And so Unohana issued Haruto a new mission which Haruto quickly checked with excitement.
Mission Aim : Create a new jutsu for offence or defence.
Mission Assigned By : Unohana Retsu.
Mission Reward : Unohana Retsu's Knowledge About Bakudo Number four, Hainawa.
'....will the Bakudo bind the soul or the body though?'
'...'
Haruto suddenly felt excited to earn the Bakudo… for if it could bind the soul directly, that would give him a rather unique jutsu in his arsenal. Perhaps modifying it would allow him to deal with cockroaches like Orochimaru who wouldn't die no matter what was thrown at them.
With that Haruto finally got into work mode, "Alright then… what kind of jutsu should I make then?"
"Explosion!!" Megumin directly suggested causing Haruto to giggle softly, "Is there anything else in that head of yours?"
"Explosion!!!"
"Fine… I'll see what I can do regarding explosions…"
Haruto closed his eyes and sat down under the tree, concentrating on thinking about a new idea.
***
Danzo sat patiently behind his desk, waiting for the people he'd sent some ANBU to fetch, quietly.
Soon there was a knock on the door and Danzo spoke in his gruff voice, "Enter."
The door opened quietly, a testament to whoever had oiled its hinges, and in entered three clan heads that looked like they'd be anywhere but here.
The three kneeled on the floor quickly with their heads bowed awaiting orders.
"Did you really think you could go behind my back and deliver the scroll to Tsunade and Jiraya?" Danzo started, opening with a direct accusation.
Shikaku remained steady, he'd already simulated this scenario in his head a million times before, nothing Danzo said would surprise him anymore, he'd already figured out what Danzo wanted them to do.
It wasn't anything as fancy as taking their own lives or killing their children with their own hands, no Danzo was scheming something deeper.
However what else could Danzo ask of them? That was the main question to which Shikaku already had an answer. And since Shikaku knew what Danzo was scheming, Danzo was going to be rolling in his palm whether he liked it or not.
Shikaku trembled just the right amount to show his fear as he whispered in a pained tone, "It was all I could do… I will accept any punishment for this sin, please don't punish our child-"
"Hmpf. Drop the act… I can see through your fake sorrow like the clear sky…"
Shikaku looked up in surprise and shock, of course, even this was acting. He'd been sloppy before on purpose to direct Danzo to reveal his true intentions.
Danzo wasn't a great Shinobi, at least not the one he used to be during the first and second Shinobi wars. He was old, he was rotting, he was festering and he was degrading.
Shikaku knew everything about Danzo, from his tiniest habits that he'd picked up during the multiple Jonin meetings in the past, to the newest habits that Danzo had gained after becoming the Hokage, like his rather relaxed posture as if nothing could threaten him anymore.
Shikaku had even figured out that Danzo had been hiding his poor eye sight much like the Third Hokage.
But Danzo on the other hand had grossly underestimated Shikaku. Or at least it appeared so.
Danzo looked at Shikaku's shocked expression in silence and nearly smirked, but he controlled himself at the last second and spoke in an even tone once again.
"Of course, now that you've committed a crime that goes against the Hokage's actions I will give you a choice."
"A choice, Hokage-sama?" Shikaku's tone quivered just a tiny bit, as if he was afraid of whatever he was anticipating.
Both Inoichi and Choza looked up at once, this had been their cue to act their part and they did their best to look afraid. Which wasn't very hard given they were both strong Jonin of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
"Yes, a choice…" Danzo nodded and extended his free hand outwards, which was holding a small scroll. A ROOT shinobi appeared there and picked up the scroll before walking towards Shikaku and handing it over to him.
Shikaku quickly unfurled the scroll in a hurry and read its contents.
Only, as soon as he absorbed the contents his eyes widened in horror.
"But-"
"Either you do what's in the scroll or you give up your child… that's your choice." Danzo said, finally with a smirk.
Shikaku put on a strained and extremely troubled expression as he gazed at Inoichi and Choza. Both met his eyes and showed an equally pitiful expression, as if urging him to accept whatever Danzo had ordered him to do without arguing because their child's life was on the line.
Shikaku finally looked at Danzo and spoke in a saddened tone, "We'll bear the Cursed Tongue Eradication seal for you Danzo-sama and then I'll help you slaughter the Uchiha… our clans will give everything we've got for this operation."
"Good… you finally understand your position here…" Danzo started before making another equally ridiculous demand, "Did you really think I wouldn't find out that you used Kakashi to make deals with the Hyuga?" Danzo said.
Shikaku's expression became even more pitiful. He looked like someone had kicked his dog and shot it in the head in front of him.
Danzo's smirk widened as he continued speaking, "Whatever you do… attempt to resist in any way… and I'll have your child's body delivered to you… I suppose they might even enjoy being given the sweet release of death because of what they might go through before they die."
Shikaku shivered openly, he gulped audibly and spoke with a bowed head, "Yes Danzo-sama… I promise we will deliver ourselves to you by the end of this week. Please give us this time to spend our last days with our families."
Danzo's smirk reached its peak as he commanded with a wave of his hand, signaling them to leave, "As you wish."
Only, Danzo hadn't realised that Shikaku was internally smirking as well.
***
Haruto's eyes snapped open.
His eyes went wide and a smirk showed up on his face.
"Is it another explosion!?" Megumin asked curiously from a distance.
The Template characters were all sitting a little away from Haruto because they were all playing cards that Grindelwald had transfigured along with Edward from the ground and didn't want to disturb Haruto.
Haruto's smirk widened and he nodded, "I think you guys are going to love this one!"
"OOOHHHH!!! What is it!? What is it!? Tell me!! Tell me!!! Tell meee!!!" Megumin jumped up, dropping all her cards since she was about to lose anyway.
Everyone else perked up too, hoping to listen to what Haruto had been cooking in the last few minutes.
"You wanna know!?" Haruto asked Megumin in a teasing manner and she nodded eagerly. But then Haruto just laughed, "Hahaha~ It's a secret!"
Megumin instantly deflated before pulling out her staff and pointing it at Haruto, but Haruto ever the clever bastard directly quit the Template Inventory space to go back to his body which was sleeping outside.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" Megumin wailed directly, collapsing to the floor before beating it up like it owed her some money. Unohana and the rest of the Template Inventory inhabitants smiled softly.
On the outside, Haruto quickly opened his eyes and looked at the time.
"Damn it… it's already ten pm… I can only get balloons and rubber balls tomorrow."
***
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