Konoha: Naruto's abnormal life choices

"I remember Naruto was always under your care."

"Yes."

"And I remember he always called you 'sister,' didn't he?"

"Correct."

"So what's going on now? Is this what you call being a sister?"

"…"

Inside Tsunade's large tent.

As Hokage, she enjoyed certain privileges. Her personal tent was easily ten times the size of an ordinary ninja's, spacious enough to accommodate three to five people without feeling crowded.

After being caught in Naruto's bed, Uzuki Yugao had changed back into her standard uniform and followed Tsunade here—only to be scolded for a solid stretch of time.

Tsunade's sharp gaze was fixed on her. "Did you sleep with him?"

"…"

"I mean actually sleep with him. Not just lying down."

"…"

"Did. You. Sleep. With. Him?"

Uzuki Yugao remained silent.

Tsunade sighed in frustration. "Unbelievable. I never thought you, of all people, would do this."

Truthfully, Tsunade didn't really object to Naruto being involved in this kind of thing. She hadn't interfered when it came to Temari, and even when she heard rumors about Ino, she let it slide.

But this was different.

The age gap between Uzuki Yugao and Naruto bothered her.

In Tsunade's eyes, Naruto dating someone his own age was like her pig happily eating someone else's cabbage. But this? This felt like an older woman sneaking into her barn to steal her pig.

It irritated her in ways she didn't fully understand.

Worse, the age gap hit a nerve.

Tsunade herself was much older than Naruto, and she shared an unusually close relationship with him. Seeing this happen had brought up ideas she'd never considered before.

Now, somehow, Tsunade felt like she had been corrupted—by Uzuki Yugao.

Poor Yugao, naturally, became the outlet for her frustration.

"As Naruto's big sister figure, don't you realize what you've done?" Tsunade slammed her hand on the table. "He's still just a kid! How old is he?!"

Uzuki Yugao lowered her head, lips twitching. Naruto is far more mature than you think, she thought. He's not a naïve little boy anymore.

But she didn't dare speak her thoughts. Tsunade was Hokage. She was just a Special Jōnin.

This wasn't a fight she could win.

So Yugao simply kept her head down, pretending to admit fault, hoping Tsunade would finish scolding her soon so she could return to Naruto before he woke up and started looking for her.

Unfortunately, Tsunade seemed to have some sixth sense and crushed that hope without hesitation.

"Don't even think about seeing Naruto tonight. You're staying here with me," Tsunade said firmly.

"When Naruto grows up and can make his own decisions, fine. I won't care how he plays around. But right now, he's still too young. I won't let anyone take advantage of him. Understood?"

Yugao's expression turned strange.

Take advantage? The way Tsunade phrased it made her sound like some shameless predator.

Looking up at Tsunade's furious face, Yugao bit her lip, swallowing her pride. "Yes, ma'am."

Tsunade, perhaps realizing she had vented enough—or maybe that she was being unreasonable—finally backed off.

"You can sleep here. I'll find another tent."

"No way!" Yugao protested instinctively.

"Hm? You still planning to sneak back to Naruto's tent?"

"No, no!"

"Then stay put."

"Yes, ma'am…"

With that, Tsunade stepped out and zipped the curtain closed behind her.

Uzuki Yugao sighed, thinking of Naruto. If he wakes up and I'm gone… will he worry?

"Ugh…"

What Yugao could never have imagined was that Tsunade—who had just finished reprimanding her and banned her from seeing Naruto—didn't go find another tent at all.

Instead, she slipped away... and headed straight to Naruto's.

She still had questions for him, and she hadn't yet tested his strength like she intended.

Using that as an excuse, Tsunade quietly approached Naruto's small tent, opened the curtain, and crawled inside.

Moonlight streamed in, softly illuminating Naruto's sleeping face.

Tsunade whispered, "Stop faking. I know you're awake."

Naruto groaned, pulling the covers up. "I'm really sleeping…"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, then grabbed his ear and tugged. "Acting cute won't work today."

Groaning, Naruto sat up slowly. His gaze happened to fall straight onto Tsunade's chest as she leaned forward.

"Gulp."

He quickly looked away.

As Tsunade had guessed, Naruto had woken up long ago—he'd been awake through everything with Yugao. At first, he kept pretending to sleep to avoid embarrassing her.

Later… it was because he was scared of Tsunade's wrath.

If Uzuki Yugao knew Naruto had made her face the fire alone, she'd probably stay mad for days.

Seeing him avert his gaze, Tsunade gave him a look. "What, not happy to see me?"

Naruto grinned. "Of course I am! I'm always happy to see you, Lady Tsunade!"

"Then get up. Spar with me."

Tsunade cracked her knuckles. "Time to see what kind of strength you're hiding. After all, you've got the guts to sleep with a woman now."

Naruto nearly choked on his own breath. Lady Tsunade, could you not say that out loud!?

He chuckled awkwardly. "I'm not hiding anything. I rely on you for everything!"

This time, Tsunade didn't fall for the flattery. She had seen too much already. The little innocent brat filter was broken.

To her, Naruto was now a full-grown boy.

And she didn't hesitate to throw a punch.

Naruto's eyes widened. He'd seen her knock out Jiraiya with a single blow. No way was he taking that head-on.

He dodged just in time—the punch blew through the trees behind him.

"Lady Tsunade, calm down!"

"I am calm," she snapped. "Now show me the strength you used to defeat the Two-Tails and nine Hidden Cloud ninjas."

She kept attacking while Naruto dodged like his life depended on it.

Tsunade, meanwhile, was impressed. Just Naruto's dodging speed alone surpassed many seasoned shinobi.

So she stepped up her game.

Naruto was trying to talk her down, but Tsunade's strikes were relentless—each one threatening to level part of the forest.

"Lady Tsunade, you're going to wreck the entire ecosystem!"

"Then fight back!"

It was then that Naruto's system interface pinged in his mind.

[Passive Selection Triggered!]

He dodged while glancing at the holographic options:

[Tsunade Senju is testing your strength. Make a choice.]

Option 1 – Coward: Take her hits without fighting back. Reward: Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere.

Who would pick this?!

Option 2 – Rational: Keep dodging until she stops. Reward: Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere.

Boring, and the reward is weak.

Option 3 – Dominant: Pin her down and "bully" her. Reward: 5% Nine-Tails Control.

Hmm… Interesting. No specific details on "bully," though…

Option 4 – Cruel: Kill her. Reward: Summon: Slug.

Absolutely not.

Naruto made his choice.

Golden Nine-Tails chakra erupted around him, illuminating the mountainside like a second moon. His cute expression vanished, replaced by calm seriousness.

Maybe it was his transformation… or the lingering image Tsunade had witnessed earlier… but for a brief moment, Tsunade's heart skipped a beat.

What am I thinking? she quickly scolded herself.

"You've grown strong," she muttered, and charged again.

This time, Naruto countered.

He flung flaming shuriken around her. "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"

Tsunade spun and knocked them away effortlessly—only to be hit by a follow-up technique.

"Fire Style: Ash Pile Burning!"

Thick ash filled the air. Tsunade jumped out—only to find the ash didn't explode.

Before she could process it, Naruto emerged from underground, grabbed her legs, and held tight.

"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!"

He clung to her ankles like a koala.

"Let go!" Tsunade tried to kick him off, but her blows were half-hearted. She didn't really want to hurt him.

Naruto was shameless. He clung tighter, his hands gripping her feet as his clones appeared with ropes.

"Now's my chance!"

Dozens of Naruto clones swarmed in from every direction.

They tied Tsunade up.