"Marry Mikoto? When was this decided? How come I don't know anything about it?"
Chiba himself was utterly bewildered. He felt no joy, only a rising sense of panic.
If Tsunade found out about this, whether the wedding would happen was uncertain, but he could definitely start planning his own funeral.
"It was just finalized. I came to inform you at the first opportunity," Fugaku said, wiping the tea from his face with a handkerchief, not the least bit angry. He was grinning widely.
In the past, whenever he brought up Chiba's immense potential and suggested a marriage alliance, the clan elders would scoff. No, it wasn't just that. Any decision Fugaku made on his own would be met with wholesale rejection and scorn from those old farts.
But when they learned Chiba had killed Danzō Shimura and rocketed into Konoha's core leadership, those same old farts did a complete one-eighty. Suddenly, they saw Chiba in a new light and urged Fugaku to arrange the marriage as soon as possible.
Thanks to Chiba, Fugaku had finally earned some respect within the clan. His authority had grown. He couldn't stop smiling.
"Fugaku, this is too sudden. I've given it some thought, and… I think I need to give it some more thought."
Chiba gave a wry laugh. What the hell was this? Marriage First, Love Later: The Domineering Clan Head Forces His Sister On Me? Even by anime standards, this was pretty wild.
"What's there to think about, Chiba?" Fugaku cut straight to the point. "Just tell me. Do you like Mikoto or not?"
Chiba hesitated. "I do… but—"
But we've barely met! I'm just into her for her looks! I can't treat her like I did Pakura; we'll be running into each other all the time!
"Then it's settled!" Fugaku waved a hand dismissively. "If you like her, getting married sooner rather than later is perfectly fine. You're not that young anymore. Look at me! Mei and I already have a child on the way. You need to step it up."
Fugaku's face glowed with happiness as he laughed.
"(òwó?)! Nani?!"
Chiba jolted. "Fugaku, if I may ask… have you thought of a name for my future nephew, whom I've never met?"
Fugaku nodded, laughing heartily. "Hahaha! I plan to call him Itachi. Uchiha Itachi. What do you think, little brother?"
"It's a fine name," Chiba said, his expression turning strange. "Sounds like a filial child."
So Fugaku hadn't ended up with Mikoto, but Uchiha Itachi was still logging into the server. He wondered if the kid would still grow up to be a master of 'filial piety' in the future.
"Fugaku, this can't be rushed. Please, let me consider it carefully," Chiba said, not letting himself get swept away. He played the delay card.
"Ah, alright then. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave. Let's keep in touch, Chiba." Fugaku stood up.
"Of course, of course. Phew~~"
After seeing Fugaku out, Chiba let out a long sigh of relief.
He already had a beautiful older sister to look after him. He had no desire for an early marriage, to step into love's grave while he was still young.
…
Click.
Not long after Fugaku left, the lock on Chiba's door turned with a key.
Chiba sat up from his bed with a sigh. He'd hoped to get a few quiet days of rest at home. Looks like peace was out of the question.
"Chiba! Come out and greet this young master, stat!"
Bellowing, Nawaki summoned Chiba out, then bounded over in two steps, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Chiba! I heard you took out Danzō Shimura…? Is it true?"
"Don't pause like that, you idiot! It creates the wrong impression!" Chiba snapped, then looked past Nawaki at Tsunade and smiled. "Long time no see, Tsunade."
Whoosh!
No words. Tsunade moved past Nawaki and wrapped Chiba in a tight hug.
"Promise me," she whispered into his ear, holding him close. He was as tall as her now. "Don't act so recklessly again. If something happened to you… what would Nawaki and I do?"
Her warm breath ghosted against his ear. It sent a tingle down his spine.
Down, boy. Stay down.
Chiba fought to ignore the soft pressure against him. He really needed to research a Reverse Multi-Size Technique when he got the chance. At his current size, he was at a serious disadvantage.
Sigh. How can I have it all? Be true to both Mikoto and you…
His heart was a mess of emotions. Among the three of them, his feelings for Tsunade were undoubtedly the deepest. Every time he faced her, he felt a pang of guilt.
Yep. He, Chiba, simply didn't have the makings of a scumbag.
"Don't worry, Tsunade. There aren't many in the shinobi world who can hurt me now. I know my limits," Chiba said, smiling as he comforted her.
