Adopted by Tsunade [187-188]

Chapter 187: What's His Relationship with Kaguya?

The Land of This.

"You're saying the Land of Ancestor has dispatched three thousand men and they're marching toward our country?"

On the palace dais, a middle-aged man arched a brow and asked, "You're sure there's no mistake? That weakling daimyo actually dares to start a war?"

"No mistake."

The kneeling samurai replied, "Our scouts saw it with their own eyes, then rode back without stopping to report."

"Hahaha!"

The middle-aged man couldn't help bursting into loud laughter.

The other ministers laughed along with him.

For a moment, the air was filled with cheer.

"Emperor! Bad news!"

A panicked shout suddenly shattered the merry mood.

"What's with the fuss?"

The middle-aged man's face sank.

"Emperor!"

The samurai who ran in dropped to his knees, terror on his face. "They're attacking! Right outside the hall!"

"Impossible!"

The middle-aged man shot to his feet. "Our Land of This has five thousand elite troops, the most among all nations!"

"Emperor!"

The samurai had just opened his mouth when countless soldiers poured into the palace.

They were ninjas from the Land of Ancestor.

"Kentaro?!"

The middle-aged man collapsed to the floor in fright.

Kentaro was the most famous general of the Land of Ancestor.

His presence here left no doubt that the Land of This had already fallen.

And in less than half a day, their royal palace had been breached.

What kind of joke was this?
The middle-aged man stared dazedly at Kentaro, feeling as if he were dreaming.

Not just him—his ministers were even more spineless, dropping to their knees one after another in submission.

Kentaro's face spread into a smile.

On the bracelet he wore—the Skynet Login Device—a notification popped up.

[Congratulations, player Kentaro, for achieving the first conquest of the Land of This. You have received a special reward: D-rank Genjutsu, the Art of Naraku Vision.]

Moreover, this message was visible to all players.

Kentaro could feel the envious gazes gathering around him.

So good!

A double high—spiritual and material satisfaction.

It made him revere the goddess all the more.

Kentaro looked at the middle-aged man and said, "Bind them all."

Thus the Land of This was destroyed.

But Kentaro did not lead the army to invade the next country.

Instead, he followed Natsume's orders to recruit new players.

After all, the more recruits, the more rewards they would earn.

Mere conquest held less allure to them.

…

On the slope behind the palace, three wondrous creatures were speaking.

"Chakra and ninjutsu give humans too great a boost," said the Toad Sage gravely. "The other nations can't possibly withstand their advance. If nothing unexpected happens, the Land of Ancestor will end this age of war."

"It's time for us to act," the White Snake Sage exhaled a plume of smoke and said.

"Um… If it's via something like Skynet, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya might not need to drain our planet's power anymore," the Slug Sage hesitated a few seconds, then said, "And chakra clearly benefits humans."

"Sage Slug, you're too soft-hearted," the Toad Sage called it by its true name, shook his head, and said, "They are not of our kind; their hearts must be different."

"But there's a point there," the White Snake Sage mused. "The benefits of chakra need no elaboration. Can we make use of it?"

"Indeed," the Toad Sage said, thinking it over.

"Humans can hardly bear pure natural energy, yet they can handle chakra without issues," the Slug Sage brightened. "If we mix the two, perhaps we can reach some sort of balance."

"Good!"

The more the Toad Sage thought on it, the more sense it made. "Once we deal with this daimyo of land of ancestor, we'll discuss it further."

He felt a powerful premonition.

What the Slug Sage suggested might be the key to defeating Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.

For at present, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo and Ōtsutsuki Hamura fell short of their mother by no small margin.

Yet the prophecy said only an Ōtsutsuki could defeat an Ōtsutsuki.

There had to be some crucial element in between.

Now it seemed highly likely to be natural energy.

….

The Land of Ancestor.

Upon a broad plain.

Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!
Natsume formed seals; chakra turned into a roaring water dragon and surged forth.

His opponent: Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo.

He merely stood there and casually lifted his hand.

Water Release: Water Formation Wall!
A wall of water rose up before him.

Natsume tugged at the corner of his mouth. Casting without seals—damn, that's stylish.

