Sickness comes like a landslide and leaves as slow as spinning silk.
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt that he was finally getting old. A minor cold that he thought he could simply endure forced him to keep a thermos clutched in his hand, filled with hot ginger tea.
He held it tight, letting the heat soak into his palms.
The old man deactivated the Telescope Technique and leaned back in his chair, lost in thought. Without the flow of chakra, Roy's clear, sharp eyes on the crystal ball vanished.
"Have you seen enough yet?" The boy's words still echoed in his ears.
'I can't see enough...' was Hiruzen's silent answer to the boy. Young people didn't understand the mindset of the elderly. As the Kage of a village, a being responsible for thousands of ninjas, what could be more heartening than seeing the younger generation flourish?
Pity... he was a handful. An Uchiha handful.
The old man shook his head, pulled out a drawer, and retrieved a scroll.
The scroll bore Roy's name and contained all the intelligence related to him. He unrolled it to the end and added a line with his brush.
[The next White Fang of the Leaf... Lightning Style is not weak...]
When he finished, Hiruzen threw the brush down in frustration. Thinking of his own disappointing son compared to Fugaku's, the old father felt an indescribable sense of defeat.
A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts.
The old man calmly tucked the scroll back into the drawer and said sternly, "Enter."
The door to the Hokage's office creaked open, and two figures entered one after the other. One blonde, one black-haired; one cheerful and young, the other serious and stern. Both wore green Jonin vests and bowed in greeting. "Lord Hokage."
"You've arrived... Minato, Fugaku." Hiruzen forced a smile and waved for them to sit.
He handed them an intelligence report across the desk.
As the Third War raged more fiercely and the front lines tightened, the need for reinforcements grew.
Hiruzen lit his pipe and took a puff. "Jiraiya sent word that the Cloud and Stone have deployed large forces. I sent Orochimaru north two days ago to deal with the Stone."
"That leaves the Cloud."
Hiruzen looked deeply at Minato Namikaze. "Minato, I'm leaving them to you."
Minato's blonde hair swayed. He scrutinized the report, focusing on two names in particular, and smiled slightly.
"Leave it to me."
A and Killer Bee—the infamous AB duo wreaking havoc on the battlefield. Speed is the priority when facing the Cloud, and fortunately, he was fast!
There was no issue with the assignment.
Minato tucked the report into his pocket. This departure meant another difficult explanation to Kushina. Fortunately, looking at the silent, frowning Fugaku Uchiha beside him, knowing Mikoto was there to keep Kushina company, he didn't have much to worry about. Except...
Fugaku looked rather unhappy?
Minato noticed Fugaku's unusual state but didn't speak.
Just as Minato suspected, Fugaku was very unhappy—even angry. It was for no other reason than—
Because on the list of Uchiha reinforcements for the front lines, he saw his son's name: Jin!
Not only that, the list excluded Fugaku himself. What did that mean?
Suppressing his anger, Fugaku looked at Hiruzen with a furrowed brow. "Lord Hokage, Jin is still young. He hasn't even graduated yet."
Young? Could someone who went blow-for-blow with Sakumo really be considered 'young'?
Hiruzen took a puff of his pipe, recalling the swordsmanship and lightning he had just witnessed. He pushed back his chair and stood up, looking deeply at Fugaku. "Fugaku,"
"I know what you're thinking,"
"I can't explain everything to you right now,"
"But you only need to know one thing:"
"As long as I am in this seat, no one will harm Jin, whether he is an Uchiha or not."
Fugaku: "..."
He remained unmoved.
Seeing this, Hiruzen blew a smoke ring. "Let him go with Minato. With Minato protecting him, you should be at ease."
"I can take him myself," Fugaku said in a low voice.
"The Police Force cannot do without you."
Fugaku: "..."
"That's enough," Hiruzen said in a tone that brooked no argument. "This is an order, not a discussion."
"Have Jin report to Minato tomorrow. Once they've synchronized, head north as soon as possible."
"Understood..."
The heavy door creaked.
The door to the Hokage's office shut heavily, mirroring Fugaku's stifled mood.
Minato walked beside him, offering warm comfort. "Fugaku, don't worry. I'll make sure Jin is safe."
Is that so?
You're still just a big kid yourself!
Fugaku stopped and looked at the blonde youth. "Minato, you haven't had a son, so you don't understand."
"Once you have a son, you'll never be at ease, no matter what..."
Fugaku resumed his pace, shaking his head as he walked away.
Minato was stunned, watching the lonely figure of the 'father' disappear, left speechless.
He didn't know what to say.
Suddenly, the young man remembered Kushina wanted ramen. Slapping his forehead, Minato dashed toward Ichiraku Ramen.
Time always slipped away quietly in the midst of business.
On the muddy path leading from the southern forest to the Uchiha compound...
Shisui and Itachi were exhausted from their 'extra punishment' training. Roy carried one in each hand like wet rags toward home.
Night fell as the sun dipped below the horizon.
The neon lights of the Konoha shopping district flickered on.
On the far right rock face sat the Hokage Rock, featuring the heads of the First, Second, and Third Hokage.
