Welcome back, hope you all are staying safe! Hopefully not going too crazy in your homes with the whole pandemic thing. I'm back with another chapter for this story and I have to admit I have more fun writing it than I thought I would though I'm likely going to put most of my writing on the backburner for a moment since Persona 5 Royal just dropped and I need that in my life right now haha. (Lord knows the temptation to make a P5 crossover story burns within me rn)

Anyway, as always I hope you enjoy the chapter. I'm a bit torn on this one since I did do a lot of what I set out to do but at the same time, I don't know if it all went the way I wanted it too. Maybe I'm just being hard on myself or maybe it's not great. Hopefully its the former but if not I will aim to do better! That's enough out of me though I'm sure you want to just get into it so go on!

...

"Uchiha-san you don't always have to spar with me you know, there are other partners you could pick."

Natsumi barely held back a bemused smirk as she watched the panting form of the Uchiha boy rise shakily to his feet, his once pristine clothes now dirty and scuffed from multiple meetings with the dirt courtesy of her hand. If nothing else she admired his dedication even if it was ultimately pointless to continue fighting, they'd been at this for at least ten minutes already and she was starting to get bored with kicking him around.

"I'm… not… finished." He huffed trying to fall back into his stance but the trembling in his knees made it apparent he was nearly out of energy. He was fighting her with his pride alone at this stage.

"Maybe you're not, but..." She slipped past his feeble defense and knocked him back onto his rear with a well-placed knee to the stomach that left him breathless before stamping her foot atop his chest in domination and leering down at him. "I am. The match is mine Uchiha-san." She declared ending the fight and once again establishing her place at the top of the preverbal food chain.

Sasuke only let out a small groan that she interpreted as his surrender.

This had become a common occurrence between the two of them in the weeks following their first match. Sasuke would challenge her during their sparring days and she would then proceed to put him on his ass, it was almost routine by this point but he never gave up despite his lack of success. He was a rather stubborn boy that way. That wasn't to say he was weak though, he had established that he was among the top of their class in hand to hand combat having beaten all of their other classmates at one point or another earning him the respect and admiration of their peers but he had still yet to conquer her in combat.

If she had her way he never would either.

"Fine, I give up now can you let up?" He sighed already knowing that she wouldn't let him stand again until he'd verbally confirmed his loss. He'd tried to sneak attack her once before and the beating she gave him for that little stunt had killed any idea of doing that again, it had not been easy hiding the bruises from his mother.

"Hmm, I don't know I quite like this." She sent a passing glance to the small crowd that had gathered to watch their match, she caught sight of the boys laughing at his predicament likely deriving a bit of pleasure from watching the normally invincible Uchiha get taken down a peg. The small crowd of females, on the other hand, seemed annoyed with her, torn between glaring at her and sending looks of worry at him.

She didn't quite understand what drew them to the Uchiha in the first place but she paid it no mind, they were weak so she had no desire to understand their thought process. She may have also taken a slight sense of satisfaction in their irritation but she kept that to herself.

"Come on!" He whined, wasn't enough that she got to beat him up? Did she really need to drag it out?

"It's not my fault you look so pitiful down there." She smirked but eventually removed her foot allowing him to climb back to his feet. "Maybe one day you'll get close enough to make me sweat a little."

"You're so mean." He pouted and she rolled her eyes at his dramatics, he was such a baby. He was the one that kept challenging her yet somehow she was the villain here.

"Yet you still seek me out, perhaps I've hit you on the head one to many times." She scoffed already making her way off the field leaving him to dust himself off while she went to pick up her things.

"Just you wait, you're going to lose eventually!" He shouted out after her and already she could hear his footsteps approaching as he chased after her as he usually did when they finished their spars. She didn't understand what need he had to interact with her further but she had become used to this as well and so she slowed her pace and allowed him to catch up.

"You say that every time Uchiha-san and each time I've proven you wrong." She noted causing him to frown at the reminder but he bounced back just as quickly, something she had noticed he'd become better at doing the longer he was around her. Iruka had mentioned that she could be a bit… callous in her speech, unintentionally of course. She just said what she felt if people were hurt by what she said then that was a problem on their part.

"Hmph, one day I'll be as strong as Nii-san and then I'll beat you." He shot back causing her to scoff.

"Then I'll just become stronger than him as well." She countered easily and a look of indignation crossed his face as if just such a thing was akin to heresy. They continued like this even as they packed their things to leave and made their way to the gates of the Academy, the scores of parents picking up their children not even registering to them as they bickered, at least until a face caught Sasuke's attention.

