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Chapter 115: The Weight of a Gift
🕑 Added 2025-10-25 19:03:23 +0000 UTCTsunade stood motionless on the roof. The only sound was the night wind and the soft snoring of Naruto, whose face was comfortably buried in her chest.
She looked at her own hands under the pale moonlight. They were smooth. Young. She flexed her fingers. There was no trace of the morning stiffness that had plagued her for twenty years.
"Brat," she whispered, her voice sounding strangely clearer, stronger. "What... what the hell did you do to me?"
She touched her face. The skin was firm. She felt her neck.
"Impossible."
She looked back at the boy in her arms. Tattered orange clothes, exhausted to the point of collapse, and snoring.
"You give me back thirty years of my life... and then you pass out." A small smile pulled at the corner of her lips. "What a pain. You always have to do things in the most dramatic way possible, don't you?"
She adjusted him more carefully. "I'd better get you back to bed before Shizune has a heart attack. I can already picture her..."
Just as she prepared to lift him and jump, Naruto groaned.
"Mmm... no..."
"Naruto?" Tsunade tensed.
His eyes snapped open. But they weren't looking at her. They were glassy, fixed on an invisible point just over her shoulder.
"Wait... wait... Granny..." His voice was slurred, barely a delirious mumble.
"Brat! You're awake!" Worry flooded her voice. "Don't move! You have to get back to bed, right now! You're on the verge of chakra collapse!"
As a medic, she could feel the near-total void in him. It was a miracle he was still conscious.
"No..." he mumbled, ignoring her completely. He waved a hand weakly in the air, trying to bat something invisible away. "This is... you have to see it. It's... wow. It's so... bright."
"Bright? What's bright?" Tsunade tried to get him to look at her. "Naruto, you're hallucinating. It's the exhaustion."
"I'm not... no... it's floating. Right there." He made a trembling effort that shook his whole body, pulling away from her just enough to fumble in his pants pocket.
"What the hell are you doing now?" Tsunade held him, trying to keep him from falling. "Stop moving! You need a medic!"
"The notebook... my notebook," he panted. "Quick. My pocket. I have to... I have to write it down."
"You're not writing anything! You're going to the infirmary!"
"No!" he yelled, with surprising strength, before coughing. "It's going to go away! I have to...!"
Finally, his fingers found what they were looking for. He pulled out a small, worn notebook and a stub of a pencil.
Tsunade stared at him, completely confused. "Naruto!"
"Your... your Falna..." he said, balancing the notebook on his own knee. His hand was shaking so badly he could barely hold the pencil. "It's... Granny, I think you broke the system."
He began to write frantically.
His glassy eyes darted back and forth, reading an invisible text in the air in front of him. The pencil tip moved with desperate speed.
"Strength..." he muttered, his voice barely a whisper.
"Strength? Naruto, what are you talking about?" Tsunade leaned in, trying to understand.
"S... 999." He paused, blinking. "It's the limit. Granny, you broke the limit."
"What is 'S'? What is 999? Brat, you're talking nonsense! Your pulse is through the roof, you need to calm down!" She tried to grab his wrist to check it herself.
He weakly pulled his hand away, still writing. "Dexterity... S... 999. This is ridiculous. Agility... S... 999? How is it possible to have everything at S...?"
"Naruto, drop that pencil! You're scaring me!"
"Wait... Magic..." he continued, not listening. "S... 999."
He kept writing, his breathing becoming more ragged. The pencil scratched against the paper.
"Development Abilities..."
"Abilities? What are you reading, Naruto?"
"'Senju Vitality'... 'a higher-grade version of Uzumaki vitality'... sounds good..."
Tsunade froze. "Senju... Vitality?"
"And... 'Goddess of Healing'... that makes sense. 'Specialist'... 'Reduces chakra cost of medical jutsu by 50%'..."
"Fifty percent?" Tsunade's brain began to process the implications of that sentence.
"Wait... Magic... Active Techniques..." He kept scribbling. "'Chakra Enhancement: Impact (Apex)'... says it's an evolved version of Sakura's... nice..."
"And... 'Creation Rebirth'..." He stopped. His glassy eyes widened slightly. "It says... 'Synchronized.' The Falna... helps manage the Yin Seal..."
Tsunade grabbed his shoulder. "Naruto! What did you just say?!"
He ignored her, reading the last part with a gasp. "The cost... Granny... 'The cost to the user's lifespan is drastically reduced'..."
"Reduces... the cost?" she whispered.
"One more... Unique Ability..." His hand was shaking violently now. "'Sovereign's Decree'... What... what is that...? 'Active Ability'... 'Wave of life force'... 'Allies'... 'Family'... 'Massive boost to regeneration'..."
