I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 602 Sometimes sleeping too long can actually make you feel tired.

Good morning, Tatsuma.

Inside the ward, Minato placed a glass of sweetened strawberry milk on the bedside table, then sat down in the chair by the bed and said, "It's been a long time since I've come to see you. Things have been really busy on the battlefield."

However, the overall news is good. The tone you set and the advantages you gained have all turned into a winning situation, and wars in various places should enter a truce period.

You should be waking up soon. When I came back this time, I saw some kids wearing clothes that said "Fourth Hokage." I'm so envious of you; you'll be practically Hokage as soon as you wake up.

The person he was talking to, Tatsuma, was still lying on the hospital bed with his eyes closed. Minato took out a kunai, gently trimmed his nails, and continued speaking:

"You're not slacking off, are you? I heard from Tsunade and Orochimaru that your body has actually stabilized. Although you went through countless changes and almost became a fluid, you've finally returned to human form."

I just asked Sheci, and she said she's noticed you sometimes roll over and pull the covers off yourself. I suspect you might be running off to play when no one's watching you, and then coming back to sleep.

After quickly trimming his nails, Minato put the kunai back into his ninja tool bag and said, "Kushina and I are planning to get married. I finally managed to convince Kushina to agree to let you be our witness or best man."

Actually, I would have preferred you to be the best man, because in some places, the best man is considered the "best man," and I think you deserve that title.

Of course, there's another reason: the best person to officiate at a wedding is an elder with a happy marriage and a fulfilling family life. You, on the other hand, probably won't be able to be an officiant in your lifetime.

However, you could also be a professional best man. After all, many weddings prioritize single men and women for both positions, which would suit you perfectly. I reckon you could be a best man at any of the weddings of people we know.

As he spoke, he took out an invitation and placed it on the bedside table, saying, "I can't have a big celebration, but Kushina is understanding. We'll have it at Kushina's house. After all, the war payouts haven't been issued yet, and I can't afford a house."

We didn't invite too many people, since I only have half a month of vacation, and we're still coordinating the vacations of others. It's like squeezing in a wedding whenever we have time. Haha~ By the way, does this count as being a "live-in son-in-law"?

"Calculate."

The sudden answer made the self-satisfied Minato freeze, and his vision blurred. He raised his hand and tried to wipe his eyes, trying to make out the seemingly moving figure in his blurry vision.

When Minato opened his eyes again, he saw Tatsuma, who had been lying in bed for almost a year, sitting up with his arms propped up on the bed. He reached out, picked up a strawberry milk in one hand and an invitation in the other.

"Attending your wedding is fine, but you'd better make sure there's plenty of food. Don't let it turn into a wedding like the one of some ninja clan chiefs where there wasn't enough to eat."

Tatsuma gulped down the strawberry milk, then looked at Minato and said, his usually bright eyes seemed a little dim, perhaps because he had slept too long and was feeling listless.

"Tatsuma."

Minato spoke, but his voice choked with emotion. He swallowed hard, took a deep breath to clear his blocked airways, and said, "Do you know how long you've been asleep?"

Minato was somewhat at a loss with Tatsuma's calm demeanor. He wondered if Tatsuma simply felt that he had just taken a nap and his memory was still stuck on the time when he was on a mission in the Land of Water last year? Was that why he was so calm?

Tatsuma rolled his eyes, slowly stretched with cracking joints, and then said, "It's been almost eleven months, hasn't it?"

"You know that, so you..."

I experienced sleep paralysis.

Tatsuma rubbed his tear-filled eyes, but the sparkle in them hadn't returned much; he still looked listless. Perhaps it was because he had been lying down for too long and his facial muscles hadn't been used, causing them to lose their firmness and elasticity.

Looking at the surprised Minato, Tatsuma said, "Actually, I can hear and smell most of the time, and occasionally I can even sense it. I remember you reenacting your childhood life, trying to awaken me."

Unfortunately, I couldn't wake up then, otherwise I would definitely be laughing at you all.

"You bastard."

Minato wasn't embarrassed or angry; instead, he smiled. After a long while, he managed to calm himself down a bit and asked, "What exactly happened back then?"

"It's nothing. I absorbed the chakra of the nine tailed beasts, and then they involuntarily fused together, changing my body—no, I should say my life."

Tatsuma scratched his itchy scalp. The past year had been quite difficult for him. As someone who liked to curl up, lying flat was really not his style.

The reason he's been lying down for so long is because of that limited talent, [Breath of Immortality].

Without the multiple effects that come with [White Yaksha], [Breath of Immortality] has only one function: to allow his "life" to evolve into the most suitable form for immortality in a very short period of time.

Of course, this extremely short time may be based on the biological evolution cycle; it took nearly a year for the life of the Chenma to complete its evolution.

It's not just physical, but also spiritual. However, over the past year, Chenma has repeatedly experienced what is very likely a "soul slipping away" phenomenon.