The water dragon crashed into the water wall and lost its force.

Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo suddenly took to the air, a brilliant lightning glow gathering in his right hand. In a flash, he rushed in.

This wasn't a ninjutsu Natsume had taught him—it was self-devised.

In terms of power and appearance, it resembled Hatake Kakashi's Raikiri.

But if Natsume knew Hagoromo had developed an S-rank Lightning Release at the age of two, he'd be speechless.

This was a true prodigy.

Natsume outmatched Hagoromo only in experience and his Sage Body.

His own Sage Body was already perfected, but Hagoromo, being only two, couldn't draw out its full effect.

Not far away, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya watched the two fight.

Her cool, exquisite face showed a thoughtful look.

Natsume's ninjutsu was nothing special to her.

But his taijutsu was interesting.

He had studied under Tsunade and learned Konoha's orthodox foundational taijutsu.

If he continued, there would be two branches.

The Strong Fist style and the Gentle Fist style.

The former represented by Might Guy, the latter by the Hyuga clan.

Though Ōtsutsuki Kaguya was the Hyuga clan's ancestor, she didn't actually use Gentle Fist.

The so-called Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack wasn't Gentle Fist, but a Kekkei Mōra technique.

Gentle Fist should have been founded by Ōtsutsuki Hamura.

Given Kaguya's power, she had yet to meet an opponent who forced her to reflect on technique.

In any case, she could just crush them with strength.

But after watching Natsume fight so much, she couldn't help forming a few ideas.

"Teacher, go get 'em!"

Ōtsutsuki Hamura shouted loudly.

Kaguya glanced at the bouncing boy and suddenly smiled.

She had lived for over a thousand years yet had never experienced such a life.

But it was nice.

At least she felt happy.

Before, she was like stagnant water, never stirring a ripple.

Just then, Kaguya's bracelet gave a faint tremor—a call for help came through.

It was from Kentaro and the others—they'd encountered a god.

"Natsume."

Kaguya had intended to vanish immediately, but didn't.

"Lady Goddess."

Natsume stopped fighting at once and flickered to her side.

"God."

Kaguya kept it brief, as always.

"Take me to have a look, how about it?"

Natsume's eyes lit up—his interest was piqued.

Among gods, two could yield Fate Points.

The Shinigami and the Heretical God.

Kaguya placed a hand on Natsume's shoulder and in an instant the two vanished.

…

The Land of Trees.

After defeating ordinary soldiers, Kentaro and the others believed victory was in hand—but suddenly, beasts emerged from the forest in droves.

In this world, humans could not use natural energy.

But beasts were different. Living in nature over long periods, their physiques strengthened over time.

If enough time passed, they might even grow into a force akin to the Three Great Sage Lands.

Such beasts were deadly to Kentaro's group, who had just reached genin level.

"Hold the line!"

Kentaro shouted as he dodged a tiger's assault.

He was covered in wounds.

At that moment, Kaguya appeared before him.

She raised a hand lightly.

The tiger let out a scream and turned to ash.

With her power, facing such insignificant beasts, she didn't need any ninjutsu or dōjutsu.

She simply crushed them with chakra—and they all died.

"The Goddess is here! We're saved!"

Kentaro breathed a sigh of relief.

"Have your people fall back."

Natsume watched Kaguya carve through foes like a one-woman army, and gave an order.

Since a native god was about to intervene, it would never be that simple.

Or rather, the target wasn't Kaguya—but them.

After all, if the gods could kill Kaguya, they wouldn't have waited a thousand years.

"Understood!"

Kentaro used the Skynet Login Device to send a server-wide announcement.

It cost him ten ryou of Chakra Coin.

[All units disengage immediately.]

The remaining Goddess Army soldiers, upon receiving the message, quickly withdrew from the forest.

Natsume thought to himself how convenient this was.

The greatest headache for armies was command and control.

A very rigorous system was needed to move like an extension of one's body.

But now, with Skynet, that hassle was gone.

Natsume felt that even without chakra, the Land of Ancestor could unify the world with it.

Before long, Kaguya had wiped out the entire beast horde.

"Cursed invaders!"

