A Blessing in a Curse (End)

10 advanced chapters on my Patreon: Fiction Haven

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"You got bullheaded by Manda, broke your bones, and tore your muscles."

"That's what I said."

"Knowing that your newly regenerated muscles were still delicate, you still overexerted them with Chakra. That tore your newly regenerated muscles again which leaves you in this state."

"Bullseye."

Bonk!

"You don't have to answer rhetorical questions, young man."

I sighed and muttered, "You sounded like you were asking."

Tsunade quirked her eyebrow and I just shook my head. Sarutobi looked at our interaction in amusement as he smoked his pipe. I scrunched up my nose at his reaction, causing him to chuckle. Pulling his pipe out of his mouth, he tapped it on the ashtray before putting it down. He looked at me seriously and I could tell he wanted to know more than my fight with Orochimaru.

I was not that thrilled to tell them about the Cursed Seal I had on my shoulder. I was sure they wouldn't be able to keep their composure the moment they saw it. However, I couldn't just end the report there. My barely intact shirt might be hiding the seal, but Sasuke had seen it at work. Sarutobi was bound to find it out, so it was better to come clean.

Asking Tsunade to stop treating me, I ripped off the last shred of clothes covering my body and revealed Orochimaru's cursed seal. Sarutobi immediately stood up and told his Anbu to call for Jiraiya in panic. Quickly walking around the table, he came to my side. Tsunade was awakened from her shock at this moment.

"Naruto-kun, how do you feel? Is there any discomfort? Do you hear voices in your head? Do you want to do bad things?"

"That slimy bastard Orochimaru! How dare he experiment on Naruto! How do you feel Naruto? Why didn't you tell me earlier that you have a cursed seal? It could kill you; you know!?"

Sarutobi and Tsunade nagged at me, as I had predicted. I sighed as they inspected my cursed seal and then raised my hand to stop them. They stopped yapping but still put their hands on my shoulder. I shook my head, causing them to reluctantly let go of my shoulder and distance themselves.

"I am fine. Orochimaru's cursed seals don't work on Jinchūriki. Bijū might be trapped in their Jinchūriki, but they can choose which entity could enter their Jinchūriki's mind. Orochimaru's cursed seals would have been destroyed before they could even corrupt a Jinchūriki's mind."

"But the seal remains on you," Sarutobi pointed out.

"I decided to keep it."

Thunk!

Jiraiya came into the office through the window, slamming it open as if he wanted to tear the entire building.

"What the fuck did you even think about?" he exclaimed with a bewildered look. "Do you even know what Orochimaru's cursed seals do?"

"Of all times to be experimental, this is not the time, Naruto," Tsunade chided.

"You are playing with fire, Naruto-kun," Sarutobi said solemnly.

I leaned on my chair and intertwined my fingers. I looked at them silently, causing them to look at me with bafflement. As they were about to protest, I told them about what I had discovered about the Cursed Seal of Heaven and my intention with it. Sarutobi and Tsunade were dumbfounded, but Jiraiya was outraged.

"You can't train Senjutsu on your own, Naruto. You will turn into stone if you can't control it!" Jiraiya exclaimed.

"I am aware of that. However, note that I will create an entirely new and foolproof seal that would proportionately channel Natural Energy into me. I won't experience any of that."

"You talk like you have already grasped the concept of Senjutsu. Trust me, that limited information about Senjutsu you read in the book is barely a fraction of what Senjutsu is capable of." Jiraiya shook his head.

"I know. The information I got was obtained from firsthand experience. I know what I am talking about Jiraiya. Why do you sound so mad?" I scowled, annoyed by his unreasonable outrage.

"You could have asked me to teach you!"

"How the fuck am I supposed to know that you can use Senjutsu if you haven't told me a damn thing about yourself? Also, why do you want me to depend on you? I have been learning everything on my own so far. Why only now!?"