The "Breath of Immortality" did not solve the problem; in fact, it exacerbated it. Not long ago, Chenma's soul even separated from his body, resulting in a separation of spirit and flesh.

Tatsuma lived as a soul for a period of time, but he was not drawn by any power from the underworld or the Pure Land, because his soul could survive independently.

Both the soul and the body have evolved into the forms that immortality should take. However, without solving the problem of the soul's escape, the two are very likely to live separately.

During the time his soul was separated from his body, Tatsuma kept recalling the contents of the spiritification technique that Kato Dan had given him. After many attempts, he finally managed to return to his body through some "gaps".

However, these gaps exist because the Divine Tree cells have not completely replaced the other cells. If all the cells in the body were to become Divine Tree cells, then once Tatsuma's soul escaped, it would probably be unable to return to the body.

Originally, he planned to address the issue of soul escape once he had collected all the special talents of the nine tailed beasts, but Tatsuma did not anticipate the unexpected turn of events.

Gently tapping his head, which felt a little swollen, Tatsuma began to form hand seals, and a spell unfolded in his mind.

"Soul Imprisonment Technique!"

However, the technique is unstable once it is activated. Even if Tatsuma tries to control it, the chakra in his body continues to erode the technique, and it is estimated that it will not last long before it becomes ineffective. Moreover, as the Divine Tree cells develop, the duration of the technique will become shorter and shorter.

Seeing Tatsuma suddenly form hand seals and begin a technique, Minato completely suppressed his surprise and asked with concern, "Are you alright?"

"It's nothing, just trying to see if I can still cast the spell."

Chenma said casually, lifting the covers to get out of bed, but his body felt rusty, which was not pleasant at all; his normal cells were still too fragile.

"Wood Release! Wood Escape!"

Having created a more "sturdy" container, Tatsuma seemed much better, but he still lacked some of his former sharpness. He clenched his fist, adjusted it for a moment, and said to Minato:

"I probably won't be able to help much with the wedding preparations, but I'll definitely be there on the day. Before that, I need to visit a few people."

Minato knew that Tatsuma had a lot to do after waking up, so he nodded and said, "Everyone has been waiting for this good news for too long. I won't bother you anymore. Just come early on the wedding day."

Their friendship was enough to make unnecessary small talk and formalities disappear, and Chenma could also squeeze out time to deal with the unavoidable small talk and formalities from others.

The two looked at each other, smiled and nodded. Then, the small ward flashed with gold and silver light and was instantly empty.

Back home, Tatsuma looked at the fairly tidy house and figured that someone must have come to clean it recently.

"Who?!"

Several shuriken flew towards him, but Tatsuma didn't even try to dodge, letting the shuriken slice across his neck.

"Ding ding ding~"

The shuriken was deflected, and Tatsuma touched his throat. The Three-Tails' [Rock God House] allowed him to use special chakra to harden a part of his body or his entire body, making it incredibly hard.

Of course, Tatsuma felt this was a rather useless talent, after all, as a healthy and strong young man, he was tough enough.

After lowering his hand, Tatsuma looked at the person who attacked him. The chakra was so weak that Tatsuma ignored it. It was probably not a ninja.

In the instant he made his judgment, Tatsuma also recognized who they were: a little boy with glasses and a slightly older boy who looked a bit dull. Tatsuma raised an eyebrow and said:

"Kabuto? Yamato?"

The two boys froze, staring at Tatsuma. Then, the boy with the big, still somewhat dazed eyes exclaimed in surprise, "Tatsuma-sama?!"

Tatsuma nodded. It seemed the orphanage had adopted the name he had given the boy. Yamato looked at Tatsuma excitedly. When he enrolled last year, the teacher in charge of his class, Akiura, told him that his name had been given by Tatsuma-sama.

This made Yamato happy for a long time, thinking that he must thank Tatsuma-sama properly when they met. However, suddenly, Yamato became embarrassed because he not only did not thank him when they met, but even attacked Tatsuma-sama.

Kabuto was much more composed, and even had some doubts about Tatsuma's identity. Although he had met Tatsuma many times and had made some jokes about him before, he couldn't really say he was familiar with him.

Therefore, he still had to observe further, just in case it was some ninja with ill intentions who had transformed into Lord Tatsuma's appearance and wanted to do something bad.

"You have a good eye, Kabuto. People should always be wary and suspicious of their surroundings, but it's best not to be so obvious."

After saying that, Tatsuma strode toward his room. Kabuto frowned, wanting to stop him, but couldn't reach him. Looking down, he saw that his legs were covered in vines.

"Wow! Is this Wood Release?"

Yamato exclaimed in surprise, and Kabuto looked at Tatsuma's back before the doubt in his eyes disappeared.

Tatsuma had already changed his clothes at lightning speed. He chose the same outfit he wore a year ago when he participated in the Chunin Exams. He needed to boldly announce his existence now, so there was no need to be discreet.

With his travel route and the order of visits already in mind, Tatsuma couldn't help but sigh deeply. Socializing was exhausting.

(End of this chapter)