Chapter 11 Drunk Tsunade

As the school day came to an end, many parents arrived to pick up their children from the ninja school.

Among the departing students, Natsume spotted Uchiha Itachi walking alongside another boy.

It came as no surprise that the boy was none other than Uchiha Shisui, who had already gained significant recognition as 'Shisui of the Body Flicker' and stood as the most prominent prodigy within the Uchiha clan.

After a day of attending classes, Natsume had managed to familiarize himself with most of his classmates' names. Aside from Uchiha Itachi, there was another noteworthy character, Inuzuka Hana.

Hana served as the elder sister of Inuzuka Kiba, one of Konoha's famed twelve young heroes, and she pursued a career as a veterinarian.

However, Natsume couldn't quite figure out how to alter her destiny, as there were relatively few opportunities for her character to interact with the main plot.

Suddenly, a commotion disrupted the tranquility of the moment.

"Stop!"

"Pay back the money!"

Natsume looked up, his attention drawn by the disturbance. What he saw was a spry, gray-haired old woman briskly striding forward, with six burly men trailing behind her, struggling to keep pace.

As the elderly woman passed by Natsume, she shot him a mischievous glance, her demeanor oddly contrasting with her age and appearance. Inwardly, Natsume quipped, "Has my charm reached this point?"

However, he quickly realized that this was none other than Tsunade being pursued for debt—a scene that he had a hunch would become a regular occurrence in his life as Tsunade's adopted son and apprentice, alongside Shizune.

"I, the pure-hearted Mr. Pure, have nothing to do with gambling and drugs!" Natsume mused to himself, pondering how he might need to find ways to earn some extra income.

  Gradually, the crowd dispersed, and after about seven or eight minutes, the elderly lady transformed back into Tsunade right before Natsume's eyes.

"How was your day at school?" she asked.

"Not bad," Natsume replied, seizing the opportunity to take her soft hand and inquire, "Who was chasing you just now?"

"Oh, creditors," Tsunade responded casually. "I borrowed some money from them, and it's not like I won't pay them back, so they insist on chasing me."

Natsume couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Was she sure it was just a small sum? If he recalled correctly, Tsunade had quite a stack of IOUs, enough to fill several large boxes.

"Don't worry about it," Tsunade waved it off with a smile. "To celebrate your enrollment today, let's go buy some snacks."

Natsume couldn't help but give her advice, "Drinking isn't good for your health."

"Then you underestimate your sister too much," Tsunade retorted playfully, kneeling down and pointing to her forehead with her left hand. "Little brother, I'll let you in on a secret. This diamond-shaped mark is a potent ninjutsu known as the Yin Seal. Do you know what it does?"

Natsume shook his head, pretending ignorance, even though he knew the answer.

"It keeps my body functions at peak condition," Tsunade explained proudly. "So, anything that's detrimental to me, including alcohol, has no effect."

Natsume was genuinely impressed. "Wow, sis, that's amazing!"

Tsunade felt a twinge of satisfaction. His expression was just perfect. She affectionately rubbed his cheek and said with a smile, "Little brother, there are more secrets to discover. You'll find out about them later."

Natsume blushed slightly under her alluring fragrance, and Tsunade couldn't help but revel in the moment. "Look at you blushing. Your sister is quite impressed." However, considering they were in broad daylight, she decided to let it go.

On their way back home, Tsunade had picked up two bottles of wine at an izakaya. Upon their return, they found Shizune already hard at work in the kitchen.

Being an orphan, Shizune had become quite skilled at cooking. If Tsunade hadn't been keen on fostering a sibling-like relationship with Natsume, she would have probably handed the cooking responsibilities over to Shizune. Nevertheless, the dinner that evening was quite sumptuous, featuring miso soup, tempura, grilled tofu with minced meat, and salmon bibimbap.

Natsume thoroughly enjoyed the meal, while Tsunade savored the wine, much to Shizune and Natsume's envy since they were too young to partake.

