Fugaku looked at my puzzled expression, then down at the sandwich, asking in an almost amused tone, "Did we come at a bad time?"
I shook my head. With a casual wave of my hand and a quick pulse of chakra, I stowed the meal away into my storage seal before answering. "No, but I certainly didn't expect the Hokage to show up at my front door."
Fugaku's amusement became even clearer. "You conduct your research here. If we are to see your progress, it makes sense to observe where it happens. Besides, a change of scenery couldn't hurt. We've been stuck in that office for far too long."
Hirotaka and Shikaku both nodded in agreement. The Nara clan head looked thoroughly exhausted, dark circles heavy under his eyes, while Hirotaka appeared as fresh and pleasant as ever.
I narrowed my eyes, momentarily confused, before finally noticing the frantic hand gestures Shisui was shooting me from the back of the group. The realization hit me like a brick. I quickly stepped aside and bowed slightly. "Please, come in, Lord Hokage."
Fugaku smiled, replying with a simple, "Thank you," before stepping in. Shikaku and Hirotaka followed, trailed by Shisui and Itachi. With a subtle gesture from the Hokage, the ANBU guards remained stationed outside as I quietly closed the door.
Inside, my house was an absolute mess of discarded scrolls, unsuccessful concepts, and forgotten seal designs. My ceiling featured my usual mural, which immediately grabbed Hirotaka's attention.
"I must say, your artistic expression rivals that of the artists in the Land of Fire's capital," he noted smoothly. "You should consider selling some of these. I could ensure they turn an amazing profit."
He looked at me with such a confident, disarming smile that, for a fleeting second, I genuinely wanted to drop the whole shinobi lifestyle and become a painter. His sheer charisma made me feel completely assured he could guarantee my financial success. I firmly shook my head, almost feeling like I was breaking out of a genjutsu hex, and offered a nervous chuckle. "It's just a hobby, but I appreciate the offer."
Unoffended, he nodded slightly, his comforting smile never wavering.
Shikaku then scanned the walls. "This doesn't look like something you did," he said, pointing at the chaotic scribbles dominating the lower half of the room.
"Those are Naruto's," I replied simply.
I never washed them off unless he asked me to. It was his way of expressing himself, so the place was practically covered in them, with some even bleeding over my own complex art pieces.
That immediately caught the attention of the Hokage and his two advisors. Fugaku arched an eyebrow. "Is he causing you too much trouble?"
I grinned. "Just enough. But he's a good kid, and he'll be a great shinobi one day."
Fugaku nodded, visibly pleased by my remark, before glancing around the cluttered room once again. "I have to say, your workspace looks far more disorganized than most seal masters' and grandmasters' quarters I've visited."
I scratched the back of my head nervously. "My mind works in a rather scattered way. I tend to leave conceptual threads open while I work on other projects. When inspiration strikes, I jump right back to them. Even a failed seal can provide a vital piece of insight later."
Shikaku nodded approvingly. "That is a great state of mind to have, kid."
I bowed my head respectfully. "Thank you, Lord Shikaku. Coming from you, that means a lot."
Fugaku was now actively looking around the room. He noted the chunks taken out of the wooden floor, the holes punched through the walls and ceiling, and the shattered wooden fragments scattered across the room. "My ANBU told me that you had an accident a couple of days ago," he said. "They reported you were fine and went right back to work, but this is far more than a simple mishap."
I chuckled nervously. "I strengthened the barrier around my house so I would not damage the rest of the Senju compound after that first incident. That is why they did not notice any of the subsequent..." I remained silent for a moment, searching for the word before continuing, "incidents."
A worried look appeared on both Shikaku and Fugaku's faces. "You should not do that," Shikaku spoke up, his tone serious. "The ANBU are there to help if something unfortunate happens to you."
I nodded, completely understanding his point. Eventually, Fugaku's curiosity got the best of him. "So, what is this new development?"
"Right," I said as my mind finally kicked into gear. I summoned a crisp red apple from my storage seal and immediately started drawing the Flying Thunder God formula onto it. I then painted the corresponding equation onto my own hand. It was a fast process now that I was in a controlled environment. Once the ink settled, I looked up. "Shisui-sensei, activate your Sharingan and catch this apple."
