Chapter 35: A Pissed Father, and the Warmth of the Past

Chapter 35: A Pissed Father, and the Warmth of the Past



At the same time...

Inoichi walked with measured steps through the Yamanaka compound, nodding and waving at his passing clansmen. To anyone watching, his smile seemed genuine, his eyes warm.

They'd be wrong.

He was pissed.

Inoichi had been out all night leading into the morning with Shikaku and Choza and came

home to find that Daiki had taken his son out to "train"--but that wasn't training.

Aiko was irate about what happened to Satoshi. To her son. To the love of her life.

She was right to feel that way. He was, too.

Daiki overstepped his bounds-that was absolutely unacceptable.

Inoichi arrived at a secluded, one-story house and knocked on the door. He waited with a calm exterior while his insides were boiling.

"Who's it?" a voice drawled from inside.

Inoichi didn't answer. Instead, he released a sharp pulse of chakra-agitated. Hot.

There was a shuffle on the other side, followed by a long pause. Finally, the door creaked open.

"Oh, Inoichi," Daiki said, leaning casually against the door frame. One hand rested on the door; the other dug lazily in his ear. He was shirtless, his body tortured with scars and muscles. "Didn't expect-"

Inoichi brushed past him, cutting off the greeting.

Daiki blinked but didn't argue. He shut the door with a deliberate click and trailed after Inoichi, leaning against the wall of his living room as his guest turned to face him.

"So?" Daiki said, locking eyes with Inoichi. "What's this about?"

"You overstepped," Inoichi said bluntly. If he'd come any earlier, he wasn't sure he could've contained his anger.

Daiki crossed his arms, his expression unrepentant, though he looked like he'd just rolled out of bed.

"He was getting too-"

"I don't care what you think he was getting." Inoichi snapped, tone smooth as silk. "Your job is to train him in taijutsu and weapons. That's it."

Daiki sighed, shaking his head. "You're too easy on him."

"I am his father," Inoichi shot back, his tightly contained anger beginning to simmer. "He is a five-year-old boy. Not a machine. I know what's best for my son. Not you."

"You acting like this tells me all I need to know," Daiki said. "I know you read the reports. What he-"

"I don't care what he did! I care about what you did." Inoichi cut. "You broke three of his ribs. You gave him internal bleeding. You forced your way into his mind after he transferred into your body. That could've shattered him!"

Inoichi had read his son's memories and seen what Daiki did to him. He knew it all.

"But it didn't," Daiki said, uncrossing his arms and slipping a hand into his pocket. "The boy's strong. He handled it."

"That doesn't justify your recklessness!" Inoichi couldn't hold his anger anymore. "If Satoshi hadn't been as mentally strong as he is, his mind could've shattered into irreparable fragments!"

Daiki said something, but Inoichi didn't hear it. His anger drowned out the words. If he stayed any longer, he would do something he might not regret. And that was scary.

Without another glance, he turned and strode to the front door.

"You will no longer be his teacher, and you are no longer welcome in my home or around my son," he said, his voice flat and final. "Effective immediately."

He didn't wait for a reply.

The slam of the door echoed behind him as he walked away.

<><>

Back with Satoshi, Akira, and Tsunade.

Once Satoshi walked out of the room into the kitchen; Tsunade couldn't stop her head from swiveling towards Akira, who was grinning from ear to ear.

"How does he know all of that?" Tsunade whispered.

The amount of knowledge that the boy showed was more than that of some medical-nin she knows, and he's only five? No way.

"He studied, and read, and studied some more," Akira said.

Tsunade heard the undercurrents of coyness in her tone.

"I told you he was a smart boy."

Smart wasn't the word. She watched his advancement test. Saw his test scores.

He was brilliant.

Like love. "Are you..." She couldn't finish the thought. Internally, she already knew the answer to her

question.

Dan cupped her face gently, his green eyes, as deep as the forest, locked onto hers.

"I'll always be."

His hand drifted down from her cheek, across her neck, to her heart.

"Right here."

Tsunade's breath quivered.

His touch, so familiar, so tender, unraveled her composure. She felt wetness glide down her

cheeks as he pulled her into his arms.

His fingers threaded through her hair, massaging her scalp with the same slow rhythm she

remembered.

Oh, how she missed his touch. His warmth. His voice.

Him.

She clung to him, her hands exploring every detail she thought she'd forgotten: the scar under

his arm from a Kiri-nin's blade, the mole near his lumbar, the birthmark behind his left ear.

She knew him inside and out-his likes, hates, phobias, dreams. And she loved all of him.

She still does.

Dan's thumb brushed away her tears.

"I'm so proud of you," he said, locking her gaze. "You know that, right? I can't imagine how

hard it's been."

Her breath heaved as she struggled to breathe through emotions so thick she felt like she was about to have a panic attack.

"I love you, Tsunade," his warm fingertips trickled down her spine. "Always will."

His words wrapped around her like a warm shield, protecting her from the weight of all the

grief-all the heartache she's been through.

"I-" she stammered, her voice cracking. "I... love you too."

"Don't forget it, okay?" His smile lit up the room. "Now go and remind them who Tsunade Senju, the Princess of Konohagakure, really is. I think some people have forgotten." Tsunade nodded into his shoulder, her heart screaming to hold onto him. She would do

anything to make this moment last forever.

"I believe in you," he murmured, his voice fading like a whisper on the wind.

His presence began to slip away, leaving only memories of his warmth.

"I'll always be with you. Promise." And just like that, the vision shattered, leaving her back at the table with Satoshi and Akira.

Tsunade wiped at her face, her hands trembling slightly. Akira watched her, hand resting under her chin, while Satoshi busied himself with his food as if to give her space.

"I'm... sorry," Tsunade said, her voice hoarse. She rose abruptly, her chair scraping against

the floor. "I just remembered something I needed to do."

She paused, glancing at Satoshi. "The food was delicious. Thank you."

And she meant it. Truly.

Her heels clicked across Akira's living room as she left, the sound fading into the quiet hum of

warm memories and silverware against plates.

[A/N] I know many of you are pissed at Daiki. You should be. Hell, I am, too.

It's not my goal to write perfect characters but flawed people who feel real. Who make mistakes, who have trauma from their life that shapes their decisions. And while we hope that people will learn from their mistakes, sometimes they won't. That makes them human. Everyone won't make the right decision, and sometimes, there will be uncomfortable conversations/situations that create shifts in a family/team dynamic. Daiki was wrong in what he did. He was out of place. And you know what? Some real-life people are like Daiki.

That's what makes it disturbing.

This is a ninja world where people are raised to become murderers. Of course, there will be all kinds of people, old and young, who make terrible decisions, even with children. Hopefully, this clears up some stuff.

Also, I've seen some confusion about Satoshi's fight with Kiburi. Satoshi had that boy in a

genjutsu from the very beginning. He manipulated him mentally. Enhanced his emotions of anger, pride, etc., via the genjutsu. Satoshi, an old man, wanted to break a ten-year-old boy.

And he did.