Roy carried the two little ones through the streets. Perhaps seeing the crowds made being carried like chicks embarrassing, so Shisui struggled down and followed Roy despite the pain.
He crawled toward Ichiraku Ramen.
"Brother, let me down too." Itachi saw Shisui descend and shifted. But before his short legs could move, Roy patted his bottom and hoisted him back up.
"He's as stubborn as a donkey and built for it. You don't need to compare yourself to him," Roy said.
Shisui: "..."
Holding Roy's hand, he pouted. He had trained hard too! Big brother was definitely playing favorites!
Itachi hummed softly, burying his face in Roy's warm back. After a while, he whispered, "Brother, can I be as strong as you?"
Shisui looked up too.
The remnants of sword and lightning light still lingered in his young eyes.
Roy flicked Shisui's forehead. "Watch where you're going!"
"Oh!" Shisui narrowly avoided a large puddle. He looked at Roy again. Roy smiled. "Does this count as strong?"
Is it not?
"That was the White Fang, though!" Shisui muttered.
"And so?"
"So..." Shisui fumbled for words.
Roy's large hand reached out and ruffled Shisui's hair vigorously.
By the time the boy regained his senses, his brother was already walking steadily toward the ramen shop with Itachi on his back.
"Wait for me, Brother!"
"You haven't answered Itachi's question yet!"
His stomach growled. 'Strong' and 'White Fang' were instantly forgotten.
Shisui hurried to catch up.
He pulled back the curtain and sat beside Roy, then froze.
He saw Obito, who had been beaten into a pulp again.
"Obito."
"Haha, hey Shisui..."
Obito seemed to be in a great mood. He grandly pulled out a wad of cash and slammed it on the counter, announcing he was treating everyone.
Roy sat next to him. Even without En, he could clearly capture the boy's thoughts.
"You won?"
"No."
Obito scratched his head and smiled sheepishly. "But I gave him a good thrashing too!"
He finally got to vent. Roy listened to Obito's heart, a memory flashing of him using the Sharingan to hit Kakashi's handsome face. Roy nodded and said to Itachi, "Since Obito said so, eat as many bowls as you want."
Obito: "..."
His smile froze.
"Actually, you don't have to eat that much... just getting full is fine," he said cautiously.
Shisui: "..."
Itachi: "..."
They stared at him.
"Fine!"
Obito blushed and shouted with his eyes closed. "Eat whatever you want! As much as you want!"
The sound of slurping ramen filled the shop.
The moon climbed, and the last light faded.
Obito clutched his empty wallet, looking miserable as he watched Roy leave. His excitement had evaporated.
"Is Brother Obito poor?" Itachi asked innocently on the way home.
"Definitely," Shisui said.
Roy held their hands. Obito had only recently become a Chunin and hadn't done many high-ranking missions. Being poor was logical.
Roy said seriously, "So, remember: being poor is fine, but never try to act like a big shot."
'Hey! I'm still right here!' Obito's face turned black.
Roy laughed and saw Shisui home before returning to his own house.
The lights were already on.
Fugaku had returned from work, finished dinner, and was waiting near the tatami mats.
"Itachi, go bathe first." Mikoto took Itachi away.
The boy looked at Roy and Fugaku, nodded, and left.
The living room was left to father and son.
"The Third named you for the battlefield."
"Oh."
"I suspect he has ulterior motives."
"Oh."
"You have no thoughts on this?" Fugaku frowned. "If you don't want to go, I'll fight it."
"How?"
"By defying the Hokage?" Roy said tonelessly. "The situation is stronger than the individual. If he wants me to go, I'll go. Besides..."
Roy gripped his teacup. Using Nen, he combined water and wind into Ice Style to cool the tea, then downed it in one gulp.
"And let Father know, even if he didn't ask, I would go anyway. Because..."
He added silently in his heart, 'I can't suppress the urge to kill!'
Only the battlefield could harvest Life Energy. This was Roy's unique secret, unknown even to Hiruzen.
The chilled teacup cracked as it touched the warm table.
Fugaku stared at the ice, then sighed as Roy headed for the shower. The child was becoming harder to read. 'If he wants to go, let him go...'
A wave of exhaustion hit, followed by a floral scent.
Mikoto sat on Fugaku's lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. "While the kids are bathing, let's..."
Fugaku: "...
"Maybe next time?" he tried to smile.
He was promptly pinned to the floor.
Night deepened as the moon rose over the willow trees.
It was the best time for sleep.
Roy lay in his room, having washed away the fatigue, and tucked Itachi in.
The child had always been attached to him.
A light snore sounded.
Itachi rolled over and clung to Roy like an octopus.
"Brother..." the boy mumbled.
Roy let him cling, looking out at the moon.
He knew about Hamura Otsutsuki and the Gedo Mazo being up there.
"Tenseigan, Kaguya, Chibaku Tensei..."
The words drifted through his mind before fading into the night.
Roy closed his eyes and drifted into a deep sleep.
The familiar sensation of falling followed, and he returned to his Sea of Consciousness.