Chapter 229: Hiruzen Sarutobi's Covetousness X Return
Illness comes like a falling mountain, and goes like spinning silk.
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt that he was probably getting old. He had caught a slight chill, which he could have toughed out, but he still prepared a thermos, holding it in his hands to keep warm. It was filled with ginger tea.
The old man dispelled the Telescope Technique and leaned back in his chair, quietly lost in thought... Because the Chakra flow had stopped, the clear and sharp eyes belonging to Roy vanished from the crystal ball on the corner of the desk.
"Have you seen enough?" The boy's words still rang in his ears.
Not enough... That was Hiruzen Sarutobi's answer to the boy. Young people don't understand the mindset of the elderly. As the Kage of a village, an existence whose decisions affect thousands of ninjas... is there anything more joyful than seeing the village's younger generation bursting with talent?
Unfortunately... this one was a troublemaker... an Uchiha troublemaker...
The old man shook his head, flipped his hand to open the drawer, and took out that scroll.
The scroll was branded with Roy's name and contained all the intelligence related to him. He unrolled it, scrolled to the end, picked up a brush, and added a sentence...
[The next Konoha's White Fang... Lightning Style is not weak...]
Finally, Hiruzen threw the brush down in a fit of pique. Thinking of his own disappointing son... compared to Fugaku, as an old father, an unspeakable sense of frustration arose in his heart. Knock... knock... knock... At this moment, a knock on the door interrupted Hiruzen's thoughts.
The old man calmly put the scroll back into the drawer and said sternly, "Enter."
Creak~ The door to the Hokage's office was pushed open, and two figures filed in. One with blond hair, one with black hair; one young and cheerful, one serious and rigid. Both wore green Jonin flak jackets, bowed, and greeted, "Hokage-sama."
"You're here... Minato... Fugaku..." Hiruzen put on a smile and waved his hand to signal the two to sit down.
Across the desk, he handed over an intelligence report.
As the Third Shinobi World War raged on and intensified, the front lines were stretched tight, requiring more and more support.
Hiruzen pulled out his pipe, lit it, and took a puff. "Jiraiya sent a message. Large troops from Kumogakure and Iwagakure have been spotted. The day before yesterday, this old man already had Orochimaru lead a team north to deal with Iwagakure."
"Leaving Kumogakure,"
Hiruzen looked deeply at Minato Namikaze and said, "Minato, I leave them to you."
Minato's yellow hair swayed. He looked carefully at the intelligence report in his hand, paying special attention to two individuals, and smiled slightly. "Leave it to me."
A and Killer B, it should be that AB Combo ravaging the battlefield... Facing Kumogakure, speed... is the primary factor. Coincidentally... he was fast!
This assignment was fine.
Minato put the intelligence report away safely in his pocket. Leaving this time, he would have to spend a lot of effort explaining it to Kushina again. Fortunately... the man looked at Fugaku Uchiha, who was frowning silently beside him. With Mikoto around Kushina, often chatting and shopping with her, it seemed... there was nothing to worry about. Just...
Fugaku looked... not very happy?
Minato noticed Fugaku's strange mood but didn't say anything.
Just as Minato thought, Fugaku Uchiha was very unhappy, even a little angry. This was because he saw his own son's name... Jin's name... on the Uchiha clan's front-line support list!
Not only that, this list excluded him... What did that mean?
Fugaku suppressed the anger in his heart, knitted his brows, and looked at Hiruzen. "Hokage-sama, Jin is still young. He hasn't graduated yet."
Young? Someone who could exchange blows back and forth with Sakumo, should he be treated as "young"?
Hiruzen took a puff of his pipe. Recalling the swordsmanship and electric light he had just seen, he pushed his chair back and stood up, looking deeply at Fugaku Uchiha. "Fugaku,"
"I know what you are thinking,"
"This old man cannot explain anything to you right now,"
"But, you only need to know..."
"As long as this old man is still in power for a single day, no one can harm Jin, whether he is an Uchiha or not."
Fugaku: "..."
Unmoved. Seeing this, Hiruzen exhaled a smoke ring. "Let him follow Minato. With Minato protecting him, you should be at ease."
"I can take him myself," Fugaku said in a deep voice.
"The Police Force cannot do without you."
Fugaku: "..."
"Enough." Hiruzen said unquestionably, "This is an order, not a discussion."
"Tell Jin to report to Minato on time tomorrow. After familiarizing themselves with each other, head north as soon as possible."
"Yes..."
Creak~
The door to the Hokage's office closed heavily, just like Fugaku Uchiha's mood, completely blocked...
