Takeshi couldn't care less about the mess left behind by their actions.
At this moment, completely ignoring Kakuzu's objections, he found a decent-looking cruise ship in the Land of Craftsmen and bought four tickets, each costing twenty thousand ryō.
As expected, after buying the tickets, Kakuzu immediately began his endless grumbling.
"You brat, you've pocketed all the money from Craftsmen Ninja Village, and you're still stingy about the price of these few tickets?"
Unable to stand Kakuzu's constant nagging anymore, Takeshi finally snapped after finding a quiet spot on the ship.
Seriously, all he did was force Kakuzu to settle the bill, and the guy had been complaining about it for three days straight.
"That was eighty thousand ryō! Eighty thousand! Kid, do you know how long I could make that last?!"
Kakuzu roared in a low voice.
Fine, if tickets had to be bought, so be it. But why did he have to be the one paying?!
He would rather jump overboard and swim back to the Land of Fire than sit on this wretched ship!
"If you keep this up, I'll have to use Five Release: Great Combo Technique."
Seeing Kakuzu so stubborn, Takeshi's mouth twitched as he simply laid his cards on the table.
"I'm not afraid of your threats!"
Kakuzu spat out his retort and turned away.
"Where are you going?"
Watching Kakuzu act against his words, Takeshi couldn't resist teasing him.
"I'm going back to the cabin to count my money!"
So, Kakuzu was scared of dying after all.
The rest of the journey went surprisingly smoothly. Kakuzu stayed holed up in his room the whole time and never once came out to bother Takeshi.
When the cruise finally docked, Kakuzu didn't even say goodbye. With a dark face, he prepared to head back toward Kitachu Town.
...
"I really wish I could be like them, leading a team to the border on missions."
At the Konoha gate post, after watching Ebisu's squad leave, Kamizuki Izumo's face showed longing.
Ever since being promoted to chūnin, he and Kotetsu had been assigned by the Fourth Hokage to the Intelligence Division, occasionally serving as gatekeepers.
Kamizuki Izumo (left) and Hagane Kotetsu (right).
Meanwhile, Ebisu, after his own promotion, was assigned as a squad leader, guiding a few genin on missions.
"Had I known, I wouldn't have gone to the Torture and Interrogation Division."
Kotetsu paused his cleaning of the gatehouse when he heard Izumo's complaint.
"Among our peers, we're probably the ones doing the worst."
As the two of them grumbled, they heard unfamiliar footsteps approaching from outside the village.
"Who's that?"
Izumo leaned out, ready to check the newcomer's identity and remind them to register.
"The logbook is right there. Remember to hand it over to them."
Kotetsu picked up his mop, planning to resume cleaning.
"Stop cleaning, Kotetsu!"
As Izumo's partner in spirit, Kotetsu instantly heard the tension in his voice and looked out with confusion.
"What, I thought it was Hokage-sama… oh, it's Takeshi… Takeshi!"
When Takeshi approached, the two of them stood stiffly outside the gatehouse, clearly greeting him formally.
As the distance closed, Takeshi recognized them as well.
"Hagane Kotetsu, Kamizuki Izumo?"
They were about the same age, and given that these two even had minor roles in the original story, Takeshi quickly recalled who they were.
They were rumored to be the "Gate Gods" of Konoha. Even Pain didn't dare enter through the front gate because of them.
Of course, that was only a joke.
"Welcome back, Takeshi!" ×2
Kotetsu handed over the registry to Takeshi with both hands.
Izumo, on the other hand, curiously studied the two children following behind Takeshi—especially the white-haired Kimimaro.
Why was this boy wearing such a loose shirt, showing his chest at such a young age? Looked like he wasn't local.
Noticing Izumo's gaze, Kimimaro stared back expressionlessly.
"Um, Takeshi, these two are…?"
Respecting his duty, Izumo asked about their identities.
"These are my two younger brothers."
Takeshi casually gave the answer he had already prepared.
Younger… brothers?!
Izumo's mouth twitched. He was about to laugh it off as a joke when he noticed Haku standing next to Kimimaro.
That face… really did resemble Takeshi's.
His twitching stopped immediately. Izumo's brain began to race.
Everyone knew Takeshi's father was Shimura Danzō.
And now, these two boys were Takeshi's brothers.
Which meant…
"Did we just hear something we weren't supposed to?"
After Takeshi and the boys walked away, Izumo slowly turned to Kotetsu, tears gushing from his eyes.
Father, Mother, forgive me… your son just got promoted to chūnin and already has to be silenced!
"What?" Kotetsu was still clueless.
Wasn't it just Takeshi bringing back two brothers? What was the big deal?
"Don't you get it? If these two are Takeshi's brothers, why have we never heard of them before in the village? And why did Takeshi bring them back from outside the village?!"
Izumo's face was full of frustration at Kotetsu's slowness.
"Which means… these two are Danzō-sama's illegitimate children, here to compete with Takeshi for inheritance!"
...
Thanks to Izumo's explanation, Kotetsu finally understood the situation.
"If we already know about something this private, Danzō-sama definitely won't let us live, not when such a scandal could leak!"
Kotetsu's panic became obvious.
Their discussion was so loud that returning shinobi like Yūhi Shinku and Hakuyun Sōken heard every word.
Yūhi Shinku, being Yūhi Kurenai's father and a senior jōnin of the village, managed to stay calm upon hearing such news.
But Hakuyun Sōken was still young, and his team members even younger. Before long, the rumor spread across Konoha at lightning speed.
It quickly reached the ears of Aburame Tatsuma.
...
When Takeshi returned home, he found Shisui and Yamato standing against the wall with their heads lowered. On a nearby seat, Danzō sat with a furious face, and Aburame Tatsuma stood behind him.
"Why are you two standing there?"
Curious, Takeshi looked at Shisui and Yamato, but without getting any answers, he brought the two kids forward to Danzō.
"So these are my illegitimate children?"
Before Takeshi could say anything, Danzō spoke the words Takeshi himself had planned to use.
"Eh? How did you know?"
Takeshi was dumbfounded. Had his old man gone to study under Yamanaka Akira? How did he find out so fast?!
"What do you think?"
Danzō, having received his "answer," nodded and reached for his waist, drawing out a kunai.
Wait… why do I feel a chill down my back?
Takeshi shivered, a bad premonition gnawing at him.