Chapter 46: Uchiha Fugaku Faces a Cold Reception

Sakumo Hatake sat down directly across from Takuya, his eyes drifting to the food on the table. He took a deep breath and asked, "Mind if I join you? I've been busy all day and haven't had a chance to eat."

Takuya got up to fetch some extra dishes and utensils, and also took out some prepared food he had set aside for the next day. As he sat back down, he gritted his teeth and said, "I thought I was the village hero. But instead, all I got was doubt and distrust!"

Why is Sakumo Hatake here?

Is it because he likes me?

No, no, no—he's here because the Third Hokage sent him. I can tell.

So Takuya didn't bother hiding his dissatisfaction, letting all his emotions show. I'm upset—so what? I got accused and doubted, and now I'm supposed to just take it?

"No, you are a hero of the village," Sakumo said, talking through a mouthful of food. "Without the intel you guys brought back and the enemy's corpse, the Land of Fire would have suffered significant losses. Shimura Hideitsu's doubts weren't endorsed by the Hokage. He's just a narrow-minded guy who can't stand anyone being better than him. He's always been hostile toward geniuses."

What the hell!

Shimura Hideitsu must have some serious issues.

What did I ever do to you?

The entire Shimura clan must be filled with jerks.

Seeing that Takuya remained silent, Sakumo continued, "He's been like that since school. I hope this incident teaches him a lesson. Anyway..."

Takuya's expression said it all: I don't believe you, and I don't care. This left Sakumo at a loss. He was here on the Third Hokage's orders, hoping to smooth things over with Takuya, but it wasn't working.

"No matter what, you shouldn't curse out the Hokage, got it?"

"Curse the Hokage?" Takuya's eyes widened. "Don't make things up. I never did that!"

You didn't?

Sakumo couldn't help but laugh. Then who was that outside the Hokage's office, yelling and cursing? If the Hokage hadn't intervened, the ANBU would've been all over you.

And you say you didn't curse?

You think just because you didn't say his name, it doesn't count?

"Anyway, I didn't curse," Takuya insisted. Believe it or don't. I said I didn't, so that's that.

And if you take it personally, then you're just admitting you're a hypocrite!

"Sure, sure, you didn't curse," Sakumo said, finally giving up. He wasn't one to usually tolerate such behavior, but Takuya... Takuya was different.

Remembering the fate of Shimura Hideitsu, Sakumo decided it was best not to provoke this kid. Who knew what kind of genjutsu Takuya might unleash, leaving him dancing awkwardly and suffering mental trauma?

Sakumo wasn't even sure he could resist Takuya's genjutsu. If it was purely Sharingan-based, he could avoid eye contact, but if it wasn't... that could be a real problem. Until they figured out the weaknesses of this "Sakura Fall" genjutsu, it was best to tread lightly.

From the way Takuya had unleashed his genjutsu on Shimura Hideitsu without hesitation, Sakumo believed he'd do the same to him.

It's best not to mess with this loose cannon.

"Kid, you've done something impressive this time." Sakumo set down his bowl, satisfied, and leaned back in his chair. "Your teammates contributed, sure, but the major credit goes to you. The Hokage wanted me to tell you that the village won't forget your contributions."

"When the time is right, your achievements will be formally recognized, allowing you to trade them for things like jutsu scrolls."

With that, Sakumo stood and headed for the window.

"Oh, and the main forces are heading out tomorrow. Do you want to go to the battlefield and earn some more merits?"

"No thanks. I don't want to come back from killing enemies just to be accused of lying again," Takuya scoffed. "Please use the door."

"Uh... right, sorry, my bad." Sakumo's face flushed with embarrassment. He hadn't even realized he was about to climb out the window again—getting caught doing that earlier was embarrassing enough. If he did it again now, he'd lose all his dignity.

After leaving Takuya's house, Sakumo returned to the Hokage's office and recounted his conversation with Takuya.

"It seems the boy has a deep misunderstanding of me," the Third Hokage sighed.

"Hokage-sama, I think the kid's actually pretty decent. It's just unfortunate that Shimura Hideitsu's personal issues escalated things to this point," Sakumo said. Despite the difficult interaction, Sakumo still felt Takuya was a good person at heart.

If it weren't for Shimura Hideitsu messing things up, this wouldn't have turned out so badly.

The Third Hokage smiled slightly and said, "Tsunade has always said this child is worth nurturing. She wasn't wrong. Takuya isn't difficult to get along with; today's events just left him disappointed. I'm confident things will improve."

"Let's hope so. I believe it won't be long before he becomes one of Konoha's pillars."

"Hokage-sama, I'll take my leave now," Sakumo said. With the main forces departing for the front lines the next morning, he had to prepare. His mission was to lead several Jonin squads in clearing out the enemy forces that had infiltrated the Land of Fire.

"Go ahead," the Third Hokage said, waving him off.

Sakumo bowed and left.

The war between Sunagakure and Konoha had officially begun. Sunagakure had sent a massive number of shinobi into the Land of Fire. Konoha responded by deploying numerous squads to engage and push the Suna ninjas back toward the Land of Rivers.

In just a short time, villages across the Land of Fire were attacked, their wealth pillaged, and resources stolen. The country was scarred by the invading forces.

Sakumo Hatake's unit was part of the second wave of reinforcements. The number of Sunagakure shinobi far exceeded the Third Hokage's initial estimates. To curb their looting, Konoha had to keep sending out more and more squads for support.

If they think I'm just going to sit back and let this happen, they're in for a rude awakening.

After seeing Sakumo off, Takuya finally lay down to rest. The past few days had taken a toll on him; he was just as exhausted as Minato and Mikoto.

