Chapter 25: Cuteness over Lewdness

Kabuto was accepted as Tsunade's apprentice, but he was not treated nearly as well as Natsume.

He still lived at the orphanage and wasn't moving in.

Most of his medical ninjutsu training was handled by Shizune.

As for Tsunade, she had reverted to her true nature—spending all day in gambling dens and losing miserably.

This made Natsume desperate to reopen the Gunma Casino.

If she kept losing, they really would end up on the streets.

Morning.

Natsume sent a wood clone to attend class, while his real self headed to the Gunma Casino.

He'd kept Uzumaki Hinae and Karin waiting for two days; it was time to see them.

The Gunma Casino was under renovation.

According to Natsume's plan, it would become a six-story building, with different games and entry fees on each floor, and of course, increasingly better service.

In Tanzaku Quarters, where most buildings were only two or three stories, a six-story building would stand out and be great publicity.

After half a month's work, the first three floors were already finished.

Disguised, Natsume entered the third floor and knocked on a door of one of the rooms.

Soon, Uzumaki Hinae opened the door. Seeing him, her body instinctively trembled.

"Sir…" she greeted, forcing down her fear.

The impression Kakuzu and Sasori had left on her, plus her uncertain future, made her reaction understandable.

"How have you been these days? Has anyone bullied you?"

Natsume looked at her pitiful appearance, thinking to himself that she was just too easy to evoke both protective and bullying urges.

"No one has," Hinae replied, shaking her head. "Everyone treats me with respect."

Natsume closed the door and locked it.

The gesture made Hinae panic.

Was he going to…?

She bit her lip. For her daughter Karin's sake, she could sacrifice herself.

But the next moment, she was stunned.

Natsume dropped his disguise, revealing himself as a super cute seven-year-old kid.

Hinae blinked, her fear fading.

That face just didn't inspire fear.

"Let's reintroduce ourselves. My name is Natsume, and I'm seven years old."

Natsume didn't mind showing his true self to her. The reason was simple—he could control Hinae at any time.

Aside from her Uzumaki physique, she was just an ordinary woman, and she had her daughter as a weakness.

Even if she revealed his identity, it didn't matter.

The Gunma Casino was run under Tsunade's name anyway.

Even if Hiruzen Sarutobi found out, he'd just sigh about how clever Natsume was.

Hinae instinctively covered her mouth, afraid she'd make a sound from shock.

She'd never expected Natsume to be just a child.

But that was much better than the adult face.

If he was just seven, he probably couldn't do anything to her.

Natsume noticed the change in her expression.

Her pitiful aura faded along with her fear.

He raised his eyebrows, took out pen and paper, wrote a few lines, and said, "Sign this at the bottom."

"What is it?" Hinae glanced at it and froze.

It said that Natsume had spent two million ryo to rescue her and Karin, and now the debt was on them—they needed to pay it back.

In other words, she was now buried in debt.

Two million ryo was an astronomical sum to her.

Hinae, aggrieved and panicked, asked, "S-sir, is… is this real?"

Natsume saw her teary eyes and nodded with satisfaction.

He liked it.

There's a scientific theory—cute aggression—where seeing something cute makes you want to squeeze or squish it. It's the brain's way of balancing positive emotion with a bit of negativity.

Natsume, always on the back foot with Tsunade, now felt rebellious seeing Hinae.

Finally, someone he could control.

It felt great.

Seeing Natsume nod, Hinae felt despair. Two million ryo—how could she ever pay it?

"I don't like talking to people while looking up," Natsume said, motioning.

Hinae immediately squatted down, begging, "Sir, I really don't have that much money."

Her tone was pitiful.

At 1.2 meters tall, Natsume now stood a head taller than her squatting form.

If this were Tsunade, he'd be staring at some impressive scenery.

But as for Hinae—well, she was poor but generous. Average, really.

But her curves were impressive enough to make up for it.

Natsume rested his head on her fragrant shoulder, whispered in her ear, "Look at the back."

Hinae shivered and looked at the IOU again. There was another line:

[If you can't pay for now, you can work for your creditor.]

She breathed a sigh of relief.

Hinae bit her lip, held out her soft hand, and said, "Sir, I'm useful. If you're hurt, one bite and you'll recover."

She was showing her value.

After all, she didn't have any other skills.

As a walking blood bag, she figured she could earn her keep.

With that thought, Hinae returned to the kind of life she had in Grass Village.

Natsume looked at her arm, covered in bite marks, and spaced out.

So pitiful.

He was suddenly grateful to be in Konoha, able to live a relatively stable life.

In other small ninja villages, he might not be any better off than Hinae.

Natsume stroked her arm gently.

Given the Uzumaki physique, these wounds were nothing—she'd heal quickly.

The marks showed her chakra was burning faster than she could recover.

Hinae blushed as he touched her.

Even if he was a kid, such gentle contact made her shy.

No one had ever treated her like this.

Natsume brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear, played with her hair, and said, "I wouldn't waste your abilities like that."

He planned to have Hinae learn sealing techniques.

Same for Karin when she grew up.

The Uzumaki clan's sealing arts were famous and powerful, the only reliable way for ordinary ninja to handle tailed beasts.

Wood Release or Sharingan were special cases.

As for medical ninja, he already had Tsunade, Shizune, and Kabuto. He didn't need more.

But two sealing ninja could be extremely useful in certain situations.

The only problem was, Uzumaki sealing arts were top-secret in Konoha.

Ordinary people couldn't get them.

But for Natsume, it was fine—he could trade with Orochimaru.

As one of the Sannin, Orochimaru had high clearance and could even read the Scroll of Seals.

Tsunade could as well, but it would be too much trouble to explain to her.

So, better to work with Orochimaru.

Hinae looked confused—did she have other uses?

Natsume pinched her soft cheek, slid his finger across her lips (warm and moist), and smiled, "Your top priority now is to get healthy."

Hinae blushed all the way to her ears and nodded, eyelashes trembling.

She didn't mind Natsume's actions—maybe because he'd saved her, and he was just too cute.

She just took it as a child being playful. Maybe a bit too much, but not too much.

Natsume, on the other hand, felt like he'd gotten a real-life figurine.