Takeshi had left a Flying Thunder God seal on Naruto's body.
The reason for this was simple—after Naruto turned one, Minato returned to his usual relentless work schedule.
Kushina found it exhausting to take care of the child alone, so she pulled the often-visiting Takeshi into the fray as a helper.
To make things easier, Takeshi left a Flying Thunder God seal on Naruto so he could rush over immediately if anything happened.
Bringing Itachi along, Takeshi arrived at Naruto's side. Little Naruto and Karin were already used to Takeshi's sudden appearances and disappearing acts. Focused on building their snowman, they simply glanced in Takeshi's direction before continuing their work.
Only Sasuke was off to the side, tossing around a wooden shuriken crafted by Yamato.
"Brother?!"
Seeing his big brother arrive, Sasuke immediately threw the shuriken aside and joyfully leapt into Itachi's arms.
"What about me, what about me, Sasuke? I'm here too."
Takeshi opened his arms wide, smiling cheerfully as he waited for Sasuke's reaction.
"Hmph, not interested."
Sasuke turned his head away with a tsundere pout, clinging tightly to Itachi's waist and refusing to let go.
"Ah, fine then. Your Takeshi-nii has important things to do anyway."
Takeshi put on a dramatically disappointed expression and turned to leave.
"F-Fine, since you're leaving anyway... I guess I can..."
Hearing that Takeshi was about to go, Sasuke hurriedly let go of Itachi, shuffled over bashfully, and gave him a hug.
Takeshi, triumphant: Messing with kids is too fun.
Isobu: Immature brat.
"Anyway, Itachi, thanks for watching the kids. I've got more important stuff to handle."
Takeshi shamelessly dumped the childcare duty onto Itachi without a trace of guilt.
Itachi could only respond with an awkward yet polite smile.
"Ugh, my brain... I should've told you to change clothes."
Noticing Itachi's hands turning red from the cold after getting wet earlier, Takeshi slapped his forehead in realization. Finally remembering the frigid weather, he hurriedly took off his jacket and tossed it to Itachi.
"No need to thank me. I'm off!"
Gently prying Sasuke's arms off him, Takeshi vanished with what he thought was a stylish move.
"Takeshi-nii is so childish. It feels like he's never grown up."
Hearing Takeshi leave, Naruto turned his head and put on a mock mature expression.
"Mhm, Naruto is totally right." Karin nodded in agreement beside him.
Itachi: You've only known him for a few years. I've followed him around for so long. Do I ever complain? Boohoo...
Pulling Takeshi's jacket around himself, breathing in its familiar scent, Itachi nodded contentedly.
Thank goodness he actually did laundry. In this freezing weather, if he'd had to wear someone else's dirty clothes, it would've been the worst luck ever.
"Brother, teach me how to throw shuriken!"
Watching Takeshi disappear, a brief look of disappointment flashed across Sasuke's face. But the moment he turned to Itachi, his spirits lifted again. Grabbing his hand, he eagerly dragged him to teach shuriken-throwing skills.
...
An hour later.
Gazing at his finished creation, Naruto was filled with pride.
"Mm, this snowman's awesome, right, Karin?"
"Mhm!"
Receiving full approval from his little sister, Naruto held his head even higher.
Just as he excitedly prepared to show off his masterpiece to Sasuke and Itachi, a voice from a distance caught his attention.
"If you're a Hyūga, then show us your Byakugan already!"
"Yeah! Eww, those eyes are so gross."
"Monster, monster, creepy little monster girl!"
Three bratty kids were standing some distance away, cornering a little girl.
Behold: Konoha's finest street bullies, making their grand debut.
This was Konoha's specialty. From insulting the police force to driving White Fang to death, and now harassing the Hyūga clan's daughter for no reason—Konoha's brats were unmatched.
"Hey! What are you guys doing?"
Curious, Naruto brought Karin along and walked toward the three brats. Soon, he saw Hinata trapped in the corner.
A very cute little girl.
That was Naruto's first impression of Hinata.
"None of your business, stupid blondie. Get lost."
The largest of the three kids turned and glared at Naruto without an ounce of politeness.
His buddy noticed Karin's red hair and sneered in disgust.
"Eww, gross hair color. Even scarier than this freaky-eyed monster."
Hearing that, Hinata lowered her head even further, tears welling in her eyes.
"You little—!"
Hearing them insult her hair, Karin's expression changed. Just as she stepped forward to confront them, Naruto had already charged in fists-first.
"Apologize to my sister, you jerk! Her red hair's just like our mom's—it's the most beautiful color in the world!"
Naruto punched the kid in the face, instantly drawing blood from his nose.
Seeing their friend get decked, the other two brats froze for a moment, then quickly rushed in to help.
But before they could act, one of them was yanked to the ground by Karin, who grabbed his collar with surprising strength for such a delicate-looking girl.
"What the heck is going on?!"
In the blink of an eye, only one of the three brats was still standing.
One was pinned by Naruto, tasting what it felt like to have a face full of fists.
The other was being yanked around by Karin, who had a tight grip on his hair, ripping it out strand by strand.
"Damn it!" Glancing between Naruto and Karin, the last brat standing decided to go for Karin and charged at her.
"Stop."
Just as his fist was about to land, Itachi—having noticed the commotion—finally stepped in and grabbed the brat's wrist.
"Who the heck are you?! Let go of me! My dad is—"
The brat struggled, but quickly realized that the person holding him was both older and incredibly strong. His tone weakened with every word.
...
"So what's even fun about this thing?"
In the casino, Takeshi had found Tsunade, who was clearly slacking off during work hours. He'd been watching for a while but still couldn't understand the appeal.
"What do you know, brat? It's all about technique."
Ignoring Takeshi completely, Tsunade kept her full focus on the gambling table.
"Sigh, alright. But Tsunade-san, you still need to teach me how to train the Strength of a Hundred Seal."
Looking helpless, Takeshi didn't even know what to say anymore.
You're the one who called me here. You're also the one who's trying to kick me out. So what am I even here for?
"Oh, that? Hold on."
She casually pulled out a scroll from her chest and tossed it at him.
Feeling the warmth still lingering on the scroll, even Takeshi didn't dare ask where exactly she'd been storing it.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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