"Well, I wouldn't call it a sudden appearance. After all, I came on the Hokage's orders to find your father."
Takeshi gave Itachi's cheek a habitual pinch before finally pulling back the arm he had slung around the boy's neck.
"Besides, if you didn't want me showing up around you, you could've just tossed away that Flying Thunder God kunai you're carrying."
Waving a hand at Itachi, Takeshi greeted Mikoto and then headed straight toward the area where Fugaku usually stayed.
Watching Takeshi's retreating figure, Itachi blinked, put down the basin he was holding, and reached into his inner pocket for the Flying Thunder God kunai hidden in his clothes.
"I'm coming in, Captain Fugaku!"
Before Fugaku could respond, Takeshi had already slid the door open.
"Takeshi, huh. Take a seat."
Casting a weary glance at the man who barged in without hesitation, Fugaku closed his eyes with a sigh and set the scroll in his hands aside.
This guy in front of him… not only did his appearance never change, but his personality seemed to be regressing too.
Because of work, Fugaku had interacted with Takeshi several times and always felt that this jōnin's temperament wasn't even as steady as his own eldest son, Itachi.
Still, his Itachi was the best—obedient, filial, and impeccable in his mastery of ninjutsu.
Mentally awarding his son some extra points, Fugaku shook his head and decided to get straight to business so he could send Takeshi on his way.
"I've already heard about it. The Kumogakure peace envoy is scheduled to arrive in Konoha next month."
Before Takeshi could speak, Fugaku brought up the reason for his visit.
"That's right. The covert parts of the operation will be handled by the Anbu, while the public security will be managed by the Police Force and a four-man mobile unit under my command."
Even while discussing serious matters, Takeshi's expression remained relaxed, a faint smile lingering at the corners of his mouth.
"Can't be helped. Back during the war, I made Kumogakure suffer a little too much, so the Fourth says neither I nor Minato are suitable to meet with the envoy directly."
Suffer?
Fugaku didn't quite agree.
The number of Kumo-nin Takeshi had killed probably couldn't even be counted anymore.
He'd heard that Ōnoki from Iwagakure had put together an explosion corps—if Takeshi went there, he'd probably qualify as captain.
"I'll personally command the unit and assign a liaison officer to your team to ensure we can make contact immediately if anything happens."
The Police Force was now a diverse organization with many members of the Yamanaka clan, who specialized in long-range communication.
"But who's on your team besides you?"
Fugaku was curious about who exactly made up this so-called mobile unit.
"They're all transferred from Anbu. Even I only know their codenames—Kuroya, Suzume, and Dōtora."
Thinking back to the three who had reported to him the night before, Takeshi only remembered their codenames.
As for which codename belonged to which person, he'd completely forgotten.
After all, the only way to distinguish Anbu members was by the patterns on their masks, and the three only differed in color—not that he could tell the difference anyway.
Well, there was still a month left. Time to get familiar slowly.
"So that's how it is… Kuroya, huh. I've heard of that codename—always seen near the Third."
Hearing the names, Fugaku fell into thought.
"Anyway, start making all the necessary preparations now so we can ensure the peace talks proceed smoothly."
Mentioning the talks brought a rare breath of relief to Fugaku.
"The Third Shinobi World War ended years ago, but Kumogakure has insisted on maintaining hostile relations with us. Fortunately, perseverance paid off, and those war maniacs finally agreed to put down their weapons."
"Did they really?"
Takeshi didn't share the optimism.
Setting aside what he knew from the storyline, just based on his understanding of Kumo-nin over the years, he seriously doubted they were coming to Konoha with honest intentions.
"What do you mean, the Fourth thinks..."
Hearing Takeshi's tone, Fugaku assumed he'd received some kind of hint from Sakumo.
"It has nothing to do with the Fourth—it's just my personal opinion."
"Your personal opinion?" Fugaku was intrigued—it was his first time seeing Takeshi look this serious.
Takeshi reached out and lightly tapped his knuckles on the table, startling Fugaku almost out of his skin.
Danzo had the same habit when deep in thought.
"I've heard Kumogakure has been collecting kekkei genkai and forbidden jutsu over the past few years. There's no guarantee that this visit isn't part of a plot to target the kekkei genkai within our village."
Narrowing his eyes, Takeshi shifted his gaze toward the Uchiha clan crest behind Fugaku.
Fugaku's expression stiffened slightly at those words.
"You're saying…"
"I'm only speculating. But I hope that in addition to ensuring the safety of the envoy, Captain Fugaku will also keep a close watch on the kekkei genkai within the village—especially dōjutsu like the Byakugan and Sharingan."
"That's all I had to say. The rest is up to your judgment, Captain Fugaku."
Takeshi returned to his usual expression. Standing up, he looked quite carefree.
The burden had been passed to Fugaku. As for Takeshi, he'd just need to keep an eye on the Hyūga clan.
Not that there was much need. Konoha these days wasn't about to be cowed by Kumogakure's threats of war.
"I'm heading out, Itachi! If you want to say goodbye, this is your last chance!"
Before leaving, Takeshi found Itachi crouched in the corner, doing laundry.
Ruffling the boy's hair, Takeshi placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Takeshi-senpai, you—"
Itachi wore an exasperated look, as if he already guessed what was coming.
"Just kidding! You're coming with me! Mikoto-san, I'm borrowing Itachi for a bit!"
Without giving Itachi time to even change clothes, Takeshi used the Flying Thunder God technique to teleport them both away right in front of Mikoto.
"Ara, and I was just about to dress him properly."
Holding a jacket in her hands, Mikoto gave a helpless smile.
"Sigh… all Danzo's fault."
Fugaku, who had watched the whole thing unfold, could only blame everything on Danzo.
If not for that man's threats during the last war, how would his eldest son have caught the eye of the Shimura brat?
Still, thinking of the faction backing the brat brought Fugaku a little relief.
Since the death of Uchiha Kagami, the Uchiha clan hadn't had anyone who could maintain ties with the Hokage's faction.
If nothing went wrong, Itachi might just be the one to reforge that connection.
Too bad he was following such an unreliable guy.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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