Chapter 254 - 258: Konan’s First Kiss

The sun dropped toward the horizon.

When the workday ended, Natsuki brought Minato and the rest back to the Hidden Leaf.

With the teleportation formations running, nobody had to camp in the field for weeks anymore, waiting out a mission to completion.

"Tsunade-sensei."

On the way to his office, Natsuki spotted her heading home.

"Back from the Land of Snow already?" Tsunade stopped.

"Mm. It went smoothly." Natsuki produced a storage scroll. "For you."

"What’s this?" She blinked at it.

"Local specialties." He was smiling. "And your favorite liquor."

Tsunade’s eyes lit up.

She had the scroll open before he’d finished talking, and the sight of that many bottles earned an approving nod.

"We’re drinking tonight," she decided, tucking it away.

"Tsunade-sensei. No other expression of gratitude?" Natsuki blinked innocently.

She gave him a look, checked that the corridor was empty, then stepped in and kissed his cheek.

And left immediately, before he could do anything about it.

Because she knew him. Give him half a second and he’d push it further.

Natsuki watched her go, smiling despite himself, and went into the office.

A day in the Land of Snow had left the desk buried.

He worked through it quickly. The shinobi world was largely at peace now, and the overwhelming majority of it was Alliance business. The rest concerned the Leaf itself — including the Academy.

March was next month. A new intake, and a graduating class.

Natsuki stroked his chin.

A question surfaced: should he push graduation later?

Twelve years old struck him as flatly unreasonable.

Historically it had made sense. Perpetual war meant a perpetual need to replace the dead, and you took what you could get.

That pressure was gone, at least for now.

But a new one had replaced it.

Since the Alliance had taken over the key industries, friction had shown up everywhere — and the root cause was that the shinobi didn’t know enough. They could fight. Anything that wasn’t fighting, they were learning on the job.

And if people needed to learn, the obvious place to do it was the Academy.

Extending graduation looked entirely workable. Twelve to eighteen.

Natsuki picked up a pen and wrote out an implementation plan, then handed it to Nara Shikaku to execute.

The day wound down, and Natsuki went back to the Senju compound.

"Welcome home!" Kushina came running at the sound of the door.

"Work ran long," Natsuki said, changing his shoes.

"It’s not that late."

He straightened and opened his arms, and Kushina threw herself into them, pressing herself against him a few times for good measure.

He was about to say something when he caught sight of Tsunade further in.

Their eyes met, and Tsunade turned and walked into the living room.

Natsuki patted Kushina’s back. She looked up and stepped away half a pace.

The two of them followed her in. Tsunade, Nawaki, and Nonou were on the sofa watching TV.

"I’ll get dinner started," Natsuki said.

"I’ll help." Nonou stood.

Kushina opened her mouth, then thought better of it and let her have it.

In the kitchen, Nonou picked up an apron and came over to him.

"Thank you," Natsuki said once she’d tied it, and pulled her into a hug.

Nonou was as gentle as ever. She reached up and ran a hand slowly down his back.

Natsuki simply lowered his head against her and stayed there. The softness of her, the faint scent of her — it settled something in him.

Though on the specific question of hugs, Tsunade still had her beat.

A moment later, the two of them got to work on dinner.

At the table, Tsunade broke out the Land of Snow liquor Natsuki had brought her.

For years she’d drunk alone. But as Natsuki and the others had grown up, they’d all started joining her for a cup or two — in strict moderation, mind. Nobody drank themselves under.

Nobody except Tsunade, who had never cared about moderation in her life.

After dinner she went to bed early, flushed and mostly asleep on her feet.

Natsuki, Nonou, and Kushina went back next door. Kushina had originally lived at Tsunade’s place, but once she and Nonou had come to their arrangement, she’d simply moved in.

It was still early, so Natsuki went up onto the roof.

He was strong. He wasn’t finished.

Especially not with the Hogyoku in hand.

Every so often he’d dig back through what he remembered of the Otsutsuki abilities from the original story and try to reproduce them. They were all worth having.

Tonight’s project was the Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack.

The story had never spelled it out, but from the way it manifested, the technique clearly related to the Hyuga’s Gentle Fist. Natsuki had gone and watched the Hyuga practice it specifically.

At his level, "watched" was sufficient. He didn’t need to study anything anymore.

Time passed, and then something tugged at his attention. He stopped mid-strike and looked down.

Tsunade was standing below. She noticed him a beat later, looked surprised, and then jumped up onto the roof.

"Sobering up, Tsunade-sensei?"

"More or less." She sat down beside him, tipped her head sideways, and rested it on his shoulder.

Natsuki glanced at her.

There was still color in her cheeks. She hadn’t fully come out of it — and a little tipsy suited her in a way that was hard to look away from.

"What are you doing up here?" she asked idly.

"Training."

Natsuki reached over and laid his hand against her chest, and warmth radiated back through her skin.

Tsunade rolled her eyes at him.

She didn’t stop him.

"You’re already the strongest thing in the world. Why bother?" she asked, steadying herself.

"Because the stronger I get, the more I can do for the rest of you," Natsuki said.

He was already ageless and undying. Mikoto, Nonou, and the others weren’t, and couldn’t be — not yet.

The Hogyoku wasn’t a magic wand. Without sufficient underlying potential, nobody was evolving to Otsutsuki standard.

Which left the crude approach he’d considered before: forcibly loading a body with enough chakra.

That carried real risk.

And the stronger Natsuki got, the smaller that risk became.

"I honestly don’t know what to do with you." Tsunade’s mouth twisted.

He was shameless. He was also, undeniably, good to them.

Though she was aware that the shinobi world’s rather feudal social arrangements did a lot of work here. In a different era, Natsuki wouldn’t be enjoying a house full of women — he’d be standing in the middle of a small war.