An angry voice rang from deep underground.

The forest trembled; the ground split open, and a nearly four-meter-tall giant tree emerged.

A human face could be faintly seen on its trunk.

It was the god worshipped by the Land of Trees.

Natsume didn't need sensory skills to perceive the vast natural energy and faint spiritual power emanating from it.

That spiritual power should be a special Yin Release forged from people's faith in the tree god.

In other words, this world's native gods were formed from natural energy and Yin Release.

No wonder they couldn't beat Kaguya.

She possessed seven attributes: Yin, Yang, and the five elements.

As gods go, she was the real deal.

While Natsume was thinking, six more bizarre gods appeared.

They surrounded Kaguya, as if they'd strike her down in the next second.

Natsume narrowed his eyes.

They couldn't kill her—no way.

He doubted these seven gods could even last ten seconds against Kaguya.

Regardless, he and Kentaro's group were now isolated.

"Snakes! A huge snake!"

Panic spread among the Goddess Army.

Natsume whirled around and saw a snake over ten meters long.

"So you've come?"

He wasn't surprised at all.

Body Flicker!
Natsume appeared before the giant snake, clenched a fist, and punched straight into it.

Monstrous Strength!

A surging power poured out.

A scream rang out.

The huge body skidded back, carving a long furrow in the earth.

"So strong!"

Kentaro and the others were dumbfounded.

They understood the Goddess being strong.

But Natsume looked like an ordinary human like them—how could he be this absurdly strong?

Many of them immediately thought of the reason.

No doubt—it was the Goddess's blessing.

In the distance, the White Snake Sage looked grim.

Natsume had displayed the Sage Body before Kaguya, and often sparred with Hagoromo and Hamura—but they didn't know that.

They didn't dare approach the Ancestor palace.

It was the restricted area of restricted areas.

Kaguya would discover them immediately.

"Something's off!"

The Toad Sage leapt in fright.

He had thought Natsume might only be slightly stronger than the Goddess Army.

They had always observed from afar, without seeing clearly. Now, up close at last, he discovered that Natsume contained a vast chakra within.

"How is that possible?!"

The Toad Sage was incredulous. "How could that woman, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, grant so much chakra to an ordinary human? What exactly is their relationship?!"

He couldn't understand.

For years they'd watched Kaguya from the shadows and roughly understood her temperament.

Whatever she did, she sought to absorb chakra to strengthen herself.

Including planting trees and now the Goddess Army.

In essence, it wasn't out of kindness or pity.

But Natsume's appearance shattered the Toad Sage's understanding.

"This isn't the time," the White Snake Sage said urgently. "If we don't act now, my clansman will be killed!"

The Toad Sage leaped, striking a palm in midair.

An invisible shockwave swept out.

Natsume slipped aside lightly and avoided the attack.

Where he stood a moment ago exploded, leaving a huge palm print.

Pure natural-energy senjutsu packed a punch indeed.

Natsume looked toward the Toad Sage.

By the original story's logic, the Great Toad Sage's strength was not inferior to the Sage of Six Paths.

Though it was rarely displayed, Natsume couldn't afford to relax.

I can use senjutsu too.

Natsume pressed his hands together and entered Sage Mode.

The Toad Sage froze.

What the hell?

Am I seeing things?

Sage Art: Gate of the Great God!
Catching it off guard, Natsume struck immediately.

A red torii fell from the sky and pinned the Toad Sage down.

"How do you know senjutsu?!"

Even as it was driven into the earth, the Toad Sage couldn't suppress its shock.

Senjutsu—or rather, natural energy—had always been their exclusive domain. Humans had never mastered it.

Now, suddenly, a human who could use senjutsu—how could it not be shaken?

And the Sage Mode he used—was it the mixed model of natural energy and chakra that the Slug Sage had just mentioned?
If they hadn't discussed it only moments earlier, the Toad Sage would suspect there was a mole among them.

Natsume couldn't be bothered to answer. He formed seals.

Sage Art: Water Release: Water Severing Wave!
Time to crank up the intensity.

Highly compressed water jetted from his mouth like the sharpest blade, slicing through anything in its path.

