Inspired by Takeshi's words, Nono didn't waste a single moment and went straight to find Hiruzen Sarutobi.
It wasn't that she was being overly anxious—after all, the one targeting her was none other than Danzō. Who could say what schemes that man, who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals, might already be hatching against her?
With his conversation partner gone, Takeshi turned and walked directly toward Yakushi Kabuto.
Even the staff feared Takeshi, but Kabuto simply lifted his head to meet the man's gaze, his expression calm and unflinching.
"What's your name?"
Takeshi asked, already knowing the answer.
"Kabuto. Yakushi Kabuto."
Pushing up the glasses on his nose, Kabuto answered in an even tone.
"Not bad, kid."
Takeshi reached out and rubbed Kabuto's head, then crouched down to meet him eye to eye.
"You need to work hard and become strong, then do your best to help Nono-san, understand?"
"Become strong…?"
Kabuto repeated the phrase to himself, tasting the word.
"That's right. In this shinobi world, only strength will let you stand on your own."
Takeshi took Kabuto's hand and placed a senbon in his palm.
"To take or be taken from—every disadvantage in this world stems from a lack of strength. Got it?"
"I'll recommend two instructors for you when I get the chance. Yeah… let's call them instructors. With their guidance, getting stronger will be a matter of time."
Thinking of Yamanaka Akira and Shimura Ikku, Takeshi showed a sinister smile. He firmly believed that good things were meant to be shared—and that smile gave Kabuto the chills.
"Ahem. Let's go, Yamato."
Reining in his expression, Takeshi returned to his warm persona. After bidding farewell to everyone at the orphanage with a smile, he left with Yamato in tow.
Kabuto looked down at the senbon in his hand, then back up at Takeshi's retreating figure, lost in thought.
...
Neither Danzō nor Takeshi brought up the matter of Nono.
After listening to her proposal, Hiruzen Sarutobi readily agreed to provide aid to the orphanage—but the price was that the orphanage would need to take in a batch of children designated by higher-ups.
Almost overnight, the once-quiet orphanage became bustling with activity. With more children arriving, Nono led everyone in expanding the building. At the same time, small handcrafted items began to be produced in earnest.
While Takeshi and Yamato were enjoying a rare bit of vacation, an ANBU under Hiruzen's command delivered a summons.
When Takeshi arrived at the Hokage's office and pushed open the door, the first thing he saw was Hiruzen sitting at his desk—and standing beside him, with his back to the door, was Danzō.
"Hiruzen-sensei. Father."
Takeshi bowed respectfully to both of them. He glanced around and noticed there were no others present. That struck him as unusual.
"Hehe, I hope you've had a good rest lately, Takeshi."
Hiruzen smiled at his student and began the usual small talk.
"Thanks to you, I've had some decent downtime."
After this bit of polite back-and-forth, Hiruzen finally got to the main point.
"Iwagakure has already made a move against us. The situation is urgent, and our border patrols are stretched too thin. I've already sent Minato ahead to intercept the enemy."
Hiruzen's expression turned serious as he crossed his hands atop the desk and continued.
"What's especially tricky is that Kusagakure, which had maintained a friendly relationship with Konoha, suddenly turned to Iwagakure's side—giving Iwa a relatively stable supply route."
"Considering your prior coordination with Orochimaru during the raid on Kumogakure's supply base, I want you to go to Kusagakure. Eliminate the enemy and, if possible, destroy their supply line—specifically, the Kannabi Bridge."
He took out a scroll and placed it on the desk.
"Of course, you're free to refuse."
The Kannabi Bridge...
Wasn't that the battle where Kakashi got his Sharingan? I didn't expect this to fall on me.
Well, I'll just treat this as shielding my dear son from disaster.
If I take Obito's place this time, then if Madara goes looking for someone else later, it really won't be my problem anymore.
Just thinking of Obito's goofy face… after all these years, Takeshi really didn't want to see him turn into a half-melted mess with one half like wrinkled leather and the other half like an egg.
"Understood. I accept the mission."
Takeshi picked up the scroll decisively.
"As expected of my student."
Seeing Takeshi take the mission, Hiruzen's face softened with approval.
At that, Danzō—who had been staring out at the Hokage Rock—suddenly furrowed his brow and instinctively tilted his head toward Hiruzen.
What do you mean, your student? That's my son!
If Takeshi weren't standing right there, Danzō would have shouted out to correct him.
Sensing the small shift in Danzō's posture, Hiruzen's expression changed slightly, and he added more details about the mission.
"To obtain this intel, Root suffered significant losses. So for this operation, your teammates will be assigned by me—and your status will be transferred from Root to the regular shinobi forces."
Hearing this, Takeshi paused.
Wait, does this mean I finally don't have to team up with those two boys again?
That's great news.
"Since Minato had to leave in a hurry, the rest of his Team 7 is still in the village. I heard you already acted as their temporary leader during the battle with Kumogakure, so you should be able to work well with them."
Just as Takeshi was thinking Hiruzen might assign him a proper team this time, the next sentence froze him on the spot.
Team 7?
So that means...
Same battlefield, different timeline... our great comrade Obito will now perform a live demo of what it's like to get crushed by legendary falling rocks?
"That's right. Starting today, you're the leader of Team 7."
...
The next morning.
"Sorry, sorry! I'm late again…"
As usual, Obito clasped his hands together to apologize before he'd even arrived properly—but halfway through his apology, he seemed to realize something was off and looked up to inspect the scene.
Rin stood with her hands behind her back, smiling at him.
Kakashi wore his usual smug expression, leaning against a wooden post on the training field.
But... where was the captain?
"Congrats, Obito. We've been teammates for nearly a year, and this is the first time you're not the last one to show up."
Kakashi glanced over at Obito and said dryly.
"Of course, Kakashi. I'm making progress too—wait a sec, why does it feel like you're mocking me?"
Obito responded naturally at first, then realized halfway through that something didn't feel right.
"Forget 'feels like'—I am mocking you."
Looking at his dumbfounded teammate, Kakashi sighed, genuinely worried for Obito's intelligence.
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo