“Well, isn’t this a pleasant surprise.”

  Tsunade's lips curled into a faint smile, her eyes thoughtful as she considered what to do with Natsume.

  Leaving him in the orphanage would be risky—he might end up in Danzo Shimura’s hands.

  And that… would be a disaster.

  As for Hiruzen Sarutobi, Tsunade still held a grudge against him.

  Maybe she should just take Natsume in herself?

  Tsunade had returned to Konoha not only to attend the funeral of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki—but also for another reason.

  To take Shizune with her.

  Shizune had been just a newborn during the Second Shinobi War, which was why Tsunade hadn’t brought her along back then. But now, she had graduated from the Ninja Academy and was showing promising talent in medical ninjutsu.

  Since she had no family in Konoha, Tsunade had pnned to take her away.

  Now… maybe she could bring Natsume along too.

  According to Nonō Yakushi, the boy was mature and sensible beyond his years.

  Tsunade wouldn’t have to fuss over him—just teach him Wood Release.

  Ever since her grandfather Hashirama Senju passed away, Wood Release had vanished from the shinobi world.

  As the st remaining Senju, Tsunade felt a certain responsibility.

  Maybe, just maybe, it was time for the world to remember what it was like… to fear the might of Wood Release. To remember the legacy of the Senju Cn.

  “You can use Wood Release. That means you have Senju blood,” Tsunade said, her expression unusually gentle. “In that case, you shouldn’t stay in an orphanage. You should return to the Senju cn. Will you come with me?”

  For some reason, a random line popped into Natsume’s mind:

  “So you're my Master now, huh?”

  “I am one of the legendary Sannin,” Tsunade added, noticing his silence and assuming he was still unsure. She puffed up her chest with pride. “Stick with me and you’ll be just fine.”

  Natsume gnced at her. Yeah, no kid following her was gonna starve.

  He nodded. “I’m willing.”

  Tsunade beamed, reaching out to pinch his cheek pyfully. “Smart choice, handsome little guy.”

  “What about me?”

  A voice cut in—Kabuto Yakushi. He couldn’t help but speak up.

  Natsume was his best friend at the orphanage. Now that he was leaving, Kabuto didn’t want to let go.

  “Kabuto, don’t be rude,” Nonō quickly chided, nervous that he’d offended Tsunade. “Natsume’s only moving out of the orphanage. You’ll still see each other often.”

  Kabuto lowered his head, disappointed, but he didn’t argue further.

  Natsume hesitated for a moment. In the end, he decided to stick to the original pn: let Kabuto’s talent “accidentally” be discovered ter, so Tsunade would take him as her student too.

  If he said something now, it’d feel way too convenient—and it might make Nonō suspicious.

  “Kabuto, I’ll come visit you every day,” Natsume said with a smile.

  Kabuto perked up almost instantly.

  He was smart—he knew going with Tsunade could only be a good thing.

  “Nonō, I’ll be taking him with me,” Tsunade said, bending slightly to hold out her hand.

  As Natsume took it, he felt a strange pressure bearing down from above, like a force reaching into the depths of his soul.

  In that moment, one phrase filled his mind:

  Rich and generous.

  “Let’s go.”

  Tsunade didn’t wait for him to react. She gripped his hand and strode toward the door.

  “Natsume! Don’t forget to come visit!” Kabuto shouted after them.

  “I won’t!” Natsume called back, waving.

  A valuable tool like Kabuto—he wasn’t about to let that friendship go to waste.

  Once they left the orphanage, Tsunade looked up toward the north.

  The Hokage Rock loomed in the distance, the faces of the past Hokage carved into the cliff.

  There were only three so far—Minato’s death was still too recent for a fourth carving.

  Natsume stood on tiptoe, trying to see what she was looking at—but he was too short.

  Tsunade noticed and chuckled softly.

  Natsume had just turned seven, and with his delicate, pretty features, every movement he made was just pin adorable.

  “I was looking at the Hokage Rock,” she said, resisting the urge to ruffle his hair. “Down below, to the left, is the area where all the Hokage have lived. That’s also where the Senju cn’s compound is. If you want to understand the blood you’ve inherited, that pce holds the answers.”

  With that, Tsunade led Natsume northward, to a secluded residence.

  She smiled nostalgically as they arrived.

  “This is where my grandparents lived. Where I grew up.”

  Tsunade hadn’t returned here in a very long time.

  Her grandmother had been Mito Uzumaki, the first Jinchūriki of the Nine Tails.

  Because of her special status, she’d lived here in seclusion.

  But that was long ago.

  Natsume looked around.

  How to describe it?

  Meh.

  Just your average traditional wooden house.

  Tsunade pushed open the door. Inside, everything was spotless.

  Clearly someone had been maintaining it.

