A modest wooden hut with no excessive decorations, only some large calligraphy characters hanging on the wall—which Takeshi couldn't understand—and a plain tea set.
This was the place where Hyūga Hiashi received Takeshi.
"Thank you very much for your help in this incident, Takeshi-san."
Hyūga Hiashi leaned forward slightly, expressing his gratitude to Takeshi with what appeared to be sincere politeness.
An average jōnin wouldn't receive such a warm welcome. At best, they'd be dismissed at the entrance to the clan grounds.
After all, in the original story, even someone like Yūhi Kurenai—who had already been promoted to jōnin—had never received genuine recognition from this man.
But Hiashi's apparent sincerity was just that—apparent.
Unlike Hinata's eyes, which revealed timidity and vulnerability, Hiashi's gaze remained filled with pride, as if his courtesy was a great favor granted to Takeshi.
In his mind, even if the Shimura clan had someone in high office like Danzō, they still couldn't compare to the long and prestigious legacy of the Hyūga.
Even someone as slow on the uptake as Takeshi could sense the unwelcoming aura radiating from the man.
"The medical bills for those children—I'll send someone to the hospital to take care of them," Hiashi said, pouring the brewed tea into a cup and gently sliding it toward Takeshi.
"Is that so." Takeshi didn't agree nor disagree. He had no intention of paying that bill anyway. If Nobi Matsu had any sense, he wouldn't have dared ask him for it in the first place.
But if the Hyūga clan wanted to foot the bill, then by all means.
Let the unfortunate hospital director deal with it.
Takeshi picked up the small teacup, blew on it slightly, and unceremoniously downed it in one gulp.
This brat...
Hiashi's brows twitched slightly.
Such poor manners—he was even worse than his father, Danzō.
"Since Takeshi-san has no objections, I'll proceed accordingly."
Not wanting to engage in further conversation with this uncouth fellow, Hiashi subtly signaled that it was time for Takeshi to leave.
One Takeshi was bad enough—but he even brought two Uchiha with him.
Casting a sharp glance toward the courtyard where Hinata stood beside Naruto, looking lost and nervous, Hiashi barked,
"Have you finished today's training?!"
"N-No..."
Startled out of her daze from staring at Naruto's profile, Hinata shuddered at the sound of her father's stern voice. Not daring to meet his eyes, she trembled and answered quietly.
"Then what are you waiting for?! Go train!"
Grabbing the staff that symbolized his position as head of the family, Hiashi completely ignored the kids standing beside Hinata and turned his gaze toward Takeshi, who still showed no sign of leaving.
"Yes..." Guided by a servant, Hinata quietly left the courtyard.
"I've long heard the Hyūga clan holds strict traditions. Seems the rumors were right, Hiashi-sama."
Pouring himself another cup of tea, Takeshi—already lacking any respect for Hiashi—made no effort to hide the sarcasm in his tone.
"A ninja clan should be run this way."
Hiashi coldly snorted, detecting the veiled jab in Takeshi's words, and grew even more displeased with this rude guest.
And yet the man just kept pouring himself more tea, completely ignoring the unspoken order to leave.
You won't go? Fine—I'll go!
Leaning on his staff, Hiashi turned and left the room.
...
"What a quaint old building. Looks grand and imposing."
Watching Hiashi's back as he walked away, Takeshi finally stood up and patted the dust off his clothes. He strolled to the doorway and reached out to touch the massive wooden pillar.
"But I wonder... has the heartwood of these timber structures already begun to rot away with the passing of time?"
Even Itachi could catch the meaning behind Takeshi's words, let alone the Hyūga guards standing nearby.
At once, tension filled the air. Those who knew Takeshi's strength had already begun considering their options if a fight broke out—should they run, or... should they run?
Hiashi paused mid-step upon hearing that, then continued walking forward without a word.
"What a boring guy. I really thought he'd come hit me."
Takeshi shrugged at the nearby Hyūga shinobi, who looked like they were facing a life-or-death crisis. He then took the hands of the kids with him and turned to leave that unpleasant place.
...
"Sorry about that, Takeshi. That's just how the main family is."
Outside the Hyūga compound, Hyūga Iroha rushed over as soon as he heard the news.
"It's nothing. Just a bunch of fools clinging to past glories. They're no different from... ah, forget it."
Takeshi had originally wanted to say they were just as arrogant as the Uchiha, but couldn't bring himself to say it with Itachi and Sasuke present.
"You should meet Hizashi-sama sometime. Although he's Hiashi-sama's younger brother, his temperament is much more pleasant."
Iroha seemed to sense what Takeshi hadn't said, and quickly changed the topic with an awkward smile.
"Sure, if there's ever a chance."
Takeshi nodded, giving a half-hearted agreement.
...
Snowflakes began drifting from the sky.
After sending Itachi and Sasuke back to the Uchiha compound, Takeshi took Naruto and Karin and headed toward the Namikaze household.
"Naruto, Karin—just to be safe, I need to remind you both: whatever you do, don't tell Kushina-san about what happened today."
They were already in sight of the Namikaze rooftop when Takeshi finally gave in and began to lecture them.
"Huh? Why not?"
Karin looked up at Takeshi, her small eyes filled with big confusion.
"Well, how do I put it... Just imagine—if Kushina-san found out what happened, she'd definitely get furious. And if she gets mad, you two know what the consequences would be..."
Takeshi couldn't exactly admit that he'd dumped all the babysitting onto Itachi and feared Kushina would pulp him like a tomato for it.
"Yeah... you're right. Karin, we can't let Mom find out about this."
Naruto's little face scrunched up. Clearly, he'd already been on the receiving end of Kushina's wrath many times.
"Okay."
Karin nodded obediently.
"Great! When I've got time, I'll take you two to eat Ichiraku ramen."
Relieved that the issue was smoothed over, Takeshi gave a genuine smile and opened the door to the Namikaze home.
"Takeshi!"
The moment the door opened, he was met with a thunderous roar. Kushina's hair seemed to come alive, lifting like fire, as she rolled up her sleeves and marched toward him.
"Aw crap—!"
Before he could even react, Kushina had grabbed him by the collar.
"I heard Naruto got into a fight! What the hell happened? Tell me everything—now!"
"Ack! Okay, okay! I'll tell you everything!"
Not daring to look at Takeshi getting "intimately questioned" by his mom, Naruto pulled Karin toward the bathroom.
He stood on a stool, thoroughly washing his hands, then moved another stool to sit and watch Takeshi squatting on the floor and struggling to defend himself.
"Takeshi-nii, you've got no backbone at all."
Peeling the wrapper off a lollipop, Naruto handed it to Karin.
"Yeah, totally," Karin agreed sweetly as she accepted the lollipop.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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