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Chapter 208: Chapter 211: Massaging Mikoto, and Nawaki’s Wood Release

"I’m stepping out for a bit." Natsuki set the document down. "Teacher needs to hear what’s in this one."

"Mm. I’ll wait for you," Mikoto said softly, easing off his shoulders.

Natsuki rose and went straight for the Research Department.

He found Orochimaru in his laboratory soon enough.

"New developments in the war?" Orochimaru guessed the moment he saw him.

"The Hidden Stone and the Hidden Sand have officially opened hostilities in the Land of Birds," Natsuki confirmed with a nod.

"In the past they always chose the Land of Rain for their battlefield. The Land of Birds instead..." Orochimaru turned it over. "It seems they’re wary of our Konoha."

"That’s my read too," Natsuki agreed.

Orochimaru didn’t know Pakura was already under his thumb. Wariness toward Konoha became the only explanation that fit.

"The other four Great Villages are all at war. Konoha won’t dodge this one for long." Orochimaru looked at him. "Which village do you think declares on us?"

"The Hidden Cloud or the Hidden Stone," Natsuki said without hesitating.

"Tighten surveillance on both. I want us ready to move at the first sign," Orochimaru instructed.

"Understood, Teacher."

"Where’s Nawaki?" Orochimaru changed tack.

"Out on a mission—inside the Land of Fire." Natsuki paused. "I’d expect him back in a week."

"Send him to me when he returns." Orochimaru smiled faintly. "He’s ready for the cell transplant. To awaken Wood Release."

"That’s genuinely excellent news." Natsuki smiled at that.

"There’s bad news to go with it." Orochimaru frowned. "The power of the Wood Release isn’t the terror the legends make it out to be."

"The power of any nature transformation comes down mostly to the user’s chakra." Natsuki caught up quickly. "The First Hokage’s Wood Release was so devastating because he had a monstrous reserve behind it."

"Unfortunately, when Konoha ran its earlier Wood Release experiments, no one grasped that. A great many ninja died for nothing." Orochimaru shook his head.

"Without a second Wood Release user, there was no reference point to work from," Natsuki offered. "The old experiments weren’t entirely wasted."

"I take your meaning. There’s no use dwelling on it." Orochimaru’s tone leveled out. "Go see to your work."

"Later, Teacher."

Natsuki turned and left, and was back in his office shortly.

Once he’d sat back down, he chewed over how to keep watch on the Hidden Cloud and the Hidden Stone. The best method, plainly, was still the serpents of the Ryuchi Cave—it saved manpower and stayed both safe and accurate.

Natsuki came out of his thoughts and registered Mikoto’s hands on him again, her slender fingers working his shoulders with exactly the right pressure.

"Mikoto, I’ve still got documents left. Read them out loud for me." A thought had struck him.

"Okay." Puzzled as she was, she agreed.

"Take my seat." Natsuki stood.

Mikoto stepped over and settled into his chair.

And then—to her astonishment—Natsuki sat down on her lap, lowered his head, and buried it against her.

Mikoto’s body gave a shiver at the feel of his breath. Only then did she understand why he’d asked her to read for him.

Because from where he was, Natsuki couldn’t see the documents at all.

She steadied herself, reached out, took the first one, and opened it with both hands, reading aloud in a gentle voice.

Natsuki breathed in the faint scent of her and closed his eyes. The softness against his face made him pleasantly drowsy.

Mikoto was diligent about it, reading every word clearly.

An hour later, every document was done. She set the last one down and looked at him. He showed no sign of moving.

A smile crossed her face. She reached out and gently stroked his hair.

In that moment, her devoted-wife-and-mother aura hit its absolute peak. The only thing spoiling the picture was the flush across her cheeks—chiefly because Natsuki wasn’t behaving himself in the slightest. A grown man, insisting on acting like a newborn.

"Thank you for today, Mikoto." Natsuki lifted his head.

"It’s what I should do," she said, shaking her head.

"I’ve always played fair." Natsuki licked the corner of his mouth. "So for the next while, I’ll be giving you a massage."

Her heart gave a lurch, her face burning as she nodded—expectant.

"Go to the sofa." Natsuki stood.

Mikoto crossed to it. For the sake of the massage—for a better experience of it—she stripped away every obstacle and lay bare on the sofa. She closed her eyes, not daring to look at him. For her, this still ran past her limits. But the devoted-wife-and-mother in her wouldn’t permit refusal.

Natsuki’s gaze traveled down from her burning face, over the whole curve of her, and settled at last on her thighs.

Something was missing, he felt.

He thought about it, produced a pair of black stockings, and helped her into them.

Looking at the long, slim line of her legs sheathed in black, he nodded, satisfied.

Natsuki stepped in and began.

Mikoto went taut, her legs straightening on instinct, the color in her face deepening further.

Eventually, under a massage so meticulous it missed no inch of skin, she fell asleep.

—

The Hidden Rain Village, in the Land of Rain.

The massage finished and Mikoto sent home, Natsuki appeared—looking thoroughly refreshed.

He glanced at the leader’s desk. No Yahiko. He wasn’t surprised; as head of the Hidden Rain, Yahiko stayed busy and was rarely at his desk.

So Natsuki went to Konan’s office instead. She was in, fortunately.

"Natsuki-sensei!" Konan hadn’t seen him in a while, and delight flashed across her face as she hurried over.

"Good afternoon, Konan." Natsuki reached out and patted her head.

It struck him suddenly that she’d already outgrown Tsunade—nearly 1.68 meters now. Not that it was strange. Another two years and Konan would be an adult.

"Time really does move," Natsuki said, unable to help himself.

Konan blinked, not quite following.

"Tell me how things stand," Natsuki said, letting it drop.

"Mm." Konan nodded.

The Land of Rain and the Hidden Rain Village were both coming along well.

First: there were no destabilizing elements left in the country. Rogue ninja, bandits, robbers—all gone.

Second: every ninja and villager now had a dwelling of their own, plain mud houses though they were.

Third: the rainwater and hydroelectric ventures were thriving.

Fourth: a transport network had been laid in—roads primarily, waterways secondarily.

Fifth: two new industries had come online, mining and agriculture. Every scrap of land in the Land of Rain had been surveyed, turning up seven large mines and a scattering of smaller ones, all of which the Dawn Company was working hard. On the agricultural side, using chakra as fertilizer, they’d developed a range of water-loving crops. Once those spread, the people of the Land of Rain would have full bellies and warm clothes.

Listening to it, Natsuki felt the Sword of Promised Victory couldn’t be far from unlocking. The Land of Rain today was unrecognizable next to what it had been during the Second Great Ninja War. If this didn’t qualify as rebuilding a country, he’d have to cry foul.

"Do you know the Hidden Sand and the Hidden Stone have gone to war?" Natsuki asked after a moment.

"We’ve had the intelligence." Konan paused. "Do we need to support the Hidden Sand?"

The Hidden Sand of the Land of Wind had always been the Land of Rain’s biggest customer—all the more so since Pakura took the Kazekage’s seat.

"Not yet. But be ready," Natsuki said, shaking his head.

He was trying to keep the Land of Rain off the map as a battlefield, but avoiding it entirely would be hard. If the Hidden Stone meant to hit Konoha, they’d hit the Hidden Rain first—they knew perfectly well who stood behind the village now. And bypassing the Land of Rain to strike Konoha would leave the Hidden Rain free to knife them from behind.

There was another reason too. Uchiha Madara and Black Zetsu. There was no chance they’d overlook Nagato, and the Third Great Ninja War was their best window. In the source material, that war was exactly when they moved on Uchiha Obito and Nagato both—one through the Hidden Mist, the other through Hanzo of the Hidden Rain.

With Hanzo dead and the Hidden Rain under the Akatsuki’s control, their best remaining levers became the Hidden Stone or the Hidden Cloud. So long as either of those villages went after Konoha, they couldn’t route around the Hidden Rain. And once the Akatsuki was pulled into the war, Madara and Black Zetsu could begin working in the dark.

"In the meantime, focus on raising the strength of your ninja," Natsuki said after a moment’s thought. "Have Nagato pick out the talented ones and teach them ninjutsu."

Nagato commanded all five nature transformations, which made him the ideal instructor. The Hidden Rain’s ninja couldn’t match the Five Great Villages as a body, but there were ordinary geniuses to be found among them.

"Yes, Natsuki-sensei." Konan’s face was serious.

She had no love for war, but she understood where the ninja world stood. There was little chance the Hidden Rain sat this one out.

"Don’t wind yourself up over it." Natsuki pinched her cheek. "The Five Great Villages will carry the weight of this war. The Hidden Rain only has to commit a portion of its ninja."

Two things decide a war. The total number of ninja, and the number of monsters among them. The Hidden Rain was thin on the former and unusually rich in the latter—the Fourteen Moons Natsuki had made, above all. To say nothing of Nagato, who carried the Rinnegan. If Nagato cut loose, matching the Third Raikage’s ten-thousand-man stand wouldn’t be out of the question.

"Pass all that to Yahiko and Nagato. You can start now." Natsuki withdrew his hand. "I’m off. I’ll be back before long."

"Mm." Konan nodded, reluctant to see him go.

Natsuki opened an Air Door and arrived at the tool shop in Konoha. The war hadn’t touched Konoha yet, which meant he needed to move on the remaining four ninja tools while he had the room.

—

A week went by fast.

Natsuki’s office. Work finished, he’d stretched out on the sofa—or more precisely, in Uchiha Mikoto’s lap.

Per his instructions that day, she’d changed into a secretary’s uniform: a classic suit, pencil skirt, black stockings, heels. The heels were off now, and she held Natsuki in her lap, her stockinged legs stretched out along either side of the sofa.

Natsuki felt like he was living the Hokage life a few years early. Uchiha Mikoto as his secretary. She could do anything, and did it extremely well.

Then came a knock at the door.

Natsuki got up out of that soft lap. Mikoto rose too, blushing, and set about buttoning her jacket and blouse. While Natsuki went to answer, she looked around and ducked behind the bookshelf—then, to be safe, added a concealment ninjutsu on top.