I was not being myself, I noted. I rarely got emotional, so Naruto's lonely memories must have affected me more than I was willing to admit. It pissed me off how everyone tried to get involved after I revealed that I knew my heritage. Their sense of responsibility was only triggered once I was aware. I didn't need it. I didn't want pity from them.

"I… I didn't mean to… sorry."

My scowl deepened before I scoffed. Tsunade put her hand on my shoulder comfortingly, causing me to heave a sigh. I shouldn't get emotional. Emotional and I didn't match. I shouldn't let the original Naruto's personality corrupt mine. Emotions were meaningless, especially in this harsh world.

"Well, fuck it, Jiraiya. Even if I learn Senjutsu from you, I am still going to create the Senjutsu Seal since it will help greatly in utilizing Natural Energy. I am not looking at Orochimaru as an ideal teacher in this case. I am just using him to increase my power," I explained in annoyance.

"Yeah, I just realized that. Sorry for my outburst. I just don't want to have another person I know going down the wrong path," Jiraiya replied while awkwardly rubbing his head.

I sighed and then turned to Sarutobi who had returned to his seat. I quirked an eyebrow, asking him if she had any other questions. He shook his head, prompting me to stretch in relief. It was starting to get boring. Before I stood up, Jiraiya requested to have a look at the cursed seal. I shrugged and let him. A few seconds later, he concluded that it was dormant.

It was not dormant, but I didn't bother to correct him. I didn't need him to put a seal on top of the cursed seal and thus ruin the bastardized version of Hakke no Fūin Shiki I put on Orochimaru's soul fragment. With my business done, I stood up. I was about to bid farewell when Sarutobi stopped me.

"Your mission is officially done, Naruto. Here is your Jōnin vest." Sarutobi handed me a green flak jacket that was a shade lighter than the one I kept at home. "You possess the fighting prowess of a Jōnin, even surpassing a lot of them, but the highest rank I can give you is Tokubetsu Jōnin at the moment. But I can assure you that you will be promoted to Jōnin after leading a few missions with Jōnin."

"Well, I don't care about ranks," I shrugged.

Sarutobi nodded in appreciation, but there was a hint of doubt in his eyes. He might have smelled my intention to leave Konoha in the future. The old bastard didn't believe me, did he? Well, it was whatever. He wouldn't be able to stop me if I wanted to leave.

Since I had no spare clothes with me, I put on the Jōnin vest. I adjusted its size, making it hug my torso perfectly. When I was satisfied with how it looked, I bid farewell and left the office. Tsunade walked beside me and held my hand. I assured her I wouldn't run away, but she wouldn't let go.

Upon arriving at the Senju Compound, I immediately went to the backyard. Tsunade told me to rest, but I didn't heed her words. She told me I wouldn't be able to do what I had in mind and I smirked at her challengingly. She only smiled softly at me. It was weird since she had always scowled whenever I defied her.

Thud!

I only found out the reason when my face hit the ground in the backyard. I could barely move my body. Tsunade must have messed with my Chakra network when she was treating me. My vision tilted as I got princess-carried by Tsunade. I was not insecure with my masculinity, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't embarrassed by the position.

My embarrassment was short-lived as I immediately drifted off to the dreamland. When I woke up, I found my face buried in Tsunade's busty chest. It was comforting, but she should stop treating me like her dead baby brother. I didn't easily die. But I couldn't bring myself to scold her. I just didn't want to admit I enjoyed her warm gesture.

"Well, now that she is peacefully asleep, I should be able to peacefully resume my research."

I ran a hand through my blond locks as I softly sighed. Walking to the door, I got out of the room and headed to the backyard. I created three shadow clones before sitting down. Two of them moved to a distance away and immediately resumed their research on Hiraishin. One of them reviewed the Hiraishin seal I had created meanwhile the other one created new variations of the seal.

I activated the cursed seal, prompting the sole clone on my side to observe it. I could feel the mark crawling up my face as Natural Energy invaded my body. As my clone deciphered the workings of the seal, I tried to reign in the Natural Energy. I knew I had to be still, but it was harder than I thought. I was not dumb enough to not think about anything.