He finished writing the last word with a stroke that nearly tore the paper.
He dropped the pencil. He took a deep breath, and his whole body went limp. With one last pull of energy, he tore the sheet from the notebook.
"Here..." he said, holding the crumpled paper out to her. His hand trembled. "You have to... you have to see this. Everything... it's amazing..."
Tsunade hesitantly took the piece of paper from his hand.
Naruto looked at her. His eyes, previously glassy, focused on her for a single second. He gave her a goofy, completely exhausted smile.
"Now... now I'm... good night... pillow..."
His eyes rolled back. And for the second time, he slumped forward.
"Hey, brat...!"
He fell into the exact same position as before: deeply unconscious, face buried in her chest, a soft snore starting to sound.
Tsunade stood still for a long moment. She held the crumpled paper in one hand and the unconscious boy in the other. The cold wind hit her face.
She exhaled, frustrated.
"You really are a pain."
Careful not to wake the boy, she unfolded the sheet. The moonlight illuminated Naruto's scrawled, almost illegible handwriting.
She read the list.
TSUNADE (LEVEL 1)
BASIC STATS: STRENGTH: S (999) ENDURANCE: S (999) DEXTERITY: S (999) AGILITY: S (999) MAGIC: S (999)
DEVELOPMENT ABILITIES (Passive):
[Senju Vitality]: A higher-grade version of Uzumaki vitality. Passively accelerates cellular regeneration and chakra recovery at an extraordinary rate. Increases resistance to all forms of toxins and poisons.
[Goddess of Healing]: Specialist ability. Massively increases the potency and efficiency of all medical ninjutsu and healing techniques. Reduces the chakra cost of medical jutsu by 50%.
MAGIC (Jutsu/Active Techniques):
[Chakra Enhancement: Impact (Apex)]: (Evolved version of Sakura's ability). Allows for the perfect and instantaneous channeling of chakra to any point on the body, converting the Magic stat into devastating and precise physical force.
[Creation Rebirth (Synchronized)]: (The Falna does not create this technique, but syncs with it). The Falna now helps manage and optimize the Yin Seal's cellular division process. The cost to the user's lifespan is drastically reduced while the Falna is active.
ABILITY (Unique Ability):
[Sovereign's Decree]: Active Ability. Upon activation, releases a wave of chakra. Allies ("Family" members) within the wave's radius receive a massive temporary boost to their regeneration and stamina, healing minor wounds and removing fatigue. It is the ultimate field commander's ability.
Tsunade read the paper. Once. Twice.
Her mind, that of a tactical and medical genius, processed the information.
"S-stats... in everything..." she whispered. "It's a scoring system..."
She looked at Naruto. "Level 1? What does that mean?"
She read the list again. "Senju Vitality... Accelerates regeneration? That's why... that's why I feel like this."
Her eyes fixed on the Yin Seal part. "'Drastically reduces the cost to lifespan'."
She clenched the paper so tightly her knuckles turned white. She had spent decades trading her life for that power. A forbidden technique that was slowly killing her. And this brat, in one night, with a power she didn't understand... just fixed it.
"And this..." Her eyes moved to the last ability. "Sovereign's Decree."
A power to heal her allies on the battlefield. A commander's power. A power to protect her... 'Family.'
"He didn't just give me my life back..." she thought, looking at the snoring boy. "He gave me the power to protect them all."
She jumped to her feet. This time, she lifted Naruto into her arms effortlessly. Her muscles tensed with a clean, untapped power.
"Stay with me, brat," she said with a new seriousness, her voice resonating with an authority she hadn't used in years. "This is just getting started."
She entered the infirmary window with a dull thud that made the wooden frame creak. The glass vibrated but didn't break.
The four girls inside the room jumped, instinctively grabbing kunai.
"What...?!" Sakura started, spinning toward the source of the noise.
Tsunade walked straight to the empty bed next to Temari's and deposited Naruto on it. He kept snoring, oblivious to the drama.
Shizune was the first to speak, or rather, shriek. She dropped a tray of medical supplies, which crashed to the floor.
"La... Lady... your... your... your clothes!"
Sakura, Hinata, and Karin were completely silent.
Temari, hearing the noise, peeked cautiously around the edge of her curtain, ready for battle.
They were all staring. Their eyes were wide.
The woman who had left the room just ten minutes ago, the fifty-year-old, tired, and worn-out Hokage, was gone.
In her place was a woman who couldn't be older than twenty-five. She had flawless skin, bright blonde hair, and a vibrant energy that filled the room.
She wore the same Hokage robes, but now they were comically large on her. The green jacket hung off her shoulders, and the gray shirt bunched around her waist.
