"Naruto: Ice God"Chapter 166: Fugaku's Exhaustion
While Kushina was frantically "disciplining" the Nine-Tails in her mindscape, she still maintained a gentle smile on her face.
Yamato, who had been silently following behind Feng Bai, felt his eyelid twitch uncontrollably.
For some reason, he sensed something dangerous about this brightly smiling big sister.
As a product of the Wood Release experiments, he was naturally more sensitive than ordinary shinobi.
He keenly perceived the dangerous aura emanating from Kushina and subtly moved several steps closer to Feng Bai, pressing tightly against his leg, afraid something terrible might happen.
Completely oblivious to Yamato's unusual behavior, Feng Bai simply assumed the child was being clingy after their long separation. He cheerfully began introducing the two little ones to Kushina.
"This is Yamato, and this is Kabuto Yakushi—they're both my little brothers. Quick, say hello to Kushina-nee!"
Pushing them forward, Feng Bai completely missed the resistance in Yamato's eyes.
"What adorable little ones! Since this is such a rare opportunity, you should stay for dinner tonight—let me show you my cooking skills!"
Having just delivered a massive chain-whip to the Nine-Tails in her mindscape, Kushina finally felt satisfied as she left that space, embracing the two children and refusing to let go.
"But..." Kabuto wanted to decline. Compared to having dinner with Kushina, whom he'd just met, he preferred staying with the director and everyone at the orphanage.
But Feng Bai clearly wouldn't give him that chance: "Don't worry, Kabuto. I'll explain things to Nonō-nee. I'll even call Itachi over too."
And so the matter was happily decided.
However, this decision brought quite a "surprise" to Fugaku.
Uchiha Fugaku was very busy.
As both the Uchiha Clan head and captain of the Military Police Force, during work hours he had to appease the dissatisfaction of extremist clan members while handling the endless stream of complaints from Konoha villagers about those same extremists' brutal law enforcement.
It was mentally exhausting, but at least he had a beautiful wife and adorable son.
Finally reaching the end of his shift, Fugaku couldn't wait to leave Military Police headquarters, walking home with eager anticipation.
Then he spotted a face that was both familiar and strange on the way.
That little girl standing in front of his house—why did she look so familiar?
Could it be another troublesome villager too embarrassed to complain directly, sending their child instead?
Heaven and earth as witnesses—since the Fourth Hokage took office, the extremist faction within the Uchiha Clan had restrained themselves considerably.
Incidents of violent law enforcement had dropped from triple digits daily to double digits.
What tremendous progress!
Really, why couldn't these troublesome villagers show him some understanding? Even after work hours, they still came to bother him!
If this continued, Fugaku felt he might be driven to become an Uchiha extremist himself!
And what were the compound guards doing, letting just anyone into the clan grounds?! How could they let someone walk right up to his front door?!
"Oh my, isn't that Captain Fugaku? It's been so long."
Just as Fugaku was mentally calculating how to dismiss this brat, Feng Bai proactively greeted him in the neutral voice characteristic of his age.
"Hm? Long time no see? You are..." Fugaku was somewhat speechless—he could count his meetings with Feng Bai on one hand and naturally couldn't recall his name.
"You really are a busy man who forgets things easily. I'm Shimura Feng Bai. Thank you for assigning Shisui as my guard."
Seeing Fugaku genuinely didn't recognize him, Feng Bai didn't play coy and straightforwardly stated his name.
[Tsk tsk, Isobu, look at this guy. He's barely older than Mikoto-nee, but when they stand together they look like father and daughter.]
[Isobu: Mmm, let me see... indeed.]
Isobu rarely agreed with Feng Bai's assessment.
Shimura, Feng Bai?
Without needing to hear the full name, just hearing the surname Shimura nearly made Fugaku's back give out.
No wonder the gate guards had let him through so easily—even if the missing Uchiha Wada had returned to guard duty, he'd have to let him pass obediently.
Just look at the titles above his head.
Disciple of the Third Hokage, son of the Hokage's Advisor, one of Konoha's youngest jōnin, hero of the Third Shinobi World War, destroyer of Kannabi Bridge—any single one of these would let him thrive among the jōnin ranks.
Moreover—
His own clan members had once ambushed him on the battlefield.
Just thinking about this made Fugaku's already aching head hurt even more.
To appease Danzō, he'd not only offered up the clan's genius Shisui, but also his own son.
He'd originally been relieved when Feng Bai left the village after the war ended—his son would remain his own, not trailing behind the Shimura family. But after barely a year, this brat had returned from outside the village.
While a storm raged in Fugaku's mind, his face maintained its expressionless mask, though his voice carried a strained quality: "So it's Feng Bai—it really has been a long time. I didn't even recognize you."
Just as Fugaku was considering what to say next, his son Uchiha Itachi had already dressed properly, bid farewell to his mother, and walked to Feng Bai's side.
Feng Bai naturally took Itachi's hand, waved his free hand goodbye to Mikoto with a smile, then nodded toward Fugaku, effectively ending their conversation.
Fugaku: ???
What just happened?
Why didn't my son greet me and just left with a stranger?
Though strictly speaking, he wasn't exactly a stranger.
But still...
Moreover, Fugaku knew his son's temperament well.
That precocious child wouldn't even hold hands with his parents when going out together.
Incredible!
Watching their figures recede into the distance, Fugaku could only stand helplessly at his front door, completely deaf to his wife's anxious calls from beside him.
"Today I'm taking you to meet a big sister named Uzumaki Kushina. You must remember—never make her angry, understand?"
On the way, Feng Bai patiently introduced Kushina to Itachi.
"Mm."
Itachi agreed while trying to free his hand from Feng Bai's grip.
He didn't particularly like physical contact with others, especially on the street—it felt somewhat embarrassing.
But Feng Bai had no intention of letting go. Whether intentional or not, his grip only tightened.
Seeing no way to escape without making a scene, Itachi sighed inwardly and chose to comply.
[Hmph, trying to compete with me.]
Feng Bai, who had been closely monitoring Itachi's subtle movements, turned his face away with a victorious expression.
Isobu: Is my jinchūriki perhaps a bit too childish?
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