The Two-and-a-Half-Year Graduate

Before long, Natsume received what he wanted from Kakuzu and Sasori.

The Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu and the Wood Style serum.

Kakuzu, on the other hand, had been cursing nonstop. He even said, "Orochimaru, you gutless rat. The Sannin are all nothing but fame-seeking frauds."

Apparently, Orochimaru had taken Natsume's advice and had not gone in person.

Kakuzu had missed out on tens of millions of ryo, so he was extremely displeased.

Natsume opened the storage scroll and found a full thirty bottles of Wood Style serum.

His first reaction was: Yamato, you've suffered. Didn't Orochimaru squeeze you dry?

Natsume did not drink it right away, because he did not trust Orochimaru.

What if he had added some computer components or something? Wouldn't that be the end of him?

At present, only Tsunade had the ability to determine whether it had been tampered with.

But Natsume could not give it to her, so he chose to spend Destiny Points on an inspection.

Fortunately, it was not expensive. It only cost ten Destiny Points.

Earlier, Jugo had contributed nineteen Destiny Points, so it was still a profit.

After the inspection, all thirty bottles were found to be fine.

Thinking about it, that was only natural. Orochimaru was unwilling to offend him now, since there were too many things he wanted to know.

Natsume opened a bottle and gulped it down.

The pale green liquid merged into his body, immediately stirring up waves of warmth.

After waiting for a moment, he felt his Chakra increase by nearly a tenth, while his body became refreshed and invigorated.

The effect was excellent.

It was his first time, after all.

The effects would definitely weaken over time.

Even so, it was already an enormous bargain.

Orochimaru had even thoughtfully included instructions, recommending one bottle per week. Otherwise, there could be rejection symptoms.

Although it had been neutralized, they were still someone else's cells.

Natsume put away the storage scroll and headed to Gunma Casino.

After spending so much time together, he had already learned everything there was to know about Naruto Uzumaki's mother.

She had been an outsider within the Uzumaki Clan, so she had never come into contact with ninja-related knowledge.

Otherwise, she would not have fallen to such a state in Kusagakure.

If she had learned even a little Sealing Jutsu, she could have escaped.

But it was precisely because of her low status that she had been fortunate enough to survive the catastrophe that wiped out the clan.

Blessings and misfortunes truly went hand in hand.

"Natsume."

The moment Naruto Uzumaki's mother saw him, she revealed a gentle smile, picked him up, and placed him on her lap.

She had originally addressed him as "my lord."

But Natsume found it strange, so he told her to call him by name.

"For you."

"What is this?"

Naruto Uzumaki's mother opened the scroll and froze. It actually contained the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu.

As someone born into the Uzumaki Clan, she naturally knew about Sealing Jutsu, but given her status, she had never been allowed access to it.

"It's too precious! I can't accept it!"

Naruto Uzumaki's mother hurriedly refused.

She already owed two million ryo in debt, and she had been eating and living well during this time, making her debt grow even larger.

If she accepted the Sealing Jutsu too, she would not be able to repay it even in her lifetime—not even if her daughter's lifetime were added on top.

"Once you learn Sealing Jutsu, you'll be able to work for me better. Do you understand? Consider this an early investment."

Natsume lifted the lid, plucked a grape between his fingers, and took a bite.

The fruit here was as sweet as ever.

Naruto Uzumaki's mother's body trembled. Her face flushed red as she nodded.

She truly could not help with anything at the moment.

If she could learn Sealing Jutsu, she would indeed become more useful.

Natsume closed his eyes. The human sofa was far too comfortable.

His mouth wasn't idle, and neither were his hands. He gave Naruto Uzumaki's mother a massage, which counted as an equal exchange.

A comfortable day quickly passed.

After Naruto Uzumaki's mother helped him bathe, Natsume returned home.

After dinner, it should have been time to train Wood Style, but Tsunade called him into her room instead.

"Natsume, I need your help with my training."

"Huh?"

Question marks practically appeared over Natsume's head.

What kind of training required a child's help?

It wasn't like she was some kind of monster.

"Last time, you saw what I looked like when my hemophobia acted up, didn't you?"

Tsunade sat on the edge of the bed and sighed. "For a Medical Ninja, having hemophobia is undoubtedly fatal."

She had previously been completely unmotivated, so she had never bothered addressing her hemophobia.

But after spending so much time with Natsume, along with having Shizune and Kabuto Yakushi as disciples, she realized that things would become a serious problem if this continued.

All three of her disciples were still young and would need her protection in the future.

But her hemophobia could very well turn her into a burden.

Forget protecting them—she might even need her three disciples to help her instead.

Given Tsunade's personality, that was something she would never accept.

Hemophobia was a psychological illness. Physical medications or Medical Ninjutsu were of little use.

The way to overcome fear was to confront it head-on.

Tsunade recalled that when she had held Natsume last time, her hemophobia had subsided faster than usual.

That was why she wanted his help now.

She would repeatedly trigger her hemophobia and gradually eradicate it that way.

The process would be extremely painful.

Tsunade had once believed life held no meaning and had never sought a solution, but now her fighting spirit had returned.

After hearing her out, Natsume truly hadn't expected this to be the kind of training she meant.

But he thought it was a good idea.

If Tsunade overcame her hemophobia, her usefulness would increase tremendously.

Besides, with him around now, she likely wouldn't overcome it only after meeting Naruto Uzumaki, as she had in the original story.

In a sense, it was Natsume's fault. Making up for it now was only reasonable.

So he really had become a body pillow this time.

Tsunade lightly sliced herself with a kunai, and blood flowed out. Her entire body began to tremble.

Natsume burrowed into her embrace and was immediately trapped between two round, plump thighs.

Mm, so soft and fleshy.

It reminded him of a game he had played in his previous life, with a character named Ryza who was famous for her thick thighs.

But he felt they couldn't compare to Tsunade's.

Nothing happened that night.

When Natsume opened his eyes, he found Tsunade studying him.

"Now that you're awake, get up and eat."

Tsunade pinched his cheek and said, "Thanks for your hard work."

"It's nothing."

Natsume shook his head. Honestly, it had been pretty nice.

Tsunade focused on dealing with her hemophobia.

As for him, she was extremely generous and completely let down her guard.

After breakfast, Natsume went to school.

School was actually rather boring too.

Time passed.

In the blink of an eye, seven-year-old Natsume was nearly ten.

He also planned to graduate early and officially become a Genin.

Over the past two-plus years, almost nothing major had happened.

Externally, Konoha and Kumogakure had continued trading victories, locked in a stalemate.

Within Konoha, the wounds left by the Nine-Tails Attack had been healed, and the village had returned to peace.

Meanwhile, with the tacit approval of Konoha's higher-ups, Naruto Uzumaki was regarded as the Demon Fox and suffered the villagers' cold hostility.

Natsume knew it was time for him to make his entrance again.

This could be considered Naruto Uzumaki's first Destiny Node.

If Hiruzen Sarutobi had not given him the little warmth he had, Naruto might have turned to darkness.

What Natsume needed to do was expose that old man's true face and guide Naruto down another path, thereby obtaining Destiny Points.

As for Orochimaru, he had been conducting Wood Style experiments, researching Living Corpse Reincarnation and Sage Transformation Cursed Seals, while also observing Itachi Uchiha.

His deal with Natsume continued as well.

As for defecting from Konoha, he had temporarily abandoned the idea.

After all, research required a quiet environment, and he might not have one outside.

As for Destiny Points, Natsume had gained points contributed by two people.

Kimimaro Kaguya and Hozuki Suigetsu.

According to the plot, they would be recruited by Orochimaru, but for now, he would not encounter them.

The former had provided forty-nine Destiny Points, while the latter had provided only twenty-seven.

Ninja Academy.

Natsume applied to Naoto Yamanaka for early graduation.

It was quickly approved, though there was a small test on the Three Basic Ninjutsu.

Naturally, Natsume passed without issue.

His two-and-a-half-year stint as a graduate officially came to an end today, and he shed his student identity as he stepped into the ninja world.