After the "selfish son" incident, Danzo began to reflect.
That rebellious son of his seemed to have been living a little too leisurely, which was probably why he caused such a big mess.
After all, that boy carried Danzo's dream of becoming the Hokage's father. And the child was no longer young—it was about time he got in touch with Konoha's higher-level work.
Therefore, Danzo, with no burden on his conscience, went to Sakumo, hoping that he could arrange a position for Takeshi.
"I understand your request, Danzo-sama."
Sakumo, who was in the middle of directing Minato in sorting documents, nodded in agreement after hearing Danzo's request.
Indeed, the assignments given to Takeshi by the higher-ups had always been the type without fixed teammates or schedules—just wherever manpower was needed.
This led to Takeshi sometimes being incredibly busy, and other times being extremely idle.
However, though he understood, Sakumo still felt the need to point out the difficulties to Danzo.
"Right now, Konoha does indeed have many positions that need filling, but in my opinion, none of these departments are particularly suitable for Takeshi. Don't you agree?"
Handing Danzo the stack of reports from department heads complaining about lack of manpower, Sakumo forced a strained smile.
"The Intelligence Division is short one squad leader, the Interrogation Division is missing one, the Barrier Team as well…"
The Intelligence Division required dealing with large volumes of social information and code deciphering abilities. Unfortunately, Takeshi's intellect wasn't suited for such work.
The Interrogation Division's entry requirements were relatively simple, but they required a certain degree of genjutsu skill.
Coincidentally, as a jōnin without obvious weaknesses, Takeshi's genjutsu resistance was maxed out, yet his ability to use genjutsu was absolutely zero.
This fact was also reflected in his ninja file.
The Hokage or department heads would write evaluations into a subordinate's file for successors or future leaders to use as references.
Sakumo's evaluation of Takeshi was: "A powerful Konoha shinobi who requires the support of wise teammates when leading in battle."
Sarutobi Hiruzen, as Takeshi's teacher, had been even more blunt: "Exceptional combat ability, but lacking sufficient intelligence analysis skills."
As an advisor, Danzo naturally had the privilege of reviewing Takeshi's file, and he was fully aware of the evaluations from two Hokage.
Judging by Takeshi's current performance, perhaps the best choice was to remain in the village not as a loafer, but rather as a mobile fighting force.
In the end, Sakumo promised that if a suitable position came up, he would keep Takeshi in mind.
Danzo left the Hokage's office full of concern and, without realizing it, wandered to a shop selling ninja textbooks.
...
At home, Takeshi woke up yawning as usual, stretching lazily in bed. His right hand brushed against the neatly folded bedding stacked by Kimimaro.
"Oh, right. I really shouldn't make such big movements anymore."
Seeing the bedding reminded Takeshi that two little ones also slept in his bed. But it seemed they had already woken up. After scanning the room and finding no trace of them, he went to the living room.
Yamato sat there, a piece of bread in his mouth, reading a book.
The title was The Creativity of Structural Arts.
Across from him, Shisui also had a book in hand, titled Principles of Circuits.
Well then, Takeshi thought, he definitely needed to recommend these two kids to Konoha's Engineering Department someday.
"Yamato, have you seen Haku and Kimimaro?"
Takeshi asked about the two little ones' whereabouts.
Yamato didn't speak, his eyes glued to the book, but with his free hand he pointed toward the kitchen.
"You're awake. Come have breakfast."
Before Takeshi could head into the kitchen, Haku emerged carrying a plate and set breakfast down on the table.
On the plate were two clearly toasted sandwiches.
Kimimaro followed with a glass of milk, placing it beside the sandwiches.
"This sort of thing in the future…"
Takeshi was just about to say that little chores like this could be left to Yamato or Shisui, but Haku cut in first: "I told Yamato-san to rest. Isn't he helping us expand our room today? Breakfast is just a small matter; Kimimaro and I can handle it."
Seeing Haku's serene smile, Takeshi swallowed the rest of his words. After a long pause, he only managed to mutter,
"Yamato's not even that busy."
That almost made Yamato spray his bread all over Shisui sitting across from him.
What the hell? When Haku wasn't around, it was always "Yamato" this and that, but now that Haku was here it was suddenly "Yamato's not busy"?
Yamato wanted to retort, but under Takeshi's cold stare he quickly changed his tune:
"Ah, right, Haku, I'm not busy. You can leave this kind of thing to me."
Still, with Haku's insistence, the task of cooking breakfast for the Shimura household was firmly taken over by him. Even though he was only a child, the determination in his eyes left both Takeshi and Yamato unable to argue.
"After breakfast, I'll guide you a bit in your Ice Release training…"
After sipping some milk, Takeshi hadn't forgotten about guiding Haku's practice. But as soon as he said it, he realized he had forgotten something important.
Crap! He'd forgotten the scroll his mother had left him!
Without that, how was he supposed to guide Haku?
...
By evening, Danzo returned, carrying several books.
Seeing the books in his father's hands, Takeshi couldn't help but mutter inwardly.
Since when did the Shimura household become so academic?
Still, he stepped forward to take the books. A quick glance revealed that they were educational puzzle books designed for ninja academy students to improve their reasoning skills.
"Dad, I'm almost an adult already. I don't need this stuff—"
"These are for Kimimaro and Haku." Danzo's voice was cold, carrying a trace of irritation.
"Oh." Realizing his father's tone was off, Takeshi pouted and answered.
So biased.
Back when he was their age, all he had to read were scrolls about chakra and ninjutsu. But when it came to non-blood-related Haku and Kimimaro, they got theoretical knowledge instead.
So Danzo didn't want to pass down those secret techniques to them, huh?
That wouldn't do. Takeshi had to stop this obvious favoritism and make sure Haku and Kimimaro received the same education as he did.
Danzo, meanwhile, stared long at Takeshi's side profile, lost in thought.
At that moment, he was reflecting on his own failure in parenting. When Takeshi was a child, he had focused solely on cultivating his combat abilities, completely neglecting to pass on theoretical knowledge.
After his brief talk with Sakumo, Danzo had, on a whim, gone to the archives and pulled Takeshi's records, even finding his Chūnin Exam score sheet.
It was shocking.
Aside from an S+ in combat ability, Takeshi's evaluations in intelligence analysis and leadership ranged only from C to B.
And especially in cultural subjects, every single grade was a flat C.