"Kaa-sama!" He cheered and she watched him run past her towards a dark-haired woman who smiled upon seeing him. She was quite pretty and she could immediately see the resemblance she had to the boy, the two shared many of the same facial features though Sasuke would likely lose some of them as he matured and lost his baby fat. Her chest clenched slightly as the woman picked up her boy and spun him around with a practically radiant smile as if just seeing him had brightened her whole world and she was suddenly very cognizant of how out of place she now felt... without so much as a word she tightened her grip on her bag and picked up the pace hastily making her past gates and towards the village leaving the Academy behind.

She had other things to do today and hanging around here would just be a waste of time…

…

"Welcome to Konoha's General Hospital how may I… what do you want?"

Natsumi held to hold back an exasperated sigh as the pleasant tone of the receptionist behind the desk abruptly shifted to one of thinly-veiled annoyance, her honey-brown eyes staring down at her from behind the wooden barricaded as if she was little more than a fly buzzing around her face but she kept a neutral expression,

"Hello, I am here to ask about joining the beginner medic courses offered for academy students. Who would I speak to about that?" She asked politely not wanting to make a fuss. While she was doing well with her independent studies there was only so much she could learn from the books she had access to and so when she'd seen a flyer advertising a joint course offered by the hospital for any aspiring medics she knew that her chance for getting real hands-on experience was at hand.

With their first year almost halfway over she knew that now was the time to take advantage of any of the resources it could offer her and It just so happened that this joint course would do wonders for her progress.

The receptionist looked at her with a frown.

"Sorry, I'm afraid that course is no longer being offered." She dismissed with a faux kindness in her voice that was given away by the look of distaste in her eyes.

She narrowed her eyes and pulled out the same flyer she'd seen. "According to this the course should have just opened up, these were posted yesterday and are even dated as such." She countered and she watched a small kindling of anger appear in the receptionist's gaze.

"Someone must have not gotten the memo then, like I said we don't offer the course anymore. Now please run along if you don't have any actual business here." Her smile was as tight as tanned leather by this point and Natsumi was very much convinced that she was being lied to but before she could challenge it the two were interrupted.

"Is there a problem here?" A new voice interjected drawing both of their attention away towards the newcomer.

"A-Ah, Doctor Nakamura! No, not at all I was just informing this… child, that she had received some incorrect information." The receptionist was quick to answer a pleasant smile gracing her features as she turned to meet the gaze of the head doctor. "She was just leaving."

"I see." The doctor turned to her and she expected the usual look of disinterest or maybe even disdain but when she met his eyes she saw only curiosity. He was an older man likely in his late forties or maybe early fifties, his hair was a stark grey likely from a mixture of age and stress but despite that, he still held himself with a certain level of focus. "What exactly did you need, little one?" He asked, ignoring his receptionist to focus on the young girl standing in his lobby.

"I wanted to join the medic classes being offered but apparently you no longer offer that course." She informed him by showing him the same flyer she'd shown the receptionist and he gently took it from her, his sharp eyes scanning over the parchment before he returned it to her.

"Come with me."

She didn't have time to process his command until he had begun walking away from her but her mind caught up just in time to avoid being left behind as he strode through the halls. He led her past many rooms and bends before finally stopping at what she guessed was his office judging by the pristine furniture and plaques hanging on the walls. He entered without a word and gestured for her to take a seat across from his desk while he grabbed something from one of the cabinets.

"Tell me, why do you want to wish to study under us? Not many chose this path and fewer as young as yourself." He asked as he searched, turning the focus away from himself and onto her.

She didn't think she'd be questioned about her motives but she didn't express any surprise either. That fact that she had made it this far alone was a good sign, all she had to do now was carry that momentum.

"I am currently doing my own independent studies outside of the Academy curriculum, one area of study I want to explore further are newer and less explored applications of iryo ninjutsu but there is only so much I can learn on my own." She explained being careful not to mention that her interest in its applications revolved less around healing people and more about bending the body to her will. Stunted as she might be socially she was still aware that was not exactly a comforting answer to hear aloud, least of all from a child.

At least that was what Iruka had told her when he'd caught her reading a book on the functions of the human body.

"Interesting, I assume you wish to supplement your learning with our classes and maybe get some hands-on experience at the same. I respect your initiative." He reasoned out her motives and seemed rather pleased at her answer which took a weight off her shoulders. It meant she hadn't screwed up yet.

"Well then, you'll be happy to know that we do in fact offer the class... however, it is reserved for third years only and unless I'm mistaken you can't be more than a second year at best." He revealed and to her credit, the only sign of her irritation was a slight twitch in her brow but otherwise she maintained her stoic expression. It seemed that everything she wanted in life was gated off by arbitrary age requirements and it was beginning to get on her nerves.

"I see, I apologize for wasting your time then." She apologized and went to stand but he stopped her with a hand.

"That said...It's not every day someone so young and motivated comes our way looking to study the healing arts and so I'd like to offer you a place in the program on the condition you can get a passing score on a test of mine." He proposed piquing her interest.

"A test?" She reiterated and he nodded, pulling out a small packet and laying it out before her.

"Don't worry, this is one of the early tests we present in the course so you don't need to be a doctor like me to answer it." He informed her with a reassuring nod of his head. "As I said, if you can pass this then I'll personally get you set up for the course."

She searched his face for any hint of dishonesty before turning her attention to the small packet in front of her. These questions were far more advanced than she'd expected from how he'd described them but she supposed that may have been since the test wasn't designed for a first-year like herself. She flipped through the pages and chewed softly on her lip as she realized that this test was definitely through and left little wiggle room for guesswork. Either she knew the answers or she didn't.

"If I don't pass would I still be able to join in my third year?" She asked and he nodded.

"Naturally, this is just to see where you stand and how well you'd be able to keep up. If you don't pass you are free to return when you meet the normal requirements." He supplied, laying her options out before her. She could try now or wait and lose out on nearly two years of study, while she would certainly learn plenty on her own in those two years, she doubted it would compare to proper instruction.

The choice was obvious.

"Very well, may I borrow a pencil?" She asked and he smiled.

"Of course."

…

It had taken her almost an hour to finish the test and she had to admit it was the most challenging thing she'd faced yet which was actually refreshing when compared to the mind-numbing chores of the academy. There was so much to cover it was a wonder she'd finished at all but she felt fairly confident that she had done relatively well. There were some things she did not know and had to guess on but she at least finished and that was still something to be proud of.

If nothing else even if she were to fail she at least learned a lot from the experience, though that small comfort did little to ease the anxiousness she felt as she watched the Doctor read over her answers. Finally, after what felt like an eternity he tore his eyes away from her work and leaned back in his chair.

"You fail." His words struck her like the gavel of a judge.

She had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop the surge of disappointment from overwhelming her. Even though she hadn't ruled out the possibility of failing it didn't make it hurt less and the blunt delivery only added to the punch, she had truly given it her all in that test but sometimes that alone wasn't enough. That was just the reality of the situation.

"I...I see." She composed herself and nodded, she wouldn't let anyone see weakness in her and so she would hold herself together until she was in the privacy of her own home.

"You still have a lot to learn, our sessions are going to be intense but your foundation is better than expected. You'll report here starting next week, I will make the proper arrangements with your instructor." He continued completely ignoring her and she nodded absentmindedly, too swept up in her own wallowing to process his words but after a moment her head shot up and she looked at him with confusion. Why would she be coming back here if she'd failed?

"I don't understand sir, you said I failed? Was that a lie?" She questioned, now bewildered.

"No, you did fail but you weren't supposed to pass either." He revealed turning the test away from himself and returning it to her. "I may have fibbed slightly… that test was one you would have taken near the middle of the course, one you had no chance of passing." He explained which caused her to frown.

"Then why did you give it to me at all?" She asked, what was the point of giving her a test she was guaranteed to fail? Was he just mocking her?

"It's simple, the test was not about seeing if you were some medical prodigy or anything of the sort." He gave her a hard but approving look. "The test was about whether or not you had it in you to try at all, that you were serious about wanting to learn or if you just were just a lazy academy student looking for an excuse to get out of class."

His friendly smile returned as he nodded to himself.

"You definitely weren't lying about studying on your own and you did better than I thought, if you are still interested then we'd be happy to have you." He spoke truthfully leaving the final decision to her.

She was nearly left speechless by the sudden turn of events, her mind working on autopilot while she rebooted from the emotional rollercoaster. "O-Of course I still am! I-If you will have me that is." She stuttered quickly bowing her head in respect, this was far better than she was expecting!

Even if it was a little unorthodox.

"Splendid! I'll sort out all the paperwork then, you should receive a revised schedule from your instructor as soon as it clears." He informed her and offered her his hand to shake which she took with only a moment's hesitation. "I look forward to working with you, Uzumaki-san. Don't disappoint me."

