"Mom! Let me help you with that."
After sightseeing from the Hokage Rock, Yoichi caught a sight of his mother and quickly reached Naoko's side. She was struggling with a heavy load of groceries and household necessities.
Seeing him, she offered a gentle, warm smile.
The shadows of her past psychological trauma had faded, leaving no visible scars on her spirit.
Her successful rehabilitation was largely due to Yoichi. His patience and persistence over the years had given her the strength to overcome her pain.
Now, she moved with a grace that spoke of a healed soul.
"Mom, if you need to buy things, just tell me or Akira. We're here to help," Yoichi remarked, easily taking the heaviest bags from her arms.
In contrast, he felt a deep sense of vindication.
Seeing her current happiness made him appreciate this second life more than ever. Though he was once reclusive and felt like an outsider in the former owner's body, he had fully embraced this family as his own.
The promise to the original Yoichi was fulfilled, but he chose to stay and protect them. Between Nobuyuki's quiet kindness and Akira's spirited attitude, his heart was full.
"Oh, you child," Naoko said, reaching up to pat his cheek. "You're always so busy with the village and your training. I didn't want to bother you with something as simple as shopping."
She walked beside him, her steps light.
"Besides, it's good for me to get out. It reminds me how much the village has changed since you started teaching everyone your ways. People look at us differently now, Yoichi. They look at us with respect."
As they walked and talked, a heavy clay pot slipped from a high balcony, hurtling straight toward Naoko's head. Yoichi moved to intervene, his hand already blurring through the air, but he stopped mid-motion.
With a fluid, effortless grace, Naoko reached up and caught the pot with one hand, never breaking her stride.
"My, my, Yoichi," she said, her voice elegant and laced with a cheeky lilt. "You mustn't underestimate your mother. I'm not exactly a fragile flower anymore, am I?"
A small part of her recovery had involved the Martial Arts Yoichi insisted she learn. Knowing that many enemies lurked in the shadows, he had asked her to practice for emergencies, and she had eventually agreed. The training had turned her into something much more resilient than the woman she once was.
Yoichi sighed, his gaze snapping upward.
He leveled a deadly stare at the balcony above.
A child stood there, trembling violently as if staring into a bottomless abyss.
"I-I'm sorry!" the boy stammered, his face pale with terror.
Using his stack of perception-type passives, Yoichi analyzed the boy's micro-expressions.
The fear was genuine; the child was telling the truth. It was a simple accident.
However, Yoichi's frown deepened as he looked at the shattered peace of the moment.
Over the last two years, Naoko had been plagued by a bizarre string of misfortunes.
At first, it was just simple stumbles, but lately, the incidents had become lethal. Falling masonry, runaway carts, and now this—it was becoming a pattern.
He felt a pang of distress as he watched her walk ahead. Despite his vast power, this mysterious misfortune was an enemy he couldn't simply strike down. Another strange encounter was emerging, and his mother was the main victim of this invisible, mounting danger.
"Are you leaving us again, Yoichi?"
Naoko noticed the deepening frown on his face and slowed her pace. She looked at him with a knowing, gentle gaze.
"No, Mom, it's a huge misunderstand—"
Yoichi shook his hands frantically, his cold aura evaporating. Despite standing much taller than her now, he reflexively lowered his head as Naoko reached up. She patted his messy hair, treating the Kage-Level martial artist like a flustered puppy.
"You don't have to worry about us," Naoko said, her voice softening. "You are an adult now with responsibilities on your hands. Do what you feel you must before you find yourself with regrets."
She paused, a playful glint dancing in her eyes as she leaned in closer. "Besides, I'm sure a certain blonde Senju princess is far more demanding of your time than a few grocery bags. Don't keep her waiting too long, or she might come knocking on our door to collect you herself."
It took a moment to register those words into his ears until Yoichi felt his face heat up, his poise slipping further under her teasing gaze.
