Although Takeshi had been allowed to come over, all the Root ninja behind him were stopped. Only Asuma and Yamato were permitted to follow Takeshi and stand before Jiraiya.
"Asuma, why haven't you gone home yet?"
Seeing Asuma, Jiraiya felt a headache coming on.
His old sensei had indeed poured his heart into training disciples, but when it came to family... well, let's just say it left much to be desired.
"Go home? You guys want to tear down the Root unit that our teacher worked so hard to build! How could I possibly be in the mood to go home?"
Looking at the peeping tom who now led the Anbu to raid Root, Asuma was furious. His tone was unusually harsh.
"What do you mean tear down? The Fourth Hokage sent us to reorganize Root. No, it won't even be called Root anymore—it's the Anbu Training Division now."
Jiraiya brushed it off lightly.
"I see. Got it."
Takeshi nodded and raised a hand to stop Asuma from arguing further.
Jiraiya breathed a sigh of relief. Compared to the irrational Asuma, Takeshi was clearly the more reasonable one.
As long as he didn't openly oppose it, the Root shinobi—even if displeased—wouldn't take any substantial action.
Just as Jiraiya had expected, seeing that Takeshi tacitly approved of the move, the Root ninja in the distance suppressed their dissatisfaction and stood quietly on the side, making no further move.
But this only angered Asuma further.
"You're too soft, Takeshi!"
Furiously swatting away Takeshi's hand, Asuma stepped back. His rage could no longer be contained.
Jiraiya felt drained. Yep, Asuma was definitely a tough case.
"Asuma!"
Just as Jiraiya was wondering how to get this spoiled brat to go home, a stern shout instantly drew everyone's attention.
Upon hearing the voice, Jiraiya's expression lit up, and he let out a breath of relief.
Finally, someone who could rein him in.
The voice belonged to Sarutobi Hiruzen in full battle gear. Behind him stood Danzo, his outer cloak visibly damaged.
Though the two were dressed differently, their faces were equally swollen.
"Reorganizing the Anbu Training Division is a direct order from the upper echelon. Asuma, you're just a jōnin—you have no right to interfere!"
Hiruzen's voice brimmed with authority, but Asuma wasn't intimidated.
"Konoha belongs to everyone! Everyone has the right to question unreasonable orders!"
Asuma stiffened his neck and argued with his father.
"Enough, Asuma! You're a shinobi. A shinobi's duty is to follow orders!"
Hiruzen's voice rose several octaves. The oppressive force unique to someone of his rank burst from his body.
Such overwhelming pressure.
Even though Takeshi wasn't the one being targeted, he still felt a heavy weight press down on him.
Even so, Asuma didn't back down. He stood tall, trying to face his father head-on.
"Enough, Asuma. Obey the order."
Danzo, finally feeling like his face hurt a little less, spoke just in time to put an end to this father-son conflict.
"Sensei..."
Hearing Danzo's voice, Asuma finally gave up. His once-proud head dropped in disbelief that this was all really happening.
"A Konoha this corrupt... it's not worth staying in!"
He remained silent for a long time, then clenched his teeth and spat the words bitterly.
"Takeshi..."
Takeshi quickly stepped forward and grabbed his friend's hand.
But Asuma didn't react. He only cast a cold glance at his friend, then yanked his hand away forcefully and left the Root base without looking back.
When he passed by Hiruzen, neither father nor son exchanged a glance—they were like strangers.
"You can go take care of your own business. I'll keep an eye on things here."
Danzo said "considerately" in a low voice.
"No need. Sooner or later, he'll understand."
Hiruzen had no intention of leaving. He didn't even look back.
"But you... your Wind Release techniques aren't what they used to be. Age catching up with you?"
He rubbed the wound on his face, facing away from Danzo as he questioned his old friend's strength.
"Hmph, as if your Fire Release hasn't declined too."
Seeing Hiruzen didn't want to continue the topic, Danzo smartly played along.
Though their battle had ended in a draw, Danzo hadn't gone all out, and Hiruzen hadn't summoned Enma.
It wasn't so much a proper fight as it was mutual brawling.
From the looks of it, things were resolved. Since his old man could still show up, that meant Sakumo hadn't gone for the kill. That meant Takeshi didn't need to worry about being interrogated and could go back to enjoying his bath.
Takeshi no longer wanted to involve himself in these matters. Seeing both Danzo and Hiruzen appear, he finally relaxed. As for Asuma... well, he'd try to talk to him again tomorrow.
With that thought, Takeshi took Yamato's hand and prepared to head home.
"By the way, Takeshi, the Hokage has a mission for you."
"Huh?"
...
According to Nara Shikaku's idea, the ninja accompanying him to Kusagakure had to be powerful—and famous. Only with a strong presence could they properly intimidate the Kusagakure ninja and prevent any rash actions.
It would also lay a solid foundation for upcoming negotiations.
Sakumo's first thought was to send one of the Legendary Sannin.
Unfortunately, Orochimaru was obsessed with Research Bureau work, Tsunade was overseeing reconstruction at the Medical Division's headquarters, and Jiraiya—
Well, Jiraiya already had enough on his plate and couldn't spare the time.
Since the Sannin were unavailable, that left only Takeshi and Minato who fit the bill.
The Yellow Flash or the White Reaper... hmm, the latter's name carried more intimidation.
And so, Takeshi, once the young master of Root and now just a "regular jōnin," was assigned by Sakumo to lead several shinobi and escort Shikaku to Kusagakure for negotiations.
The Uzumaki clan member in Kusagakure... she definitely wasn't Karin—this one looked to be about Naruto's age, likely her mother.
Does that mean this was a two-for-one deal?
"Didn't expect we'd meet again, Takeshi-san."
A familiar voice rang out beside him. Tokikan beamed as he looked at Takeshi from not far away.
"You said you'd send elite ninja. Why is there a genin in our squad?"
Ignoring Tokikan's big grinning face, Takeshi's brow twitched as he turned to Shikaku.
"One elite ninja is enough—you. The other jōnin need to continue running high-frequency missions to discourage the other nations from making moves."
Shikaku's mental calculations were sharp and fast. For a small hidden village like Kusagakure, bringing Takeshi alone was sufficient. Not to mention, Takeshi could use the Flying Thunder God Technique—if danger arose, he could teleport everyone to safety.
What a walking fortress!
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo