Brother Jie Is Very Disappointed in You

The main battlefield between Konoha and Kumogakure was in the Land of Rice.

In the original story, after Orochimaru defected, he established the Sound Village in this country, and it gained quite a reputation.

But now, it was in a much worse state, having completely become the battlefield of the two great shinobi villages.

In fact, the reason the small nations surrounding the Land of Fire had not been annexed was because Konoha kept them as buffer zones.

Once war broke out, they became the battlefield.

If the fighting reached Konoha's vicinity, it meant the situation was extremely grim.

For example, during the Battle of Kikyo Pass in the Third Shinobi World War, the enemy had already reached the village gates.

The victory in that battle also marked the end of the entire war.

If they had lost, Konoha as it existed now would probably have suffered terribly, perhaps even ceased to exist.

Of the troops Hyuga Hiashi brought, the Hyuga Clan shinobi made up the largest number.

But command was still handed over to Tsunade.

Hyuga Hiashi, the head of the Hyuga Clan, and Fugaku Uchiha, the head of the Uchiha Clan, were of the same generation.

Tsunade, however, was a generation above them and one of the Sannin. By both sentiment and reason, she should have been the commander.

But she found it rather annoying.

She had joined the war to train her three disciples, yet somehow she had ended up as the commander.

Natsume obediently followed along as they traveled.

Come to think of it, this was his first time traveling far from home. Looking at the unfamiliar scenery around him was actually quite interesting.

But after looking at it for too long, all that remained was boredom.

Everyone was focused on traveling, and he could not even find anyone to talk to.

When night fell, the group stopped to make camp.

Natsume and Kabuto Yakushi were assigned the same tent.

For the sake of easier travel, they all used sleeping bags.

"Kabuto, how is your progress with the Hashirama Cell transplantation technique I gave you?"

Over the past two years or so, Orochimaru's techniques had steadily improved.

According to the terms of their original deal, he had passed a copy on to Natsume.

Hashirama Cells were still quite useful.

Even if Natsume did not need them in the future, they would be excellent for the subordinates in his organization.

"Some of it is extremely difficult for someone at my current level to grasp."

Kabuto Yakushi shook his head, frowned, and said, "But I've benefited greatly. Give me a few more years, and I'll fully digest it all."

Natsume thought that was pretty good.

Ordinary people could not even understand it, much less make sense of it.

Only someone as gifted as Kabuto Yakushi could manage it.

Especially with Tsunade's guidance.

After all, much medical knowledge was universal.

"I'm going to check on my teacher."

Natsume had originally planned to sleep, but he suddenly remembered that he had not yet said goodnight to Tsunade, as they did every day.

He climbed out of his sleeping bag and headed to the tent beside his.

As the commander, Tsunade had a tent to herself.

She had not fallen asleep yet. Thinking of Natsume, she wondered whether she should go check on him.

For nearly three years now, she had always greeted him before going to sleep.

But when she thought of Hinata Hyuga from that morning, she immediately felt somewhat stifled.

Tsunade froze for several seconds before sighing.

You're really getting more childish with age, caring so much about a little girl.

She understood that what she cared about was not Hinata Hyuga, but Natsume.

"Big sis, are you asleep?"

Tsunade immediately opened her eyes, sat up, and looked toward the entrance, where a familiar figure stood.

She hesitated for a moment before saying, "No. Come in."

Natsume entered the tent and naturally climbed into Tsunade's bedding.

After all, this had been going on for two years already. Both of them had grown accustomed to each other.

Only afterward did Tsunade realize what had happened.

She wanted to speak, but stopped herself.

Why had she suddenly broken her own rule?

"I came to say goodnight."

Natsume happily rubbed his little face against Tsunade and said, "If I don't, I can't fall asleep."

"Why are you still acting like a child?"

Tsunade came back to her senses, looked at Natsume in her arms, and asked.

"But I am a child."

Natsume raised his head, resting it between her breasts as he said with complete confidence, "I'm not even ten yet."

"You should go to sleep."

Tsunade sighed helplessly, lifted him by the back of his neck, and said.

She did not mind him taking advantage of her, but instinctively felt that if this continued, it would eventually become inappropriate.

They were not at home now. If anyone noticed, it would cause serious trouble.

She did not care if rumors spread, but how could Natsume bear them?

"All right."

Reluctantly leaving the warm bedding, Natsume said, "Goodnight, Sis."

"Goodnight."

Seeing his slightly aggrieved expression, Tsunade forced herself not to soften and answered calmly.

Natsume returned to his own tent and realized how awkward she had been.

He could more or less guess the reason.

It was nothing more than the fact that he had grown up quite a bit.

And Tsunade's feelings for him were primarily those of an older sister toward a younger brother, rather than those between a man and a woman.

Natsume secretly thought that he would have to slowly turn those feelings into something else.

Otherwise, it might be difficult to win Tsunade over.

He had liked her for two lifetimes, after all. He could not let this chance slip away.

Counting his past life and this one, who could be more enduring than him?

The next day.

After breakfast, they set out again.

For once, Natsume had not eaten Tsunade's rice balls, and he actually missed them.

Could this be the legendary Stockholm syndrome?

He quickly shook his head. That would not do.

Near noon, they arrived at Konoha's main camp in the Land of Rice.

The current commander-in-chief was Fugaku Uchiha.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had sent him to the battlefield for several reasons.

First, the Uchiha Clan possessed astonishing combat strength.

Second, it would clear them of suspicion in the Nine-Tails Attack while also easing the dissatisfaction caused by the relocation of the clan grounds.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was already old and did not want to see internal strife in Konoha again, so he hoped the Uchiha Clan would behave themselves.

In the original story, even after receiving Itachi Uchiha's report about the rebellion, he still hoped to resolve it through peaceful negotiations.

How should one put it?

In the end, Hiruzen Sarutobi simply lacked the ability. He did not possess the skill or methods of his teacher, Tobirama Senju, and could not handle the Uchiha Clan.

Then there was Shimura Danzō. The two of them were Konoha's own Sleeping Dragon and Young Phoenix, making everything worse the more they meddled.

Perhaps it would have been better if they had done nothing at all.

Of course, the Uchiha Clan itself also had its problems.

Pride, arrogance, extremism, and contempt for everyone else.

The only reason such a temperament had survived for so long was their own strength.

But now, the two strongest members of the clan had joined Konoha's side.

The star of doom above their heads was shining brightly.

When Tsunade met Fugaku Uchiha, she handed command over to him.

Changing commanders on the eve of battle was ordinarily a grave taboo.

Besides, she had disciples to train.

After lunch, Tsunade's squad assembled.

"I just accepted an A-rank mission. Let's make it your team's first assignment."

Natsume's mouth twitched. Starting out with an A-rank mission—wasn't that a bit excessive?

Shizune and Kabuto Yakushi were both obedient by nature, so they simply nodded at her words.

Tsunade immediately looked at Natsume, a smile curling across her lips. "What? Are you scared?"

Her tone was full of teasing.

"Of course not."

Natsume glared at her. What's with you, woman? You're actually questioning me?

Tsunade looked even more delighted. Reaching out, she pinched his little cheek and said, "It's fine if you're scared. I'll protect you."

Shizune and Kabuto Yakushi exchanged a glance.

Their eyes conveyed the same message.

Are we kind of unnecessary here (sad)?

Natsume was the real disciple; the two of them had merely been picked up along the way.