Sensing mortal danger, the Toad Sage's cheeks bulged.

Ribbit!
A massive sonic wave burst out from it, blasting apart the torii.

It bolted without another word, teleporting back to Mount Myōboku.

Natsume's water jet did not abate, slicing apart the wounded giant snake.

As for the White Snake Sage—it had vanished.

Natsume blinked. Am I that scary?

But he quickly realized something and turned—only to see Kaguya.

She stared at the odd eye shadow on his face in Sage Mode and reached out her hand.

Chakra circulated through his body.

Only after confirming he was unhurt did she nod.

Natsume quietly exhaled.

He thought Kaguya would ask about his Sage Mode, but she merely checked on him.

Hmm. Looked like his romance route was working.

Chapter 188: Universal Card Princess Kaguya

Mount Myōboku.

The Toad Sage and White Snake Sage revealed themselves.

Both were heavy-hearted.

Today's defeat had been beyond expectations.

"We underestimated the Emperor of Ancestor," the Toad Sage's amphibian face was stiff. "His strength is on par with ours."

The White Snake Sage shot him a glance.

Judging from what they'd seen, Natsume in Sage Mode actually surpassed them.

After all, they were still young, not yet at their peaks.

Regardless, with a retainer at Kaguya's side who rivaled the Three Great Sages, her threat level had climbed again.

"After the deaths of those seven gods, our allies are even fewer," the Toad Sage sighed, despairing.

Gods were never numerous; losing seven at once left them with nothing to spare.

The Three Great Sage Lands had prestige and renown.

But in the face of death, would the remaining gods still heed their command?

And if any among them thought like the Slug Sage—believing Kaguya had a good side—what then?
"What do we do now?" The White Snake Sage was even more stricken, having lost an elite clansman.

"Kaguya has become hard to stop," the Toad Sage said after a moment's thought. "First, minimize the size of her Goddess Army. Second, use the Emperor as a template to research a new model. Third, wait for her two sons to grow up. Fourth, seek another member of the Ōtsutsuki clan."

"That's all we can do," the White Snake Sage nodded.

…

The Land of Ancestor.

Natsume returned to the palace.

With the Toad and White Snake Sages routed and the seven tree gods dead, nothing could stop the Goddess Army.

But considering Kentaro and the others were wounded, he ordered them to rest and recruit new players.

[Because of your actions, the fates of the Toad Sage, White Snake Sage, and Slug Sage have changed. You have gained 40 Fate Points in total.]

Huh, why did the Slug Sage get involved?
Natsume rubbed his chin. He'd only seen the Toad and White Snake Sages.

Was it because of Sage Mode?

Thinking it through, that definitely only appeared after chakra emerged.

Since it required mixing with chakra—and there had been no chakra before.

In other words, he may have inspired the Three Sages.

Fate was uncanny indeed.

Natsume glanced at Kaguya and thought of a question. Could she learn Sage Mode?

Hmm, probably not.

Sage chakra was the balance of equal portions of natural energy, physical energy, and spiritual energy.

Kaguya had too much chakra; it would be impossible to find an equal amount of natural energy to balance it.

And Natsume suspected the God Tree itself was a fusion of chakra and natural energy.

Without Sage Mode, she had already reached the pinnacle of power.

Hagoromo and Hamura were different.

Compared to Kaguya, their chakra had limits.

"Mother! Teacher!"

Hamura waved to them enthusiastically.

"How are things?" Hagoromo looked them over and asked.

"No problems at all." Natsume patted each of their shoulders with a different hand.

Yeah—don't ruffle boys' hair.

Also, they had horns.

If it were Kaguya… he'd be tempted to try.

"Have you read today?" Natsume glanced at the sky and asked.

"Um…"

Hamura immediately began to stammer.

"We'll go now." Hagoromo tugged his brother and turned away.

Natsume smiled contentedly.

Sage of Six Paths? So what?
He'd still be a good student.

…

Half a month later, the Goddess Army set out again, conquering several nearby nations.

The population nearly doubled to thirty thousand.

The number of ninjas also increased to five thousand.

A pretty good ratio.

Palace of the Land of Ancestor.

