In the evening, the earlier clear sky was already shrouded with clouds. The cold wind whistled. It felt painful when it blew against one’s face. The dark clouds condensed together, resembling a thick piece of iron, gradually falling to the ground as if they wanted to engulf the Hokage Rock.
There were just a few pedestrians on Konoha streets. They were all wearing padded jackets, their necks tucked into their scarves. The hot air they exhaled turned into vapor, responding to the cold temperature.
Uchiha Tonan walked out of the welfare institution and closed the door behind him.
Coo… coo… In the sky, a flock of birds circled like they wanted to go to the forest to avoid the severe cold. Tonan’s expression, however, remained unchanged. He tightened his windbreaker and walked towards the Sarutobi clan district in a hurry.
One, two, three… A total of six Anbu members are secretly observing him. Tonan had a bad premonition in his heart. Just a moment ago, an Anbu member had barged into the welfare institution and told him that Sarutobi Hiruzen asked him to come over for a meal at his place tonight.
And now, six Anbu officers were monitoring his movements.
“I thought it was an ordinary family dinner, but it seems very likely to be a Hongmen banquet. Where exactly did I go wrong for Sarutobi Hiruzen to act so out of character?”
Many possibilities flashed through Tonan’s mind. Suddenly, his footsteps paused. The Anbu ninjas hiding in the dark became nervous. Tonan turned around and went back to the welfare institution.
The Anbu began to discuss using sign language. “What should we do now?”
“Hokage-sama instructed us to only monitor his movements. Don’t make any move. We just need to wait and watch.”
……
The sky gradually darkened and due to the bad weather, there was no moonlight. Ordinary people couldn’t even see trees a few meters away on such a night. Hiruzen was sitting in the living room, smoking while looking at the family photo in his hand.
His trembling hand gently caressed the photo as if he was caressing the person in it. His mind was filled with the scenes of Shinnosuke and Asuma playing around him when they were young.
He remembered their appearances and voices, but now, he would never have the chance to see any of them again. In the past, he was depressed every day due to the pain of losing his sons.
In his darkest period, it was Tonan who opened a window of hope and gave him some warmth.
At this moment, Hiruzen’s mood was complicated like never before. The enemy who killed his sons was always close to him and their relationship was deeper than any other he had at the moment. The truth he had been seeking out for a long time was finally in the open but it was more bitter than he could stomach.
Hiruzen sighed. He felt he had truly become old. He got up, put the family portrait back in its original place, and went back to the sofa. He blew out a mouthful of smoke and looked at the dark sky outside.
Snow had begun to fall at some point. The cold northern wind blew into the house along with tiny snowflakes but Hiruzen had no intention of closing the door. He just stared outside quietly.
“He should be coming soon. Could I have misunderstood something? Could it be a part of Abe Seimei’s scheme to sow discord between Tonan and me?”
The more time passed, the more Hiruzen’s thoughts ran wild. He thought of countless possibilities in an instant, trying to deceive himself and finally reaching harder facts. “If it was truly Tonan, doesn’t that mean he had deceived me from the beginning and everything he had done was an act? Why did he do this?”
Hiruzen blew out a mouthful of smoke, which obstructed his vision. Suddenly, he thought of a possible motive.
Killing Shinnosuke, Asuma and Orochimaru… Could it be that Tonan had designs on the Hokage’s position? Was he always on the Uchiha’s side? Thinking of this, Hiruzen’s eyes shone with intense killing intent.
Crack… The smoke pipe that had accompanied him for many years was broken by a great force.
Just then, a baby’s cry was heard outside, interrupting his thoughts. From outside the open courtyard gate, Tonan hastily ran in with his head lowered amid the snowstorm.
As Tonan got closer to Hiruzen, the baby’s cries became louder. Just like this, Tonan ran into the room and closed the door with his free hand.
“Huh… Sensei, you didn’t have to wait for me with the door open. It’s so cold outside.” Tonan said in a slightly reproachful tone while unbuttoning the windbreaker, revealing a crying baby inside.
“Be obedient, Kotoura, we have arrived at grandpa’s house, it’s not cold anymore.” Tonan coaxed Kotoura while sitting beside Hiruzen and then picked up the baby.
When Hatake Kotoura saw Hiruzen, he seemed to be frightened and immediately stopped crying, staring at him. There was some timidity on his immature face. Initially, Hiruzen wanted to question Tonan the moment he came in but Kotoura’s presence disrupted this. He couldn’t yell in front of an infant in any case.
Tonan glanced at the empty dining table and frowned, “I was delayed because I had to change Kotoura’s diaper. I’m going to cook now. Sensei, please hold Kotoura for me.”
Without waiting for a response, Tonan shoved Kotoura into Hiruzen’s arms and hurried into the kitchen. Since Hiruzen needed to free up his hand to hold Kotoura, the broken smoke pipe in his hand fell to the ground.
The baby’s eyes widened and he looked curiously at Hiruzen’s frosty expression. Perhaps, he felt that the old man in front of him was a little scary. In the next moment, Kotoura opened his mouth and began wailing again.
Hiruzen’s face twitched but he still subconsciously shook his hand and did his best to coax the infant. “Don’t cry.”
Hiruzen’s mind was in chaos. He neither lost his temper nor was he pretending to be kind. The sounds of dishes moving and food cooking came from the kitchen. Tonan had closed the kitchen door to prevent the fumes from flooding into the living room.
Since he had not grasped the situation yet, he started a verbal offense to stall for time.
“Sensei, this is the first time Kotoura has met you. This little kid is shy so he’ll feel a bit afraid. He won’t cry once he gets to know you. Kotoura’s background is quite miserable. His family doesn’t want him anymore. I asked Kakashi to take him into the Hatake family so that he can have a surname.”
“When he grows up, I’ll be his father. And since you are my sensei, Kotoura can call you grandpa. Sensei? Sensei?”
Tonan was not too loud amid the sizzling oil sounds in the kitchen but Hiruzen could hear him loud and clear. It was just that he didn’t respond. He sat on the sofa with Kotoura in his arms without saying anything.
The kitchen door was pushed open. Tonan stuck his head out from the gap and sniffed, “Sensei, don’t smoke. It’ll be bad for Kotoura at this age.”
After speaking, he pulled his head back into the kitchen and closed the door again.
