Shanks then took Chihiro and Mitsuha with him toward the garden inside the Uzumaki clan compound. Mei followed a few steps behind. When they reached the garden, he found Mikoto already there, seated quietly and working on a piece of embroidery. The soft rustle of thread against cloth was steady and careful, as if she were using it to keep her thoughts in order. It was clear she was trying to avoid her stress this way.
Shanks looked at Chihiro and Mitsuha and said, "Go and play." The children immediately ran off, their laughter scattering across the garden, and he walked toward Mikoto.
When Mikoto heard Shanks' voice, she came out of her concentration, her fingers pausing mid-stitch. She looked up at him, gave a gentle smile, and said, "Your work was finished early today."
Mei glanced at Mikoto, nodded respectfully, and said, "Sister-in-law." Mikoto nodded in return.
Shanks sat down beside Mikoto and said, "Yes. Anyways, I am the Uzukage. When I want the work to start, it starts. When I want the work to end, it ends." His tone carried a familiar hint of pride, but there was warmth beneath it.
Mei watched the children playing nearby, clearly at ease under the care of Shanks and Mikoto. With a small nod to herself, she turned and left the garden, as she still had other work to take care of.
Mikoto listened to Shanks' boastful words, then simply smiled and shook her head, the corner of her lips lifting faintly. Shanks noticed the way her hands returned to the embroidery a little too quickly. With a knowing smile, he said, "It seems you're worried about the safety of Uta and Shamrock going on their first mission outside the village. That's why you're doing embroidery, right?" He glanced at the cloth in her hands. "You only do embroidery at times like this. Normally, you'd be making lunch by now. That means you're tense… and nervous about something."
As soon as Mikoto heard this, she let out a soft sigh and said, "I am their mother, after all. I am just worried about their safety and am praying for their peaceful return." Her fingers tightened slightly around the embroidery frame before relaxing again.
When Shanks heard this, he chuckled and said, "It's not like you never went on missions before, right? You've done plenty of missions as a ninja yourself. I wasn't expecting you to be this nervous." He glanced at her from the side, a hint of amusement in his eyes. "I thought you would understand and be prepared for all this—your children going outside the village for training."
Mikoto, after hearing this, shook her head gently and said, "Until they hadn't left Uzushiogakure and were still here, I was thinking the same. I didn't worry about them at all." She paused for a moment, the needle hovering over the cloth. "I just thought this was going to be an easy mission. After all, both of them are strong, and anyway, you're there to protect them, and Antares is going as their guardian. So I believed nothing would go wrong." Her voice softened. "But when they actually left… being a mother, I couldn't help but worry. What if something bad happens?"
Shanks listened quietly, then simply chuckled and said, "This is a universal problem for all mothers."
After that, they spent time together in the garden. Shanks played with Chihiro and Mitsuha, his laughter occasionally mixing with theirs as they ran around him. At the moment, only Chihiro and Mitsuha were present in the garden; all the other children were at the Ninja Academy. After all, they needed to study, and being academy students, they would only return around the afternoon or so.
…
Time passed, around an hour or so, when suddenly both Shanks and Mikoto heard two familiar voices echo through the garden.
"Father, Mother, we are back."
The sound reverberated around them, clear and full of energy.
The moment Mikoto heard it, she stopped her embroidery altogether, setting it aside as she immediately stood up. Relief washed over her face, and at the same time, a smile appeared on Shanks' lips. Uta and Shamrock soon came into view, but they were not alone. Following closely behind them was another child—Ryuko, Antares' son.
As soon as all three reached the garden, Mikoto didn't hesitate for even a second. She pulled Shamrock and Uta into a tight embrace, holding them close. Ryuko watched the scene with a small smile, then turned toward Shanks and bowed slightly in greeting.
Shanks nodded in response and said, "Ryuko, you returned early today from the Academy."
Ryuko replied, "Yes. Our last class was a combat class. Since my fight was the first one, I finished early." His eyes lit up a little as he spoke. "After defeating my opponent, I left the academy to look around the village. That's when I saw Father, Uta Onee-san, and Shamrock Onii-san coming this way. So I joined them and came here."
Hearing this, Shanks nodded in understanding. Although he strongly adhered to the idea that all children should attend the academy seriously, he had also established a few rules that allowed them some freedom. If a child had a free period, they were allowed to go home and return before the next class. And if it was the last lecture of the day, or if the teacher was not teaching anything important, they were permitted to leave once their work was done.
These rules gave the academy children a considerable amount of freedom, something they were genuinely grateful for. Because of this balance, the children enjoyed their time at the academy and never felt overly bored or constrained.
After finally stepping out of Mikoto's embrace, Uta and Shamrock straightened themselves. Both of them then bowed toward their father at the same time and said in unison, "Father, we completed our first mission beautifully and finished it without any issues."
As soon as Shanks heard this, he said, "I would expect nothing less from my children and my students." His tone was calm, confident, as if the outcome had never been in doubt.
After all, Shanks was the one who had personally trained both Uta and Shamrock. He knew their strength better than anyone. Because of that, he hadn't really expected any serious challenge to stand in their way. With their current abilities, both Shamrock and Uta were already easily above Jonin level. If needed, they could even fight S-rank ninjas head-on.
And it wasn't all that surprising either. They were fifteen years old—almost three years older than the normal graduates of other countries or major ninja villages. In those villages, true geniuses could reach Jonin-level strength at the age of twelve, thirteen, or fourteen. So for two exceptionally talented children like them to surpass Jonin strength at fifteen wasn't something unheard of.
Shamrock then spoke up, pride clear in his voice. "Father, we both defeated Zabuza and his partner, Haku. I defeated Zabuza, and Uta defeated Haku."
The moment Shanks heard those names, his expression turned slightly strange. Wasn't this supposed to happen to Team Seven of Konoha? In his memory, Zabuza and Haku were meant to clash with Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke. But then it clicked. The mission Shamrock and Uta had taken place in the Land of Waves. Realizing that, everything made sense as to why they had encountered Zabuza and Haku instead.
Just then, Uta spoke from the side, sounding both excited and confused. "Father, you won't believe it, but Haku looked like a beautiful girl. But you know… he was actually a boy, not a girl. I was totally confused."
Shanks burst into laughter and said, "Sometimes, eyes can be deceiving. That's why you shouldn't believe everything you see." He looked at both of them seriously for a moment. "And I shouldn't say much more to you two. After all, you're both Sharingan users. You use illusions yourselves, so you know better than anyone that what you see is not always the truth."
Both Uta and Shamrock nodded after hearing Shanks' words. He was absolutely right, and they understood that lesson better than most.
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