"Me?"
Natsume had already figured it out, so he wasn't the least bit surprised. He smirked teasingly, "Master Jiraiya really thinks highly of me, huh?"
"You're not even slightly concerned about the Great Toad Sage's prophecy?"
Tsunade glanced at Natsume's composed face and couldn't help but ask.
From what she knew of him, his indifference was obvious. That surprised her quite a bit.
The Three Great Holy Places earned their sacred title because they held an extremely high status in the hearts of many ninja.
Mastering Sage Mode alone is enough to elevate someone to the ranks of the ninja world's elite.
Even without innate talent, simply possessing a contract with the powerful summoned beasts of the Three Holy Places grants immense strength.
And the Great Toad Sage himself—his prophecy techniques have never once failed, earning him deep reverence across countless lives.
Including Jiraiya.
"Why should I care?"
Natsume chuckled, gently rubbing her toes as he said, "I'm the contract holder of Shikkotsu Forest, not Mount Myoboku. If I followed the Great Toad Sage's prophecy, Katsuyu Sage would definitely be furious."
"That actually makes sense."
Tsunade closed her eyes, enjoying the massage, and said, "But if there truly is such a thing as the Child of Prophecy, I still believe it'd be you."
"Is that right?"
Natsume watched the soft rise and fall of her chest as she breathed, replying, "I have zero interest in becoming some prophesied child."
"I figured as much."
Tsunade lips curved into a faint smile.
When Jiraiya came to chat with her earlier, she had already predicted Natsume's reaction.
"He said he wants to take you as his apprentice."
Tsunade shifted closer to him.
"Oh wow, he dares to dream big."
Natsume remarked dryly, "Even if I agreed, what could he possibly teach me?"
Tsunade didn't mind his disrespectful tone toward Jiraiya. Instead, she smiled.
"I wouldn't want to share my student either… because you're mine."
"Saying sweet things suddenly? That might make me lose control."
Natsume raised an eyebrow.
Tsunade immediately opened her eyes and saw his half-smiling face.
"Stay focused while we're talking—no dirty thoughts," she glared.
"So does that mean I'm free to fantasize once we're done talking?"
Natsume instantly caught the loophole.
Tsunade frowned, her gaze turning dangerous. She directly kicked him barefoot, "You're too smooth with words!"
Natsume grabbed her foot, rubbing it gently.
"Foot-fetishist."
She gave a soft huff but didn't pull away.
"Sister, anything else to talk about?"
Natsume tilted his head, continuing to massage her slender feet.
"Besides the Child of the Prophecy, Jiraiya's also looking for a ninja strong enough to destroy Mount Myoboku."
Tsunade said this without hesitation.
Jiraiya might have once meant something to her, but now he paled in comparison to Natsume.
Betraying Mount Myoboku felt like nothing to her.
"If the Great Toad Sage is this powerful, who could possibly destroy Mount Myoboku?"
Natsume suspected this prophecy referred to Kaguya Otsutsuki.
Assuming the original story's setting is accurate, the Great Toad Sage's power isn't inferior to that of the Sage of Six Paths.
Therefore, he's not someone Natsume can hope to defeat.
Unless he had Kaguya Ōtsutsuki with him.
"I don't know."
Tsunade shook her head.
"But the Great Toad Sage's prophecy won't be wrong."
"If Mount Myōboku really gets destroyed, will it affect us?"
Natsume carefully studied her expression as he asked.
"Not directly on Konoha, but it might spread to Shikkotsu Forest."
Tsunade frowned as she spoke. "The Three Great Holy Places have always protected one another."
"That makes sense."
Natsume nodded thoughtfully.
There must be some kind of connection between the Three Holy Places.
If Mount Myōboku were in serious danger, the other two holy places would probably come rushing to help.
Hmm, looks like I need to plan carefully.
After all, those are destiny points at stake.
Especially Mount Myōboku, home to many named frogs.
Ryūchi Cave has a few as well.
Ahem.
And they even take the form of alluring snake demons.
A gleam of interest passed through Natsume's eyes.
Should he play the role of Xu Xian or Fahai?
"That… dinner's ready."
Shizune stepped out from the kitchen, looking at the two people on the sofa, an odd emotion flickering across her eyes.
"Oh, Ms. Shizune, you're here too."
Natsume hadn't even realized she was there.
"…"
Shizune was momentarily at a loss for words.
"How can you speak like that?"
Tsunade pulled her legs out from his lap before standing up. "Go wash up and come have dinner."
"Sorry, Ms. Shizune."
Natsume smiled apologetically.
"It's fine… nothing serious."
Shizune slightly trembled, quickly shifting her gaze away.
Tsunade shot her a knowing glance but said nothing.
Natsume went off to wash his hands.
At the dinner table, the dishes were already fully served.
"Itadakimasu!"
All three of them said together, then picked up their chopsticks.
Halfway through the meal, Natsume glanced at Tsunade and slid one foot forward, gently pressing against her thigh.
Shizune suddenly coughed and grabbed a glass of water, gulping it down.
Natsume paused briefly, instinctively glancing beneath the table.
For some reason, Shizune had stretched her legs forward quite a bit, blocking Tsunade's leg.
As a result, he ended up stepping on the wrong person.
This chapter hasn't ended yet!
The situation was undeniably awkward.
"Did you choke on something, Shizune?"
Tsunade lifted her head and asked.
"No… it's okay."
Shizune blushed deeply and shook her head.
"Take a moment to calm yourself."
Noticing her expression, Tsunade reached out to pat her back gently, showing concern.
"Yeah."
Shizune nodded, though her heart pounded rapidly.
Was this intentional? Or deliberate?
Yet the next second, she felt Natsume pull his foot back.
A sudden sense of loss surged inside her.
Her heartbeat slowly steadied.
Dinner ended.
Without a word, Shizune immediately gathered the dishes and headed to the kitchen.
"Let's go take a bath."
Natsume scooped Tsunade into his arms with ease, saying.
"I know what you're thinking," Tsunade immediately saw exactly what he was thinking.
"So what are we supposed to do?"
Natsume leaned in close to her face, his voice filled with pathos. "You wouldn't really be that heartless, would you?"
"I'll walk."
Tsunade narrowed her eyes, tightly wrapping her arms around his neck and softly huffing. "Guess I'll let you off easy this time."
Morning.
Natsume opened his eyes.
He looked down at Tsunade wrapped around him and couldn't help but smile.
"What time is it?"
Shizune nestled closer, then furrowed her brow slightly. "My legs are killing me."
"Let me massage them for you."
Natsume reached out and began kneading the soft thigh lying across him.
"Alright, go do your work now."
Tsunade let go of him, quickly snatching back the quilt to wrap herself up. "I'm going back to sleep."
Natsume shook his head slightly and left the room.
"Ms. Shizune, good morning."
"Morning."
Shizune instinctively glanced at the closed door behind him.
Lady Tsunade still couldn't get up again, huh?
"She's going to sleep a while longer."
Now that their relationship was out in the open, Natsume didn't really care what name she used anymore.
"Mm-hmm."
Shizune nodded.
Truthfully, she quite liked being called "sister." After all, they were both older women, not much difference in rank.
The moment she thought that, Shizune lowered her head, her face burning red.
What am I thinking about?!
Natsume glanced at her but didn't linger on it.
After breakfast, he made his way to the Hokage Building.
Once he finished handling some routine tasks, he appeared at Hozuki Castle.
"Sorry, Musashi and Kosuke have disappeared without a trace."
Mui looked ashamed as he spoke. "I don't know how they managed to escape my [Fire Release: Heavenly Prison]."
To be honest, he never expected those two to escape.
"It's fine. Let them go wherever they please."
Natsume could guess the reason.
Most likely Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki secretly helped them.
"Ryuzetsu has already been captured by me."
Feeling relieved, Mui continued. "You can meet her anytime."
"Take me to see her."
Natsume nodded.
Right away, Mui led the way forward. It wasn't long before they reached a cell.
"You bastard!"
Noticing Mui's arrival, Ryuzetsu immediately erupted with intense killing intent.
She believed that he had sacrificed Mukaku to open the Box of Supreme Bliss.
Therefore, she infiltrated Hozuki Castle, wanting to kill him for revenge and destroy the Box of Supreme Bliss.
In reality, she wasn't far from the truth.
It was indeed Mui's actions that caused Mukaku to be sucked into the Box of Supreme Bliss.
After losing his son, he finally realized what he cared about most was family bonds, so he wanted to revive Mukaku.
Natsume examined Ryuzetsu.
Her appearance was fairly nice.
However, what stood out most were her white hair and eyes.
Her eyes were completely white, but each held two circular patterns.
One more ring and it would resemble the Rinnegan; two fewer and it'd look like the Byakugan.
How unfortunate—it fell somewhere in between.
"Would you like to see the Box of Supreme Bliss?"
Natsume asked.
"Who are you?"
Ryuzetsu paused briefly, studying him carefully as she asked.
She didn't remember either Kusagakure or Hozuki Castle having a masked ninja like him.
"Not interested?"
Natsume said calmly. "Then you'll remain here until your death."
"Wait!"
Ryuzetsu gritted her teeth and blurted out, "I want to see!"
The Box of Supreme Bliss had always been her goal.
Besides, she had a feeling that if she refused, she really could end up locked away forever.
How would she ever get her revenge then?
Mui stepped forward and unlocked the dungeon door.
"…?"
Ryuzetsu looked puzzled.
Moi actually followed orders from this unknown powerful figure?
What was going on?
This overwhelming unease made her momentarily forget about attacking Moi.
"Lead the way, Moi. We're heading to the Box of Supreme Bliss."
Natsume gave instructions.
"Yes."
Moi nodded, then turned and walked ahead of them all.
Ryuzetsu stood frozen, watching the scene unfold as panic slowly gripped her.
The three of them soon arrived at an underground base.
Natsume finally laid eyes on the true form of the Box of Supreme Bliss.
It was horrifying.
Pitch black, with four human faces carved into it.
It wouldn't look out of place in a horror movie.
Natsume took a step forward and activated Sage Mode.
Immediately, he felt a wave of negative emotions.
He'd guessed right—the Box of Supreme Bliss was definitely tied to Yin Release.
At the same time, a whisper entered his ears.
Filling him with infinite temptation, it seemed to whisper that opening the Box of Supreme Bliss would make any wish come true.
Natsume suddenly raised an eyebrow. "Since you're here, why don't you come out?"
Moi and Ryuzetsu both jumped, quickly scanning their surroundings.
"Have they noticed us already?"
Naruto Uzumaki glanced toward the nearby trio, especially the masked ninja whose identity he didn't recognize.
But surprisingly, only Moi showed hostility toward him.
The other two did not.
"Let's go."
Uchiha Sasuke dropped his disguise and activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan as he glared intensely at Moi.
Previously, he couldn't use chakra, but now things were different—he'd make this bastard pay.
"So you're a ninja from the Uchiha clan."
Moi's heart leapt, but his eyes instinctively darted toward Natsume.
There had to be something going on here!
[End of segment]
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