"Happy birthday, Kabuto."
Natsume placed a palm-sized cake in front of the little boy. "The director is too busy to see you right now, but she asked me to apologize on her behalf."
"Thank you."
Kabuto adjusted his glasses, his face calm beyond his years. "There was a big commotion in Konoha recently. A lot of people were affected. The director is a medical ninja—it's normal for her to be busy."
"Eat up."
Natsume sat across from him, staring at his white hair. A thought crossed his mind.
If the gender were swapped, this would have amassed over ten thousand fans.
White-haired lolis are a lot of people's thing.
Maybe white-haired shota boys are someone's hobby too.
You can never underestimate people's tastes.
Though, it's all a bit much.
"You're seven this year, right?" Natsume asked.
"Yeah." Kabuto swallowed his cake before answering.
Natsume's mind worked quickly.
Although it's never stated outright, Kabuto should be meeting Shimura Danzo and Orochimaru around this age.
Thanks to his exceptional medical talent, he catches their eye and gets recruited, beginning his training as a ninja spy.
But now, with Natsume having transmigrated, he's been reminding Kabuto never to reveal his medical talent.
The flow of fate has already changed.
So why isn't there a reward yet?
Natsume glanced subconsciously at his wrist.
There was a divine object only he could see: the Sacred Ring of Fate.
As long as Natsume altered the fate nodes of characters in the story, he'd get a reward.
Fate nodes were the most crucial turning points in a character's life.
Kabuto's first fate node was meeting Shimura Danzo and Orochimaru.
"I'm done eating!"
Kabuto wiped his mouth, stood up, and asked, "I'm going to practice medical ninjutsu. What about you?"
Although Natsume told him to hide his talent, Kabuto never slacked on his medical ninjutsu.
His medical talent was truly strong—it would be a waste not to use it.
Without meeting Orochimaru, if Kabuto followed the normal path, he might have become the next Tsunade.
On the other hand, Natsume had zero talent.
No medical talent, and his ninja skills were terrible too.
[Ding!]
[Because of your actions, Yakushi Kabuto's fate has changed. You gain 100 Fate Points.]
Natsume froze, then was overwhelmed with joy.
Haha! My golden finger finally arrived!
"Go ahead and practice. Don't worry about me."
Natsume watched Kabuto leave, then turned into his room.
A hundred Fate Points might not seem like much, but it was already quite a lot.
According to the Sacred Ring of Fate's rules, each character's fate node could only yield up to 100 Fate Points.
The amount depended on how important the character was to the story.
But with enough fate nodes, you could keep farming points from the same character.
Natsume was seven—an orphan of the Third Shinobi World War, adopted by Yakushi Nonou.
In the orphanage, the only story character whose fate he could alter was Kabuto.
After three years of influence, they'd become close friends.
Otherwise, Kabuto would never have listened and hidden his talent.
Natsume spun the Sacred Ring. A light screen appeared in his view.
[Current Fate Points: 100]
[Fate Shop is now open]
[Newbie Special: Because you have Senju blood, you can awaken Wood Release for just 10% of the cost.]
Natsume didn't hesitate and immediately bought the special.
Ninety Fate Points disappeared.
A warm sensation flowed through his body.
So comfortable.
Natsume exhaled, feeling refreshed.
With Wood Release, he finally had a foothold in the ninja world.
But exchanging for a talent wasn't easy.
There were Wood Release jutsu in the Fate Shop, but gaining Fate Points was hard.
Natsume set his sights on Konoha.
The simplest way was to directly reveal his Wood Release talent.
Wood Release had a special status in Konoha.
It represented the invincible First Hokage, Senju Hashirama.
He'd likely be taken in by the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and taught.
Less likely, he'd end up in Root, brainwashed by Shimura Danzo.
But Natsume thought there was a third way.
Tsunade.
As the Senju Princess, she wouldn't ignore a second Wood Release user after her grandfather.
If he was under Tsunade's protection, he'd be safe for a long time and could learn Wood Release from her for free.
A win-win.
He'd win twice.
After the Second Shinobi War, Tsunade left Konoha and wandered.
But she never became a rogue ninja.
She still loved Konoha.
Otherwise, she wouldn't become the Fifth Hokage later.
The original work never says if she came back mid-wandering.
But now, with the Nine-Tails incident just past, and with Minato and Kushina's funeral coming up, she would probably return.
Natsume could only gamble.
He couldn't reach Tsunade, but Yakushi Nonou could.
Konoha, thanks to Tsunade, had a solid medical system—medical teams and hospitals.
Tsunade once taught in the medical squad.
Yakushi Nonou was one of her students; their relationship was decent.
Natsume planned to reveal his Wood Release to Nonou, who'd then contact Tsunade.
Of course, this would require skill.
Now, it was time for his performance.
…
Night.
After a busy day, Yakushi Nonou returned to the orphanage.
With the Nine-Tails incident, Konoha Hospital was full, and medical ninjas were in short supply.
She had to help out too.
Though tired, Nonou still had to make sure the kids slept.
First, she went to Kabuto's room.
The light was still on.
She knocked. "Reading?"
"Director, you're back?" Kabuto beamed. "I'm reading 'Beginner Ninja Medical Cases'—the one you gave me."
"Sleep early."
Nonou smiled too.
Kabuto learned slowly but worked hard.
Obedient and sensible.
Of all the children, he was her favorite.
"I'll just finish one more chapter, half an hour."
Kabuto bargained, holding up a finger.
"You're impossible. Okay, read, I'll come back later."
Nonou sighed, mostly out of affection and satisfaction.
She closed the door and walked to the next room.
If Kabuto was the obedient good kid, Natsume was the overly mature one.
Only seven, but he spoke and acted like an adult.
Because of this, he'd become the boss of the orphanage kids and saved Nonou a lot of trouble.
Nonou opened the door and raised her eyebrows.
His face was pale, hair messy, clean clothes smudged with dirt, sleeves torn as if by thorns, revealing red, swollen skin.
"Director."
Natsume grinned sheepishly. "I just tripped and fell."
"Tell me the truth."
Nonou looked him over, serious, then knelt and grabbed his arm.
"Ow, that hurts."
Natsume hissed reflexively.
"Now you know it hurts?"
Nonou placed her hand over the wound; a gentle green glow appeared.
Warm energy soothed his arm. Natsume sighed inwardly—medical ninjutsu was amazing.
"All done. Be careful next time."
Nonou fixed him with her dark gray eyes. "So, what really happened?"
Natsume hesitated, then said, "Director, I think I awakened some kind of special talent."
Awakened? Talent?
Nonou was an exceptional ninja. She immediately thought of Kekkei Genkai—bloodline techniques.
Under certain circumstances, they could awaken on their own.
"Show me," she asked eagerly.
If he had a Kekkei Genkai, he could become a ninja.
For an orphan, that was a great path forward.
Natsume held out his hand. Chakra surged, and several thorny vines grew from his palm.
But his control was poor. After a few seconds, the vines scattered, leaving new scratches on his arm.
"Wood Release?!"
Nonou's eyes widened, her emotions complex.