Shisui looked confused for a second before humoring me. The air in the room suddenly grew heavy as both Itachi and, curiously enough, Fugaku activated their Sharingan as well. Three pairs of glowing crimson eyes locked entirely onto me.
I threw the apple directly toward Shisui. He tracked it effortlessly. In that exact fraction of a second, I activated my Flying Thunder God seal. I flooded the ink with chakra, firmly defining my physical coordinates and the apple's location in three-dimensional space. The jutsu instantly connected the two points with an unbreakable tether.
Then, reality simply folded.
The physical world warped around me, stretching into a swirling vortex of muted sound and heavy pressure. In the pitch darkness of the spatial divide, both seals ignited with a blinding, ethereal light. I was violently ripped across the spatial bridge, bypassing distance entirely. In a literal flash, I materialized right in front of Shisui. Before his hand could even close around the target, I snatched the apple right out of the air. Using the momentum from the spatial shift, I transitioned into a clean mid-air flip and landed flawlessly on my feet.
With the fruit resting securely in my hand, I took a massive bite. The crisp crunch echoed in the stunned silence of the room, and I chewed with a grin so wide my face actually hurt.
What happened next was one of my proudest moments. Fugaku, Shisui, the two advisors, and even Itachi stood frozen, their mouths hanging open in absolute shock. Shisui was so genuinely confused he kept looking back and forth between the bitten apple and his own empty hand.
"My Sharingan did not track any movement," Shisui finally muttered, his voice laced with disbelief. "It was like he was standing right there, and then he simply existed where the apple was."
Beside him, Itachi nodded slowly, confirming the impossible observation.
Suddenly, Fugaku moved. He stepped forward and slapped me on the back so hard I almost folded in half. The Hokage let out a booming laugh of absolute joy. "Noa, you did the impossible right there!"
A huge, happy smile broke across his usually stoic face, tinged with a heavy dose of nostalgia. "It was exactly like seeing my old friend Minato once more." A fleeting shadow of sadness flashed through his eyes for a fraction of a second before he pushed it down, returning to his joyful laughter and delivering another firm pat on the back.
Shikaku stepped forward, his lazy demeanor entirely gone. "That is no small feat you have achieved here, Noa. This essentially places you on the level of a fuinjutsu grandmaster. You are a supreme tactical asset to the village now and must be protected at all costs."
Hirotaka stepped up right beside him, shaking my hand before gripping my shoulder with an encouraging squeeze. "Well done, Noa. While I agree you are without a doubt one of our most vital tactical assets, I still believe you will truly thrive alongside your friends on the battlefield."
A palpable tension suddenly flared between the two advisors. They were already calculating how best to utilize a human teleportation seal. Before the quiet conflict could escalate, Fugaku stepped in to mediate.
"Noa, how confident are you in reaching Minato's actual combat level and teaching this technique to the others?"
I scratched my chin thoughtfully before answering. "Once I create a unified seal formula that works for both myself and the target, I will permanently etch it onto my hand. That will make me much more familiar with the jutsu and make it far easier to master since I will be able to practice it much more frequently and easily without the hassle of needing to draw the seal tag every time. As for teaching Itachi, Shisui, and Kakashi, it will entirely depend on how fast they can learn advanced fuinjutsu. Doing the complex calculations and geometric mapping in real-time is the hardest part, but I trust in their mental capabilities."
Fugaku nodded in understanding. "If the mathematics prove too difficult for them to handle individually, I want you to teach them how to perform it together as a team."
I bowed slightly. "As you wish, Lord Hokage."
Fugaku beamed. "This is a joyous occasion. You have no idea how significant your contribution to this village truly is. I am officially increasing your research budget. Please let us know if you need anything at all, at any time."
A bit overwhelmed by this completely unexpected, jovial side of the Hokage, I replied honestly. "Thank you for the generosity, Fugaku-sama."
Fugaku and his two advisors practically ran out of the house after that. Shisui and Itachi waved goodbye to me in a bit of a daze before hurrying to catch up. I watched the village leaders walk away, deeply engrossed in a passionate discussion about plans and future moves. It looked like my little apple trick had just shifted the Hidden Leaf's entire future roadmap.