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~~~~āā~~~~~~~~āā~~~~
Tsukimi's figure appeared in the courtyard.
He strolled out of the Hyūga compound's main gate, bold as brass.
[Domain Expansion: Unlimited Void] was a skill drawn from Nagato's maxed-out favorability rating, of course.
Naturally, Tsukimi's silver tongue and a little behind-the-scenes manipulation from the System helped grease the wheels.
At the compound's entrance stood Hiashi's brother, Hizashi, his face etched with worry.
"Did they threaten you?" he asked, his expression darkening as he studied Tsukimi. He knew the Elders' methods all too well.
Tsukimi nodded, then grinned. "Yeah, they tried."
"Didn't work, though," he added, seeing the instant tension flash in Hizashi's eyes.
"What happened in there?" Hizashi scanned him up and down, checking for injuries.
"Oh, just taught some disrespectful old farts a lesson on my sensei's behalf!" Tsukimi said, wearing an expression of utmost reverence for his teacher.
"You hit the Elders?" Hizashi's eyes widened.
He hadn't wanted Tsukimi hurt, but the HyÅ«ga clan's vote was important for him. If Tsukimi really attacked the Eldersā¦ that vote was as good as lost.
"Sensei," Tsukimi chuckled. "In the face of absolute power, all scheming and tricks are just a joke. The same goes for a Hokage's vote count."
As if he gave a damn about the Hyūga clan's one vote anyway.
The Hokage seat was already in his pocket.
They'd threatened him to his face. Was he supposed to just take it?
Spoiled rotten, the lot of them. Thought they were untouchable.
Hizashi was left speechless. The words feltā¦ off, coming from his usually understanding and gentle disciple. But then he remembered the Third Hokage had been grooming Tsukimi on how to be a proper Hokage. This assertivenessā¦ maybe it wasn't a problem after all.
"Wah! Wah wah!"
Little Neji, cradled in Hizashi's arms, wasn't content to be a quiet baby. He waved his tiny fists, demanding Tsukimi's attention.
"So cute!" Tsukimi pinched the plump cheek.
Ding! Favorability of target Hyūga Neji has reached 80!
Tsukimi grinned. Good. His little scuffle inside hadn't been for nothing.
"Sensei, bring Neji to my place to play!" Tsukimi suggested. He had a little one at home too, after all.
"Sure!" Hizashi agreed.
On the way back, Tsukimi ran into Itachi, out for a walk with his baby brother. Driven by some odd impulse, Tsukimi invited him along.
And so, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Neji Hyūga had their first early reunion at Tsukimi's house.
Neji was a big one-year-old now. Naruto and Sasuke were still just babies, only a few months old.
"Sasuke, this isā¦" Itachi, ever the patient older brother, began another detailed introduction. Never mind that Sasuke couldn't possibly understand.
Little Naruto's big blue eyes were fixed intently on Sasuke.
Hanzo was off preparing a bottle of formula for Naruto.
Neji sat on a small sofa. Hizashi watched Hanzo's retreating figure, deep in thought. Was it his imaginationā¦ or did that woman seem faintly familiar?
Itachi, holding Sasuke, glanced back at Hanzo's precise formula-mixing movements.
"Itachi, if you want to learn, you can just put Sasuke next to Naruto for now," Tsukimi offered helpfully.
Itachi's dedication to learning was intense. Even the exact sequence of mixing formula, he wanted to study meticulously. Hanzo's methods, after all, were from the system-provided Secrets of Baby Language manual. They were textbook perfect. You couldn't find a more scientifically-minded child-carer in the entire shinobi world!
"Mhm. Okay." Itachi considered it. As long as Sasuke wasn't left in Teacher Tsukimi's handsā¦ it should be fine. He carefully placed Sasuke in Naruto's large crib. It was spacious enough for three infants.
Naruto's blue eyes stared at the newcomer beside him. A big, goofy grin spread across his face.
Itachi saw his brother lying quietly and thought all was well. He turned to focus on learning the art of baby-care from Hanzo.
The next second.
"WAAAH! WAAAH WAAAH!!!"
Sasuke's cries shook the heavens.
Itachi nearly dropped the bottle. He was by the crib in an instant.
The sight inside made his face contort for a split second.
In the wide crib, little Naruto had a death grip on Sasuke's clothes. His face was rubbing insistently against Sasuke's cheek. Combined with Naruto's unceasing, wide grinā¦ the effect was downright terrifying.
Sasuke's face was beet red, fat tears rolling down in torrents.
It was a profoundly bizarre scene.
"Ahem." Tsukimi hadn't expected Naruto'sā¦ interest in Sasuke to manifest this early.
Ding! Favorability of target Sasuke Uchiha has decreased by 50!
"ā¦"
Why was Naruto's mistake being held against him?
