Morning.
Natsume pried his eyes open with difficulty.
Yesterday had been too exhausting.
Training in the morning, meetings with Orochimaru and Mei Terumi in the afternoon, then a bloody battle with Hinae at night—it had drained him.
"Didn't sleep well?"
Tsunade noticed his reluctance to get up and asked.
She had gone to bed first last night and vaguely remembered he came back very late.
Probably chatted too long with Hinata again.
"No, I just don't want to get up."
Natsume rubbed his bleary eyes. "If sis would sleep in with me, that'd be perfect."
Tsunade rapped him on the head. "You've only put in effort for a few days and you're already slacking?"
"Ow, ow, ow!"
Natsume snapped awake.
"Quit faking it."
Arms crossed, Tsunade said coolly, "You're not afraid of the Slug Sage's corrosive acid, but this hurts?"
Hey!
Wicked woman, ever heard of romance?
"It really hurts."
Natsume flopped back onto the bed.
Tsunade instinctively reached to steady him—and he hugged her.
"You little—!"
She frowned, glaring at him for taking advantage.
But she was a step too slow.
Moving like a hunter, Natsume brushed his lips against her cheek in a flash.
Tsunade froze for a beat, then stood, grabbed the back of his neck like a kitten, and tossed him onto the living room sofa.
"Breakfast today. You eat double."
"Nooo!"
His smug grin froze, turned to stone on the spot.
But smiles don't vanish—they transfer.
Tsunade showed a satisfied smile, tied on an apron, and headed into the kitchen.
"Huh? Natsume, why do you look so despairing?"
Shizune, hearing noise, opened her door, tying on her forehead protector as she asked.
"It's nothing."
Natsume looked up at her with hopeful eyes. "Shizune, are you very hungry? Want to eat a little extra?"
"Don't you dare."
Shizune blanched. "My breakfast portions are always fixed."
Survival instinct trumped senior-junior affection.
In the end, under Tsunade's coercion, Natsume tearfully ate a double portion.
Thinking about the unknown taste of breakfast, he ran to the Ninja Academy.
…
Today was the opening ceremony and assessment.
Last time he'd seen Hinata, she had asked him to come watch.
Natsume also wanted to check in on Naruto and Sasuke, so he agreed.
Crowds of students and parents had already gathered at the academy gate.
"Itachi."
Natsume immediately spotted the cold-faced Itachi in the crowd.
"Natsume, I didn't expect to see you here."
Itachi turned, surprised.
"Where's Sasuke?"
Natsume scanned around—no sign of Sasuke.
"He went to find his friends and told me to wait here."
Itachi's expression softened slightly.
Sasuke was his biggest worry.
Because of his personality and his surname, no one befriended him.
But now it seemed that even without an elder brother, Sasuke wouldn't be alone.
"Friends? Naruto?"
Natsume narrowed his eyes slightly.
Under normal circumstances, Itachi wouldn't want Sasuke spending much time with Naruto.
Unless he had already struck a deal with Orochimaru, planning to wipe out the Uchiha clan and defect.
"Not just him."
Itachi's tone held a trace of relief. "There are two girls, too."
"Oh? I've heard Sasuke is quite popular at school."
Natsume nodded, already guessing which two.
Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka.
Come to think of it, he hadn't met them yet.
They weren't in the same class as Naruto.
It had to be said: being good-looking makes you popular.
Even being an Uchiha hadn't hurt Sasuke's appeal to girls.
Though right now Sasuke only had eyes for Naruto.
Women only get in the way of his strength.
His only wish now was to defeat Naruto and dominate the academy.
As a genius of the Uchiha clan, getting beaten down was disgraceful.
Because of this, he'd never received praise from Fugaku. It was becoming a demon in his heart.
"I haven't asked—you, why are you here?"
While waiting, Itachi actually made small talk.
With Shisui's life or death uncertain, Natsume was one of the few he could chat with.
"To see that little one."
Natsume gestured toward Hinata. "I'll head over."
He walked forward a few steps.
Hinata noticed him immediately; her eyes sparkled.
"Auntie."
Natsume first greeted Hyuga Rinka, then looked at Hinata with a smile. "Long time no see."
They actually saw each other every day.
"Natsume-nii."
Hinata lowered her head, fingers pinching the hem of her clothes.
When it was just the two of them, she wasn't that shy.
But outside, she felt all kinds of eyes on them.
Classic social anxiety.
Rinka glanced at her daughter's bashful face and smiled knowingly.
She didn't object.
With Tsunade active again, the big clans with good intel had already guessed.
The next Hokage would likely be her.
As Tsunade's disciple, Natsume's status would rise with the tide.
History had proven that Hokage isn't all about fighting—it's about people skills.
You can't become Hokage on fists alone.
Of course, there had been outliers like the White Fang.
But that was not a topic for polite conversation.
Rinka asked, "Natsume, how do you have time to come to the academy?"
"Oh, I ran into Itachi, so I came by to have a look."
He couldn't exactly say he had nocturnal visits with her daughter and came to watch her.
"Uchiha Itachi?"
Rinka glanced at Hinata, then leaned to Natsume's ear, warm breath tickling.
"The Uchiha are in a bad spot right now. Take Auntie's advice and keep your distance."
Natsume paused.
Such a reminder was rare.
It showed she had a good impression of him.
"I understand."
He nodded.
"Mhm."
Rinka took Hinata's hand. "There's an opening exam today. If you're interested, come watch."
"Alright, I'll be along."
After watching them go, Natsume returned to Itachi's side.
It wasn't long before four kids approached from afar.
Hands in pockets, Sasuke walked in front, face cold.
On his left, Naruto chattered away with a grin.
On his right, a blonde girl and a pink-haired girl were fangirling.
"Sasuke-kun is so cool!"
Stars sparkled in Sakura's eyes as she raged inwardly: Damn you, Naruto! Stealing my man!
Ino was about to speak when her face went blank for a beat.
In the crowd, an overly handsome young man had caught her eye.
Sasuke really was good-looking, but he was still young—he hadn't hit his peak.
Natsume, on the other hand, was at his most handsome.
Most importantly, Ino was a seasoned looks-obsessed girl.
In the original story, she married Sai just because he resembled Sasuke.