The Cursed Necklace, A Farewell Gift

August 9th, the 37th year of the Leaf.

"Happy 12th birthday, Nawaki." Tsunade smiled as she wished him a happy birthday, handing him a gift box at the same time.

Nawaki glanced at the box and took it, but he turned his head away and pouted, saying, "I'm not a little kid anymore. I don't want any gifts."

With that, he tried to hand the box back to Tsunade.

Tsunade didn't take it; instead, she placed her hands on her hips, leaned in slightly, and said to Nawaki:

"What's this? Aren't you still just a kid? Open the gift and take a look; you're definitely going to be happy."

As she spoke, Tsunade walked to the side and leaned against the railing.

Nawaki stopped arguing and carefully tore off the wrapping to open the box. When he saw the gift inside, he froze.

"Big sister, could this be..."

"That's right. The First Hokage's necklace, our grandfather's Hokage jewelry!"

Hearing Tsunade's confirmation, Nawaki excitedly threw himself into her arms and shouted, "Thank you, big sister! I love you the most!"

Tsunade hugged him back, smiling as she said, "I just felt that you were more suited to have it than I am. You've always wanted this, haven't you? Make sure to cherish it!"

Nawaki stood up straight and said solemnly, "It's not just this jewelry. The Hidden Leaf Village is Grandfather's treasure, and I will definitely protect it!"

As he spoke, Nawaki put the necklace on. He then rested his hands on the railing, looking down at the Hidden Leaf Village below, and laughed:

"Because I am the grandson of the First Hokage, who founded the Hidden Leaf Village."

"That's quite a bold thing to say. Then it's a deal between men—you must keep your word." Tsunade kept one hand on her hip, used the other to ruffle Nawaki's hair, and smiled back.

"I'm going to be just like Grandfather. One day, I'll inherit the title of Hokage, because being Hokage is my dream!" Nawaki said confidently.

"Nawaki, take off your forehead protector." Even though Nawaki was a bit confused, Tsunade didn't explain, simply urging him on.

"Alright, don't worry about that. I have another gift for you!" Seeing Nawaki hesitate, Tsunade took matters into her own hands and helped him remove the protector.

"This is magic that makes dreams come true." With that, Tsunade kissed Nawaki on the forehead.

The two of them then started giggling together.

"Ah, there they are! Big Sister Tsunade, Big Brother Nawaki, you're here! We've been looking for you for ages!"

Just as the two were laughing, a voice drifted over from not far away. Tsunade and Nawaki looked toward the sound and saw three teenagers—two with red hair and one with blonde—running toward them. The newcomers were, naturally, Qi Luna, Uzumaki Kushina, and Namikaze Minato.

"Sorry, did we interrupt you?" Namikaze Minato noticed the atmosphere seemed a bit off and apologized with a shy expression.

"Not at all. But you all seem to be in a hurry—is something the matter?" Tsunade placed one hand on her hip and the other on her chin, looking at the three breathless teenagers with some confusion.

"Of course there is! Today is Big Brother Nawaki's twelfth birthday and his promotion to Chunin! Such an important event, of course we had to come and congratulate him!" Kushina crossed her arms over her chest and replied as if it were obvious.

In this life, because of Qi Luna, Kushina had always lived at Mito's house. Therefore, Kushina's relationship with Tsunade and Nawaki was much closer than in the original story. Because they often invited Minato over, his relationship with Nawaki was also quite good.

That was why Kushina and Qi Luna had brought Minato along to give Nawaki his birthday gifts.

"Oh~ is that so? Although I didn't particularly want gifts, as an older brother and a senior, I suppose I do want to be respected by my younger siblings and juniors~"

Tears of emotion welled up in Nawaki's eyes as he hugged his cute "younger brother," sobbing.

"Hey, Nawaki, you guy, don't get so carried away! Get lost! Your snot is about to get on my hair! If you really have to, go hug Minato!" Adhering to the philosophy of sacrificing others to save oneself, Qi Luna pushed Nawaki away with a look of disgust and recommended her good friend, Namikaze Minato, instead.

Nawaki stretched out his hands, looking left at the resistant Kushina and right at the awkward-looking Minato, before sighing. He suddenly felt that his efforts had been in vain after all...

"Idiot." Tsunade rested a hand on her forehead. She couldn't bear to watch Nawaki acting the fool, but she could only scold him with a smile, frustrated by his lack of maturity.

"Alright, alright, come and receive your gifts! These are all treasures we carefully selected. In a sense, they are one-of-a-kind, super-rare items that you won't find anywhere else!" Kushina lifted her chin, raised her proud little face, and flashed a peace sign, perfectly embodying the word "smug."

Her words successfully piqued the curiosity of both Tsunade and Nawaki.

"Well, I'll have to see then." Tsunade raised an eyebrow, her expression skeptical. It wasn't that she didn't believe Kushina, but she was curious. For Tsunade, whose grandfather was a Hokage, whose great-uncle was a Hokage, and whose teacher was also a Hokage, she couldn't imagine a treasure she hadn't already seen.

"Minato, you go first." Seeing Tsunade's curiosity, Qi Luna didn't want to keep them waiting and immediately pushed her friend forward.

"The birthday gift I want to give Senior Nawaki is my own specially made military ration pills." Minato took out a bag of cherry-sized pills. At a glance, there were twenty or thirty of them. He scratched his head and said somewhat awkwardly.

"What is it? Isn't it just a larger military ration pill? What's so special about that? You're exaggerating, Kushina." Looking at the pills Minato produced, Tsunade wagged her left index finger, shaking her head with a flippant tone.

"What if these pills don't just restore stamina and chakra? Minato, explain." Before Tsunade could ask more, Qi Luna signaled for Minato to explain the effects of his custom pills.

"These special military ration pills—I call them the 'Pitch-Black Round Super-Nutritious Healing and Recovery Multi-Purpose Pills'! Not only can they quickly restore chakra, but they can also heal certain levels of injury. It's just that the medicinal herbs required for rapid healing are very rare, so the production of these pills isn't high. If you count the cost, the cost-effectiveness is quite low..."

Listening to Minato's description, Tsunade's face was filled with speechlessness. Although she had heard Nawaki mention Namikaze Minato's reputation as a naming genius, seeing it for herself...

It was clearly a precious medicine that could play a significant, perhaps even vital, role at a critical moment, yet he had given it such a terrible name. Jiraiya, who treated him as a prized disciple, really had no taste...

"Next is my gift. Although it looks ordinary, the effect is truly excellent. I spent a long time finally making this!"

As she spoke, Kushina handed an envelope-like gift to Nawaki.

Having learned from Namikaze Minato's example, Nawaki no longer showed any contempt in his eyes, instead receiving the gift cautiously before carefully opening it.

"A portable ninja tool summoning scroll? This size can't hold much, can it?" Knowing Kushina's abilities and personality, Nawaki naturally didn't think she would do something like giving him a love letter before he left—after all, he wasn't the type Kushina liked.

"What is this? Isn't this just a cartoon sticker? I'm the older brother here! Kushina, you and Big Sister Tsunade are treating me like a child!"

Looking at the gift in his hand, Nawaki felt deeply disappointed, but since it was his younger sister's heartfelt gesture, he didn't feel any real resentment in his heart despite his words.