Knock, knock, knock!

"Who the heck is it now?" Takuya grumbled as he was rudely awakened by loud knocking early the next morning.

Still in his pajamas, he yanked open the door.

"You... Uchiha Fugaku?"

The person standing at the door surprised Takuya. It was none other than Uchiha Fugaku, the future spineless clan leader.

Oh wait, he's not the clan leader yet—just the heir.

At first glance, Takuya didn't even recognize him. If it weren't for that distinctive drooping mouth, Takuya wouldn't have connected him to the future Uchiha Fugaku.

Even as a teenager, Fugaku looked far too mature. His maturity wasn't the issue—it was the lack of any other expression on his face combined with those drooping lips. The whole look was just... off-putting.

People always said the Uchiha clan produced handsome men and beautiful women, but Fugaku seemed to have missed out on those genes. It was clear that both Itachi and Sasuke got their good looks from their mother, Mikoto.

As for Fugaku... well, let's just say the world's better off that neither Itachi nor Sasuke took after him. If they had, fans wouldn't be able to look at them the same way.

"It's me," Fugaku said, forcing a small, awkward smile that did nothing to make him look more approachable. In fact, it made him look even worse.

"What do you want?" Takuya asked coldly. Apart from Mikoto and her mother, Takuya didn't have a good impression of anyone from the Uchiha clan.

Seeing Fugaku only reminded him of the time his mother had begged the clan to take them back, only to be rejected because of his white hair.

To the Uchiha, his white hair was an eyesore.

What a ridiculous reason to be rejected.

Good thing Tobirama wasn't born into the Uchiha clan. If he had black and white hair, they'd probably think he was a freak.

"May I come in?" Fugaku gestured toward the house, clearly wanting to continue the conversation inside.

"No, you may not." Takuya didn't give him an inch. He didn't care whether Fugaku was here on behalf of the clan leader or some elder—Takuya wasn't going to treat him kindly.

If it weren't for not wanting to cause trouble for Mikoto and her family, Takuya would have slammed the door in his face.

"..."

Fugaku's awkward smile froze. He hadn't expected Takuya to be so blunt, not even allowing him to step inside.

Uchiha is the most powerful clan in Konoha, but I'm not someone you can just use to your advantage. So please, don't disrupt my life.

With that, Takuya began to close the door.

"But you have Uchiha blood! Your mother is from the Uchiha clan!" Fugaku protested, his rigid expression returning.

"Yeah," Takuya said with a cold smile. "And when my mother needed help, when she begged to return to the clan, you rejected her. Just because I have white hair."

Pointing at his own hair, Takuya's smile faded, replaced by a cold, hard glare.

"This is the first time you've come here, and I hope it's the last. If I see any more Uchiha at my door, I won't be so polite."

"The blood in my veins comes from my mother. Since you didn't accept us back then, there's no need to try now. You walk your path, and I'll walk mine."

Bang!

The door slammed shut, nearly hitting Fugaku's nose, forcing him to take a step back. His face turned ashen with humiliation.

I'm the heir of the Uchiha clan. I swallowed my pride and came here, and I wasn't even allowed inside. I was even threatened!

This was a disgrace.

And the worst part was, Fugaku couldn't do anything about it. Even if he wanted to retaliate, he'd have to wait for the right opportunity, maybe when Takuya left the village.

But Takuya wasn't an easy target.

Shimura Hideitsu's infamous dancing incident had already spread throughout Konoha. No one wanted to risk provoking Takuya.

Clicking his tongue, Takuya thought, Some people are the same no matter what world you're in.

When they don't like you, they'll step all over you, maybe even kick you while you're down. But when they see you as valuable, they'll come running, wagging their tails.

So what if I refuse to give Uchiha Fugaku any respect?

When I didn't have the strength to protect myself, I avoided them. Now that I have that strength, why should I be polite?

Let's see how that works out.

Shimura Hideitsu's name was infamous now, and the Shimura clan would have preferred to remain unknown. Because of one man's actions, the entire clan found it hard to hold their heads high.

Some of the more hotheaded members even swore they'd make Takuya pay. But for now, it was all just talk. They knew they couldn't openly confront him in Konoha; that would be considered infighting, which was unacceptable.

Even later, when Danzo gained control and acted behind the scenes, he never dared bring his schemes out into the open.

Takuya wasn't concerned with any of this. All he wanted was a good night's sleep.

But the world didn't seem to be on his side. Just as he was finally dozing off, he heard the sound of the front door opening.

A head of bright red hair peeked in, a small, mischievous face scanning the room.

It was Kushina.

After making sure Takuya wasn't around, Kushina relaxed and placed a bento box on the table. She quietly closed the door, unaware that the person she was trying not to disturb was watching her with a headache, rubbing his temples.

"What are you doing?" Takuya asked.

"Ahhh!" Kushina shrieked, leaping into the air like a startled deer. Already on edge, she was terrified when Takuya suddenly spoke.

In that moment, she was just a scared little girl—no chakra chains, no enhanced perception, nothing.

"Don't scare me like that!" Kushina huffed, glaring at Takuya and stomping her foot.

Yawning, Takuya rolled his eyes at her and headed for the bathroom. "How did you get a key to my house?"

Looks like I'm not getting any more sleep.

"Because I live next door," Kushina said proudly, shaking the key. "I told the locksmith I locked myself out, and he helped me open the door and made me a copy."

Takuya nearly choked on his toothpaste foam.

What kind of sneaky move is that?

You're so good at this, why not just become a thief?

Even thieves don't have it this easy—just walk right in and take the key.