Minato Namikaze accompanied him silently on the side, comforting him in a warm voice, "Big Brother Fugaku, don't worry. With me here, I will definitely protect Jin."
Is that so?
You are still a big kid yourself!
Fugaku Uchiha stopped walking, tilted his head, and looked at the blond young man. "Minato, you haven't had a son, so you don't understand."
"Once you have a son, no matter what time it is, you will never be completely at ease..."
Tap... tap... Fugaku resumed his steps, shook his head, glanced at Minato, and turned away.
Minato was slightly stunned, standing rooted to the spot, quietly watching him leave. The desolate back of a "father" left him momentarily speechless, not knowing... what to say.
Until the young man suddenly remembered that Kushina wanted to eat ramen. Minato slapped his forehead and dashed vigorously towards Ichiraku Ramen...
Time always slips away quietly amidst busyness.
Walking on the not-so-wide muddy path leading from the Southern Border Forest to the Uchiha clan compound.
Because of the "extra punishment" and "extra training", Shisui and Itachi were already exhausted like dead dogs, carried by Roy with one in each hand, dangling as they walked towards home.
At that time, night was falling, the sun setting in the west.
The neon lights of the Konoha commercial district were flashing, and the streetlamps were already lit.
On the rock face to the far right was the Hokage Rock, seated with the stone faces of the First, Second, and Third Hokage.
Roy carried the two little ones through the streets. Perhaps seeing people coming and going, Shisui felt it didn't look good to be carried by Roy like a little chick. He struggled down, endured the pain to keep up with Roy, and laboriously inched towards the Ichiraku Ramen shop...
"Nii-san, let me down too." Itachi, lying on Roy's back, shifted his butt when he saw Shisui get down, but...
Before his two short legs could move, he was slapped by Roy, who supported his butt and put him back properly on his back.
"He's as stubborn as a donkey, built tough, you don't need to compare yourself to him," Roy said.
Shisui: "..."
Holding one of Roy's hands, he pouted discontentedly. He had trained very hard too, okay... It was all Nii-san's favoritism!
Seeing this, Itachi gave a soft hum. The child buried his face in Roy's warm back. After a long while, he murmured a question, "Brother, can I be as amazing as you?"
Shisui also looked up. The residual sword light and lightning in his small eyes seemed... not to have faded yet...
Just looking at Roy so eagerly, he unexpectedly received a flick on the forehead from Roy. "Watch where you're going!"
"Oh~" There was a large puddle right in front of him. Shisui narrowly avoided it, then looked at Roy again, seeing him smile slightly and say, "Does this count as amazing?"
Is it not amazing?
"That was Uncle White Fang~" Shisui was speechless.
"So what?"
"So..." Shisui mumbled. The boy's head felt hot, and then it was grabbed by Roy's large hand and rubbed vigorously... When he recovered...
His Nii-san had already taken a step ahead of him at some point, carrying Itachi, walking steadily towards the Ichiraku Ramen shop.
"Wait for me, Nii-san..."
"You haven't answered Itachi's question yet, hey~"
Grumble... His stomach was screaming desperately... What "amazing"... what "White Fang", instantly forgotten...
Shisui raised his voice and quickly caught up. Lifting the curtain, he sat right next to Roy. He turned his head and froze, suddenly seeing...
Obito, who had been beaten into a pig's head again.
"Brother Obito."
"Hehe, it's Shisui..."
Obito Uchiha seemed to be in a very good mood today. He heroically pulled out a wad of cash from his pocket, slapped it on the counter, and told the boss that today's consumption was all on him.
Roy sat right next to the boy. Even without using En, he could clearly capture his inner voice.
"Did you win?"
"No,"
Obito scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly at Roy. "But, I gave him a severe beating too!"
Finally feeling proud and elated... Listening to Obito's inner voice, Roy's thoughts moved, flashing back... Obito with his Sharingan activated, throwing a determined punch, seeing through Kakashi's Substitution Jutsu, landing a solid hit on that handsome face, and incidentally turning him into a pig's head as well. Roy nodded in approval and said to Itachi, "Since your Brother Obito said so, eat a few more bowls, eat to your heart's content."
Obito: "..."
His smile came to an abrupt end, and he said cautiously, "Actually... you don't need to eat that much, just... eat until you're full."
Shisui: "..."
Itachi: "..."
As everyone looked over, Obito's face turned red. He closed his eyes and said loudly, "Agh, eat whatever you want, eat as much as you want!"
"Osu~"
The sound of slurping noodles at Ichiraku Ramen subsequently echoed endlessly...
Waiting until the moon climbed over the horizon, the last sliver of daylight merging into darkness...
Obito felt his deflated wallet, watching Roy leave with Shisui and Itachi with a bitter face. The excitement from just beating up Kakashi had completely dissipated...
"Is Brother Obito very poor?" On the way home, Itachi asked innocently.
"Probably," Shisui said with certainty.
Roy, holding one in each hand, remembered that the guy had just been promoted to Chunin not long ago, taking advantage of the war to fill the generational gap. He hadn't executed many high-level missions in total, so being a bit poor was reasonable.
The boy said seriously to Shisui and Itachi, "So, remember, being a little poor is nothing, but you must never pretend to be a big shot."
Hey~ I haven't gone far! Obito was just about to turn and leave. Hearing this, his face turned as black as ink.
"Heh heh heh..." Roy gave a long, leisurely laugh, ignoring him, and sent Shisui home before returning to his own.
The lamps were already lit at home. By the familiar tatami, Fugaku Uchiha had returned from duty, already finished dinner sitting cross-legged, and was waiting for him.
"Itachi, you go take a bath first." Mikoto prepared the clean clothes and took Itachi away.
The young boy looked at Roy, then at Fugaku, didn't say a word, nodded, and in a blink...
In the spacious living room, only the father and son remained, sitting quietly facing each other.
"The Third specifically named you to go to the battlefield."
"Oh~"
"I suspect he harbors ill intentions."
"Oh~"
"Don't you have any thoughts?" Fugaku frowned at Roy. "As long as you tell me you don't want to go, I will fight to keep you from going."
"Fight how?"
"Are you saying you want to disobey the Hokage's order?" Roy recalled the few glances he exchanged with Hiruzen Sarutobi through the crystal ball, saying expressionlessly, "Circumstances are stronger than men. If he wants me to go, I will go. Moreover..."
The boy held the teacup, separating a sliver of Nen as "Water", and another sliver of Nen as "Wind", intertwining and condensing them into [Ice Style], instantly cooling down the boiling hot tea. He then tilted his head back and drank it in one gulp, leaving Fugaku alone as he went to take a bath.
"And let Father know, even if he didn't tell me to go, I would still go, because..."
The boy silently added a sentence in his heart: "I can't suppress the urge to kill!"
Only the battlefield can harvest "Life Energy," only the battlefield... This was a secret solely belonging to him, Roy, and something an old fox like Hiruzen Sarutobi, who thought he had everything figured out, would never expect!
Clack~ The iced teacup shattered upon contacting the warm tabletop...
Fugaku was stunned, staring blankly at the "Ice". Then he looked up, gazed deeply towards the bathroom, and sighed leisurely... The child was growing up, becoming harder and harder to read. If he wants to go, then let him go...
A wave of fatigue struck, followed by a fragrant breeze...
Mikoto Uchiha came uninvited, taking the initiative to sit on Fugaku's lap. Her fair arms wrapped around Fugaku's neck automatically like smart sensors. With eyes like silk, she said, "While the children are bathing, let's also..."
Fugaku: "..."
He forced a smile and probed, "How about next time?"
He was subsequently tackled to the ground...
Mmh... ah... Deep into the night, the moon hung over the willow branches.
The best time for a good sleep.
Washing away the exhaustion of the day, Roy lay in his room, gently tucking Itachi in. The child loved to stick to him since he was little. Except for the two years he was breastfed and stayed with Mikoto, most of his remaining time was spent in Roy's arms.
Zzz~ Faint snoring sounded...
Itachi rolled over, resting a small leg on Roy, hanging onto him like an octopus. Bathed in the moonlight, his precocious little face only showed a bit of tenderness and youthfulness at this time.
"Nii-san..." The boy mumbled in his sleep, a faint, crystalline line of drool seeping from the corner of his mouth.
Roy let him hold him, turning his head to look out the window. The bright moon hung high, just like the moon in the Hunter world, seemingly no different. But... Roy had always known, this moon was not that moon. The moon in the Naruto world truly had aliens living on it. At least...
The Otsutsuki clan descended from Hamura Otsutsuki, and... the Gedo Statue, were still up there.
"Byakugan... Tenseigan... Kaguya... Chibaku Tensei..."
Vocabulary words popped up and vanished, turning into a tantalizing night, gradually lulling one to sleep.
A moment later, Roy closed his eyes lightly, falling into a deep slumber...
The familiar sensation of falling followed. When he regained his senses, he had detached from the Naruto world and once again arrived at his Sea of Cognition.
☆☆☆
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