Chapter 10: Drunk Tsunade
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When the school day ended, many parents arrived to pick up their children from the Ninja Academy. Natsume watched as Uchiha Itachi left with another boy. Unsurprisingly, it was Uchiha Shisui.
Shisui, now widely known as Shisui of the Body Flicker (Shunshin no Shisui), was a celebrated genius of the Uchiha clan.
Natsume had spent the day at school and learned the names of most of his classmates. In addition to Itachi, another notable figure was Inuzuka Hana, Kiba's older sister. One day, she would become a veterinarian, but for now, she was just another student—though with fewer scenes in the spotlight. Natsume wasn't sure how to change his fate, but he was determined to figure it out.
Suddenly, the sound of yelling interrupted his thoughts.
"Stop! Pay back the money!"
Natsume looked up, startled. A gray-haired woman dashed past him, pursued by six large men who couldn't keep up with her. As she sped by, she flashed him a mischievous grin.
Despite her age and appearance, Natsume couldn't help but admit that she was kind of cute. He took a step back, momentarily dazed. Has my charm reached this level? he thought. But then realization struck: this was the famous scene where Tsunade was being chased by debt collectors. He felt speechless.
As Tsunade's adopted son and apprentice, Natsume had grown used to the chaos that accompanied her. Along with Shizune, they were always on the run from one debt collector or another.
"I don't even gamble!" Natsume thought bitterly. He narrowed his eyes. "I need to figure out how to make some money."
The group slowly disappeared into the distance, but about seven minutes later, the old woman returned. This time, she transformed in front of Natsume, revealing her true form—Tsunade.
"How was your day at school?" she asked with a grin.
"Not bad," Natsume replied, grabbing her soft hand. "Who were those people chasing you just now?"
"Oh, just some creditors," Tsunade said casually. "I borrowed a bit of money, but it's not like I won't pay them back. They just enjoy chasing me around."
Natsume felt a sweat drop form on his forehead. A little money? If he remembered correctly, Tsunade's IOUs filled several large boxes.
"Anyway, let's not talk about that!" Tsunade waved it off. "To celebrate your first day at the academy, let's go get some sake!"
Natsume sighed. "Drinking isn't good for your health, you know."
"Don't underestimate me," Tsunade said proudly, kneeling down to his level. She pointed to the diamond-shaped mark on her forehead. "This is the Yin Seal. Do you know what it does?"
Natsume shook his head, pretending not to know. "No idea."
"Well," Tsunade continued with pride, "it keeps my body in peak condition! Alcohol and other toxins won't affect me."
"Wow, that's amazing!" Natsume said, feigning awe. His reaction made Tsunade smile even brighter as she ruffled his hair affectionately.
"Sis has plenty of other secrets too. You'll learn about them later," she teased.
Natsume blushed a little at her closeness, and Tsunade noticed with amusement. She could have pushed the teasing further but decided against it, considering they were in public.
They stopped at a small izakaya on the way home, where Tsunade purchased two bottles of sake. When they returned, Shizune was already preparing dinner.
As an orphan, Shizune had developed impressive cooking skills—a necessary talent when living with Tsunade. Dinner was a feast: miso soup, tempura, grilled tofu with minced meat, and salmon bibimbap. Natsume enjoyed the meal thoroughly, and Tsunade was in high spirits, being the only one allowed to drink. Shizune and Natsume, of course, were too young.
After dinner, Shizune handled the dishes while Tsunade, now tipsy, relaxed on the sofa. Her face was flushed like a ripe apple.
A while later, she opened her eyes and glanced at Natsume, who was studying ninjutsu nearby.
"Natsume~" she called out, her tone playful and drawn out.
Tsunade walked over and wrapped her arms around his head. "Sis loves you so much."
"..."
Natsume struggled to focus. Women... they're a distraction from my studies, he thought, though part of him didn't mind the attention.
"Sis, you're drunk. You should go to bed," he urged, knowing how troublesome a drunk Tsunade could be.
"I'm not drunk!" Tsunade argued, pinching his cheek lightly.
"Only drunk people say that," Natsume replied. "Go rest."
Tsunade pouted. "You're abandoning me?"
She wobbled toward her room, but just when Natsume thought he was free, she turned back. With a mischievous gleam in her eye, she scooped him up effortlessly. "You're coming with me!" she declared.
Before he could protest, Tsunade had already carried him to her room. He squirmed, but he knew better than to try and escape her grasp—she was far too strong.
Once inside, Tsunade put him down. Just as Natsume was about to slip away, he caught a glimpse of something shocking: her bare back, with her golden hair cascading down.
Natsume turned and bolted out of the room. We're not that close... yet, he thought, shaking his head.
"Guess I should go see Orochimaru," Natsume muttered, trying to distract himself. Yamato's fate had already changed, a sign that his dealings with Orochimaru were progressing. However, obtaining Hashirama's cells was still a challenge. One wrong move, and Orochimaru's experiments could become far more dangerous.
But Natsume needed those cells. His Wood Release (Mokuton) was powerful, but without the chakra reserves or regenerative abilities of the Senju clan, he couldn't fully utilize it.
Hashirama's cells would make all the difference. While Natsume could technically use his fate points to acquire them, they were too expensive, and his points were already limited.
"Shizune, I'm going to bed," Natsume called out. "Check on Tsunade-nee, please."
Shizune, ever the responsible one, nodded. Natsume called Tsunade "nee," while Shizune still used "Tsunade-sama." It had taken some time for Shizune to adjust to Natsume's casual attitude toward her master. Natsume had once joked, "You might have to call me 'Shi Fu' one day," leaving out that he meant "the master's husband."
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At Orochimaru's lab, Natsume's wood clone arrived after he spent one destiny point. Orochimaru, in the basement, was busy experimenting on Tenzo. As sinister as Orochimaru's reputation was, he had a strange charisma, especially with children.
Tenzo, conditioned by Danzo, had developed a rigid mindset that Orochimaru needed to break in order to mold him for future experiments.
The success with Tenzo gave Orochimaru new insights—perhaps he didn't need to take over the bodies of other Kekkei Genkai users. If he could perfect Hashirama's cells within his own body, he could transcend even further. The challenge was avoiding becoming a grotesque experiment like Danzo, whose body was a patchwork of stolen power.
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