Kushina hadn't even made it to the hospital yet, and I nearly beat her there.
Still, if she's dry heaving already, that means Naruto is probably ready to be born.
I've got to protect the Minato couple no matter what, and make sure little Naruto doesn't end up in that awful environment from the original timeline!
Takeshi silently made up his mind.
Happy moments are always short-lived. After dinner, watching the blissful Minato and Kushina, even Takeshi, as thick-skinned as he was, felt too embarrassed to intrude on their romantic time together.
Ignoring Kushina's repeated insistence that he stay, Takeshi forcefully dragged the reluctant Kakashi away from the Namikaze household.
"But wait, I still…"
Kakashi tried to resist—after all, something important was still in Minato's study.
But with just one glare from Takeshi, Kakashi, already feeling guilty, shut his mouth and obediently followed him outside.
Damn it, Captain Minato, I just hope Kushina-san doesn't find that novel...
So Kakashi thought.
"Alright, you guys can head home. I'll walk these three brats back."
Waving goodbye to the Minato couple, Takeshi looked at the reluctant Kakashi beside him and gestured for him to leave with Rin.
"Sigh… might as well."
Since there was no chance of getting the dirty book back anytime soon, and seeing Takeshi holding Itachi and Yamato's hands on either side, Kakashi sighed, closed his eyes, and casually reached for Kabuto's hand—only for the kid to slip away.
Dead-fish-eyed, Kakashi watched as Kabuto ran over to Takeshi, clinging to the hem of his pants, unwilling to let go. At that moment, Kakashi just wanted to grab a mirror and take a good look at himself.
Am I really that scary?
Kakashi, who had always been confident in his appearance, questioned his looks for the first time in his life.
Following Takeshi the whole way, he watched as the boy delivered Kabuto and Itachi home. Finally relieved, Kakashi said goodbye and escorted Rin back.
What must come will eventually come.
Standing at the doorstep, Yamato could already feel Takeshi's grip tightening, and the sweat seeping from his palm.
Takeshi was feeling the pressure.
Please let Dad be asleep right now...
Looking up at the sky, Takeshi prayed to the Sage of Six Paths in his heart.
If not… then please, old man, just knock him out. I swear I'll do my best when it's time to seal your mother.
Heart pounding and hands trembling, Takeshi gently pushed open the door.
In the dimly lit living room, a pair of blood-red eyes flickered non-stop.
"Holy crap, the Uchiha are attacking?!"
Recognizing those as Sharingan in an instant, Takeshi nearly cast an Ice Release technique on reflex.
"Takeshi-sama, you're finally back..."
Yamato, unfazed, turned on the living room lights. Only then did Takeshi see that the Sharingan belonged to Shisui.
And seated nearby—was his old man.
"Danzo-sama, now that Takeshi-sama is back, I'll be on my way..."
Carefully watching Danzo's expression, and seeing that he remained silent with his eyes closed, Shisui quickly made his escape from the Shimura residence.
Terrifying. This old fossil is seriously terrifying.
If Takeshi hadn't come back tonight, the old man definitely would've kept him waiting in the living room until dawn!
Dōtora quietly stepped out from behind Danzo, took Yamato from Takeshi's arms, and led him back to his room.
Only Danzo and Takeshi remained in the living room.
"D-Dad..." Takeshi forced a smile and tried to approach him flatteringly.
"Hmm."
"Um, let me explain—" Takeshi could tell at a glance that Danzo was angry, and started racking his brain for an excuse.
Wait, there's kind of a lot I need to explain.
Should I start with the Fujiwara family, or the Minato household...
Just as Takeshi began weighing his options, Danzo finally spoke a complete sentence.
"Training in the Shikkotsu Forest must've been tough."
Hearing concern from Danzo, a warm feeling welled up in Takeshi's heart.
I really was thinking too poorly of him, suspecting he'd give me a hard time... sigh.
Just as Takeshi, touched beyond words, was about to speak, Danzo suddenly opened his one good eye wide and said:
"Let me personally evaluate the results of your training!"
"Huh?!"
...
Inside the house, Yamato winced at the screams coming from outside his room. He reached into his nightstand, pulled out a pair of earplugs, and stuffed them into his ears.
Ah, much better.
...
The next day.
Takeshi limped his way to the hospital entrance.
Before long, the stars of the day arrived—Minato and Kushina.
Hearing that Kushina wasn't feeling well, the usually stingy Sakumo had generously given her the day off and even assigned an Anbu to accompany her.
"Takeshi, what happened to your face?"
Kushina was about to give his cheek a playful pinch like usual, but paused when she noticed his face looked puffier than usual.
"Oh, I was experimenting with a self-created jutsu. My chakra flow went haywire last night, which caused my face to swell." Takeshi made up a random excuse.
"I don't get it." Kushina shook her head and was about to ask more questions, but Minato gently intervened.
"Alright, Kushina. The doctor's waiting for us. Let's head in first." Minato smiled and smoothed things over for Takeshi.
Sigh. Can't she see Takeshi's got a black eye? He obviously got beat up.
In all of Konoha, there were only two people capable of doing that.
Watching as Minato led Kushina into the hospital, Takeshi limped after them.
"Uh... look, the doctor's already at the door."
"Oh."
Watching Kushina and Minato enter the examination room, the bored Takeshi sat on a bench outside with the accompanying Anbu, waiting for the two.
"Takeshi?"
A voice called from the side, along with the screech of tires rubbing against pavement. A wheelchair slowly rolled to a stop in front of Takeshi.
Looking up, Takeshi saw a Hyūga clansman—half of his face wrapped in bandages, right arm limp at his side, legs bound in plaster.
"You're..."
Takeshi's jaw dropped in disbelief. "Iroha?"
"Haha, not bad. The big shot himself still remembers me."
Using his good left hand to scratch his face, Iroha confirmed his identity.
"What happened to you?"
Takeshi couldn't believe the state of the once-popular "Bursting Byakugan Kid" from school.
"Sigh. I got ambushed by the Mist ninja... ended up like this." Iroha tried to sound nonchalant, but the way he gripped the wheelchair armrests tightly gave away his true feelings.
"Iroha, what are you doing here?"
As the two tried to catch up, another figure darted in and scolded Iroha as he approached.
It was Hyūga Tetsu, a peer of Takeshi's generation.
He was stunned for a moment upon seeing Takeshi, then greeted him awkwardly.
"It's been a while, jonin Takeshi."
"Just call me Takeshi."
This guy was clearly a textbook Hyūga—rigidly polite to the point of suffocation.