He cleared his throat, trying to regain his dignity, but the cheeky smile on Naoko's face told him she had won this round.
"Now, come along," she said, adjusting her hold on the groceries. "Let's get home before Akira eats your portion of the dinner too."
"Next time, I'll stay longer," Yoichi promised, his voice sincere. "We'll make up for all the lost time once things settle down."
He followed Naoko inside, where the house felt warm and full of life. Nobuyuki greeted him with a quiet nod, while Akira's boisterous energy filled the room. They sat together as a family, the steam from the food rising between them.
For that hour, the weight of the shinobi world and the mystery of his mother's misfortune faded.
The atmosphere was jovial, filled with Akira's laughter and Naoko's elegant teasing.
Yoichi watched them, wishing he could stretch this mundane happiness into an eternity.
But as the meal ended, the pull of duty returned.
He stood up, the warmth of the home still with him, but his mind was already refocusing on the task ahead.
...
...
...
"Guys, do you want to visit Uzushiogakure?"
Yoichi stood at the edge of the training grounds, his voice calm but the suggestion heavy. Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru paused their sparring, each of them turning toward him with deep frowns.
The air between them grew still as they processed his remark.
"Land of Whirlpools? That's a sudden trip, even for you..."
Jiraiya said, wiping sweat from his brow. His usual boisterous tone was replaced by a look of confusion. "The borders are like iron right now. Getting a four-man cell out for a 'visit' isn't exactly a vacation."
Orochimaru narrowed his golden eyes, his tongue flicking over his lip. "A visit, or a reinforcement mission? You've been watching the eastern horizon for weeks, Yoichi. How interesting."
Tsunade stepped forward, her expression the most guarded of all. As a Senju, the fate of the Uzumaki was personal, but as a shinobi, she knew the political nightmare of such a move.
"The Old Man hasn't given an order for a diplomatic envoy," she said, her voice low. "If we go there now, it's because we're expecting a war to start on their doorstep. Is that what your instincts are telling you?"
Yoichi didn't blink. He knew the history they didn't—that the clock was ticking for the Land of Whirlpools. "My instincts say that if we wait for an official order, we'll be arriving at a graveyard. I'm going. I'm just asking if you're coming with me."
They followed him to the Hokage's office to request a formal leave, but the reception was cold.
"I cannot grant this," Hiruzen said, his voice firm behind a cloud of pipe smoke. "The borders are too sensitive. Sending the four of you away would leave Konoha vulnerable."
The door creaked open as Danzo entered, flanked by Homura and Koharu. The Elder Council moved like a unified shadow, their presence stifling the room.
"It is out of the question," Danzo remarked, his eyes narrowing at Yoichi. "The Uzumaki can handle their own affairs. We will not risk a diplomatic incident by sending our top assets into neutral territory."
Homura and Koharu nodded.
In their eyes, Yoichi's prestige had grown too fast.
His implementation of Martial Arts had given him a monumental reputation that threatened the traditional power structure.
To the Council, this request was just another way for Yoichi to expand his influence outside their reach.
They were less worried about the borders and more focused on restraining a man whose authority now rivaled their own.
Yoichi looked at the elders, his face a mask of calm. He saw the same stagnation that had led to the ruin in his memories.
Hiruzen looked away, unable to meet his gaze.
"The whirlpools are our kin!" Tsunade snapped, her fist cracking the wood of Hiruzen's desk.
"They are an ally," Koharu corrected coldly. "And right now, the village's safety comes first. You will remain in Konoha. That is an order."
Yoichi's expression didn't shift, but the air in the room grew heavy. He looked directly at the Council, his gaze piercing and devoid of the usual respect.
"Then I have no choice but to disobey your orders, my elders."
Danzo's face contorted, his mask of stoicism shattering into pure rage. He slammed his cane against the floor, his knuckles white.
"You forget yourself! You are a shinobi of this Leaf, not its master. To defy the Council is treason. Do you think your reputation makes you untouchable?"
Yoichi didn't flinch. He looked at Danzo and the elders, his eyes cold.
"The Uzumaki helped us in the past. They gave us their blood, their seals, and their trust when we had nothing. And this is how you repay them? By sitting in this room and watching them die?"
Hiruzen sat frozen, his pipe held mid-air.
He understood the situation perfectly; he and the Council saw the other nations' greed for sealing techniques because it mirrored their own desires.
They coveted that power just as much as Kumo or Iwa, yet they were too afraid to move.
Certainly, they have Mito Uzumaki holding the Nine Tailed Beast and also learned the Uzumaki Sealing methods. Regardless, with Mito's already declining vitality and no exceptional talents well versed in sealing techniques, who's gonna carry forth with the heavy task of being a Jinchūriki in the future?
This is really a cumbersome task to think about.
"Yoichi, think about what you are saying," Hiruzen finally spoke, his voice strained. "If you walk out that door against our command, I cannot protect you. You would be turning your back on the laws that hold us together."
Yoichi simply turned toward the door, his cloak fluttering. "The laws mean nothing if they only serve to watch our allies bleed. If you want to stop me, try."
As he stepped out, Danzo's eyes burned with a murderous light.
"Wait, Yoichi!" Jiraiya shouted, his hand reaching out as if to physically pull him back. "Isn't this a bit reckless? Even for you, deciding to desert over a hunch is too hasty. We can talk this out!"
Orochimaru stood by, his golden eyes flickering
with cold calculation. He weighed the benefits of staying versus the risks of leaving, his remarkable intellect dissecting the situation in seconds.
"There is no evidence of an imminent attack, Yoichi. You are being uncharacteristically reckless. To throw away your standing in the village for a possibility is... illogical."
On the other hand, Tsunade's mind was already made up. She didn't look at the Hokage or the Council; her eyes were fixed solely on Yoichi.
Tsunade trusted him implicitly because he had never made an unreliable decision in all the years she had known him.
More than that, she was his partner.
A part of her believed that a lover belonged at his back, supporting him whether the path led to victory or ruin.
If he was walking into a storm, she wouldn't let him face the wind alone.
"I'm going with him," Tsunade declared, her voice cutting through the tension like a blade.
The room went cold.
Jiraiya gasped, and even Orochimaru's composure wavered.
"Let's proceed." Yoichi coldly said, dashing through the buildings while Tsunade followed suit.
"Ahhh, damn it!" Jiraiya shouted, scratching his head in frustration. He looked at the Hokage with a sheepish, apologetic grin. "Sensei, this isn't my rebellion, alright? I'm just making sure these two don't get into too much trouble!"
With a clumsy but fast leap, Jiraiya vanished from the office, chasing after Tsunade and Yoichi.
Orochimaru lingered for a final second, his golden eyes unreadable.
He didn't share their emotional fire, but his curiosity was piqued.
He wanted to see what kind of truth could make his always-rational friend act with such "reckless" certainty.
Without a word, he turned into a blur of motion, following the others.
"Arrest them!" Danzo screamed, his voice cracking with fury. "Root! ANBU! Pursue them immediately! They are deserters of the Leaf!"
Homura and Koharu stood beside him, their faces set in grim masks of administrative coldness.
They nodded in unison, authorizing the hunt.
The office, once a place of quiet leadership, was now a den of frantic orders and cold metal clashing as agents mobilized.
Hiruzen stood by the window, his shoulders slumped as he watched his three prized students chase after a man who had just defied the very foundation of the village.
He felt every year of his age settling into his bones.
Despite everything he had taught them, they had chosen Yoichi's path over his own.
He turned his gaze toward the Hokage Rock, his eyes landing on the stern face of Tobirama Senju.
The stone features seemed to judge him in the fading light.
"Am I really that bad of a teacher?"
Hiruzen whispered to the empty air, his voice thick with a sudden, sharp loneliness.
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