"HAHAHA, I never thought you'd actually take on a disciple. Good, Uchiha Itachi, was it? From now on, you'll train under me!"
Before Itachi could even respond, Guy forcefully slung an arm around him, ready to drag him along into his own intense training.
That very night, news spread across the entire Konoha that Uchiha Itachi had been spotted walking upside down on his hands through the village streets—alongside a strange man in a tight green jumpsuit.
When Uchiha Fugaku heard this, it felt as if the sky had collapsed.
A lifetime of bending his back in restraint had finally snapped.
One must always trust their first instinct—Fugaku had felt from the start that something was a little off about this arrangement.
Now it seemed… not just a little off, but infinitely off.
"Brother really became Takeshi-san's disciple?"
Sasuke looked up at Itachi with innocent, curious eyes.
"That's right, Sasuke."
Itachi, who had been recalling Guy's words of advice from earlier that day, smiled fondly at his younger brother.
"That's great. Someday I want to become Takeshi-san's disciple too."
Sasuke never imagined how devastating his innocent words were to his father.
Fugaku clutched his stomach in pain, his expression twisted in agony.
Mikoto, worried, looked at him. "Dear..."
"I'm fine. Just… a fishbone stuck in my throat."
Feeling his wife's gaze, Fugaku forced himself to straighten, waving it off as though nothing was wrong.
...
Elsewhere, Haku's face lit up with envy when he heard the news.
"I want Nii-san to guide me in ninjutsu training too."
"Don't worry, there'll be a chance."
Takeshi gently placed a piece of fish into Haku's bowl, then added one for Kimimaro as well.
Yamato, meanwhile, silently clutched his stomach, unwilling to speak.
After slaving away all day for these three brothers, why didn't he get the same treatment?
Takeshi, however, was already deep in thought about the boys' education.
Kimimaro would be easy to handle—thanks to the materials he had borrowed from the Kaguya clan via Kakuzu, there was no need to worry about teaching him secret techniques.
As for Kimimaro's hereditary disease, with both Orochimaru and Tsunade present in the village, combined with the Kaguya clan's own medical inheritance, Takeshi believed it wouldn't be a problem to cure him.
Haku, on the other hand, would be more difficult. Without his mother's scrolls, Haku would have to learn ninjutsu developed entirely by Takeshi himself.
But Takeshi's Ice Release techniques… well, even he admitted most were rather crude—powered mainly by overwhelming chakra rather than refined methods.
Still, there was a solution. Having studied under Hiruzen, Takeshi only needed to refine the hand seals and chakra flow to make his Ice Release techniques more suitable for Haku.
"First, focus on learning the theory. Then we'll consider the ninjutsu."
Danzo's voice cut in abruptly, ruining the mood.
"Understood." Haku nodded obediently.
Takeshi grumbled inwardly.
So biased.
Even if Haku wasn't his biological son, he bore the Shimura name now. What was wrong with letting him learn some ninjutsu?
To Takeshi, Danzo's insistence on "building a strong foundation" was nothing more than fear that Haku might one day surpass him.
No, Takeshi resolved—he'd have to find a chance to secretly give Haku private lessons.
If Danzo ever found out his well-meaning efforts were being interpreted like this by his "foolish son," he would surely explode in rage and draw a kunai immediately.
...
Time passed quickly.
One day, Takeshi received a message from the Anbu: the Fourth Hokage had summoned him.
It had been a long time since such a summons.
When Takeshi arrived at the office, he found many other Konoha shinobi gathered as well.
Hakuyun Sōken entered, and upon seeing that everyone had arrived, Sakumo explained the purpose of this meeting.
With years of recovery, Konoha had finally cast off the shadow of the Third Shinobi World War and the Uchiha attack. Thus, the pursuit of the two unidentified Uchiha had now been placed on the agenda again.
Until now, their movements had been investigated by the Anbu, but with little success.
This time, Sakumo decided to dispatch several squads of jōnin, who would search along the Fire Country's borders for any trace of the two.
"The rosters of each team and the opponents' known abilities have already been distributed. I trust you will not bring shame to Konoha's name. Protect yourselves well. That is all."
With Sakumo's authoritative voice echoing behind them, Takeshi and the others left the office.
"Kakashi, who are your teammates?"
Takeshi waved him over as Kakashi strolled up.
"Tokikan, Toriichi Kumade, and some Uchiha called Tekka. All chūnin. What about you?"
Takeshi unrolled his own scroll and openly showed Kakashi the names.
"All people I don't know."
"Shimon, Akimichi Shitō, Tobitake Tonbo."
"You don't know Tobitake Tonbo? The guy in the class next door, with bandages wrapped around his head? We sparred against him once."
Seeing the name, Kakashi reminded him.
"Huh? There was such a person?"
Takeshi struggled to recall.
Bandages around the head?
Wait… wasn't that basically Momochi Zabuza?
"Time's up. I need to head over."
Glancing at the clock, Kakashi didn't linger. Like the other jōnin, he used Shunshin and disappeared.
...
Training Ground 25.
Takeshi's team members had arrived early, already waiting when he showed up.
"Yo, you're all pretty early."
A swirl of green leaves and wind burst into the training ground, scattering away to reveal Takeshi standing tall at the center.
Konoha's Shunshin—an entrance with a bit of flair.
Glancing at the three in front of him, Takeshi finally understood what Kakashi had meant about "the bandages." Tobitake Tonbo looked like a half-wrapped mummy. If you gave him Zabuza's gear on top, he'd be a full-blown walking corpse.
"Alright, everyone. Let's start with introductions. I'm Shimura Takeshi. I specialize in all five elemental releases as well as Ice Release. That's all."
His introduction was brief, but covered the essentials.
"Tobitake Tonbo. Chūnin. Member of the Analysis Team. I specialize in sensory abilities, intelligence gathering, genjutsu, and memory-reading techniques."
"Shimon. Chūnin. Member of the Intelligence Division. I specialize in tracking traces. I also know some basic Water Release."
"Akimichi Shitō. Special Jōnin. I specialize in the Multi-Size Technique and taijutsu."
After hearing the introductions, Takeshi had a basic grasp of his squad.
A standard-issue search team.
The two chūnin couldn't be counted on for combat power.
Akimichi Shitō would serve as the frontline fighter, while Takeshi himself would need to play the role of the main attacker.
Absentmindedly, Takeshi twirled his Flying Thunder God kunai between his fingers.
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo