After leaving the Hokage's office, Tōshirō headed straight to a house and stood at the door. He didn't want to shout and risk disturbing anyone inside who might be resting.
All in all, best to knock first and see if anyone's home.
With that thought, Tōshirō gently knocked on the door and patiently waited for a while.
No answer?
Just as he was about to turn and leave, his ears twitched—he heard faint footsteps coming from inside, heading in his direction.
Moments later, the door opened, and out came a young boy with light blond hair and a bit of baby fat still on his face. He looked to be about four or five years old.
Tōshirō gave a small surprised sound. Not Grandma Mito?
The little boy looked up at Tōshirō with wide, curious eyes and asked, "Who are you?"
Good question—Tōshirō thought. I was just about to ask you the same thing.
He was fairly sure he hadn't come to the wrong place, so why was there a child here?
Not bothering to overthink it, Tōshirō asked the kid directly if Mito was around.
The little boy gestured with his tiny hands to explain that Mito was his grandmother, and he was her grandson.
Upon hearing the boy introduce himself as Nawaki, Tōshirō froze for a moment—he recognized that name. Based on what the boy said… oh, so this was his little brother-in-law.
Nawaki was only born in the last few years, and since Tōshirō had spent the past three years in the Forest of Death, this was their first meeting.
He looked more closely at the little guy in front of him—and somehow, Nawaki's face overlapped in his mind with a certain someone who had three whisker-like marks on his cheeks.
Now that he thought about it, Nawaki did look quite a bit like Naruto. So maybe that resemblance wasn't so unreasonable after all.
Tōshirō pictured what Nawaki would grow up to look like. Probably something similar to the crown prince, he thought.
Tōshirō was about to ask why Nawaki was staying at Mito's house, but then he recalled—Tsunade's parents had only passed away recently. Since Tsunade was often away on missions, there'd be no one else to look after Nawaki. Naturally, Mito, as his grandmother, had taken on the responsibility.
Considering that, Tōshirō wisely decided not to bring up any of Nawaki's painful memories. He also thought about how these siblings depended on each other now.
Tōshirō bent down so that his eyes were level with Nawaki's.
Nawaki blinked: "???"
Tōshirō placed his hands on Nawaki's small shoulders, looked him seriously in the eye, and declared:"Your sister—I shall raise her myself. You needn't worry."
Nawaki: "???"
He slapped Tōshirō's hands off and gave him a suspicious look.
Tōshirō let out an awkward laugh.
Honestly, that reaction was perfectly normal. What sane person opens with something that weird?
But this was all part of Tōshirō's plan—it was a bold move to quickly close the distance between him and his future little brother-in-law.
Just as Tōshirō was thinking about how to continue building rapport with Nawaki, someone else walked out of the house.
Tōshirō looked up. It was a kind-looking elder—it was Mito. He immediately stood up straight.
Mito didn't seem surprised to see him. "Looks like you've gotten Monkey's approval."
"That's all thanks to you, Grandma Mito, for speaking up on my behalf."
Hearing Tōshirō respectfully refer to Mito as "Grandma," the little boy Nawaki tilted his head, eyes filled with curiosity as he tried to figure out Tōshirō's relationship with Mito.
"I merely went with the flow," Mito said modestly. "What really mattered was your own effort."
Then, in Nawaki's presence, she subtly asked, "How is it doing now?"
She was clearly referring to the Five-Tails.
Tōshirō picked up on it and patted his stomach with a grin. "Not bad. We actually had a bit of a fight recently."
Mito blinked in surprise. "A fight?"
"Yeah," Tōshirō replied with a pained smile. "I lost. Pretty embarrassing."
Mito looked at him in astonishment—she hadn't expected him to have already built that kind of relationship with the Tailed Beast inside him. Even though he lost, the beast hadn't taken the opportunity to seize control of his body. Then again, if the Five-Tails had wanted to take over, it probably would've tried long ago.
"But the good news is," Tōshirō continued, "it seems like it's starting to accept me. Once I can beat it head-on next time, I should be able to borrow its power freely."
He tossed the line out casually—classic humblebrag.
Mito: "…"
Tōshirō added another sentence, fully putting Mito's mind at ease:"By that time, I think I'll have become a perfect Jinchūriki."
Perfect Jinchūriki…
Hearing this concept, not only was Mito extremely surprised—even the Nine-Tails inside her was equally shocked. It wondered just who this young man in front of her was, to actually gain the acknowledgment of a Tailed Beast. In thousands of years, there had never been such a case.
Mito murmured softly, then smiled kindly and encouraged him:"I look forward to it…"
Tōshirō bowed deeply."These past days, I've truly been in your debt."
After saying goodbye to Mito, Tōshirō headed straight for the Konoha Military Police Force.
When the Uchiha clan members saw him, they barely recognized him."You're Tōshirō?"
Tōshirō admitted it without hesitation.
Someone in the police force asked,"Weren't you made a Jinchūriki? Why aren't you training to control the Tailed Beast? Why are you out here?"
"Because I've already succeeded in using the Tailed Beast's power."
Tōshirō's light, casual tone left everyone stunned.Someone speculated:"To control a Tailed Beast in just three years... Did you awaken the Sharingan?"
Tōshirō sweatdropped and firmly denied it.
The Sharingan did possess some ability to suppress Tailed Beasts—though a three-tomoe Sharingan wouldn't exert full control, it could still exert some pressure.
"You didn't sneak out and try to bluff us, did you?"
Doubtful, someone challenged him. In response, Tōshirō used action to prove his claim—steam began to rise from his body.
Everyone was shocked.
"So that's how it is."
"What kind of jutsu is that?"
"This is a Kekkei Genkai I developed using the power of the Five-Tails—Boil Release. Looks decent, doesn't it?"
Nani!!!
The entire Uchiha clan was even more shocked than before. Kekkei Genkai were extremely rare, and yet this young man had actually developed one himself? That was practically monstrous.
Tōshirō gave a calm, subtle flex:"No need to be too surprised. Under normal circumstances, it'd be nearly impossible to develop Boil Release at my age. If not for the Tailed Beast's power, I wouldn't have been able to do it either."
Someone muttered bitterly:"Look at you, humblebragging after getting all the benefits."
Another chimed in with pride:"Even if you've got two Kekkei Genkai, they're nothing in front of the Sharingan."
Amid the buzzing crowd, one man silently observed Tōshirō—it was none other than the Uchiha clan head.
He couldn't help but sigh inwardly. He knew more about Tōshirō's background than most, and upon hearing that Tōshirō had developed Boil Release, he couldn't help but recall the two Kekkei Genkai Tōshirō already possessed.
A single person possessing three different Kekkei Genkai… what kind of terrifying talent is this?
The Uchiha clan would surely restore its former glory through him.
Hmph… Just wait, Konoha leadership. If you won't give us what we want, we'll just take it by force.
The Fourth Hokage's seat—it belongs to the Uchiha clan.
With that thought, the clan head stepped up to Tōshirō, gave him a firm pat on the shoulder, and said with deep expectations:"You're impressive. I look forward to your performance on the battlefield."
Tōshirō nodded earnestly.
After finishing his visit with the clan, Tōshirō returned to the clan grounds to train.
(End of Chapter)
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