After taking Sakumo Hatake home and bandaging his wounds, Isamu didn't linger and simply strolled back to his own house.
On the other side, the people Hiruzen Sarutobi sent out found nothing but ruins. Seeing that his subordinates had uncovered nothing useful, Hiruzen personally headed to the back mountain. Looking at the traces of battle everywhere, he began searching the scene for clues.
After more than ten minutes, he finally discovered a piece of cut wood buried beneath the debris. Holding it in his hand, he fell into deep thought.
There was nothing else—only this fragment.
From the marks on it, it was clearly caused by Wind Release. In Konoha, only Isamu could use Wind Release on such a scale.
Isamu… what exactly are you trying to do? And who did you fight?
"Hokage-sama, should we continue searching?" a ninja asked, interrupting his thoughts.
Hiruzen snapped back to his senses. "No need. Inform the village that this was just internal Ninjutsu training. There's no need for panic."
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
Just like that, the unrest in Konoha was quickly suppressed under the explanation of routine training.
Isamu was briefly surprised when he heard the news, but quickly understood.
"He must have guessed it was me and chose to cover it up. He just doesn't know who I fought. If he did, he would've already spoken to Sakumo Hatake. I'll remember this favor."
A week passed.
Jiraiya, who had been training at Mount Myōboku, and Tsunade and Orochimaru, who had been out on missions, all returned to the village.
As soon as Jiraiya came back, he was summoned by Hiruzen. During their conversation, Hiruzen confirmed what Isamu had said earlier. Jiraiya was shocked that Isamu knew so much about Mount Myōboku.
That evening, four people arrived at Isamu's house.
Why four?
Because Tsunade had brought her younger brother, Nawaki, along.
"Big Brother Isamu! Big Brother Isamu! Are you home?" Jiraiya shouted, banging loudly on the door.
"I seriously don't get why you and Sis insisted on coming to see this guy. His ninja status has already been revoked—who knows what he did wrong? Why bother with someone like him?" Nawaki muttered unhappily. If Tsunade hadn't dragged him here, he wouldn't have come.
Thwack!
"You brat, watch your mouth! Isamu wouldn't be in the wrong—there must be a reason behind it!" Tsunade snapped, knocking him on the head.
"Tch… it's still true…" Nawaki muttered, rubbing his head.
Tsunade was about to scold him further when the door suddenly opened.
"Who is it…?" Isamu asked, looking half-asleep.
"Oh—it's you guys. What brings you here? Come in, come in." Seeing them, he immediately perked up and warmly invited them inside.
"Big Brother Isamu, it's only eight o'clock and you were already sleeping?" Jiraiya asked in disbelief. In the past, Isamu always stayed up late. Had this situation really affected him that much?
"I haven't had much to do these past few days, so I've been sleeping earlier. But I still wake up pretty early," Isamu said, a little embarrassed.
None of them believed him.
Nawaki's eyes, in particular, were filled with undisguised contempt.
Isamu led them inside. The group sat around the table, and Tsunade took out a roast chicken she had prepared in advance.
"Oh? You even brought roast chicken. But what's meat without wine?" Isamu grinned. "A few days ago, the clan's Great Elder gave me two jars of good wine. I'll go get them. Tonight, we drink until we're satisfied!"
With that, he hurried out.
Tsunade sighed as she watched him leave. "I didn't expect him to start drinking… It seems this matter really hit him hard. Let's comfort him later."
Jiraiya and Orochimaru both nodded.
Only Nawaki, upon hearing about the drinking, looked even more disdainful.
"Alright! The wine is here!" Isamu returned quickly, carrying the jars. "This was a gift from the clan elder—I haven't even tasted it yet. Since you're here, let's enjoy it together."
He poured the wine into four bowls and handed them out.
"One for Jiraiya, one for Tsunade, one for Orochimaru, and one for me… huh? I'm short one bowl. Wait—where did this kid come from?" Only then did he notice Nawaki.
"Tch, he's just a drunkard. Why should I call him that?" Nawaki turned his head away stubbornly.
"Tian—" Tsunade started, then corrected herself, "Isamu, this is my brother, Nawaki. Nawaki, greet him properly."
"This brat…" Tsunade raised her hand again, but Isamu stopped her.
"Forget it. He's just a kid. Let him be. Come on, let's drink."
Isamu remembered Nawaki—he had seen him once when visiting Uzumaki Mito, though they hadn't spoken. He had no interest in dealing with this kind of arrogant, hot-blooded kid dreaming about becoming Hokage every day.
"Fine." Tsunade didn't push it further. "Isamu, when did you start drinking?"
"Why do you ask? This is actually my first time—I just brought it out because you're all here."
"First time?" Jiraiya blurted out, "Big Brother Isamu, aren't you depressed because your ninja status was revoked?"
The moment the words left his mouth, he froze and covered it.
Orochimaru and Tsunade immediately shot him sharp looks.
Isamu burst out laughing.
"Who told you I was depressed? Without missions, life's been pretty comfortable. Why would I be depressed?"
"Really? You truly don't care about losing your ninja title?" Tsunade asked, still skeptical.
"Not at all. I saw how hard you've been working, so I brought out my best wine to treat you—and this is what you think of me?" Isamu said, pretending to be offended.
"Haha! I knew Big Brother Isamu wouldn't be shaken by something like that!" Jiraiya said—only to shrink back under Tsunade's glare.
"Then what are you planning to do next?" Orochimaru asked directly. "You're not just going to stay idle, are you?"
"Idle? I've just been resting these past couple of days. I'll start taking missions again soon." Isamu took a sip of wine. "Good stuff."
"Missions?" Orochimaru frowned. "Didn't the village revoke your ninja status and forbid you from leaving?"
Jiraiya and Tsunade exchanged confused looks.
For a moment, they couldn't help but wonder
Had Isamu… lost his mind and started imagining things?
-----
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