"Aaah!"
A somewhat foul-smelling scream.
Natsume suddenly woke up, looking up to see a black dot flying rapidly.
Wifey!
Oh wait, I don't have a wife.
But I have a teacher.
Natsume changed clothes, got up, left the room, and reached the living room—empty.
He opened the door. In the courtyard stood Tsunade and Shizune.
The former looked displeased, the latter extremely terrified.
"Who was that scream just now?"
Natsume asked curiously.
"Jiraiya."
Tsunade shook her fist and said, "Don't mind him. He's an unreliable guy. Have less contact with him."
She knew Jiraiya's character.
His loyalty to Konoha was unquestionable.
But regarding women, his personality was quite vile.
Just his peeping habit was enough to make women stay away.
Tsunade thought of Sarutobi Hiruzen again.
Truly, if the upper beam is crooked, the lower one follows.
Natsume is such a good child; he absolutely can't pick up these bad habits.
"Okay."
Natsume nodded, but wondered what Jiraiya was doing back in Konoha.
It wasn't for Naruto anyway.
He's only three now. Sarutobi Hiruzen won't let go, so Jiraiya can't do anything.
Unless he wants to betray his master and destroy his ancestors.
Unable to think of a purpose, he stopped bothering. It had nothing to do with him anyway.
As for Jiraiya stealing Tsunade away—impossible.
Because of the so-called prophecy, he had long sealed his heart and buried his love.
Jiraiya was a good ninja, but not a good man.
In the original, he passed up so many opportunities.
Now with Natsume around, he really had zero chance.
After breakfast.
Tsunade took Natsume and Kabuto to the nearby Training Ground No. 4.
Inuzuka Hana was already waiting.
At her feet was a gray large dog, somewhat like a Husky.
"Lady Tsunade."
Inuzuka Hana quickly stepped forward to greet her.
"Mm."
Tsunade nodded and said, "For these three months, I'll specially train you. The method is simple: simulate various scenarios and attack me."
She skipped even the greetings, appearing decisive and efficient.
"Eh?"
Inuzuka Hana clearly wasn't used to her style and was a bit slow to react.
"Today, we'll simulate a frontal battle."
Tsunade clapped her hands and said, "With Natsume as the main, Kabuto and Hana, use your full abilities to assist."
Water Style: Water Whip!
Natsume didn't hold back; a white whip woven from water lashed out.
The next second, Kabuto threw a smoke bomb.
The battle officially began.
Inuzuka Hana was stunned.
You guys are this fast?
Four Legs Technique!
She crouched on the ground, her hands turning into feet, her whole body like a dog, charging into the smoke.
At the same time, her nose twitched.
The Inuzuka clan had a sense of smell comparable to a dog's.
This kind of vision-obscuring battle couldn't affect her; in fact, she thrived in it.
Her ninja dog kept in sync with her.
"You're quite ruthless."
Tsunade snorted lightly, grabbed Natsume's water whip, and yanked.
The immense force made him stagger.
She stepped forward and kicked out.
You're even more ruthless, okay?
Natsume's body turned into a puddle of water.
It was a Water Clone.
Wind came from behind; Inuzuka Hana and her ninja dog bit at Tsunade's vital spots.
"Good timing."
Tsunade turned and kicked them both away, leaving the ninja dog howling in pain.
But she wasn't praising Inuzuka Hana, but Kabuto.
Countless poison needles fell from the sky.
If Inuzuka Hana and her dog had succeeded or even slightly restrained Tsunade, Kabuto's poison needles would be hard to avoid.
Tsunade pulled out several kunai, weaving them into a net above her head.
The poison needles were all deflected.
Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!
A water dragon suddenly flew from Tsunade's right side.
"So you're over here."
Tsunade's eyes smiled as she stomped her feet, her body crashing through the water dragon and appearing right in front of Natsume.
"Got you."
She was clearly in a playful mood, like playing hide and seek.
Natsume didn't answer, opening his arms as if to hug her.
Tsunade was slightly stunned. Psychological tactics?
But the next second, a stream of water poured down from above, drenching her.
Natsume had no time to admire the view and quickly retreated.
Because Tsunade could have easily avoided it.
Not avoiding meant it was likely a clone.
Sure enough, the next moment, the ground under Natsume cracked.
Accompanied by Tsunade's fist.
The speed was so fast he couldn't react.
But the fist hit a test tube.
It was thrown by Kabuto.
The tube shattered, and a poisonous gas enveloped Tsunade.
But she didn't panic; she even sniffed it deliberately.
"Not bad potency."
Tsunade showed a satisfied smile.
Then, she started chasing Natsume to beat him.
Kabuto thought inwardly: As expected, it didn't work.
…
…
Half an hour later, two people and a dog lay on the ground.
Only Tsunade and Natsume were still standing.
But the former was barely breathing hard, while the latter was sweating profusely.
Who won and who lost was obvious.
"Rest for a bit."
Tsunade glanced and said.
Shizune, who had been watching from the side, immediately came forward to check Inuzuka Hana and Kabuto's conditions.
In this battle, the worst off weren't Natsume, but them.
Inuzuka Hana was average, and even with the dog, it was hard to keep up with the battle rhythm.
Kabuto could barely manage, but he was a medical ninja.
Just assisting Natsume was troublesome enough, and he had to find time to save Inuzuka Hana and her dog.
Tsunade didn't like using ranged ninjutsu and mostly engaged Natsume in close combat.
Kabuto couldn't use high-damage explosive tags.
Otherwise, Tsunade would be fine, but Natsume would be scrambling.
This wasn't friendly fire.
Inuzuka Hana felt differently.
So tiring, but her teammates are strong.
Natsume facing Tsunade head-on could barely hold up.
She thought Kabuto was just a cheerleader in the back, but he was completely different from ordinary medical ninjas.
Not only could he fight, but he could also provide emergency aid.
Every time Inuzuka Hana and her ninja dog were beaten down by Tsunade, Kabuto would run out, give her a few injections, and she'd be lively again.
She couldn't even slack off.
But this kind of medical ninja was truly reassuring.
…
Time flew by.
Soon, it was Natsume's tenth birthday.
To be honest, he didn't care much about it.
But Tsunade was different.
She fully played the role of head of the household, inviting Yakushi Nonou, Rinka, Hinata, and others as guests.
It was much livelier than the previous two birthdays.
Natsume also received many gifts.
For example, Tsunade gave him a sword tassel to decorate his Sword of the Thunder God. It was golden, made of some kind of wool—maybe sheep's wool.
At night.
As usual, Natsume came to Hinata's room again.
He brought a lot of food.
"Um... Brother Natsume... I..."
Hinata fidgeted, unable to say a complete sentence for a while.
"What's wrong?"
Natsume arranged the food while looking down at her.
"Today... is your birthday..."
Hinata's face flushed red as she apologized, "S-sorry, I didn't prepare a gift."
Natsume waved his hand and said, "It's no big deal. Let's eat."
Hinata nodded embarrassedly.
After eating, she watched Natsume cleaning up and suddenly hesitated.
A moment later, she mustered her courage and asked in a soft, pitiful tone, "Brother Natsume, can... can I ask you something?"