"Emperor."

Kentaro knelt on one knee, face grave. "We've suffered repeated beast attacks lately, especially from snakes, costing us many men."

Clearly retaliation from the Three Sage Lands.

Or rather, from the Toad and White Snake Sages.

Kentaro and the others were growing too slowly, no match for them.

Not because Natsume was limiting them, but because they were natives with weak talent.

A few generations later, their talent would improve.

But there was a workaround.

Combat could rapidly raise their strength.

"Head back and await the Skynet Login Device's version update," Natsume waved.

"Yes!"

At the mention of Skynet, Kentaro perked up.

Natsume returned to his room.

This plan required Kaguya's cooperation.

"Lady Goddess," Natsume knocked and entered.

"What is it?" Kaguya, already quite familiar with him, asked directly.

She herself hadn't noticed how far she'd gone in indulging this retainer.

To the point they no longer seemed like master and servant.

"I plan to roll out a new Skynet function," Natsume explained. "Mainly to deal with the Three Sage Lands."

The Three Sage Lands existed in unknown pocket spaces.

Even Kaguya would burn considerable energy to locate them.

If so, better to use them for training troops.

"First feature: Parties."

Watching her expression and seeing no reaction, he continued, "Ninjas don't suit large army formations. Small squads are more flexible. Split into two roles—offense and support—and that'll do."

"What do you need me to do?" Kaguya asked.

"Add a squad channel to the device so only team members can see their communications," Natsume answered at once.

"Anything else?" Kaguya nodded, then asked.

Natsume's heart skipped.

So obedient… it made him want to pat her head.

"Second feature: Red Names," he said, smiling at her impassive look. "I want the device to gain detection and logging. Once an enemy appears, the next time they show up, flag them in red and alert players."

"Approved."

Kaguya thought a moment.

This essentially used the God Tree as a server for data storage.

It was a living thing, so it was possible.

"Third feature: Recovery," Natsume mused. "Can the God Tree, via the device, reclaim chakra and natural energy from corpses?"

"No problem," Kaguya added a bit more this time. "The God Tree has always absorbed this planet's energy—that includes what you call corpses."

Natsume blinked.

He had suspected as much.

But Kaguya telling him outright meant his standing had risen again.

Cause for celebration.

"Recovery isn't the goal," Natsume said after a pause. "I want the God Tree to return a portion of the reclaimed chakra to players as rewards."

Kaguya's eyes narrowed; she stared at him.

Like a squirrel afraid someone would steal its pinecone.

Very displeased, with a hint of grievance.

Add a little pout and it would be lethal.

Even with her cool expression, it wasn't bad—another kind of charm.

Natsume's impulse surged again.

"What's given to players will ultimately return to us," he licked his lips and explained. "Don't fret over short-term losses—focus on the whole. By my reckoning, your income to date far exceeds expenditure."

Kaguya's expression eased slightly.

Indeed, as Natsume said, she was profiting.

And not by a little, but several times over.

Mainly because she only had to invest a tiny seed of chakra.

In under half a year, it paid for itself; the rest was pure gain.

Kaguya looked at Natsume, white eyes flickering with rare complexity.

She understood the logic, but she couldn't bear to part with it.

"Lady Goddess?" Natsume cleared his throat and coaxed her like a child. "I promise it won't be long before it pays off. If not, take my chakra to make up the difference."

After two-plus years, his Sage Body had recovered well.

"What's yours is mine," Kaguya tilted her head and said softly.

What a CEO line…
Natsume chuckled. "Right, all yours. Still, you have to spend to earn."

Kaguya studied him a moment, then nodded.

Though a bit heartsick, she didn't want to see Natsume disappointed—for some reason.

"Truly wise, Lady Goddess!" Natsume gave a thumbs-up in praise.

Wise?
Kaguya nodded nonchalantly. "Anything else?"

"That's all for now," Natsume waved. "These features will be enough to fire them up—and handle those snakes and toads."

…

A new day.

The plaza before the palace bustled.

"Assault squad recruiting one apothecary!"

"Veteran Uesugi Yudai leading—your safety guaranteed!"

