Treat Them, Behead Them, Take Them as Dogs

When Natsume woke up, he was already back in Konoha.

He scratched his head.

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

How can anyone your age sleep at a time like this?

Natsume got out of bed and gave himself a pep talk.

In the main hall, Shizune was reading, while Tsunade was nowhere to be seen.

"Big Sister Shizune, I'm going back to the Orphanage for a bit."

"Be careful on the way."

Shizune looked up without surprise.

He went back to the Orphanage almost every other day.

Konoha covered a vast area.

However, the central region within the barrier was actually not that large.

Why was the Uchiha Clan dissatisfied with their new territory?

Because they had already reached the edge of the barrier.

If they lost any more land, they would be pushed all the way to the Forest of Death.

Fugaku Uchiha had nearly pointed at Shimura Danzō and shouted those words: Have you no shame?

Hashirama Senju's Former Residence and the Orphanage were in the central region, so they were not far apart.

Natsume walked for a few minutes before reaching his destination.

"Natsume, you're back!"

"Natsume!"

"Candy!"

As soon as Natsume entered the Orphanage, a group of children surrounded him.

He opened the bag in his hand and said, "Don't fight over them. One lollipop per person."

"Thank you, Big Brother!"

The children were immediately distracted by the candy.

Natsume looked around and found Kabuto.

He was playing with a little white rabbit.

More precisely, he was studying its bodily structure.

"Kabuto, want some candy?"

Natsume walked over and asked.

"I'm not a child."

Kabuto Yakushi shook his head. His hands were covered in rabbit's blood, and he stared at the dissected white rabbit without the slightest fear.

Judging by his appearance alone, it was hard to believe he was only seven years old.

"Kabuto, in a while, come with me to meet Lady Tsunade. Then you can show her your talent for Medical Ninjutsu."

Natsume unwrapped a lollipop and began eating it.

It tasted pretty good.

Kabuto's eyes lit up. His earlier calm vanished, and he asked excitedly, "Will Lady Tsunade take me in?"

"She will."

You have no idea how frightening your talent for Medical Ninjutsu is, Natsume thought. "Even if she doesn't take you as a disciple, I'll have her teach you Medical Ninjutsu."

Given his current relationship with Tsunade, it should not be a problem if he asked and pleaded a little.

Yakushi Nonō was actually an excellent Medical Ninja as well.

However, her identity was special.

If Kabuto stayed by her side, the slightest mishap could attract Shimura Danzō's attention.

This first Pot Kage, like Orochimaru, had an abnormal fondness for geniuses.

However, the two of them were different.

Shimura Danzō wanted to recruit geniuses into Root, brainwash them, and turn them into his loyal subordinates.

Orochimaru, on the other hand, coveted the bodies of geniuses, collecting them as vessels for himself.

Kabuto Yakushi undoubtedly met the standard.

"Such a cute little white rabbit, and you can be this cruel."

Natsume suddenly remembered an amusing joke from his previous life and said, "Make it extra spicy at lunch. We'll have Spicy Diced Rabbit."

"..."

Kabuto froze for two seconds before finally nodding. "That was already my plan."

The Orphanage was not wealthy, so naturally, they would not waste food.

After watching for a while and finding it uninteresting, Natsume simply practiced his ninjutsu nearby.

The D-rank Body Flicker Technique.

It was an extremely useful ninjutsu.

Minato Namikaze's Flying Thunder God Technique was, in essence, also a type of Body Flicker Technique.

However, it incorporated space itself and was no longer something an ordinary ninja could learn.

The D-rank Body Flicker Technique was the most basic form of the technique.

It was not actually teleportation, but acceleration.

Acceleration created the illusion of teleportation.

Besides the Body Flicker Technique, there was also Water Release: Water Wave.

It was a basic Water Style ninjutsu. With three hand seals, its effect was to spit out a wave of water from the mouth and blast the enemy.

Natsume possessed Water Release and Earth Release.

However, Water Release was his primary affinity, and his talent for it was higher than his talent for Earth Release. Thus, he prioritized training in Water Style.

He could then use Water Style to conceal his Wood Style and establish himself as a Water Release ninja.

Natsume spent the rest of Sunday at the Orphanage, only returning in the evening.

"Back already?"

Tsunade was sitting on the sofa watching television.

That was right, the Shinobi World had television, and even computers.

However, very few people could afford to use such things.

Most people lived below the poverty line.

The commoners outside the Five Great Nations suffered even more.

But because ninjas existed, they could not shout, Are kings and nobles born to rule? and rise up in revolt.

After all, tens of thousands of ordinary people could be dealt with by a single jonin.

Natsume naturally sat down beside Tsunade.

She naturally draped an arm over his shoulder and occasionally rubbed his hair, as though petting a cat.

Natsume felt like a pet.

Speaking of which, in his previous life, he had also liked hugging cats and petting them whenever he had nothing else to do.

It was the weekend, so he was resting instead of learning Wood Style Ninjutsu.

Shizune, on the other hand, was working very hard, studying her medicine.

Studying medicine can't save the Shinobi World.

Natsume suddenly thought of that line from Lu Xun.

An ordinary Medical Ninja could not reach Tsunade's level.

But even she seemed like a mere extra during the late stages of the story.

A true man should pilot a giant robot.

Natsume sniffed. There was a faint fragrance, seemingly that of some kind of flower.

He did not know whether it came from perfume or her natural scent.

There had been a theory in his previous life that if someone did not wear perfume, yet he could still smell her fragrance, it meant his genes had chosen her. Any child they had would then lack defects in their immune-system genes.

"Big Sister, are you wearing perfume?"

"No."

Tsunade instinctively sniffed herself and asked, "Is there some strange smell?"

"Oh, no."

Natsume shook his head. "I just thought I smelled a fragrance."

Tsunade paused for a moment, then her smile deepened. Her body wound around him like a snake as she teased him, "Smell again and see what it smells like."

Woman! You're playing with fire!

Just you wait!

What man could withstand a test like this?

Natsume felt that Tsunade was completely different from the impression he had of her.

So this is what people mean by an older sister?

In the original story's limited scenes, Tsunade seemed to treat her younger brother very well.

Now that he thought about it, that love seemed awfully heavy.

Natsume struggled free and took a breath of fresh air. "Like this, I can't watch television!"

Only then did Tsunade let him go.

Half a month passed just like that.

While attending school, Natsume also took control of Gunma Company.

With Tsunade's support, the process was extremely simple.

Treat them, behead them, and take them as dogs.

First, negotiate with the boss. If negotiations failed, kill him. The rest would naturally kneel and shout, "Welcome, our supreme new boss, to his loyal company!"

Gunma Company had two major businesses: gambling dens and underground banking, meaning loan-sharking.

Neither was anything good.

After taking over, Natsume immediately ordered a restructuring.

Besides the gambling dens, the underground banks were renovated as well and converted to operate like the banks of his previous life.

He might be the only person in this world who knew how profitable banks could be.

The gambling dens and banks were expected to take one or two months to renovate.

Training the service staff would take even longer.

Natsume would leave that aside for now.

He had to go meet Orochimaru and, while he was at it, give his desk mate Itachi Uchiha a great gift.

At the same time, he planned to use the money he earned to hire ninjas to go to Kusagakure. As for whom to hire, he would have to choose carefully.

The night was dark, and the wind was high.

Natsume spent a few Destiny Points to send a Wood Clone to Orochimaru's courtyard.