Tsukimi forced a smile.
ā¦
That night, after seeing Hizashi and Itachi off, Tsukimi remembered something.
Since the Nine-Tails incident, the Uchiha clan had kept a much lower profile. The village leadership had also begun to cast suspicious eyes their way. Everyone had seen the Sharingan pattern in the Nine-Tails' eyes that night.
He hadn't seen Shisui around much lately either.
Remembering that Shisui had already joined Rootā¦ Tsukimi figured it was time to pull him out for a little heart-to-heart. And maybe correct any ideological detours DanzÅ might have led him down.
ā¦
The next day.
Bigger news shook the shinobi world.
The Hidden Mist Village's policies had changed.
Compared to its previous opennessāallowing trade and open portsāthe Mist was now implementing a full-scale lockdown. No one in, no one out.
According to intel from Leaf spies embedded in the Mist, the Academy there had also instituted a brutal survival policy. Only the last ones standing would become ninja.
Tsukimi knew about this because he happened to be helping the Third Hokage with administrative duties. And the Third saw no reason to hide it from him.
"Why the sudden change in policy for Kirigakure?" Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned deeply.
Because the Third Mizukage is being controlled, of course! Tsukimi thought to himself. Remembering the sweet, lovely Haku he knew, he spoke up. "Lord Hokage, let me go investigate!"
Infiltration into the current Mist would be far more difficult and dangerous.
Hiruzen didn't agree immediately. Hesitation flickered across his face. While he desperately wanted to know what was happening in the Mist, Tsukimi's safety mattered more. Among the village's younger generation, Tsukimi was the one who had truly won his heart.
"Lord Hokage, please trust me! I have the strength to protect myself. Please believe in me!" Tsukimi said with earnest sincerity. "I've been to the Mist before. I'm more suitable than anyone else."
Hiruzen sighed softly. Under Tsukimi's determined gaze, he finally nodded.
It was another S-Rank mission scroll. But this time, three other names were listed alongside Tsukimi's: Itachi Uchiha and the other two.
"Lord Hokage?" By all logic, this mission was fraught with danger. The Third shouldn't be sending three fresh genin on it.
"Tsukimi, they need to accumulate mission experience too. I trust in your capabilities!" Hiruzen said, his earlier hesitation gone.
"Yes, sir," Tsukimi replied, taking the scroll and leaving the Hokage's office.
He didn't believe Hiruzen's explanation for a second. Lost in thought, he went to notify Itachi and the others.
ā¦
2 PM.
Tsukimi met Itachi's team at the main village gate.
"Everyone ready?" he asked.
"Mhm." Itachi nodded.
Hyūga Tenri was practically vibrating with excitement. "Ready!" Her first mission out of the Academy was an S-Rank! How thrilling!
"Iā¦ I'm ready too," Akiaoi Shinya said softly.
"Move out!"
Tsukimi was the first to leap into the trees. He could have just teleported, of course. But he had to consider the three kids. This was about grinding experience points. What was the point if they just blinked there?
As a responsible team leader, Tsukimi had professional ethics.
ā¦
Nightfall.
"Still feeling good about what you said this afternoon?" the System asked, watching Tsukimi lounging on the ground like an old man.
Why would the System ask that?
The contrast was stark.
While Tsukimi relaxed, Itachi's team was running around like headless chickens.
Itachi was off in the woods hunting for fresh game.
Shinya was gathering firewood.
As for Hyūga Tenri, the only actual girl in the team? She got no special treatment. If anything, she bore the brunt of Tsukimi's demands.
Tenri was currently wrestling with assembling the sleeping arrangements for the night.
Her materials all came from Tsukimi's storage space.
In front of the three genin, Tsukimi calmly pulled a cooking pot, several foldable cots, blankets, seasoningsā¦ out of the tiny pouch on his leg.
"That'sā¦ that's an amazing storage pouch!" Shinya managed after a long pause, his vocabulary failing him.
"As expected of Teacher Tsukimi!" Tenri's eyes shone with admiration.
Itachi, the only sane one present, silently drew a kunai and went hunting.
"This isn't hypocrisy. It's cultivating their wilderness survival skills!" Tsukimi corrected the System's mistaken terminology.
He wasn't worried about them being off on their own. If any danger arose, none of them could escape his immediate perception.
"My dad always said missions outside the village were super tough," Tenri said, sitting by the campfire, a freshly roasted rabbit leg in hand. "Doesn't seem so bad to me!"
Shinya nodded in agreement.
Itachi, sprinkling seasoning, paused. He glanced at the naive Tenri and Shinya but said nothing.
After a meal of fresh game, sleeping on soft cots under a starry sky sliced by tree branchesā¦ they set off the next morning, spirits high.
"These flowers are pretty," Shinya remarked, admiring the vibrant blossoms by the roadside.
