The Great Slug Sage's large eyes flashed with a hint of mischief and curiosity.
Getting to see another side of Tsunade today was totally worth it.
Stoking the fire, it said, "Tsunade-sama is right. This is indeed extremely dangerous. Whether to train or not is up to you."
"I want to train."
Natsume nodded without hesitation.
"Why?!"
Tsunade frowned, a bit angry.
If it were someone else, she'd have just knocked them out and dragged them away—why bother with all this?
"Because I'm the man who will become Hokage!"
Natsume said with firm resolve. "If I back down over a little hardship, wouldn't that stain my dream?"
Under the darkening sky, Tsunade looked into his still-bright eyes and found herself momentarily dazed.
A moment later, she ruffled his hair into a complete mess, then said, "Since you want to train, let's give it a try."
Though she'd cured her hematophobia, what she feared most was history repeating itself.
Stopping Natsume earlier was for that reason.
But his words just now made Tsunade realize that a grown child should indeed make his own decisions.
Also… it was kind of cool.
Tsunade's heartbeat sped up noticeably.
"Sit."
The Slug Sage was quite pleased with Natsume's decision.
This kind of resolve is exactly what an heir should have.
It could have doused him with a mouthful of adhesive acid—Natsume wouldn't withstand that at his current level.
But the Slug Sage wouldn't do something murderous.
It tilted its head back and expelled a massive amount of natural energy.
The gloomy sky immediately drew together a thick bank of dark clouds.
Moments later, acid rain began to fall.
Natsume clenched his teeth hard.
Under the corrosion, his skin rapidly ulcerated and bled, then soon healed and carbonized, revealing fresh new skin.
Watching him, Tsunade's face was openly filled with worry and heartache, as if the acid rain were falling on her heart.
What shocked her was that he didn't scream from the pain.
For the first time, she realized that when it came to this dream, Natsume was truly serious.
Hokage, huh?
Tsunade tightened her fist.
It might be unlikely for others, but Natsume's chances were actually quite high.
Because he was her student.
Originally, Tsunade had no interest in the Hokage position, but now a rare fighting spirit was stirred.
She had to pave the way for Natsume.
Unfortunately, Tsunade misunderstood his dream.
Still, by a twist of fate, it wasn't really a problem.
If Tsunade became Hokage, Natsume's dream would also be realized.
No issue there.
The Slug Sage controlled the intensity of the acid rain and stopped supplying natural energy after half an hour.
The sky abruptly brightened.
Before it could speak, Tsunade had already placed both hands on Natsume's back, bathing his wounds in a rapid flow of green chakra.
Moments later, he was as good as new.
Natsume opened his eyes, feeling power surging through his whole body.
"You okay?"
Tsunade moved to stand before him, then suddenly pulled out some clothes, and tossed them to him.
"I'm fine."
Natsume struggled to his feet, put on the clothes, and, seeing how tense she looked, couldn't help but smile.
Nice!
Nailed it.
"Go back and change properly."
Tsunade instinctively glanced down, then lost her composure first and escaped with Reverse Summoning.
"Good job, little big brother."
Natsume marched out of Shikkotsu Forest, brimming with pride.
…
Afternoon.
Tsunade went to the Hokage building.
Natsume headed to Hinata's room.
He'd been coming by frequently to help develop her talents.
"Natsume-nii."
Hinata immediately felt her heart settle.
Every time she sparred with Hiashi or Neji, she got flustered.
But for some reason, with Natsume, everything felt orderly.
"Let's go."
Natsume patted his back.
Hinata rose on tiptoe and wrapped her arms around his neck.
The Mangekyō Sharingan opened.
Another little running away from home.
Hinata rested her cheek on Natsume's shoulder, gazing at the distant sky, and a hard-to-describe feeling welled up inside.
She suddenly understood Neji a little.
Freedom really is too precious.
"We're here."
Natsume patted her back.
"Mm."
Hinata came back to herself and reluctantly let go, standing on her own.
Natsume turned, looked into her eyes, reached out to stroke her black hair. "Let's begin."
His Mangekyō Sharingan spun.
The light faded from Hinata's eyes as she fell into a genjutsu.
Natsume didn't idle—he began practicing the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Before long, his brows lifted. He left a shadow clone to watch over Hinata.
He himself turned and headed north.
The chakra fluctuations were growing stronger.
By a waterside, he finally saw two youths in Uchiha attire.
Both had their three-tomoe Sharingan open, sparring intensely—pretty brutal.
In battle, the Sharingan's greatest strength is prediction.
But when both sides have it, it turns into "I predict your prediction."
A real mind game.
One boy was Itachi.
The other girl was someone Natsume hadn't seen before.
Black hair, black eyes, young, gifted.
He could almost confirm it was Izumi.
A side character with little screen time.
She could be called Itachi's kindred spirit; she awakened three tomoe at thirteen.
In the anime, she died on the night of the clan massacre at the hands of Uchiha Obito.
Natsume's arrival was noticed by both, but it didn't affect them.
After a dozen minutes, Izumi lost.
Among the young generation's geniuses, few could match Itachi.
"Natsume, long time no see."
Itachi picked up the kunai and shuriken on the ground and greeted him.
Izumi looked surprised.
In her impression, it was rare for anyone to earn special regard from Itachi.
"Natsume?"
Izumi found the name oddly familiar, then realized, "Oh—you're Lady Tsunade's student. Hello, I'm Izumi."
Compared to Itachi's coolness, she was gentler and more enthusiastic.
"Nice to meet you."
Natsume replied sincerely.
In that moment, he was already considering how to earn Fate Points.
Because Izumi would be much easier to work with than Itachi.
Dying on massacre night is a pity—better to recruit her.
Ahem.
Natsume changed the subject. "I recall the Uchiha have a dedicated training ground. Why come to the Forest of Death to spar?"
Izumi hesitated at that.
"Recently, several ninja squads formed by our clansmen were attacked outside. All of them were acknowledged geniuses, so we came out to try our luck."
Itachi thought for a moment and answered.
He trusted Natsume more than most.
Besides, Natsume would learn of it soon anyway.
Natsume immediately thought of Orochimaru.
Only that research fanatic could execute so efficiently.
But he hadn't received any Fate Points.
Those missing Uchiha geniuses probably had no names in the original story.
There was one thing Itachi hadn't said.
Yes, the geniuses were attacked—but they didn't die. It was their teammates who did, and the corpses seemed to have been tortured.
PS: As for Tsunade's personality, some might feel she's too gentle with Natsume. That's because she's always seen him as a little brother who hasn't grown up yet. Later, she'll undergo a psychological shift—from sibling-like to romantic. Only then will her spoiled or fiery side show. It won't be excessive.