Natsuki opened the door on Nawaki.

"You’re back?" Natsuki asked first. "How’d the mission go?"

"My missions always go perfectly!" Nawaki produced a scroll, brimming. "Full report. I guarantee you won’t find a single flaw."

Natsuki opened it and skimmed. Sure enough—nothing to object to.

"Come with me to see Teacher." Natsuki rolled it shut.

"I nailed this mission. Why am I seeing Teacher?" Nawaki’s eyes went wide.

"It’s not about the mission." Catching the misunderstanding, Natsuki smiled. "It’s good news."

"Why didn’t you lead with that? You scared me." Nawaki complained. "I thought I’d botched something and you were hauling me in for Teacher to chew out."

"Do I need Teacher to chew you out?" Natsuki countered.

"Fair." Nawaki answered on reflex—then caught it. "Wait. What do you mean, you’d chew me out? I’m older than you."

"What good is older? Stronger is what counts." Natsuki smiled.

"..." Nawaki’s mouth twitched. He badly wanted to argue and had no idea how.

"Come on. Teacher’s waiting." Natsuki pulled the door shut behind him.

Behind the bookshelf, Mikoto let out a breath. If an outsider had seen her like that, it would have been mortifying.

"You still haven’t told me what it is," Nawaki said, trailing after him.

"What experiment has Teacher been running?" Natsuki asked back.

"The Wood Release experiment worked?" It clicked at once, and Nawaki lit up.

"Mm."

"Teacher is unbelievable!" Nawaki was beside himself.

Wood Release meant something special to Konoha—and something more than that to him. With it recreated at last, of course he couldn’t rein his feelings in.

The two of them reached the Research Department shortly.

"Teacher!" Nawaki started shouting before he’d even laid eyes on Orochimaru.

"You’ve been in the Hokage Guard Platoon this long and you’re still this loud?" Tsunade came out to meet them.

"Sis? What are you doing here?" Nawaki scratched his head.

"Orochimaru’s Wood Release experiment succeeded, but he hasn’t run any clinical trials yet—human trials, that is," Tsunade explained. "I’ve been helping him verify the work."

"Ah." Nawaki grinned. "And?"

"It’s gone smoothly." Tsunade hesitated. "In theory, there shouldn’t be any problems."

"Then let’s go!" Nawaki couldn’t wait. "I’ll be the trial subject!"

"Come in." Orochimaru’s voice carried out to them.

The three of them entered the laboratory.

"Lie down up there." Orochimaru indicated the operating table.

"How about I go first?" Tsunade caught Nawaki’s arm.

"Sis, what are you even saying?" Nawaki brushed past her and stretched out on the table.

"Let Nawaki go first. If you and I operate together, we can guarantee the success rate—and even if it fails, Nawaki will be fine." Orochimaru glanced at her. "If you go first, I’d be operating alone, and the odds wouldn’t be as good."

He was quite confident in truth. But given it was the first clinical trial, he’d decided to work alongside Tsunade rather than risk an accident.

Tsunade let it go at that. She and Orochimaru moved to the table.

Natsuki didn’t leave, standing where he was to watch. He’d learned medical ninjutsu, and he had the Unohana Retsu template’s Kaidō and Minazuki besides—together with the Kibutsuji Muzan template’s Blood Curse, short of Nawaki dying on the spot, he could bring him back.

Looking at Nawaki, Natsuki thought suddenly of Shimura Danzo.

Danzo had been very well behaved lately. Little wonder—his old friend Sarutobi Hiruzen had retired, and the new Hokage, Orochimaru, gave him nothing. Natsuki had taken the Anbu Commander’s chair and could crush Root whenever he liked. Whatever Danzo wanted, he found the door shut.

But if he learned Orochimaru’s Wood Release experiment had succeeded, he might move.

Natsuki stroked his chin. Was Danzo running Wood Release experiments in secret? He rated it highly likely. Even without Orochimaru in the picture, the man would have pursued it alone. Judging by the source material, Danzo had always believed that Wood Release plus the Mangekyou Sharingan made a man the strongest in the ninja world. Once he had both—paired with his obsession over the Hokage’s seat—he’d grown steadily more unscrupulous.

At that, Natsuki decided to look into Shimura Danzo. If the man made a move, Natsuki could use the moment to expose his Wood Release experiments and hit him hard. Short of killing him, it would at least cost him Root and his post as Hokage Advisor.

Time passed. By noon, the surgery was over.

"It worked!" A smile spread across Tsunade’s face.

"Mm." Orochimaru nodded. Less openly thrilled than Tsunade, but pleased all the same.

"Wood Release is the First Hokage’s Kekkei Genkai—and your Senju clan’s." Orochimaru considered it. "Beyond you and Nawaki, who else receives the transplant is yours to decide."

Tsunade was caught off guard. That was a genuinely hard call to make.

"And the Wood Release awakened from transplanted cells will struggle to compare with the First Hokage’s own," Orochimaru cautioned. "Don’t set your expectations too high."

"I understand that." Tsunade wasn’t surprised to hear it. Awaken Wood Release and instantly wield Senju Hashirama’s power? That was never going to be the deal.

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