Compared to when Takeshi had left, the scenery of Konoha hadn't changed much.
The most noticeable change was the addition of a new face carved into the Hokage Rock.
Takeshi loitered along the street for a while, still unsure how to face his old man when they met again, when a soft and sweet voice suddenly rang out behind him:
"Takeshi-oniisan?"
"Hmm?"
He instinctively responded, turned around, and saw a graceful-looking woman holding the hand of a child.
"Itachi, huh."
Seeing that familiar little face, Takeshi couldn't help but step forward and pinch his cheeks. Only then did he realize the woman beside him must be…
The only person who could be walking through the streets with Itachi at this time would have to be Uchiha Mikoto.
Fugaku was really lucky. With that face alone, he'd managed to marry such a lovely wife.
Sasuke's good looks were entirely thanks to Mikoto's genes.
"Oniisan?"
Hearing her son call Takeshi that, Mikoto looked a little surprised, raising her hand to cover her mouth.
This adorable little guy is actually a boy?
Half resisting and half indulging Takeshi's pinch, Itachi only remembered to introduce them once Takeshi stopped.
"Mom, this is Takeshi-oniisan..."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Shimura Takeshi." Takeshi raised his head to look up at Uchiha Mikoto and offered a smile along with his hand.
"I'm Uchiha Mikoto. Thank you for taking care of Itachi."
"Not at all, Mikoto-san."
With a single sentence, Takeshi instantly lowered Itachi's status.
Puffing out his cheeks ever so slightly, Itachi clearly wasn't pleased about being demoted like that.
They exchanged a few brief words, and from their conversation, Takeshi learned why they were out.
They were heading to the hospital for some checkups.
Hospital? Checkups?
Wait a second... Could it be...
Takeshi's eyes instinctively drifted toward Mikoto's belly.
If that's the case, then Kushina-san...
Is it coming? The Nine-Tails Incident?
After parting ways with Mikoto and Itachi, Takeshi no longer had the mental energy to figure out how to bluff Danzo. Instead, his thoughts turned to the Uchiha who had ambushed him last time.
There was a high chance those guys would try something here. He needed to warn Sakumo and Minato so they could be fully prepared.
No, actually, it'd be best to call Kakuzu and Pakura back too, so everyone could stand against them together.
"Takeshi?"
Another familiar voice called out. The moment he lifted his head, Takeshi saw a flash of yellow.
Speak of the devil. Standing right in front of him was none other than Namikaze Minato.
"Minato-san." So focused on Minato, Takeshi didn't even notice the person behind him.
"What, you only see Captain Minato?" Kakashi's tone wasn't exactly friendly.
It wasn't until Kakashi spoke that Takeshi noticed the white-clad figure behind Minato. He immediately looked apologetic.
"Sorry, Kakashi, I didn't see you just now."
"Is that all?" Kakashi didn't let up and walked over to stand beside Takeshi, his face cold.
"Uh… is there something else?" Takeshi looked away, desperately trying to figure out if he'd offended Kakashi in the past.
Suddenly, he felt a light knock on the head. Kakashi's grumbling voice followed:
"You disappeared for more than half a year without a word—do you even care about your teammates?"
Hey, don't blame me. Blame Tsunade! She only gave me one day!
Although Takeshi wanted to defend himself, he wisely kept his mouth shut.
"Honestly… even that idiot Obito at least said goodbye before he left." When Takeshi didn't reply, Kakashi brought up Obito to compare.
"Sorry, things were really urgent at the time." Takeshi put on a pained expression, looking all pitiful and wronged.
Seeing that face, all of Kakashi's built-up complaints vanished instantly.
He wasn't really the sentimental type. It was just that after not seeing Takeshi for so long, he didn't know how to start the conversation.
"Welcome back." He extended his hand as he spoke, silently grumbling to himself—this kind of thing really didn't suit his personality.
"I'm back!" Takeshi dropped all pretense in an instant and grinned broadly, clasping Kakashi's hand in return.
"Guess I didn't hit you hard enough. Take another punch!"
"Hey, come on, Kakashi, don't mess around!"
...
"By the way, where are you two headed?" After the playful scuffle, Takeshi finally remembered to ask what they were doing.
Kakashi glanced at Minato, who gave a small nod, indicating it was fine to explain. So Kakashi told him:
"We're heading to Beichū Town to investigate something."
"Oh, Beichū Town, huh… Pfft!" The name struck Takeshi belatedly, and when it hit him, he almost choked on his own spit.
"What, you've been there before?" Kakashi's sharp eye instantly picked up on Takeshi's subtle expression.
"Well… I passed through during training. Heard a noble died there recently."
"Yeah, that's what we're looking into." Minato nodded.
Hearing that, Takeshi grew even more uneasy.
Why was it that his dad had done this kind of stuff for years and no one batted an eye, but the moment he tried it once, the whole village came running?
Hiruzen: Good student, that's because your dad had me—his best buddy—covering for him!
"Have you found anything yet?" Takeshi immediately regretted asking the moment the words left his mouth.
Why ask that? Isn't that just giving yourself away?
Thankfully, both Minato and Kakashi had known Takeshi for years, and weren't surprised. After all, he was always curious and scatterbrained.
"Not really. Seems like it was the local mountain bandits."
This was a good moment to praise Aburame Tatsuma's professionalism.
Not long after cleaning up the scene, Root operatives had patched up all the loose ends. Even someone as sharp as Minato hadn't noticed anything strange.
But even more impressive was Minato's speed. He'd left at the same time as the Root ninjas and returned to the village even faster than Takeshi after finishing his investigation.
The title "Yellow Flash" was well earned.
The fastest man in the ninja world really was fast at everything!
Thank goodness. Minato hadn't discovered anything unusual.
Having gotten the answer he wanted, Takeshi lost interest in continuing the conversation. Right now, he only cared about one thing: was there any movement in Kushina's belly?
But asking something like that directly would be far too rude.
He'd have to find a more roundabout way to ask.
"Oh right, Takeshi, you're free at the moment, right?" Just as Takeshi was about to take his leave, Minato called out to him.
"I need to go report in to the Fourth Hokage. Could you do me a favor and deliver this local specialty to Kushina?"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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