"Haruya, get up and take your medicine."
Tsunade cracked open the door and spotted Haruya sleeping peacefully.
This kid was simply too good-looking.
"Sis, could you step out for a moment?" Haruya said shyly.
He wasn't used to being watched while he changed.
"Oh."Tsunade blinked, then grinned. "What's there to be shy about?"
Hmph. Shameless woman.
Haruya gave her a pointed stare—I'm not getting up until you leave.
Matched with his innocent face, the expression was… adorable.
Tsunade swallowed reflexively, stepped back out, and shut the door. "Hurry and get dressed."
She tied on an apron and headed into the kitchen.
Shizune was already there, tending to a pot of simmering herbs. Chakra could do a lot, but medicine remained irreplaceable. Any proper medic-ninja needed to master decoctions.
This particular brew was for Haruya—something to build his malnourished body back up. Orphanage meals were simple at best.
"Haruya," Shizune said, knocking on the bathroom door with the steaming bowl in hand.
"All right."Haruya put down his toothbrush, opened the door, and downed the bitter medicine in one gulp.
Warm and caring.Also disgusting.
His face twisted like a Muggle taking their first shot of cheap vodka.
"Here, have a lollipop," Tsunade said, peeling one open and popping it into his mouth.
For all her gambling, drinking, and bad temper, she was surprisingly good at the "adoptive mom" thing.
But after three days, her true nature had fully surfaced.
Run an errand? Must gamble.Dinner? Must drink.
A gambler and a heavy drinker.Good thing Tsunade was powerful—otherwise Haruya would've been sold off by now.
Soon the rice balls were ready.
Haruya mentally prepared himself, picked one up, took two bites, and swallowed. Shizune ate hers with the same dutiful resignation.
Only Tsunade seemed delighted, stealing glances at Haruya as she ate—her smile deepening every time.
People liked beautiful things.Tsunade was no exception.
Breakfast done, Tsunade brought out two sets of black mourning clothes.
"Haruya, Shizune—put these on. We're attending a funeral."
Haruya nodded and changed. The three of them looked like a discreet, professional trio.
Konoha Memorial Stone
The plaza was already crowded when they arrived—black jackets everywhere, the air thick with grief.
It was the first time Haruya had seen so many major characters in one place.
Every ninja not on duty was here.
He scanned the crowd and immediately spotted Hatake Kakashi—white hair, mask, unmistakable.
He looked devastated. As if a ghost had drained him dry.
Haruya understood why.
Kakashi had already lost Obito and Rin. Now Minato too. Add the death of his father years earlier…
"Unlucky star" wasn't an exaggeration.
He wouldn't truly recover until Naruto came along years later.
Because it was a funeral, no one spoke. Haruya stood quietly beside Tsunade.
Soon, the Third Hokage stepped forward and began his eulogy in a heavy voice.
"The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze… as well as the villagers and shinobi who gave their lives… they died protecting Konoha and upholding the Will of Fire…"
He spoke of their sacrifice, their ages—children of seven or eight, veterans in their sixties—how the village would honor them and support their surviving families.
Haruya nearly snorted.
Minato and Kushina had done everything to save Konoha. Their son, Naruto, should have been celebrated as a hero—yet he'd soon be treated like a monster for being a jinchūriki.
A cruel irony.
These villagers they saved would later call their savior's child a "demon fox."
Fourth Hokage… look what you protected.
"Haruya," Tsunade murmured, handing him a bouquet. "Come with me to lay the flowers."
"Mm."Haruya wasn't particularly moved.The dead were strangers to him.
They offered their flowers, then headed home.
Over the next days, Haruya needed to master Wood Release and the Three-Body Technique before making contact with Orochimaru. He didn't know the exact timing of the defection—missing it would be disastrous.
Orochimaru was essential to his plans.
Half a Month Later
Haruya and Tsunade grew much closer—something between mother and son, sister and brother.
Under her guidance, he finally learned Wood Release and the Three-Body Technique. His chakra reserves were tiny, so using them drained him completely, but it was still impressive. At his age, he was a prodigy.
Around then, the academy admission notice arrived.Tsunade agreed, but only partially—she planned to have him graduate in two or three years instead of six.
Night
"This technique is too advanced for you right now," Tsunade said, gently wiping the sweat from Haruya's forehead.
Once he mastered the Three-Body Technique, he'd tried learning a D-rank Wood Release. It was exhausting.
Haruya tilted his head up—Tsunade's face was very close. Her warm breath brushed his cheek. He turned instinctively, and his eyes landed on the snowy canyon of her chest.
Immediate sensory overload.
"All right, that's enough for tonight," Tsunade said, ruffling his hair. "Shower, then bed. You're only seven—you don't need to rush. Pushing too hard will only hurt your body."
Haruya nodded.
If she was worried about his body…shouldn't she restrain herself, then?
So many… "advantages"—what a cruel world.
After bathing, he lay in bed.Thirty minutes later, he sat up.
Wood Release: Wood Clone.
Vines sprouted from his shoulders and head; two clones formed beside him.
Wood Release: Transformation.
Branches wrapped around them and lifted them upward, reshaping them into two men in their mid-twenties—adult forms.
"You try to convince Orochimaru," Haruya said.
He wasn't going himself—he valued his life.
Thanks to Wood Release, he could tweak clone and transformation techniques in ways normal shinobi couldn't.
Of course, sending a wooden clone on foot wasn't realistic.Haruya spent two destiny points to teleport them to Orochimaru's residence.
"I'll go first," said the clone on the left. "Knowing Orochimaru, I'm probably going to die."
"It's fine, I'll handle it," the other clone said confidently. "Watch me work."
"Please, another me."
With heroic resolve, the left-side clone stepped into the house.