In the mental space, Kushina was "training" the Nine-Tails with manic enthusiasm, all while keeping a warm and kind smile on her face.
Yamato, who had been quietly following behind Takeshi all along, couldn't help the involuntary twitching of his eyelids.
For some reason, he had a gut feeling that this cheerful woman in front of him was quite dangerous.
As a product of the Wood Release experiments, he was naturally more sensitive than the average ninja.
That's why he could sharply sense the dangerous aura radiating from Kushina. Without drawing attention, he shuffled a few steps closer to Takeshi, pressing tightly against his leg, terrified something bad might happen.
Takeshi, who didn't notice Yamato's strange behavior at all, simply assumed the kid was being clingy after not seeing him for so long. Cheerfully, he began introducing the two children to Kushina.
"This is Yamato, and this is Kabuto Yakushi.. Come on, say hi to Kushina-san!"
He pushed the two of them forward, completely unaware of the resistance in Yamato's eyes.
"What two adorable little guys. Since this is such a rare chance, why don't you stay for dinner today? It'll give you a chance to taste my cooking!"
Kushina, having just lashed the Nine-Tails with a heavy iron chain and finally vented her anger, exited the mental space and scooped the two kids up into her arms, unwilling to let go.
"But..." Kabuto still wanted to refuse. After all, compared to having dinner with this woman he'd just met, he'd rather spend time with the director and the others at the orphanage.
But Takeshi clearly wasn't going to give him that chance.
"It's fine, Kabuto. I'll go talk to Nonō-san myself. I'll also bring Itachi over while I'm at it."
And just like that, the matter was happily decided.
However, this decision brought quite the "surprise" to Fugaku.
...
Uchiha Fugaku was a busy man.
Not only was he the head of the Uchiha clan, he was also the captain of the police force.
During work hours, he had to constantly soothe the dissatisfaction of the more extreme members of the clan, while also handling the never-ending complaints from Konoha villagers about said members' rough enforcement methods.
He was mentally exhausted—but at least he still had a beautiful wife and a cute son.
When he finally made it to the end of his shift, Fugaku couldn't wait to leave the police HQ, full of joy as he walked home.
That's when he saw a face that looked both familiar and unfamiliar.
The little girl standing in front of his house—why did she look so familiar?
Was this another annoying villager too afraid to complain directly, so they sent their child instead?
Heaven knows, ever since the Fourth Hokage took office, the extremist faction within the Uchiha had toned it down a lot.
The number of violent enforcement cases had dropped from triple digits daily to double digits.
That was serious progress!
Seriously, why couldn't these villagers be a little more understanding? Even after work hours, they still came to bother him!
Fugaku felt like if this kept up, even he might be forced into becoming an Uchiha extremist himself.
And what were the gate guards of the clan compound even doing? Just letting anyone waltz right in?!
How did this person get all the way to his front door?
"Ah, isn't this Captain Fugaku? Long time no see."
Just as Fugaku was racking his brain for how to get rid of this kid, Takeshi greeted him with the soft, neutral tone typical of his age.
"Hm? Long time no see? And you are...?" Fugaku was caught off guard. He could count on one hand how many times he'd seen this child, so of course he couldn't recall the name.
"You really are forgetful. I'm Shimura Takeshi. Thank you for assigning Shisui to protect me."
Seeing that Fugaku genuinely didn't recognize him, Takeshi didn't beat around the bush and stated his name directly.
[Tsk tsk, Isobu, look at this guy. He's not even that much older than Mikoto-san, but standing next to her, he looks like her dad.]
[Isobu: Hm, let me see... That's true.]
Even Isobu, for once, agreed with Takeshi's opinion.
Shimura... Takeshi?
Fugaku didn't even need to hear the full name. Just hearing the surname "Shimura" nearly made his back give out.
No wonder the guards at the gate had let this kid through so easily.
I mean, just look at this kid's background.
Disciple of the Third Hokage, son of a Hokage advisor, one of Konoha's youngest jōnin, hero of the Third Shinobi World War, destroyer of Kannabi Bridge—any one of these titles would let him soar among the jōnin.
Not to mention...
A member of the Uchiha clan had once ambushed him on the battlefield.
Just thinking about that gave Fugaku a massive headache.
To appease Danzō, he'd not only offered up the clan's genius Shisui but also his own son.
Originally, he'd been happy that after the war, Takeshi had left the village—meaning his son wouldn't have to trail behind the Shimura clan.
But now, only a year later, this brat was back.
Inside, Fugaku was a raging storm of emotions, but outwardly, his face remained expressionless. His voice, however, was a bit tight:
"So it's Takeshi. Yes, long time no see—I almost didn't recognize you."
As Fugaku was pondering what to say next, his son, Uchiha Itachi, had already changed clothes, bid his mother farewell, and walked over to Takeshi's side.
Takeshi naturally took Itachi's hand, waved his other hand to Mikoto with a smile, and gave Fugaku a small nod—ending the conversation between them.
Fugaku: ???
What just happened?
Why didn't my son greet me and instead went off with some stranger?
Okay, not exactly a stranger... but still...
And Fugaku knew his son's personality very well.
That precocious child didn't even like holding hands with his parents when they went out together.
What the hell?
Watching the two of them walk away together, Fugaku could only stand helplessly at the door, not even registering Mikoto's worried calls beside him.
...
"Today I'm taking you to meet a strong kunoichi. Her name is Uzumaki Kushina. You must remember—don't make her angry, understand?"
On the way, Takeshi patiently introduced Kushina to Itachi.
"Okay."
Itachi nodded, trying to pull his hand away from Takeshi.
He didn't really like physical contact with others, especially not in public—it was embarrassing.
But Takeshi had no intention of letting go. Whether intentionally or not, he gripped even tighter.
Seeing no way to subtly break free, Itachi sighed inwardly and gave in.
Hmph, trying to resist me, huh.
Takeshi, who had been watching Itachi's little moves closely, turned his head and showed a triumphant smirk.
[Isobu: Is my Jinchūriki maybe a bit too childish?]