"Need one more—hurry! Once we're full, we queue the dungeon!"

"Equal split of rewards—looking for a strong offensive ninja!"

With the update live, they began forming parties freely.

Natsume didn't strictly impose the usual three-man formation; he let them choose.

But he did offer guidance—keep a sensible ratio of offense to support.

Apothecary was a special role.

Since medical ninjutsu was tough to learn, Natsume settled for apothecaries instead.

Like doctors in his previous life.

They could still save lives at critical moments—just slower than medical-nin.

After a week of forming teams, the Goddess Army headed for the next nation, the Land of Maple.

This time, they broke into small units, infiltrating behind enemy lines.

The Toad and White Snake Sages were a little stunned.

Their numbers weren't as great as imagined.

When the Goddess Army clumped together, they were easy to ambush.

Now it was more troublesome—they had to split up.

…

A certain forest.

Kentaro's squad was on the move.

Seven people in all.

Thanks to his reputation, he'd gathered many elites.

They even had a rare medical ninja.

"Captain, red name," someone said on the squad channel.

"Sensory ninja," Kentaro typed back with mental text.

"It's the same giant snake that killed so many of us last time," came the reply moments later.

"Set the trap. We'll take it! With prey that big, Lady Goddess will surely kick back a lot of chakra to us!"

Kentaro grinned with excitement.

The others too.

Before, they had feared; now they were eager.

All because of Natsume's new version.

The giant snake had become a hot commodity.

In their eyes, it was walking rewards.

Time passed.

The snake soon caught up. With a sudden burst, it lunged with jaws wide.

Bang, bang, bang.

All seven turned into puffs of smoke.

Substitution Technique.

The snake didn't know ninjutsu, and it had no Byakugan. Even basic jutsu were hard for it to see through.

Most importantly, it didn't take Kentaro's group seriously.

Missing with its first strike, it was momentarily confused.

At that moment, a paper bomb drifted down from the tree.

Boom.

Flames sprayed.

The snake screamed.

But it wasn't dead.

Then the ground suddenly dropped.

Wracked with pain, it couldn't dodge and fell right into the pit.

Where countless upright blades skewered it, blood gushing.

Only then did Kentaro and the others emerge.

But the red name on Skynet hadn't vanished—meaning it was still alive.

They didn't approach; they pelted it with tools and ninjutsu.

The dying snake thrashed its tail wildly, but couldn't hit them.

Finally, it lost its life.

"Nice!"

Kentaro pumped a fist.

It was almost too easy!

The key was the Red Name feature.

They detected the snake early and struck with preparedness against an unprepared foe—of course they'd win.

"Recover it," Kentaro held out his arm; the others did the same.

Light enveloped the snake's body, which broke down into pure energy and flowed into their bracelets.

"I got 100 ryou of Chakra Coin," Kentaro said, elated.

"I got 70."

"…"

"I got the least—40."

"It must be distributing based on contribution this time," Kentaro said solemnly. "Work harder next time."

"Let's go, Captain—on to the next!"

Similar scenes played out repeatedly.

…

Three months later, Mount Myōboku.

"Something's wrong," the Toad Sage said through gritted teeth. "We've lost too many."

"They seem to have some way to sense us in advance," the White Snake Sage said darkly. "At this rate, half our clans will die—totally not worth it."

"We suspend for now," the Toad Sage sighed. "Focus on the other two plans."

As for Natsume, he wished he could flay him alive.

But Kaguya guarded him too well.

They had no opportunity to approach, let alone eliminate him.

…

The Land of Ancestor.

The happiest in recent days was Kaguya.

Those snakes and toads had contributed a great deal of energy.

She was quite satisfied.

Everything Natsume predicted had come to pass.

It had indeed paid off—and handsomely.

"Mom!"

Hamura ran into the room. "Look, the book says if there's no birth father, there can be a stepfather—as long as the two people love each other."

"What are you trying to say?" Kaguya looked at him.

"Do you like Teacher?" Hamura asked, eyes shining. "If you do, then Teacher can be my dad!"

"…"

Kaguya fell silent.

She didn't know what "like" meant—but perhaps she could learn.