Natsume hadn’t rushed into training Wood Release jutsu.

  His foundations were weak right now—easy to make mistakes.

  If Tsunade were around, her medical ninjutsu was so advanced that as long as he wasn’t blown into bits, she could probably piece him back together.

  It had been about a year since Natsume started studying under Yakushi Nono, learning the basics of being a ninja.

  Unfortunately, his talent was... cking.

  To this day, he hadn’t even mastered the Three Basic Jutsu. The only thing he’d managed to get down was chakra refinement.

  The front door creaked open.

  Natsume looked up and greeted sweetly, “Tsunade-nee.”

  Tsunade’s usually cool and refined expression immediately melted into a warm smile.

  So cute. So polite.

  She wanted to pinch those cheeks.

  No one could resist adorable things—and neither could she.

  “We’ll eat in a bit,” she said, lifting a pstic bag filled with takeout barbecue.

  “Okay!”

  Natsume responded obediently.

  Tsunade headed into the kitchen, pulled out two sets of chopsticks and dishes, and started rinsing them.

  Once they were clean, she pted the rice and grilled meat.

  She could cook herself, actually.

  She used to do it for her younger brother, Nawaki, just to watch him suffer through every bite.

  Yep. Her cooking was that bad—textbook dark cuisine. Two words: absolutely disgusting.

  But she enjoyed cooking because seeing Nawaki try to swallow it down made her feel the warmth of sibling love.

  Tsunade finished setting the table, then shrugged off her tea-green jacket.

  Underneath, she wore a loose, sleeveless kimono-style top, baring plenty of smooth, fair skin.

  “Natsume, come eat,” she called, waving him over.

  “Coming!”

  Natsume put down his scroll and looked up—his eyes lit up the moment he saw her.

  Without the jacket, her figure was even more stunning.

  Curvy. Radiant.

  He was genuinely worried that thin little top wouldn’t hold under the pressure.

  A part of him wanted to... lend a helping hand.

  “What are you spacing out for?”

  Tsunade raised an eyebrow. “Come on already.”

  “Oh—right!”

  Natsume quickly sat down at the table. He took a deep sniff and sighed in bliss. “Smells amazing!”

  He even swallowed a mouthful of drool.

  Heaven knows.

  These past three years—you know what kind of hell I’ve been through?

  Natto. Rice balls. Instant noodles.

  Honestly, the stuff I ate wasn’t even as good as the cafeteria food back in my past life.

  Now, faced with fragrant grilled meat? Bliss. Pure, tear-inducing bliss.

  Tsunade chuckled, amused.

  Resting her chin on her hand, she watched as Natsume wolfed down the food like a starving beast. It was kind of... adorable.

  The house hadn’t felt this lively in ages.

  She drifted off for a second, lost in thought. When she came back to herself, Natsume was staring right at her.

  “Aren’t you gonna eat, Tsunade-nee?”

  “I am now,” she said softly, picking up her chopsticks. “Eat as much as you like if you enjoy it.”

  “Mm!”

  Natsume tore his eyes away.

  That elegant face, the pendant hanging low, those graceful curves—

  A feast for the eyes, honestly.

  He promptly became a rice-devouring machine and cleared two full bowls.

  “I’m stuffed!” he said, rubbing his belly.

  Tsunade nodded in approval.

  Kid’s got a good appetite.

  But when she thought about his time at the orphanage, her honey-brown eyes turned a little sorrowful.

  He probably didn’t have it easy.

  “What are you doing?”

  She blinked as Natsume reached out and picked up her empty bowl.

  “Washing the dishes,” he said matter-of-factly. “You went out and bought food. It’s only right I handle the cleanup.”

  Tsunade was stunned for two seconds. Then, unable to resist, she reached out and pinched his cheek.

  A fond warmth bloomed in her chest.

  “You put that down. Let your big sister handle it.”

  She snatched the dishes back. “You’re still a kid. Wait until I’m old and gray—then you can take care of me.”

  “No way.”

  Natsume looked deadly serious. “You’ll never get old, Tsunade-nee.”