  And not just anyone—the pce was under constant ANBU surveilnce. No one could get near it.

  If Natsume hadn’t been with Tsunade, he would’ve been taken down before setting foot inside.

  “Nothing here,” Tsunade muttered after checking the fridge—completely empty. She shook her head.

  She’d wanted to pour Natsume a gss of milk. Kids needed to grow, after all.

  Well. Water it was.

  “Sit on the couch for a bit. I’ll go find something.”

  She handed him a gss of water, then headed upstairs.

  A few moments ter, she returned with two scrolls.

  “Can you read?”

  “The orphanage head taught me.”

  “This is the Senju cn registry. See if any names look familiar.”

  Tsunade sat across from him, crossing her long, fair legs, watching him with amusement.

  It really was a lovely sight.

  Like watching a beautiful white cat you just had to pet.

  Natsume finished flipping through the registry.

  Aside from Hashirama and Tobirama, all the names were strangers.

  “I don’t remember anything from before,” Natsume said, shaking his head. “Nothing here rings a bell.”

  “Then let it stay in the past,” Tsunade said softly, heart aching at the sadness in his eyes.

  Such a pitiful, well-mannered child.

  “From now on, you’ll be learning ninjutsu from me.”

  She opened the second scroll. “I can’t use Wood Release myself, but my grandfather left detailed notes. It’ll be enough for you to study.”

  “Thank you, Lady Tsunade.”

  Natsume’s gratitude this time was real.

  If he could master Wood Release—even if not to Hashirama’s level—getting to Yamato’s wouldn’t be bad.

  Sure, people joked that Yamato was a glorified ndscaper—but in truth, he was a solid elite jōnin.

  “No need for ‘Lady.’ When we’re alone, just call me ‘sister.’”

  Tsunade actually looked a little nervous—worried he might refuse.

  After all, they’d only just met.

  But Natsume was cute, and his smooth talk earlier had completely won her over.

  “Sister Tsunade!”

  Natsume didn’t hesitate.

  A rich big sister like this? Jackpot.

  Wait… wasn’t Tsunade kinda broke?

  “Natsume, would you like to change your name? How about Natsuki?”

  Tsunade leaned closer, a sweet scent wafting from her.

  Crap. Am I becoming someone’s emotional repcement?

  Even though he’d pnted the idea himself, this development caught him off guard.

  Still, Natsuki? Hard pass.

  It reminded him of Natsuki Mogi.

  He still remembered watching Initial D as a clueless kid—jealous of how Mogi always got money from her “generous uncle.”

  Later, he realized… that wasn’t an uncle. That was a sugar daddy.

  The internet had a lot of memes about that.

  Like: I bought a sexy swimsuit today...

  Natsume shook his head. “Sister Tsunade, Natsume is the only thing my parents left me. I’d like to keep it.”

  Tsunade wasn’t upset—instead, her heart melted a little more.

  She gently patted his head. “Then we won’t change it. What do you want for dinner? I’ll go buy it.”

  “Grilled meat,” Natsume answered immediately.

  The orphanage barely scraped by with Nonō’s support—decent food was rare.

  Tsunade stood. “You go study the jutsu. I’ll be back soon.”

  Natsume eagerly unrolled the scroll.

  The first jutsu: Wood Release: Wood Substitution.

  Substitution was one of the most basic ninja techniques. This version used wood—slightly more advanced.

  It allowed the user to swap their body with a wooden decoy mid-attack.

  Perfect level of difficulty for him right now.

  Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office…

  Following Minato Namikaze’s death, Hiruzen Sarutobi had reluctantly resumed the position of Hokage.

  “What a mess…”

  Hiruzen exhaled from his pipe, reading through the intel on his desk with a weary heart.

  Regaining power should’ve been a good thing.

  But could people please stop making trouble?

  Minato had just died, and already Kumogakure was stirring things up on the borders.

  “Lord Hokage,” said an ANBU wearing a frog mask, appearing out of thin air. “Just now, Lady Tsunade took an orphan named Natsume to the First Hokage’s residence.”

  “Natsume?” Hiruzen frowned, puffing on his pipe. “What’s his connection to Tsunade?”

  “No known connection. Today was the first time they met.”

  Hiruzen blew out a smoke ring, deep in thought.

  First meeting, and she brought him to Hashirama’s old home?

  Yeah, that wasn’t normal.

  The boy must be… special.

  Still, that wasn’t what concerned him most.

  He had another idea.

  If he could use Natsume to keep Tsunade in Konoha…

  He’d already spoken with her earlier and could tell she pnned to leave soon.

  But right now, Konoha was facing internal and external threats—it needed Tsunade.

  If she stayed, not only would she restore morale…

  She’d also make Konoha’s enemies think twice.