After dinner, when Ino was about to head home, Sana all but pushed Tōma out the door to walk her back.Not that he needed the excuse. He had planned to do it anyway.
The road was quiet at first. Eventually, Tōma spoke.
"Ino… I'm sorry about this past year."
Ino shook her head, her blue eyes steady as they rested on him. "It's okay. That's just how being a shinobi is, right? Some missions need secrecy."
"…Yeah." Tōma nodded.
It wasn't really a lie. His time in ANBU was never meant to be spoken about openly. Even if Ink Shadow had become a known name, that identity was separate from Fujimoto Tōma.
Ino suddenly raised a small fist in front of her, trying to look confident."Don't underestimate me, Tōma. I'm a ninja too now. I might not be as strong as you yet, but I'll work hard!"
She had been miserable before. Truly miserable.
But after learning that Tōma was already a jōnin, everything clicked into place.
Academy lessons made one thing clear. Genin almost never took missions requiring hidden identities. Chūnin and jōnin, however, often did.
Which meant Tōma hadn't abandoned her.
Understanding that mattered more than anything.
Tōma looked at the girl in front of him, fist raised awkwardly. The blurry image in his memory finally aligned with reality. She really had grown.
Before Ino could react, Tōma caught her fist midair.
A gentle pull.
In the next moment, she stumbled forward and landed squarely against his chest, wrapped in a warm, solid embrace.
Ino's eyes widened.
Since when was Tōma this direct?
Maybe that year apart hadn't been entirely bad after all.
Her face burned red, but she didn't resist. She leaned into him, savoring the warmth.It was warm. Embarrassingly so.
Their height difference meant Tōma practically enveloped her completely.
Her voice came out soft, slightly trembling."…Next time, if you get a mission like that… can you tell me in advance? You don't have to explain anything. Just… let me know you're going."
"Okay," Tōma replied quietly.
He didn't push things further. He simply held her. That was enough.
"I'm sorry," he added in a low voice.
Back then, he'd been so focused on surviving and sending things home to Sana that he'd forgotten Ino entirely. That wasn't something he could excuse.
Ino said nothing. She just hugged him tighter.
Truthfully, Tōma didn't think time apart had been bad. He could clearly see Ino's growth now. It spared him the uncomfortable feeling of watching her mature day by day.
He did the math in his head.
Both of them were twelve.
Four more years.
Not eight. Not longer.
He'd checked medical texts in this world. Physical maturity came earlier here, especially for shinobi. Sixteen was effectively adulthood.
Four years felt… reasonable.
From an upstairs window, Yamanaka Misa watched the scene with a complicated expression.
Earlier, her daughter had sworn she was done with Tōma. And yet here she was, forgiving him with alarming ease.
Disappearing for a year wasn't a small thing.
Misa decided then and there.She would need to teach her daughter properly, or Ino would be eaten alive later.
When Ino explained that Tōma's mission required secrecy, Misa had dismissed it outright. Genin didn't get missions like that.
But when she learned Tōma had become a special jōnin…
She froze.
Twelve years old? Impossible.
Then she remembered a certain silver-haired prodigy.
That night, when Inoichi came home, she asked him directly.
Inoichi paused for a long moment. Thinking of Tōma's presence, the killing intent, and where he'd come from earlier that day, he slowly nodded.
"…It's possible."
Misa nearly lost her composure.
The next day, she grabbed Ino by the shoulders."You can't keep running over to his house all the time. Invite him here too. I'll cook for him myself."
Ino nodded, dazed, and agreed.
That night, Tōma returned home and stopped beside a large tree.
A figure appeared silently next to him.
"This year was hard on you, White Hawk," Tōma said calmly.
"It was my duty, Ink Shadow-sama," the ANBU replied, eyes burning with admiration.
"You don't need to call me that anymore. I've left ANBU."
"But Ink Shadow is still Ink Shadow," White Hawk said without hesitation.
Tōma sighed internally and gave up correcting him. "Anything unusual?"
"My watch over your mother has been uneventful," White Hawk reported. "Her routine is predictable. No danger. However…"
"…However?" Tōma's eyes narrowed slightly.
"There were signs of Root activity once or twice. I reported it immediately. They withdrew after."
For a brief instant, something cold flickered in Tōma's eyes.
"Understood. You did well."
He handed over some extra spoils from his missions. White Hawk accepted without false modesty.
"You earned it. Continue as before. If something happens and I'm nearby, report directly to me."
"Yes."
The ANBU vanished.
Back inside, Tōma's killing intent surged for a moment.
Root.Which meant Danzō.
Watching him was one thing. Watching Sana crossed a line.
For now, he held it back. The timing wasn't right.
He wiped his face, smoothed everything down, and stepped inside.
Sana, as always, noticed nothing.
And that warmed him more than anything else.
Maybe… that was what family meant.
Later that night, distant noise stirred the village.
Tōma stepped outside and stopped a passing chūnin.
"…Naruto stole the Scroll of Seals?"
He was stunned.
Naruto had already graduated. Why would he do that?
Confused, Tōma followed the pursuing forces toward the forest.
He had planned to teach Naruto the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique himself in a few days.
Now, it seemed unnecessary.
Why would Naruto even know about the scroll?
Only one answer made sense.
Mizuki.
Entering his calm-state technique, Tōma spread his chakra perception across the forest. Soon, several figures appeared in his awareness.
One stood out.
A mass of chakra moving in an awkward, almost crawling way.
"That's him," Tōma muttered.
ANBU were closing in.
Breaking off from the group, Tōma accelerated alone toward Naruto's position.
He didn't intend to intervene yet.
First, he wanted to see exactly how Naruto had been led astray.