After dinner, Shizune took care of the dishes and chopsticks in the kitchen, leaving Tsunade and Natsume alone in the living room. Tsunade, showing signs of inebriation, reclined on the sofa, her face sporting a slightly flushed, rosy hue.

After a while, she suddenly opened her eyes and focused on Natsume, who was engrossed in studying ninjutsu nearby.

"Natsume~" she drawled, her tone elongated and somewhat coquettish. She approached him, embracing his head and proclaimed, "Big Sis, really like you so much."

Natsume sighed internally, thinking, "Women, they always disrupt my study." Although being held felt nice, it was frustrating not to be able to release his pent-up emotions. It only made things more uncomfortable.

"Sis, you're drunk. Why don't you go to your room and rest?" Natsume suggested, well aware of how challenging it was to deal with drunk individuals.

If he is not careful, he might get vomited on. 

"I'm not drunk!" Tsunade declared, extending her slender, white fingers to pinch Natsume's cheek. "Only drunk people say they're not drunk."

Natsume shook his head, insisting, "Go back to your room and rest."

"If you don't like me, let me go back!" Tsunade said, unsteadily rising from the sofa and heading toward her room.

Natsume was on the verge of sighing in relief when he noticed Tsunade turning back.

Perplexed, he tilted his head, wondering what she was up to. However, before he could react, Tsunade had already picked him up, declaring, "You're staying with your sister."

He was taken aback. "What kind of service is this?" Natsume instinctively tried to squirm free, but Tsunade, despite being drunk, was surprisingly strong and quick, leaving him no escape.

Upon reaching the room, Tsunade released her hold, and Natsume hastily moved away. Just as he was about to leave, he witnessed a startling sight—Tsunade's naked form, her curves accentuated by red, white, and gold.

Turning promptly, Natsume exited the room. His relationship with Tsunade hasn't reached that point. He didn't want to ruin their current situation with a hasty move.

"Forget it, let's go find Orochimaru," he thought to himself, attempting to shift his focus away from the scene he had just witnessed. With Yamato's fate now altered, it was clear that Orochimaru and he had initiated some sort of deal. Acquiring Hashirama's cells was a tricky endeavor, though. Care had to be taken not to reveal the true body's location.

However, the benefits of obtaining Hashirama's cells were undeniable, especially in enhancing his Wood Release abilities. Natsume had awakened the talent for Wood Release, but without decent amout of chakra and an immortal body, he couldn't fully utilize it.

Hashirama's cells were crucial until Natsume had accumulated enough fate points. While he could use fate points to obtain Hashirama's cells, it was a costly option. Given his current shortage of destiny points, he didn't want to squander them. Thus, he sought alternative methods.

"Sister Shizune, I'm going to bed," Natsume informed Shizune and added, "Wait a moment, please go and check on Tsunade-sister."

Shizune referred to Tsunade as "sama," while Natsume addressed her as "sister." Initially perplexed, Shizune wanted to discuss with him, but Natsume assured her, she doesn't need to be so serious.

["Perhaps, in the future, you might have to call me Master Husband,"] Of course Natsume can only think of it at the moment.

At Orochimaru's residence, after spending one destiny point, Natsume summoned another wooden clone.

Meanwhile, in Orochimaru's underground training and research chamber, he was diligently instructing and mentoring Yamato. Despite his villainous reputation, Orochimaru displayed remarkable patience and understanding when dealing with children. The only challenge was that Yamato had been previously trained by Shimura Danzo, leading to a skewed thought process.

Orochimaru recognized the need to reorient Yamato's personality and guide him toward mastering Wood Release techniques. Yamato's achievements had sparked a fresh perspective in Orochimaru's ambitions. He no longer required the bodies of other bloodline-limit ninja; instead, his focus shifted to strengthening his own body.

The crucial step in this transformation was to flawlessly transplant Hashirama's cells, avoiding the grotesque fate that befell Shimura Danzo, who had become a patchwork of body parts.