"Flowers? What's so great about flowers? Not as cool as my shuriken!" Tenri retorted, pulling out a throwing star. Its edge gleamed coldly in the sunlight.
ā¦
They took a wooden boat towards the Land of Water.
The change in the Mist's policy was evident at the port.
The once-bustling hub of trade was now eerily quiet, with only a few scattered vessels drifting on the water. Numerous Kirigakure ninja, faces grim, patrolled the docks, scrutinizing everyone on every boat.
Tsukimi had made them change out of any clothing that might identify them beforehand.
"Halt! Who are you? What's your business in the Land of Water?" A ninja detached from his squad, marching towards them with a deep frown.
Shinya, who'd never been in such a situation, held his breath nervously.
Itachi and Tenri were calmer, their alertness instinctively heightening.
"Little brother, don't you remember?" Tsukimi said with utmost sincerity, then covered his face as if weeping. "I'm your older sister! The one who wrote to you saying I was coming! Life was too hard out thereā¦ I had no choice but to seek shelter with you! These are your family!" He pointed at the stunned Itachi and the others.
"BakayarÅ!" the Mist ninja shouted. "I don't have an older sister! You've got a death wish!"
"The lie of a lieā¦ will become the truth."
As Tsukimi's words fell, the expression on the Mist ninja's face shifted visibly.
"Sisterā¦ you've suffered all these years!" The ninja cried, tears and snot flowing. He looked at Itachi's team with glistening eyes, choking up. "And you even took care of my children! You've had it so hard!"
"ā¦" Itachi was too stunned to speak.
"!" Tenri's eyes had been treated with a special concealing solution before entry, making them look normal.
"It's alright. We managed," came the unexpected reply from Shinya, the only one who kept up with the act. He gave a resilient smile.
This only moved the Mist ninja further. "Good child!"
"ā¦" Itachi and Tenri's gazes snapped to Shinya in unison.
Who knew you had it in you?!
Tsukimi blinked. He felt a strange sense ofā¦ the torch being passed.
"Captain? What's going on?" The patrol squad, seeing their captain weeping openly, hurried over.
The captain slapped his comrade's shoulder, eyes red. "My sisterā¦ she's brought my children to seek shelter with me!"
Shock was written all over the comrade's face.
"They've suffered so much!" The captain was acting out the whole drama single-handedly now.
His comrade chuckled awkwardly. "Didn't know you had family, Captainā¦"
The captain's face darkened. "What kind of question is that! With all the wars back then, how could I dare keep them by my side?" he shot back.
The comrade thought about it. Made sense. Bonded by long years of service, he offered, "Captain, your sister finally made it back. How about a few of us escort them safely to the village?"
The captain seemed moved. Not a bad idea.
"Weā¦ we really shouldn't trouble youā¦" Tsukimi said, his gaze shifty, his expression bashful. "You're so busy. I can't possibly imposeā¦"
Tsukimi's simple, yet beautiful, smile prompted several of the surrounding Mist ninja to chime in.
"It's no trouble at all, Captain's sister! We'll get you and the Captain's kids home safe!"
"Yeah, yeah!"
"It's only a two-day trip. No big deal!"
Tsukimi put on a flattered smile. "Thenā¦ I'm truly in your debt!"
"No problem!"
"Not at all!"
"Seriously!"
Shinya was in awe of Teacher Tsukimi's acting prowess.
And so, Tsukimi "reluctantly" accepted their kind offer.
ā¦
On the road to Kirigakure.
Three Mist ninja walked alongside Tsukimi's group.
One of them looked at Tsukimi, then at the three "children," a hint of doubt creeping in. "I gotta say, Captain's sister, you and the kids have amazing stamina!" They'd been walking a while without seeming tired at all.
The ninjas were one thing, but the sister and kids were supposed to be civilians.
Itachi and the others subtly tightened their grips.
A pained smile appeared on Tsukimi's face. "To be honestā¦ with all the wars, our little family business went under. These kidsā¦ they've been following me, doing odd jobs for folks everywhere. Had to build up some strength. Hope you don't mind us country bumpkins!" He reached over and placed a hand on Itachi's head, applying slight pressure to make him bow his head.
Itachi was the youngest and shortest of the three. To the Mist ninja, it looked like they'd touched a sore spot. The two older kids could bear it, but the youngest couldn't control his emotions.
The ninja who'd voiced the doubt wanted to slap himself. How could he wound a child's heart like that?
"Little guy must be tired, huh? Want Uncle to carry you?" Eager to make amends and express sympathy for their "tragic" lives, the ninja crouched before Itachi, trying to soften his scarred, rugged face.
"ā¦"
Itachi was silent.
He truly had no idea what to say.
~~~~āā~~~~~~~~āā~~~~
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