Three days later.
Land of Lightning, Kumogakure.
ANBU Base Training Grounds.
"DOUBLE LARIAT!!!"
"RAAAAH!!!"
Amid thunderous roars, two towering figures—cloaked in crackling lightning like storm gods—charged at each other.
ZZZT—BOOM!
The ground split under the force of their collision as their electrified arms clashed. Blue arcs of Lightning Release Armor flared between them, so intense it rivaled the sun itself.
"HAAH… Now that's a warm-up!"
The ANBU Captain, Yotsuki Takeshi, exhaled as the lightning around him dimmed. His muscles, stiff from days of desk work, finally felt alive again.
"Tch. Sitting in that damn office rusts my bones! Fuckin' paperwork—who the hell thought makin' me handle intel was a good idea?!"
WHACK!
A calloused palm smacked the back of his skull.
"Who're you callin' 'hell'?!" roared Yotsuki Yuu, his white beard bristling. The elder's oak-brown muscles dwarfed his son's, veins coiled like ancient tree roots.
The usually brash Takeshi instantly shrank like a scolded pup. "N-Not you, old man! I meant—"
"Weakest in the clan, yet you bitch the loudest!" Yuu's voice boomed across the training grounds. "I fought for the Third Raikage's title! And you? Stuck pushin' papers 'cause you lost to every damn cousin in the trials!"
Takeshi glanced around, flushing as nearby ANBU snickered. "Dad—save the lectures for home—"
**"Your Lightning Armor's weaker than a toddler's static! You want respect? Earn it!"** Yuu jabbed a finger at his chest. "Next clan tournament, if you're still ANBU Captain, I'll lariat you into next week!"
Just as Takeshi's face turned tomato-red—
"Captain!"
A lithe female ANBU agent sprinted over, her mask tilted to hide a smirk. "Urgent missive from 'Beast.'"
Saved! Takeshi nearly wept. "Ah! See, Dad? Duty calls—"
"Duty my ass! Your assistant handles your 'duty'!" Yuu scoffed but stepped back, crossing arms like a boulder. "Read it here. Then we're sparring again."
Takeshi sighed. His father, despite his age and old war wounds (courtesy of Ōnoki's Iwa forces), refused to retire. Doctors warned him to rest—**"Ten more years if you stay still"**—but the old bull wouldn't listen.
"I'll die training, fighting, or on a mission—not sniveling in bed!"
Even the Fourth Raikage deferred to him. Who could argue?
"Two reports, sir," the assistant said, handing over decoded scrolls. "One arrived last night, the other this morning. Priority markings."
Takeshi skimmed—then grinned.
"The Uchiha and Konoha are at each other's throats?"
"Worse," the agent added. "ANBU have their compound locked down. Not even a sparrow flies out unchecked."
"HA! Serves 'em right!" Takeshi slapped his thigh. Since Hashirama's era, Konoha had lorded its "strongest village" title over them. Finally—karma.
"Shame we can't snatch a few Uchiha for breeding. Those Sharingan eyes…" He licked his lips, recalling his father's war stories. Almost as good as Byakugan.
The assistant cleared her throat. "Second report—about Byakugan." She tapped the scroll. **"'Beast' located a wild Hyūga-blooded female. Young. Fertile."**
"…Eh?"
Yuu's ears perked up. The old warrior turned, eyes sharp as lightning.
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