Naruto: Adopted By Tsunade

When Natsume woke up, he was back in Konoha.

He scratched his head.

He hadn't expected to fall asleep because it was so soft and comfortable.

How could you sleep at that age?

Natsume got up and hyped himself up.

In the living room, Shizune was reading. Tsunade was nowhere to be seen.

"Shizune-sis, I'm heading back to the orphanage."

"Be careful."

Shizune looked up, not surprised.

He went back to the orphanage every couple of days.

…

Konoha covered a huge area.

But the core area inside the barrier wasn't that big.

Why was the Uchiha clan unhappy with their new territory?

Because they were at the edge of the barrier.

Lose again and they'd be pushed all the way to the Forest of Death.

The Senju clan's old house and the orphanage were in the center, so it wasn't far.

After a few minutes, Natsume arrived.

"Natsume-nii, you're back!"

"Natsume-nii!"

"Candy!"

As soon as Natsume entered, a group of kids surrounded him.

He opened his bag. "Don't fight—one lollipop each."

"Thank you!"

The kids immediately got distracted by the candy.

Natsume looked around and found Kabuto.

He was playing with a white rabbit.

To be precise, dissecting it to study its anatomy.

"Kabuto, want some candy?"

Natsume walked over.

"I'm not a kid."

Kabuto shook his head. His hands were covered in rabbit blood, and he wasn't scared at all by the dissected bunny.

You'd never guess from his looks that he was only seven.

"Kabuto, in a bit, come with me to meet Sister Tsunade. Show her your medical talent."

Natsume peeled a lollipop for himself and started eating.

Not bad.

Kabuto's eyes lit up, his composure gone. "Will she really take me as her student?"

"She will."

Natsume thought to himself, You don't know how scary your medical talent is. "Even if she doesn't, I'll make her teach you medical ninjutsu."

Given his relationship with Tsunade, a bit of begging should do it.

The orphanage's director, Nonou, was also a skilled medical ninja.

But her identity was complicated.

If Kabuto stayed with her, Danzo would soon notice.

Danzo, like Orochimaru, loved recruiting geniuses.

But for different reasons.

Danzo wanted to brainwash them into loyal Root members.

Orochimaru wanted to collect their bodies as vessels.

Kabuto fit both standards.

"Such a cute rabbit, and you're so cruel."

Natsume suddenly remembered a meme from his previous life and said, "Add extra chili at lunch—we'll make spicy rabbit stew."

"..."

Kabuto froze for two seconds, then nodded. "That's what I was planning anyway."

The orphanage wasn't rich—they never wasted food.

Natsume watched for a while, got bored, and started practicing ninjutsu on the side.

The D-rank Body Flicker Technique.

A very useful jutsu.

Minato's Flying Thunder God is, at its core, a form of Body Flicker with added space manipulation—far beyond the reach of normal ninja.

The basic D-rank version isn't true teleportation, just very fast movement.

It creates the illusion of teleporting by accelerating.

Besides Body Flicker, he was also working on Water Release: Wild Water Wave.

A basic water jutsu—three hand signs, then a water blast from the mouth.

Natsume had both water and earth affinities.

But water was his primary affinity, so he focused on Water Release first.

He also used Water Release as a cover for his Wood Release, building the identity of a water-style ninja.

…

Natsume spent the rest of Sunday at the orphanage, returning home in the evening.

"Back already?"

Tsunade was watching TV on the sofa.

Yes, the ninja world has TVs and even computers.

But very few people could afford them.

Most people lived below the poverty line.

Especially commoners outside the five major countries—their lives were even harder.

But with ninja around, it wasn't like they could rise up and rebel.

A single jonin could take out thousands of regular people.

Natsume naturally sat beside Tsunade.

She just as naturally put her arm around him, ruffling his hair like petting a cat.

Natsume felt like a pet.

Today was a rest day, so no practicing Wood Release.

Shizune, on the other hand, was diligently studying medicine.

But learning medicine wouldn't save the ninja world.

Natsume suddenly recalled a famous quote: "Studying medicine cannot save the country."

Ordinary medical ninja could never reach Tsunade's level.

But even she was a background character in the late stages.

A real man should pilot a Gundam.

Natsume sniffed. There was a nice scent, like flowers.

Was it perfume, or just her natural scent?

There's a theory: if you can smell someone's scent even when they haven't used perfume, your genes have selected them, and your babies won't have immune deficiencies.

"Sis, did you use perfume?"

"No."

Tsunade sniffed herself and asked, "Is there a weird smell?"

"Oh, no."

Natsume shook his head. "I just thought I smelled something nice."

Tsunade paused, then her smile widened. She slithered closer, teasing, "Smell again—what kind of scent is it?"

Woman! You're playing with fire!

Just you wait!

What man could handle that?

Natsume thought Tsunade was very different from his original impression.

Was this what having a big sister was like?

In the original, Tsunade seemed very fond of her little brother.

But now, it felt a bit overwhelming.

Natsume struggled free, breathing fresh air. "Like this, I can't watch TV."

Tsunade finally let him go.

…

…

Half a month passed just like that.

While going to school, Natsume took control of Gunma Company.

With Tsunade's support, it was easy.

Treat, execute, accept as lackeys.

First talk to the boss—if it didn't work out, kill him. The rest would naturally kneel and shout, "Welcome, New Boss, to your loyal company!"

Gunma Company had two main businesses: casinos and underground banking (loan-sharking).

Neither was very respectable.

Once Natsume took over, he ordered a full overhaul.

The banks, too, were reformed to resemble modern banks from his previous life.

He was probably the only one in this world who knew how profitable banks could be.

Casino plus bank—renovation would take a month or two.

Training the staff would take even longer.

Natsume left it alone for now.

He needed to meet Orochimaru, and also deliver a gift to his desk mate, Uchiha Itachi.

He also planned to use his new wealth to hire ninja to rescue Karin and her mother. As for whom to hire, he'd have to choose carefully.

…

A dark, windy night.

Natsume used some Fate points to send a Wood Clone to Orochimaru's estate.