"You don’t have to say anything." Natsuki’s fingers shifted slightly. "I can already tell what you’d say."

Tsunade’s breath caught, and she grabbed his wrist on reflex.

"Conversation’s over. Go to bed."

She stood and dropped off the roof.

Natsuki watched her go, then sniffed his hand and found the scent of her still on it.

He turned and headed back to his room, philosophical about it. If the main event was off the table, there were consolation prizes downstairs.

Two days later.

Since it was Konan’s birthday, Natsuki gave the Shinobi World Police Force the day off.

Convenient timing, too — they’d finished clearing the rogue shinobi and bandits out of the Land of Snow. A day off was entirely reasonable.

"Will they come back eventually?" Konan asked, curious.

"Why do you think they existed in the first place?" Natsuki asked instead.

Konan paused. She’d never actually considered the question.

"Because they couldn’t survive any other way," Natsuki said.

Something clicked into place for her.

That was why rogues and bandits had never resurfaced in the Land of Rain after one cleanup. Because the Land of Rain’s economy had grown.

And with that, Konan saw the first real light of peace in the shinobi world.

Before, she had believed Natsuki could do it. Now she could see the mechanism herself.

Develop the whole world the way the Land of Rain had developed, and peace followed. At that point the only remaining sources of instability would be the five great villages themselves.

And with Natsuki alive, those wouldn’t erupt.

The shinobi world might genuinely get true peace.

Konan’s chest went tight with something complicated. She had never imagined she would be standing close enough to touch it.

But it was good. What the Akatsuki had chased for all these years was no longer a fantasy.

"Come back to me," Natsuki said, reaching over to pinch her cheek.

Konan looked up at him, visibly embarrassed.

"Right. Enough of that. Let’s go to the Hidden Rain."

He stood and opened a doorway.

"Mm." Konan followed him through.

"Natsuki-sensei! Konan!" Yahiko was beaming. "You’re finally here!"

Besides Yahiko and Nagato, the Akatsuki’s senior members had all turned out — Chino, Fushin, Hyo, Honoka, and the rest.

What followed was simple enough. Natsuki cooked, everyone else assisted, and between them they produced enough food to cover the entire table.

The group crowded around it.

"It’s your birthday, Konan. Anything you want to say?" Natsuki asked, smiling.

"I hope things go well for the Akatsuki." She thought about it before answering.

"With Natsuki-sensei around, the Akatsuki’s only going to get better." Yahiko paused. "Konan — what about a wish for you?"

Konan’s eyes went to Natsuki without her permission.

She pulled them back and shook her head.

"There’s nothing wrong with not having a wish." Natsuki picked up his chopsticks. "What matters is where you are right now."

"In that case — eating!" Yahiko pressed his palms together.

The rest followed his lead.

After lunch, Natsuki thought of the Hogyoku and ran everyone through an upgrade.

Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato had all been through it once before.

Of everyone who’d used it, Nagato had gained the most by a wide margin.

Partly potential. Partly the Rinnegan.

Nagato was Uzumaki, so the effect on him resembled Kushina’s — his physical constitution was overhauled. In the original story, his frail body had been his single greatest limitation.

That limitation was gone now. He’d become what Natsuki privately thought of as the healthy version of Nagato, and his combat ceiling had gone through the roof, because he could finally use the Rinnegan without rationing himself.

Yahiko and Konan gained less, but both of them cleared Kage level.

"There are a few things waiting for me in Konoha this afternoon," Natsuki said, with a glance at Konan.

"Go on back, Natsuki-sensei. Don’t worry about us," Yahiko said immediately.

"I’ll go help," Konan added, perfectly composed.

"We’ll come back tonight," Natsuki said.

The two returned to the Hidden Leaf.

"So what’s the plan for this afternoon?" Natsuki asked as they walked down the street.

"Shopping," Konan said, after a moment’s hesitation.

She’d only really wanted time alone with him. She hadn’t thought as far as an activity.

"Sure." Natsuki chuckled. "You’re a year older. New clothes are in order."

Adult clothes.

Konan considered that.

She’d seen the things Mikoto and Kushina wore. Maybe she could try something similar. Maybe Natsuki would like it.

"This is for you." He produced a small box. "Birthday present."

"Thank you, Natsuki-sensei."

Konan opened it with an anticipation she didn’t quite hide.

Inside was a string of delicate roses.

"They reflect attacks," Natsuki said.

"This is—"

His finger stopped in front of her lips.

"Don’t turn it down."

Konan hesitated, then nodded.

Jewelry that reflected attacks was worth a small fortune. She had, in fact, been about to refuse — and he’d seen it coming.

They ended up at a clothing shop.

"Take whatever you like," Natsuki said breezily. "I’m paying."

Konan looked around and pointed at a qipao across the room.

Natsuki raised an eyebrow.

Since when did Konan like qipao?

Though it did suit her.

When she came out wearing it, his opinion firmed up considerably. Her proportions and the cut of the dress were a genuinely perfect match.

He proceeded to buy her a great deal more than one dress — including a few things he asked about first, and which she agreed to with an entirely straight face.

The afternoon went quickly. They wandered the village and bought a great deal besides clothes.

"That’s probably enough for one day." Natsuki glanced at the sky. "Back to the Hidden Rain."

He opened a doorway.

"Can we do this again sometime?" Konan touched the rose in her hair without thinking.

"Of course." He smiled. "Any time you want to go shopping, come find me."

"Thank you, Natsuki-sensei."

Konan looked at that smile and bit her lip.

Then she stepped forward, kissed him, and walked straight into the portal without waiting for a reaction.

Natsuki stood there for a second.

Then he followed her through.