Danzo, say ah~

“Carat is....”

"Snore... snore..." Tobirama was lecturing passionately at the front of the classroom when a series of snores suddenly interrupted him. A vein bulged on his forehead, and he turned toward the source.

"Senju Dave!!!" Dave was still sleeping peacefully in Tsukimi's arms. The sudden roar startled him into leaping to his feet.

"Who... is class over?" Duy mumbled, still groggy.

"Get outside and stand there!!" Tobirama really wanted to give his son a beating, but this was a classroom, and they had only acknowledged each other as father and son a few days ago. He couldn't bring himself to hit him, but he still had to maintain his authority as a teacher.

"Huh? Oh, right. Um, dear old Dad—pfft, I mean, teacher! Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō told me to sleep. Those two are accomplices!" Determined to take at least two others down with him, Dave pointed at the innocent Hiruzen and Danzo beside him.

"What??? Teacher! I didn't!" Hiruzen and Danzo were dumbfounded. What does you sleeping have to do with us???

"You two, go outside with him!!" Tobirama had reached the end of his patience. No longer caring who was innocent, he roared at all three.

Outside the classroom, two boys seething with resentment and one sleepy boy wearing an innocent expression stood around with nothing to do.

"Dave! You bastard!! Why did you drag Hiruzen and me out here too?!" Danzo pointed at Dave and cursed furiously.

Look how mad I've made the Pot Kage... Duy was getting a little nervous himself. What if this guy holds a grudge and secretly gets rid of me later, using some random "it's all for Konoha" excuse?

"Now, now, aren't we best buddies? I enjoy the good times, and you shoulder the bad times. How great is that!" Ah, screw it. That's all in the future anyway. Would Danzo really dare do anything to me, the Second Hokage's son?

"You bastard!!"

Hiruzen and Danzo roared, their faces flushing at his words. Then they exchanged wicked grins and slowly approached Dave.

"Hey! I'm warning you! I'm the teacher's son! Aren't you afraid he'll make life difficult for you later?!" Duy swallowed.

Neither said a word, but they continued slowly advancing on him.

"I'm warning you! I'm really strong! Even the First Hokage gets scared when I start fighting, believe it or not!!" Duy shouted.

"Then let us see it!!!"

"Aah!!!"

Naturally, Tobirama could hear the screams outside, but he continued lecturing as though nothing had happened. His son really hadn't shown him any respect as a father these past few days. A little lesson would do him good. Of course, Tobirama wouldn't administer it himself.

Classes ended at noon.

"Pfft! How did they beat you up this badly?" Tsukimi walked over to Dave with lunch and burst out laughing.

"Hmph, those two bastards. I was going easy on them. Even I scare myself when I fight. If I hadn't wanted to spare them any injuries, they'd both be lying in the hospital right now, believe it or not." Duy snorted, his face swollen like a pig's head.

"Yes, yes, Dave, you're the strongest. Come on, let's eat." Tsukimi giggled.

Then Dave flopped into Tsukimi's arms like a salted fish, while she smiled tenderly and fed him spoonful after spoonful.

To get back at the pair, Dave even made a point of waggling his eyebrows at Hiruzen. You two single guys—what have you got to compete with me?

Hiruzen was furious. He turned toward Danzo beside him.

"Danzo, say ah~" Hiruzen scooped up a spoonful of food from his lunchbox and brought it to Danzo's mouth, speaking softly.

"..."

Duy was stunned by Hiruzen's move too. Th-this... this... their bromance is positively blinding!!

"Tsukimi, let's get away from these two perverts." Duy hurriedly pulled Tsukimi off to the side, putting plenty of distance between them and those two lovebirds...

Meanwhile.

Tobirama stood alone on the roof of the school building, watching the scene. His head hurt a little...

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō... looks like those two boys need a little counseling... Tobirama couldn't even bear to look at that scene. And then there was his troublesome son, who never did what he wanted. Seeing that evil Uchiha girl feeding his son with such a tender smile made Tobirama's stomach ache...

Damn Madara Uchiha! Damn that Uchiha girl! Damn the Uchiha Clan!! Curse them!!!

Every last one of them wants to steal my precious son!! The Uchiha Clan! They really are my lifelong enemies!!

Just then, two swishes sounded beside him. Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju had arrived.

"Hahaha, Madara! I was faster! You lost this time!!" Hashirama laughed loudly, pointing at Madara beside him and gloating.

"Mm, you won, ugly," Madara said with a quiet nod.

A gloomy shadow instantly settled over Hashirama... You're never going to let that fucking thing go, are you???

"Big brother, why are you here? Have you finished your work today?" Ignoring Madara, Tobirama looked at his older brother and asked sternly.

"Uh... n-no..." Hashirama froze, then answered awkwardly.

"Hmph! As Hokage, instead of doing your work properly, all you do is slack off every day. How are you supposed to lead Konoha to the pinnacle of the shinobi world like this?!" Tobirama scolded him, exasperated by his failure to live up to his potential.

While Hashirama and Tobirama continued grumbling at each other, Madara gazed over at Dave, who was thoroughly enjoying himself.

Tobirama glanced aside and caught him looking. His anger flared. What the fuck are you staring at? That's my fucking son!

Madara, meanwhile, felt a hint of relief. Duy and that little girl really did seem to be getting along well. It gave him hope that the Uchiha Clan could fully integrate into Konoha.

Only a few years had passed since Konoha's founding, and most of the clans had yet to fully integrate into the village. After all, centuries of clan loyalties were deeply ingrained in their minds. That wasn't something a few years could change.

Madara was working hard on the Uchiha Clan as well. He knew exactly what his clansmen were like: every last one thought himself above everyone else. Getting them to integrate into the village would be difficult.

Madara hadn't turned to darkness yet. At this point, he was simply the Uchiha Clan Head, looking out for his village and his clan.