"Hai!"

…

That became her life for the following months. As her first year of the Academy approached its inevitable end she had spent the latter half of it bouncing between her usual classes under Iruka and her new class at the hospital. The process had its pains, of course, Iruka was not at all pleased that she would be forgoing his instruction to study at the hospital but she had eventually reasoned him down by proving that she knew the rest of the material they would cover.

Now she only needed to stick around for what she considered to be the essential classes, those being the taijutsu lessons and throwing weapon lessons. She'd spend half her day with Iruka covering her basic requirements and the other half at the hospital advancing her knowledge in the medic arts. This arrangement would likely change in her upcoming second year depending on how she performed so she was making sure to milk this opportunity while she had the chance.

Her time studying under Doctor Nakamura was…. Interesting, to say the least. The man despite his friendly appearance was nothing short of a slave driver. Drilling her every day about the basic needs of the body, what various stimuli would affect it and in what ways, weak points in each bone's basic structure, how much force could they withstand, and so on. He was intense about medicine and she could understand why he wouldn't want to deal with students who didn't have the focus or motivation needed to study under him.

That said, she still absorbed every lesson with all she had, her notebooks filled with every word and footnote she could capture and she poured over them almost religiously whenever she had the chance. He had explained to her that all this was needed before he could begin to teach them any level of medical ninjutsu as the human body was hardy yet delicate, and if they were going to interfere with its natural processes then they needed to understand it as best they could.

As someone with little interest in actually healing that logic sometimes felt a bit redundant but she supposed with greater understanding came greater flexibility. Like a surgeon knowing where to cut to do the most or least harm as opposed to a bandit who simply hacked and slashed without thinking.

Unfortunately for her, their lessons were cut short for the moment since the class also went on a break with the closing of the Academy but her instructor had written out a list of books for her to read up on over break to continue her studies which she had been grateful for. She was quick to rent them out from the library and even bought some of the cheaper material so that she could look back on them when she pleased. Safe to say this area of her training was coming along very nicely and she expected that by the time she graduated she would be able to use what she'd learned effectively in combat to some extent.

At least all this free time was good for something.

…

"95...96...97...98...99...100!"

She fell to the floor in a heap as she squeaked out the last of her set. Physical conditioning was still an important part of her routine and she made sure not to neglect it, she couldn't afford to become complacent and lose one of her major advantages over her class. She didn't have any special clan techniques or fighting styles to fall back on so she needed to keep whatever edge she had.

That was small comfort to her sore arms though…

"I need a break." She huffed and collapsed to the ground in a heap only barely finding the energy to grab her nearby bottle of water and down the soothing liquid with ravenous gulps. She had thrown herself into her training as both a way to sharpen her skills as well as distract from an uncomfortable gnawing truth.

She was stagnating, or at the very least her progress was beginning to hit a wall.

She hated it but it was true. While yes, she was making progress in her medical knowledge and her physical training was, for the most part, unhindered, those were the only two areas of study where she could claim she was making genuine progress. Fuinjutsu was still out of her reach and she wouldn't be able to access the ninjutsu section until she was cleared next year and so she was stuck between practicing her calligraphy, studying medical texts, or physical training. Not exactly plenty of options… at least not for someone of her disposition. Two-thirds of her training required her to sit down for extended periods of time while doing little to nothing for hours on end and for as much as she loved reading she still wanted more out of her training than that.

Perhaps it was time to take another look at Orochimaru's journal…

Since starting the academy she had become less reliant upon it due to her own diverging studies and the fact that she was not currently capable of really following his path at the moment. She had planned to wait until she was closer to graduating to read ahead but she was growing tired of circling the same wheels over and over again.

If he could offer her any insight she would happily take it.

Reaching over into her bag she carefully took out the worn brick of a book. While she was glad it contained so much knowledge and history, carrying it around was always a slight chore, perhaps that is why he'd abandoned it?

Cracking open to where she knew she'd left off she decided to skim over the entries, the scattered paragraphs of text being mushed in between even more notes and formulas until at least she read something that caught her eye.

"That fool Jiraiya actually did something of note for once, loathe as I am to admit it… for all his boasting it was a wonder he even managed to pull it off. During our usual morning training he surprised us all with his newfound technique and called to his side a rather large toad of all things, the creature was no bigger than he himself was and the two immediately broke down bickering over some agreement or another but even so, Sensei was impressed praising him for finding such an ability on his own…"

"A toad?" She re-read that particular line a few times to ensure she had read that correctly but each time it jumped out clear as day, this Jiraiya boy apparently just called a rather large toad to fight for him. How did that even work? What even was the use of a toad in battle, were they just supposed to hop on top of their enemies and squish them?

