Ryuma and Kakashi arrived at Kakashi's house carrying Kazumi and Raito. Moving through the quiet house, they brought both of them into a room and carefully laid them down on the bed. Kazumi and Raito remained unconscious, their breathing calm and steady. For a few moments, Ryuma simply stood there, watching them. Their faces were completely unharmed, as if nothing had happened. Seeing that, a small weight lifted from his chest. Without saying anything, he turned and walked out of the room. Kakashi also followed.
As Ryuma and Kakashi stepped outside, Kakashi looked at him and said, "I know what happened today was definitely not something you were expecting, but you don't need to think too much in that direction. After all, where there is light, there is darkness, and in Konoha, Danzo is the darkness, which at certain times is a necessity. But this time he has definitely gone too far, and Lord Hokage will take some severe action against him. I assure you of this."
After hearing Kakashi's words, Ryuma simply shook his head. "Well, I don't care anymore. I already cut off his hand as a punishment. Although it's regrettable that I wasn't able to cut off his head and kill him, well, whatever. Let's leave this matter behind for now. Currently I am famished. Lets go and get some food."
Kakashi went silent after listening to Ryuma's words. This was the same person who had ferociously gone for Danzo's life and had, in the end, severed his left hand. Yet now he was acting as if it were an ordinary day. The contrast was so absurd that Kakashi almost laughed.
A smile appeared beneath his mask as he replied, "Well, I doubt there will be any shops open right now, but I still have some meat and rice in stock, so that should fill you up."
"Well, I will help you too," Ryuma said, nodding immediately. "It will be faster that way. The faster the food is prepared, the faster I will eat."
As Ryuma said this, he patted his bare stomach. Only then did he finally come to his senses and realise that he still wasn't wearing any upper clothing. His kimono had been completely burned away when the Nine-Tails fired that devastating energy beam at him, and ever since then, he hadn't bothered replacing it. Kakashi's gaze briefly swept over Ryuma's physique. The lean but powerful muscular build clearly showed years of intense physical training and hard work.
"Well, my clothes won't fit you," Kakashi said, scratching the back of his head. "But my father's clothes should fit just fine. Stay here. I'll bring you one of his kimonos."
Ryuma simply nodded. A few minutes later, after rummaging through a closet and shifting around several old garments, Kakashi returned carrying a neatly folded kimono. Ryuma accepted it and quickly put it on; the kimono fit surprisingly well. After that, both Kakashi and Ryuma headed to the kitchen to prepare food. The quantity was, of course, quite large, as Ryuma's appetite after everything that had happened could only be described as monstrous.
The quiet house soon filled with the sounds of cooking: the crackling of meat on the pan, the bubbling of rice, and the faint clatter of utensils. For the first time since the chaos at the Root base, the atmosphere became strangely peaceful. Once the food was finally ready, Ryuma wasted no time. Sitting down, he ate wholeheartedly, devouring bowl after bowl with impressive speed. Kakashi watched the spectacle with mild amusement while eating his own meal.
As they ate, they talked. Not about Danzo, Root, or politics, but about simple things, small conversations, and casual remarks. Nothing particularly important. For a brief moment, despite everything that had happened that day, the tension seemed far away, and the quiet warmth of a shared meal settled over the house.
…
The next morning, I was awakened by the smell of food being prepared. For a moment, still half asleep, I wondered if Kakashi was cooking this early. But when I glanced at the clock, it was already half past seven in the morning. So it wasn't exactly early, at least not by my normal standards. For me, my usual routine was to wake up around five and immediately begin training. So, waking at 7:30 was already quite late.
But today was okay. After all, last night I fought the Nine-Tails. Then there was all the chaos caused by that bastard Danzo. On top of that, I awakened Conqueror's Haki. So many things had happened in a single night that it felt as though multiple days' worth of excitement of my life had been compressed into a few short hours. Stretching my body, I got out of bed and walked out of the room.
The moment I stepped into the living area, I saw my father sitting on the floor mat with a cup of tea in his hands. The morning sunlight filtering through the windows illuminated his face, making it obvious that he hadn't fully recovered from yesterday's shock. His complexion was slightly pale, and there was a hint of exhaustion lingering around his eyes. Looking at him like this, I completely understood why.
After all, last night had been far from ordinary. Just being in the presence of the humongous Nine-Tails was enough to break the nerves of many people. Even some elite ninjas would struggle to remain composed before such a monster. How could a normal civilian like my father go through all of that and come out completely unaffected? The fact that he was calmly sitting here, drinking tea, was already far better than what many others would have managed. Not to mention that our house had been destroyed right before his eyes, and then there was the kidnapping by Root.
Though I doubted he remembered much of that part. The Root ninjas were professionals, so they shouldn't have made such a basic mistake of letting my parents be aware of them being kidnapped. As I looked at him, my father seemed to hear the sound of my door opening, and he immediately turned toward me.
The moment his eyes landed on me, he said, "Ryu, are you fine, my son?"
As he spoke, he quickly placed the teacup back onto the table and stood up. Within moments, he was standing right in front of me, looking me over from head to toe with worry written all over his face. His eyes carefully scanned my body, clearly searching for injuries he might have missed. Looking at him like this, I couldn't help but remember yesterday.
This was the same man who had hardened his heart and allowed me to continue fighting the Nine-Tails after witnessing my strength, the same man who had stopped Mother from being emotional and interfering. But that had been during the battle. Now that everything was over, the father in him was finally showing: the worry, the fear, and the fatherly love.
A grin appeared on my face. "I'm absolutely fine," I said. "I don't even have as much as a scratch. Well, aside from a few small burns, but those have almost healed overnight. See?"
I raised my forearm and showed it to him. The skin was still slightly red, evidence of the burns I had received during the battle. However, most of the damage had already healed. The burnt skin was gone, leaving behind only faint traces. My physique was simply that strong. After eating properly and finally getting some real rest, my body had recovered considerably. At this rate, I should be fully healed by tomorrow morning.
Even so, Father didn't immediately relax. He grabbed my arm and inspected it himself, his expression serious as he looked over the healed burn marks. Only after confirming everything with his own eyes did some of the tension leave his shoulders.
Seeing that reaction, my grin widened slightly. No matter how strong I became, to him I was still his son.
----
To read advanced chapters up to 24 chapters ahead, please consider supporting me on Patreon: [https://patreon.com/Hkj822]