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You can now get early access to Chapter 114 of Re: Naruto Uzumaki on my Patreon. You can also read up to Chapter 37 of Satoru Senju: Conquering the Omniverse!
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"Tsunade? Are you alright...? Do you feel sick?" Nawaki looked at her, full of concern, not understanding why his older sister wasn't reacting.
"I..." she whispered, barely audible, without taking her eyes off the blood on Nawaki's knee.
Her breathing became irregular. The pounding of her heart echoed in her ears. For a moment, Tsunade found herself unable to move.
But then, seeing Nawaki's face… something changed.
Her eyes lifted and met those of her little brother. At that moment, the fear began to fade.
Tsunade's gaze hardened, as if something inside her had awakened. She swallowed hard and took a step forward.
"I'm fine," she finally said. "Better than ever…"
Jiraiya and Shizune looked at her, astonished.
Naruto, from the back, watched the scene with a smile on his face.
Then Tsunade knelt beside Nawaki and, with determination, placed the palm of her hand over the wound on his knee. A soft green glow emerged from her hand, warm and steady.
The wound began to close, the bleeding stopped, and the pain on Nawaki's face gradually faded.
She had used it again…
Medical Ninjutsu.
The Mystical Palm Technique.
She had given up Medical Ninjutsu many years ago… but in that moment, her love for her brother was stronger than any fear.
Not only Naruto watched her silently. Jiraiya and Shizune did too. Because at that instant, without needing to say it, they all understood what that gesture meant.
Tsunade had healed more than just a wound.
...
"Jiraiya… How is this possible? How is Nawaki still alive?"
Tsunade wouldn't let go of her brother. She hugged him with an almost desperate strength, as if she feared he would disappear if she loosened even a finger. Nawaki tried to complain at first, but soon gave up.
Even he understood what that hug meant to her. He wasn't foolish enough to ignore what his sister was feeling at that moment.
Besides, there was something amusing about the situation.
Jiraiya hadn't stopped looking at him with jealousy since the moment Tsunade pressed him against her chest. Nawaki said nothing but smiled. He had always known that the perverted Jiraiya had feelings for his sister.
"Sorry, Jiraiya, but you'll have to go over my dead body…" Nawaki thought, not accepting Jiraiya as a possible partner for Tsunade.
At Tsunade's question, Jiraiya scratched the back of his neck, uncomfortable.
"I have no idea, really," he admitted. "But shortly before the Third Hokage's death, many important figures… key to Konoha's history… began to return. Not just Nawaki. Also Minato, the White Fang, the Uchiha Clan Patriarch… among many others."
Naruto yawned, uninterested in the conversation.
Nawaki glanced sideways at him, knowing perfectly well that he was the reason for those returns, though he said nothing.
Naruto didn't seem willing to reveal it, so neither would he.
After all, he owed Naruto a lot.
And also because Grandma Mito had warned him to keep his mouth shut.
She was even scarier than Tsunade herself when she got angry…
"No one knows how it happened," Jiraiya continued, "but the truth is, they have come back. And that… complicates things."
Tsunade frowned. "And you still want me to become the Fifth Hokage? Sounds like too much trouble and work…"
"Then don't be," Naruto suddenly interjected.
Jiraiya looked at him, surprised by his casual tone.
"Naruto, the village has no other candidates. Minato could take command, but he flatly refused. He even rejected the Daimyō's request himself."
"If I were my father, I'd have wiped out the village," Naruto said bluntly, slightly disdainful. "The Daimyō should be grateful that my father is a softie."
"Besides," he added, shrugging, "who says Tsunade is the only option?"
Tsunade looked at him with a raised eyebrow, still holding Nawaki, who was already turning purple.
Naruto barely paid attention to Nawaki. He was in the hands of the best medical ninja in the world: he would survive.
It was like getting hit by an ambulance…
His chances of dying were absurdly low.
"We have two more candidates. One is Shisui Uchiha. He may be an idiot, but he loves the village more than anyone. And the other is Kakashi."
"Kakashi's no good," Jiraiya replied immediately. "I already considered him. He doesn't have the strength to be Hokage."
Naruto scoffed. "Maybe. But his chakra level is higher than yours. He's limited by the Sharingan. Give him a couple of years of training after dropping the Sharingan and neither of you could stand up to him."
Tsunade narrowed her eyes.
"You think I don't have the strength, brat?" she asked, squeezing Nawaki even tighter. The poor boy let out an almost inaudible whimper.
Naruto smiled calmly. "I didn't say that. You have plenty of strength. I was just mentioning alternatives… you yourself seemed to want to reject the position."
"And by the way, I'm not a brat. My name is Naruto Uzumaki."
Tsunade fell silent for a moment, recognizing the name. Naruto was the Fourth's son. The Kyūbi's Jinchūriki.
Just then, messages started pouring in from the chat group:
[Madara Uchiha: "And by the way, I'm not a brat. My name is Naruto Uzumaki." Trying to sound cool, brat? I'm dead, but I felt a chill run down my spine just hearing you…]
[Indra Ōtsutsuki: I agree with my descendant! Introducing yourself like that is simply embarrassing!]
[Hashirama Senju: So funny! Madara is right, Naruto! HAHAHAHA!]
[Mito Uzumaki: Sigh After all, Naruto is still a teenager…]
[Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki: Introducing yourself is good, but the way…]
Naruto closed the chat group with a single thought: "Idiots…"
What was wrong with his introduction!?
He was simply tired of Tsunade still calling him brat!
This brat was old enough to get her pregnant, old lady!
"You certainly remind me a lot of your old student, Jiraiya. Spewing grandiose phrases, trying to sound cool all the time… It's like seeing Minato in his teens…"
Tsunade gave him one last look up and down, with a mix of resignation and curiosity in her eyes.
"Although I have to admit… you look better than your father."
Naruto smiled, amused.
It wasn't that Tsunade was implying his father, Minato, was ugly—that would be absurd. Minato was, after all, one of the most attractive men the village had ever had.
But that Tsunade thought he looked better? Naruto gladly accepted the compliment, and the smile on his face grew a little wider.
Jiraiya let out a nostalgic laugh, remembering the days when Minato still treated him as his teacher… and not with resentment.
"You're absolutely right, Tsunade! Naruto is just like his father! But unfortunately, Naruto didn't want to become my disciple."
Tsunade looked at Naruto with some surprise, evaluating him from head to toe.
"He must be an idiot for rejecting you. Despite being an old pervert and unreliable… no one can deny you're an exceptional teacher, Jiraiya."
Jiraiya visibly shrank at that comment, as if deflating inside.
"Old…? Unreliable…?"
Jiraiya sighed resignedly.
Interestingly, the "pervert" part didn't even hurt him. Maybe because, deep down, he couldn't argue with it.
He had simply accepted it…
"Why would I accept as a teacher someone weaker than me…?" Naruto interjected with a confident smile, raising an eyebrow.
Karin, beside him, nodded as if it was the most obvious truth in the world.
She knew Jiraiya was strong. But to her, Naruto was incomparable. The one who had saved her, who showed her a different world, who gave her hope. There was no one above him.
Tsunade let out a soft chuckle, thinking it was a joke.
Naruto returned the look with the same amused smile.
"Just wait…" he thought. "When Orochimaru shows up, you'll understand. I'll show you what I'm capable of."
His gaze drifted to the pendant hanging from Tsunade's neck.
"And I'll take that pendant of yours as my reward…"