"Sensei explained to us that the toad, which at this point was now sitting atop Jiraiya to our amusement, was actually a summon creature. Animals that humans can form contracts with for aid in battle and other means. He even showed us his own personal summons, a large and rather intimidating monkey who seemed rather annoyed with sensei for calling him but at least seemed to respect him more than the toad did Jiraiya.

"Naturally both I and Tsunade expressed our own interest in learning the technique and sensei reassured us that we could both try our hand at it though he told us that to summon without a contract was risky… "

"Animal companions, that's… actually very interesting." Judging by how Orochi described them it seemed that there was more to this summoning concept than she initially believed. There was something else that piqued her interest though and that was the name, Tsunade…

She'd heard that name before, specifically in her lectures with Nakamura-sensei.

Tsunade Senju, considered to be the greatest medic in the world and heiress to the Senju clan by virtue of being the only remaining Senju which also technically made her the head of the clan as well. She revolutionized the medical field with her breakthroughs and she was the sole reason that Konoha was one of the leading villages when it came to the quality of their hospitals and their medical staff.

He had a lot of respect for the woman.

She was also supposedly part of some famous group known as the Sannin, the three legendary students of the Third Hokage. Her information on the group was limited seeing as they had yet to cover them in the Academy and her private studies had only ever brought up passing mentions of the group, listing them more often than not as just the Third's students without even bothering to mention their names.

If Nakamura-sensei wasn't lying, and she had no reason to believe he was, then in her hands she was holding a record of the life of one of the three Sannin, some of the strongest ninja the village had ever produced.

"Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru…" The pieces fit together too well, she even recalled earlier that Orochimaru mentioned he was in the same class as the Senju heiress!

She raced to pack her things and beelined it to the library, all this time she had been trying to find something, anything on Orochimaru and the answer had been right under her nose the entire time!

…

"The Legendary Sannin, page eighty-two..."

She flipped the book open to the written page and sure enough, there was an entry on the legendary trio and their accomplishments. Apparently the trio had earned their title during the Second Shinobi World War at some point and from there they had gone on to become known throughout the world for their various skills and combat ability. The section on them was not very extensive but she figured that might have had more to do with her level of clearance than anything else, she couldn't even access this part of the library last year so clearly they wanted to keep very detailed information in need to know hands.

"Jiraiya, also known as the Toad Sage. Well known for his relationship with his prominent toad summons and combat ability he quickly became a force on the battlefield able to single-handedly sway the outcomes of battles through devastating collaborative jutsu and his rambunctious summons. He would also go on to become the mentor of the Fourth Hokage, to read more on the Fourth jump to page…"

That pretty much confirmed it, the toad from Orochimaru's entry matched the so-called Toad Sage's profile.

She skimmed over Tsunade's entry since she already knew about her though she did pick up some interesting tidbits such as the fact that she invented a technique that allowed her to apparently shatter boulders with her fists alone and that she apparently was the holder of the slug contract. She was then left to wonder just what applications slugs could have in combat but quickly moved that thought onto the backburner.

"Orochimaru, The Serpent of Konoha…" Immediately she was struck by just how short his entry was. Whereas both Tsunade and Jiraiya had at least a few pages dedicated to each of them, Orochimaru only had one single entry and it was not very long or detailed. The way it was written also seemed off to her… like information had been taken out and shuffled around but for what reasons she couldn't guess.

"Known for his ruthlessness and efficiency on the battlefield he quickly gained notoriety among both enemies and allies alike with his shrewd tactics and terrifying demeanor. His mastery of elemental ninjutsu and combination techniques was well documented and his tendency to leave battlefields scarred and shattered in his wake was a common calling card of the Sannin."

That sort of fell in line with what she knew of him though she would not have described him as terrifying. Then again she didn't know him personally so it was hard to say just what the man was like around other people but she still never got that impression from him.

However, she was not at all prepared for what she read next.

"Despite his status as a war hero, Orochimaru would go on to leave the village becoming one of it's most wanted and heinous criminals in the process with crimes ranging from minor theft to as serious as human experimentation. Upon being discovered he fled the village joining the ranks of rogue shinobi marking him as… a traitor?"

