without chakra, he still had ocular power.

The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan would carry him for a long while.

If this really was a time before chakra existed, he was practically invincible.

Unless he encountered the Three Great Holy Lands or certain deities.

After confirming he had no major problems, Natsume sank into thought again.

He didn't know whether this was the past or a parallel world.

Which meant he had to act cautiously.

Otherwise, there could be big trouble.

For example, if Ōtsutsuki Kaguya hadn't been sealed and had killed Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo and Ōtsutsuki Hamura, then there would be no descendants like the Senju or Uzumaki.

But thinking about it, Natsume felt he was being too fanciful.

With his current strength, how could he fight those three?

As the saying goes:

The grand trend cannot be changed; small trends can.

He just needed to earn enough Fate Points, then return.

…

Two days of rest later, Natsume could move normally.

Although the weakness from massive chakra loss lingered, it wasn't too impactful.

Given the capacity of his Sage Body, even "weakened," he was still around a standard jōnin.

The Land of Demons was a special country.

The Priestess was the daimyo.

Though young, Kukuri already held the reins of a nation.

Thus, Natsume received special treatment.

The first thing delivered to him once he was out of bed was material on this world.

After reading it, he confirmed he was before Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's descent.

This world had no chakra, and samurai were mainstream.

Scattered among them were the Three Great Holy Lands and some deities.

This was a native system built on natural energy.

No—wait.

Ōtsutsuki Kaguya and Ōtsutsuki Isshiki should already be in this world.

Because they needed to plant the God Tree—the so-called Ten-Tails.

After a thousand years of nurturing, the God Tree would ripen.

By the clan's rules, the lower-ranked Kaguya would be sacrificed to the tree.

But she refused and, during the ritual, ambushed Isshiki and sacrificed him instead.

Only half, though, and he narrowly escaped.

After eating the chakra fruit, Kaguya gained immense power.

After that, she pacified the chaos and was called the "Rabbit Goddess."

With the blessings of the people, she became pregnant and gave birth to Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo and Ōtsutsuki Hamura.

That's the manga version.

Kaguya is an ascetic by nature, with little emotion beyond greed for chakra.

But in the anime, her characterization was altered.

The sequence was inverted.

She descended first, fell in love with the emperor of the Land of Ancestors, became pregnant, and then was betrayed.

Disappointed, Kaguya swallowed the fruit, cast Infinite Tsukuyomi, and turned everyone into sacrifices.

These became the origins of the White Zetsu.

To prevent humanity's extinction, Kaguya released some people.

She was then called the "Rabbit Goddess" and gave birth to Hagoromo and Hamura.

To be honest, Natsume felt the manga's setup was more reasonable.

The Ōtsutsuki clan weren't human and were born with great power.

To them, humans were ants.

With such disparity, true feelings were unlikely.

Because Kaguya ate the fruit, she effectively betrayed the clan.

To prepare for possible pursuers, she would periodically have humans offer sacrifices to the God Tree.

But this act was opposed by Hagoromo and Hamura. With help from the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku, mother and sons became enemies.

In the end, Kaguya was sealed.

The God Tree—the Ten-Tails—had its husk thrown to the moon, while its chakra became the nine Tailed Beasts.

Hamura migrated to the moon to guard the Ten-Tails' husk. Hagoromo became the Sage of Six Paths and founded Ninshū.

His two sons were Indra and Asura.

Natsume unfolded a map and soon locked onto the Land of Ancestors.

There wasn't much he could do right now.

He simply couldn't find the God Tree, nor Kaguya or Isshiki.

And even if he could, what could he do?

To earn Fate Points, the figures had to be named in the original works—manga or anime.

The only person he could currently earn points from was the emperor of the Land of Ancestors.

He could also learn through him which version of Kaguya this world followed and plan accordingly.

If it was the "love-brain" version, it would be trickier.

If the emperor were killed, Hagoromo and Hamura wouldn't be born.

Even if Natsume stepped in himself, the children would be different.

If it was the ascetic version of Kaguya, then he didn't need to worry about affecting Hagoromo and Hamura.

They were born through blessings.

If it was the ascetic Kaguya, she'd be a stoic, emotionless maiden.

To earn Fate Points, he'd have to think carefully.

The only consolation was that Natsume wasn't an ordinary human.

At least in Kaguya's eyes, he was a comparatively strong ant.

Easier to attract her attention.

No matter the version, she needed help from humans.

Becoming a follower should be no problem for Natsume.

Going by the plot, the current grand trend was Kaguya pacifying the chaos, then planting the tree.

But her method was too crude—directly sacrificing humans.

That would naturally provoke Hagoromo and Hamura's opposition.

Meanwhile, the Three Great Holy Lands, as native forces, wouldn't want the God Tree draining the planet.

Though Natsume disliked the toads, the Great Toad Sage wasn't wrong here.

Kaguya's planting of the tree was essentially to siphon more energy to ripen another fruit, strengthen herself, and deal with the Ōtsutsuki clan.

If there were a better method, Natsume could more easily infiltrate and earn points.

…

Priestess's Hall.

Kukuri was handling state affairs.

After being announced, Natsume was allowed in.

"Lady Priestess."

"It's you."

Kukuri looked up, smiled, gave him a once-over, and said, "Your body really is impressive."

That sounded odd.

Natsume said, "Lady Priestess, I plan to leave for a while."

"Leave?"

Kukuri frowned slightly.

She didn't know how Natsume would benefit her, but prophecies don't lie.

Thus, she didn't want him to leave.

"I have something to take care of."

Guessing her thoughts, Natsume added, "I'll be back soon. Whatever you require then, I'll do my best to accomplish it, to repay you for saving me."

Kukuri's eyes narrowed slightly. She didn't understand him and couldn't judge the truth of his words.

But she trusted the prophecy and wouldn't offend Natsume.

After a moment's thought, she agreed.