Chapter 67: A Special Gift, Accept the Punishment of Justice
The Yamanaka Residence.
"Come on, open it up. It's a super-duper-cool gift Uncle Tonbo prepared just for you."
Tonbo Tobitake sat across from little Ino, watching her excited face. Before her sat a palm-sized, exquisitely wrapped gift box—the fruit of Tonbo's meticulous preparation.
Inoichi Yamanaka and his wife watched the two of them with smiles.
Little Ino rubbed her hands together and glanced at this "weird uncle." She still remembered how, last time, Tonbo could make the flowers she liked appear out of thin air.
"I'm opening it now!"
She pressed her hands together in a silent prayer, and with a sliver of anticipation, she slowly pried open the box.
Inside, she saw fluffy gift padding. Her small hands brushed the fluff aside, finally revealing the gift's true form.
The gift was revealed, but little Ino's face instantly fell.
She was utterly speechless. Inside was a bamboo-woven action figure in the likeness of Tonbo Tobitake. The figure's hand was resting on the head of another, smaller figure that looked exactly like a little Ino. It was a frozen image of a "big brother giving a headpat."
"Uncle Tonbo... this is your 'super-duper-cool' gift?" Ino was not pleased.
She had thought it would be a beautiful flower or something elegant; she hadn't expected a toy like this. She gave Tonbo a look of pure disdain.
Inoichi and his wife laughed from the sidelines, surprised by how "creative" Tonbo's gift was.
"Ino, don't talk like that. This is a birthday present from your Uncle Tonbo. Don't be rude," Ino's mother scolded gently.
Ino pouted. "Hmph... but... but this gift is too abstract! I don't like it at all."
"Now, little Ino, don't underestimate my taste. This isn't just any toy; it's a ninja tool handmade by Uncle Tonbo himself," Tonbo said proudly.
A ninja tool? Inoichi raised an eyebrow. Since when did you learn how to make ninja tools? Why didn't I know about this?
Ino looked at him skeptically.
"Watch. When you're a bit older and learn how to refine chakra, all you have to do is channel it into the figure."
Tonbo wove a sign and infused chakra into the model.
Suddenly, the figure came to life. To the astonishment of the Yamanaka family, the two bamboo figures began to look and move like real people—just very small ones. The little figures even smiled.
Suddenly, the mini-Ino spoke: "Uncle Tonbo is the handsomest man in the world!"
Then the mini-Tonbo replied: "Little Ino is the cutest girl in the world!"
They repeated this cycle several times. Once the chakra was exhausted, they reverted to being static bamboo figures.
"..."
Ino was dying of embarrassment. While it was true that Ino was the cutest girl in the world, Uncle Tonbo was definitely not the handsomest man.
What a shameless, weird uncle.
Inoichi looked on with an awkward smile. A "real" ninja tool indeed...
"How about that? Cool, right? Once you learn chakra refinement, you can listen to the world's handsomest uncle talk to you every day."
Tonbo spoke with a straight face, seemingly very satisfied with his creation.
Under a pointed look from her mother, Ino tucked the figure away. "Hmph. I'll take it, I guess. But you can't give me stuff like this next time!"
Despite her words, it was a gift, so she planned to keep it. But she vowed she would never let anyone see her playing with it. It was too shameless.
Tonbo was very satisfied. At the same time, he thought of Sasuke Uchiha; that kid was probably inseparable from his little Itachi figure by now.
The Uchiha Compound.
Sasuke Uchiha watched his brother flick his forehead and head out for another mission, his face full of displeasure. He pulled the little Itachi figure Tonbo had given him out of his bag.
"Stinky big brother. Always on missions, never playing with me. See if I don't tickle you!"
Sasuke flipped the figure over and used his small hands to tickle its feet—a "punishment" for his brother not staying home. The Itachi figure was already polished to a smooth sheen from how often he handled it. Clearly, it was his favorite toy.
"That 'Bad Uncle' has good skills. I'll ask Mom for money to buy more later... but where does that Bad Uncle live?"
Sasuke remembered the "Bad Uncle". He wondered if he could get him to make a whole army of "Big Brother" figures.
A few more days passed.
As time went on, Ayame's belly grew larger, and Tonbo began to "slack off" at work. Most of the time, he used a Shadow Clone to handle his duties while his main body stayed home to accompany Ayame.
As his body grew stronger and his spiritual energy accumulated, his chakra reserves became increasingly potent. Using a Shadow Clone for work was no longer a strain. According to his perception, his chakra volume was now only about one-fourth less than the Third Hokage's.
This increased his efficiency in both developing techniques and physical training. His rate of growth had accelerated. It was no wonder the "Konoha 12" grew so rapidly once they hit their teens; as the body matures and spiritual energy accumulates, chakra increases, allowing for longer, more intense training sessions before hitting a plateau.
Of course, when it came to slacking off, he had to report it to the Hokage—he was a successor of the Will of Fire, after all. Since the Analysis Division and the Barrier Development Division were important posts, he couldn't just use Shadow Clones to "phone it in" without permission. If he were caught, it would be bad for his reputation. So, he chose to tell Hiruzen Sarutobi directly.
"My wife's belly is getting bigger, and I need to be with her. I'll be using Shadow Clones for work. You don't mind, do you?"
That was the gist of it, though he put it much more politely.
As it turned out, the moment Hiruzen heard this, he didn't raise a single objection and gave his approval. The reality was that his own eldest daughter-in-law was due around the same time, so he was very sympathetic. Besides, even a Shadow Clone of Tonbo was more than capable of handling the Analysis Division's work.
Tonbo left a Shadow Clone to stay with Ayame while his main body, following his usual habit, headed toward Training Ground 98. "A day without practice results in ten days of emptiness"—he understood this well. He never slacked on his personal training.
Rustle, rustle!
"Hey, is he really coming? Are you sure your intel isn't wrong?"
In the bushes beside Training Ground 98, three small kids were crouching, accompanied by a small dog. They were peeking out toward the field.
"Impossible! I have a perfect score in Intelligence Class. There's no mistake. He comes here every day to practice. I heard he's been playing music a lot lately, too."
"Hmm? He's a ninja, does he want to be an artist or something?"
"Doesn't matter if he wants to be an artist. We have to land a punch on his face!"
"Right! It's his fault Iruka-sensei learned that awful ninjutsu."
"Remember, stick to the plan. We have to act 'cute.' I specifically studied Child Psychology in the library for this. That way, he'll lower his guard, and we can get him!"
"Got it! I'll rush up for a hug and then hit his face. You guys stomp on his feet!"
If Iruka were here, he would recognize these as kids from the Academy's second-year class, led by a third-year student. They were currently plotting their "ambush" on Tonbo Tobitake.
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