Orochimaru was a criminal…

She wasn't sure how to process that.

Unlike with the other entries, there was no footnote telling her where to find more details and even looking through the index again she couldn't find any other mentions of him. This was so far, the only piece of information on him that she'd ever found not including the man's journal.

The journal of a rouge shinobi.

"Why did you do it?" She couldn't help the whisper that passed through her lips as she slumped in her chair, her head was swimming with thoughts as two sides of her churned in conflict. On one hand, there was a patriotic part of her that wanted to throw everything she'd ever admired about the man into a fire and forget it. She idolized him… he was like her, alone and mocked by those around him but he pushed past it all and became part of arguably the strongest team the village had ever produced. Now she learned that he'd gone and thrown it all away and that made her furious to an extent, it made her want to take all those notes, his history, and bury it. Bury it so deep no one would ever find it!

However, it was precisely because she admired him that she couldn't bring herself to hold onto that fury and instead a surge of doubt squashed those rebellious thoughts with prejudice.

She was no stranger to the idea that there were two sides to every story. This village had proven to her time and again that it wasn't always as good and kind as it portrayed itself to be throughout its history and she couldn't help but doubt that this was the whole truth. That he'd simply turned on a whim. The fact that the details of his crimes were left mostly vague and information barring the most basic rundown appeared to have been scrubbed away or changed only further compounded her doubts.

She pulled out the journal once more, allowing what was likely one of, if not the only comprehensive sources of history on the man left to rest gently upon the wooden desk in front of her. She quietly thumbed the yellowing pages and a small frown wormed its way upon her face as she stared down at the worn leather cover.

No, regardless of his choices she couldn't ignore that he'd taught her more about herself and the world than anyone else had bothered to. He hadn't done her any harm nor was he responsible for any of the misfortune that had struck her in life… if anything she owed him more than she would like to admit. Without him, she would have no drive, no real purpose, nothing to aspire to.

She closed the book and packed her things, silently making her way out the encompassing walls of the library and towards her home.

She had a lot to think about...

AN. Chapter/Prompt Complete

So much to cover in so little time. Once again I thank you all for reading the fic and to those of you that are enjoying it I'm glad you've come to like it as much as the reviews suggest. As always these ending ANs will touch upon questions you've asked as well as points I'd like to discuss so without further ado let's jump right in!

#1. Will there be a pairing in this fic? If so, what is it?

So I will be upfront and say there is no pairing for this story, at least not at present. Hebi-hime is more for me to test different concepts and storytelling when compared to my other stories and one element that isn't a huge focus is romance. That is not me saying I'm opposed to it by any means, just that I don't have anything planned there.

I know some people might look at the last chapter and the beginning of this one and think that I'm angling this to be a Natsumi/Sasuke fic but that is not at all the case. It just makes more sense for Sasuke to interact with her than almost anyone else in these early stages. Kiba is too loud and brash, Hinata too timid, Ino and Sakura are not even on her radar, Shikamaru is too lazy, Choji like Hinata is very timid at this early stage, Shino is a loner, and everyone else is a civilian that has no purpose. Sasuke just works very well as a good balance of traits and skills to interact with her.

#2. The Academy and when do I plan to move past it?

So I actually wanted the Academy to end at the start of this chapter but I don't like doing a huge time skip info dumps where characters get a ton of abilities without it feeling earned. I wanted to at least set up the rationale for her skills so that that it feels a bit more realistic when she uses them as opposed to just making her supremely good at everything and writing it off with "Well I skipped it but believe me she is a super amazing medic/fuinjutsu master/ninjutsu expert/etc"

There will be some of that as I will need to skip it but at the very least with all the set up the payoff doesn't feel like it comes out of nowhere.

#3. Natsumi's discovery of Orochimaru's status?

This was inevitable and I decided I wanted to get it out of the way sooner rather than later. The longer it took the more unreasonable it seemed that she didn't know about it. Naturally, she's a bit conflicted on how to feel but her view of Orochimaru is rather unique and the village has done very little to cement any degree of loyalty in her so as we see she's a bit on the fence but still leans more towards him. I also wanted to give her an element of denial since as a child it would be hard to learn/be told the people you admire aren't good people. No one wants their hero to be knocked off the pedestal so to speak and that is playing an element here.

That's all I'll say for now, this will likely be the last chapter to come out so soon since I do have other stories (and P5R) to work on but I enjoy writing this so who can really say. Thank you all for reading, if you have questions PM me and stay safe!