"Hey! Hey! What's with the two of you hugging like nobody's watching, leaving this young master out in the cold? I want a hug too!"
With that, Nawaki threw his arms wide and lunged at them.
Whap!
Tsunade shot him a cold glance. She let go of Chiba, turned, and slapped him. The blow sent Nawaki flying across the room.
"Ow… Sis, does love really just… transfer like that?"
"Funniest thing I've heard all day. When have I ever loved you?"
"Sis, you're heartless! How can a mouth that's 36°C say something so icy?"
"Piss off. Keep talking and I'll break your legs."
Watching the bickering siblings, Chiba smiled quietly.
Only when he was with Tsunade and Nawaki did he feel that sense of "home." Maybe… he had finally found his own bonds.
"Chiba, I always knew you had connections!" Nawaki scurried back over to Chiba, not daring to provoke Tsunade further. He grinned cheekily. "No way you kill the Hokage's bestie and get a promotion otherwise. It's rigged! Totally rigged!"
The older Nawaki got, the more durable he became. Getting slapped into a wall by Tsunade barely fazed him. The resilience of the Senju bloodline was on full display.
"Yeah, yeah, I have connections. My biggest connection is you. Ever since I met you, everything's been smooth sailing. Just look where I am now."
A couple of casual, placating words from Chiba were enough to send the kid over the moon. Watching this, Tsunade's expression softened too. She was happy for Chiba. With his current strength and status, they could be together openly very soon.
This kind of simple, peaceful life… it's really good.
…
Meanwhile, at the Kusagakure Hospital, Land of Grass.
"Hey! We need treatment! Get us a doctor, now!"
Three figures in Kusagakure uniforms, covered in wounds, stumbled into the hospital lobby, shouting. People around them frowned in annoyance and gave them a wide berth.
"You jerks, no cutting! Can't you see all these other injured waiting?"
"Yeah, the guy who's unconscious with critical injuries isn't complaining. What are you three, still able to walk, whining about?"
A few burly nurses approached, pointing and whispering.
The three men: "???"
The unconscious critical patient isn't complaining… Were they even listening to themselves?
"Alright, you three. Go to the minor injuries room. Use the first-aid kits to tend to yourselves. A doctor will see you after the critical cases are handled."
"Ah, right. Yes, ma'am."
Under the direction of one sensible nurse, the three men awkwardly agreed and headed for the designated room.
"Shikaku, you're a genius," one of them murmured as they entered a sparsely occupied room. They began applying ointment to each other's wounds under the guise of treatment. "Thinking to hide in the hospital, blending in like this… it perfectly covers our outsider status."
"It's a temporary measure, Chōza," the man named Shikaku replied softly. "It won't be long before Kusagakure realizes we've slipped into their 'blind spot' and deduces our hiding place."
"But before we were surrounded, Inoichi managed to send word back to Konoha about our situation, right? Reinforcements should arrive soon?"
Indeed, the trio was Konoha's current generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho: Nara Shikaku, Akimichi Chōza, and Yamanaka Inoichi.
Their mission had been one of goodwill: lead a team to Kusagakure to finalize a deal. Konoha wanted to transfer its backlog of wartime criminals to the massive Hozuki Castle prison—the same place that once held Kakuzu.
But the pro-war faction of Kusagakure, "Kusa no Mi," had pretended to agree to cooperate. In reality, they'd secretly contacted Iwagakure, planning to hand the trio over as an offering.
If not for Shikaku's sharp instincts spotting the trap, allowing them to fight their way out and disguise themselves here, they'd have been captured like the rest of their Konoha teammates.
"There's no time," Shikaku sighed in response to Chōza's hope. "Konoha has no spare forces in this region to rescue us. By the time help is dispatched from the village… we'll likely already be in Iwagakure."
"Those damned Kusagakure bastards! They live up to their name!" Chōza growled under his breath. "A bunch of spineless weeds. They bend to whoever offers more benefits. No principles at all!"
"So… it's a dead end?" The silent Inoichi finally spoke.
"Yeah… I can't see a way out," Shikaku admitted with a bitter smile.
"Even you say that, Shikaku…"
Chōza and Inoichi's hearts sank. The atmosphere grew heavy.
"Wait… what if it's him…?!"
Shikaku's eyes suddenly lit up as if struck by a thought. "If the Hokage… if he can send that guy, Chiba… then we might still have a chance!"
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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