  Her eyes widened.

  Oof. That hit hard.

  “You’ve got a silver tongue,” she said, tapping his forehead with a finger. “Alright, go back to reading. In a bit, big sis is gonna quiz you hard.”

  Before he could protest, she swept off to the kitchen with the dishes.

  Soon, the sound of running water filled the air.

  Natsume gave himself a mental thumbs-up.

  Man, this face of his was too deceptive.

  Add in his age, and people naturally let their guard down. That made everything twice as effective.

  Not long after, Tsunade returned and sat down beside him in the living room.

  She gnced at the scroll he’d been studying. “Did Nono teach you the basic theory of chakra?”

  Natsume looked up. From his angle, he just happened to catch the view below her shoulder.

  Art from every angle.

  “She did,” he replied.

  “Good. Then I won’t go over that again.”

  Tsunade paused for a moment, then pulled out a palm-sized piece of chakra paper.

  “Since you’ve learned how to refine chakra, let’s test your nature affinity.”

  “Okay!”

  Natsume took the paper, channeled chakra into it—and within seconds, the paper reacted.

  One side became soaked as if drenched in water.

  But only half.

  Then, the remaining half crumbled and fked away like delicate snow.

  “Just as I thought—water and earth attributes.”

  Tsunade nodded. “Wood Release is a fusion of water and earth chakra. You’ll focus on that, but also study both water and earth styles individually.”

  A capable jonin never relies on just one type of jutsu.

  Simple logic.

  Different elements serve different purposes, and they counter each other.

  Knowing more elements means having fewer weaknesses.

  “Don’t let anyone know about your Wood Release,” she added after a pause.

  Wood Release meant a lot to the Hidden Leaf.

  Whether it was Hiruzen Sarutobi or Danzo Shimura, they’d both fight to get their hands on it.

  Tsunade wasn’t afraid of them—just didn’t want the hassle.

  “Understood.”

  That was Natsume’s pn anyway.

  As a veteran schemer and master of survival, keeping his Wood Release a secret would be his trump card.

  “Good boy.”

  Tsunade beamed. “Now, let big sis give you a little checkup. Don’t resist, okay?”

  No! Tsunade-nee, wait!

  Natsume’s eyes widened in innocent panic.

  What the heck kind of situation is this?

  Tsunade didn’t expin. She simply pced a hand against his stomach—through his clothes—and paused.

  “Your chakra reserves are pretty low,” she said.

  There were three steps to chakra refinement:

  First, blend the body's physical and spiritual energies to create stamina.

  Second, convert stamina into chakra.

  Third, channel that chakra through the network of meridians and store it in the organs.

  With just a touch, Tsunade could gauge his limits.

  At his current level, using the basic transformation jutsu two or three times would leave him totally drained.

  So she’d make sure to keep things moderate during their lessons. No pushing him too far, too fast.

  “You’re still young. Low chakra’s normal. Just train steadily.”

  She picked up the scroll and said, “We’ll start with the basics of Wood Release: the Three Basic Techniques.”

  Natsume nodded.

  He couldn’t help but think of Naruto Uzumaki.

  Comparison really was the thief of joy.

  Same age, but if the Nine-Tails inside him weren’t sealed, our loudmouth protagonist would’ve had chakra reserves in the dozens of units by now.

  By 9 p.m., Natsume was drenched in sweat and utterly wiped.

  “Alright, that’s enough. Don’t push yourself,” Tsunade said gently.

  She scooped him up in her arms. Seeing him grit his teeth and suffer in silence, her maternal instincts kicked in hard—and she pulled him into her chest.

  So considerate it hurt.

  Help! Tsunade-nee! That’s not how you hug a kid! This is a smothering hazard!

  Natsume was ambushed.

  All he could feel was warmth, softness, and a floral fragrance clogging his nose.

  He was already low on oxygen—this just finished him off.

  Thankfully, it only sted three seconds.

  Tsunade carried him to a bedroom and id him down gently.

  “Get a good night’s rest. Tomorrow, you’re coming with me to meet someone.”