"...Wow," Temari said from her bed. "So that's what you were doing on the roof. And here I thought Konoha was boring."
Sakura took a step forward, her hand trembling as she pointed. "Shishou... what... what happened? You look...!"
"Her chakra!" Karin interrupted, her red eyes wide behind her glasses. "It's... it's huge."
Hinata activated her Byakugan out of habit, her lavender eyes widening in amazement. "Her... her chakra network... it's... it's perfect. There's no wear. It... it feels similar to Naruto-kun's, but... different."
Shizune was still gaping. "Master... you... you're twenty! What happened on that roof?! Did you use the Yin Seal again?! I thought we talked about that! That will kill you!"
Tsunade impatiently adjusted the jacket, which was falling off one shoulder.
"No, Shizune. It's not the seal." Her voice was clear and strong. "The brat gave me a gift." She glanced at the unconscious Naruto. "And a headache."
She ignored their stunned looks. She turned to them, her expression hardening into the legendary Sannin's.
"Shizune. Get me a combat uniform. From my old measurements. The ones from the last war."
"Old?! Master, you have to rest!" Shizune protested, scrambling to pick up the fallen tray. "We don't know what this did to your system! It could be temporary! It could have side effects!"
"My system has never been better, Shizune." Tsunade clenched her fist, feeling the raw, painless power vibrating under her skin. "For the first time in decades, nothing hurts."
She turned to the genin. "Sakura. Hinata. Karin."
The three of them snapped to attention by instinct.
"Your mission has just changed. You are Naruto Uzumaki's personal guard. This room is now under my direct authority."
Her voice allowed no argument.
"No one enters this room without my express permission. No one. Not the councilors, not Danzo, not even Jiraiya. Understood?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Sakura said, her mind racing to catch up with events. "Loud and clear, Tsunade-sama!"
"No one is getting through this door," Karin added, crossing her arms.
Hinata nodded, her eyes firm. "We'll be watching."
"Good." Tsunade walked to the door.
"Master, wait!" Shizune yelled, running after her. "Where are you going? You just went through... whatever that was! You can't just leave!"
Tsunade paused with her hand on the doorknob.
"Hiruzen-sensei worked long enough. He carried this village for too long while I hid behind sake and cards."
She clenched her fist. "It's over."
She cast one last look at the boy snoring in the bed.
"I'm going to see the councilors. It's time for me to take control of this village's reconstruction."
She opened the door and walked out.
She left the four kunoichi in a stunned silence.
"Oh my god..." Sakura whispered.
"Well," Temari said, settling back into her pillow. "That was intense."
The door opened again a second later, this time with a hesitant creak.
"Hey, can I come in?"
Kiba poked his head in. Akamaru was in his arms. "I brought some flowers for... Whoa!"
Kiba froze, staring down the hall where Tsunade had just disappeared. His nostrils flared.
"What... what the hell was that?"
Sakura moved in an instant. She was at the door, blocking the entrance with her body.
"No one gets in, Kiba. Orders from Tsunade-sama."
Kiba blinked. "But... but... That was Tsunade-sama?!" He sniffed the air again. "But... but she looked like she was twenty! And what...!"
"Shut up, Inuzuka!" Karin snapped, appearing behind Sakura with a dangerous look.
Kiba gulped, taking a step back. "Hey, hey! Easy! What's with everyone? I just came to see Naruto! And Hinata!"
"Get out of here!" Sakura growled.
"Alright, alright! Sheesh!" Kiba held up his hands. "I don't know what kind of sexy jutsu the Hokage uses in her spare time, but I don't want to know!"
"Get out!"
"I'm going, I'm going! Akamaru, let's go! This place is full of scary women!"
Sakura slammed the door in his face. A muffled "Hey!" was heard from the other side.
Sakura slid the bolt shut.
She leaned against the wood, letting out a long sigh.
"Idiot."
"He's right about one thing," Temari said from her bed, her voice amused.
Sakura turned. "About what?"
"This place is full of scary women." Temari smirked. "And the scariest one of all just got thirty years younger thanks to that idiot over there." She pointed with her chin at Naruto, who had just let out a particularly loud snore.
"Konoha is about to get interesting," Temari muttered, closing her curtains.
Silence fell in the room again, but this time it was charged with tension.
Sakura walked slowly to Naruto's bed. She stared at him.
"Still snoring," she said quietly. "And he... he has no idea he just changed the world."
Comments
travis btmb
Tftc
travis btmb
The woman who had left the room just ten minutes ago, the fifty-year-old, tired, and worn-out Hokage, was gone. Shouldnt it be sannin she is not the hokage yet
