Chapter 114: Two Years

 

Two years passed.

Konoha changed by accumulation rather than announcement. Shop signs faded and were repainted. Academy classes advanced. Names vanished from mission rosters and reappeared on the memorial stone. Within Tonbo's household, the twins learned to run, unlock cupboards, imitate adult voices, and cooperate whenever cooperation promised greater trouble.

Naruto reached Tonbo's house and found no one waiting in the front room. Ayame was at Ichiraku, Tōsei had gone to collect supplies, and Tonbo remained at work. Disappointment settled over the boy as the cold attention of nearby villagers followed him down the street.

He had learned which shops would serve him without complaint, which alleys provided shortcuts, and which hours made his apartment feel least empty. Tonbo's house belonged to a shorter list of places where he could enter without first judging the faces inside. Finding it vacant felt less like inconvenience than a door closing. He turned away and collided with another child at the corner.

Both fell.

"Watch where you're going," Naruto said.

"You walked into me," the dark-haired boy replied.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto."

"Uchiha Sasuke."

The clan name carried pride. Naruto disliked it immediately, though Sasuke's gaze held irritation rather than the fear and disgust Naruto knew from adults.

Sasuke saw untidy blond hair, worn clothes, and a boy who offered his name like a challenge. He had heard adults lower their voices around Naruto without explaining why. That secrecy interested him less than the fact that Naruto had collided with an Uchiha and refused to apologize.

"Fight," a small voice encouraged.

"Yes, fight," said another.

They turned. Tenyu and Maki stood outside the house. At two years old, both spoke with unsettling clarity. Tenyu kept his hands in his pockets in imitation of his father; Maki sucked a piece of candy and looked disappointed that no one had thrown a punch.

"Where is Tonbo?" Naruto asked.

"Working," Tenyu said. He produced a key. "We came back first."

"You're too little to walk alone."

Maki made a face at him. "We found the house, didn't we?"

"You crossed three streets."

"Four," Tenyu corrected.

Naruto looked behind them for an adult. "That makes it worse."

Tonbo had not actually left them unprotected. A concealed woven bird watched from the roof, barrier marks covered the street, and his extended perception tracked their chakra from elsewhere in Konoha. The twins knew only that their father had permitted a short walk after they demonstrated the route repeatedly.

Tenyu opened the door. "Come inside if you need something."

Naruto entered without ceremony. Sasuke followed more cautiously and examined the woven figures displayed through the room: birds, pangolins, frogs, miniature shinobi, and several likenesses of Itachi.

"You came for Dad?" Tenyu asked.

"I want another one of those." Sasuke pointed toward an Itachi figure. The first had broken during training. "The troublesome uncle knows how to make it."

The broken figure had been a gift from Itachi after a month of missed promises. Sasuke had carried it during solitary practice until one arm tore loose beneath his sandal. Asking his brother for a replacement would require finding him at home long enough to listen. Asking Tonbo was easier.

Maki laughed. "Dad has another name."

Kiba called him old man. Sasuke called him troublesome uncle. Naruto alternated between Tonbo and whatever insult seemed useful. Their father collected enemies among children with remarkable efficiency.

"You still play with figures?" Naruto asked. "That's childish."

Sasuke's forehead tightened. "It is none of your concern."

"They are expensive," Tenyu said before the argument resumed. He raised five fingers. "Can you pay this much?"

He meant five thousand ryō.

"Five hundred thousand?" Sasuke asked. "Fine, but I want one stronger than the last."

Everyone became silent.

Naruto imagined months of food. Maki leaned close to her brother. "Were you going to ask for that much?"

"No. Don't tell him."

Naruto stared at Sasuke with renewed suspicion. Five hundred thousand ryō could buy more ramen than he could count, and this boy had accepted the price as though Tenyu had asked for pocket lint.

They whispered poorly, but Sasuke was too focused upon the figure to question the change.

Tenyu recovered his composure. "You recognize quality. Dad's work is the best in Konoha. Pay now and collect it tomorrow."

"What do you want made?" Maki asked.

"Itachi. He will know the correct design. Standing with a kunai, not smiling."

"Smiling costs more," Maki declared.

Sasuke considered that seriously. "Then not smiling."

"Money," Tenyu said.

Sasuke hesitated. The two-year-olds did not inspire confidence, but Naruto knew them and the house clearly belonged to the bandaged jōnin Itachi had mentioned. The Uchiha Military Police operated within the same village. No one sensible would steal openly from him. He handed over the money.

Naruto opened his mouth to object, then remembered that Sasuke had called the amount acceptable. Preventing an arrogant boy from wasting money did not feel like his responsibility. Watching two toddlers acquire a fortune, however, felt like witnessing a crime performed by ducks.

Tenyu placed it in his pocket with both hands so they would not shake. "Your name?"

"Uchiha Sasuke."

"I like you, Sasuke. You will receive our finest work."

Sasuke left satisfied. On the threshold, he gave Naruto a final dismissive glance. Naruto remembered the face because it lacked the hatred he received elsewhere. That did not mean he liked the boy.

Tenyu watched him disappear. "Dad has to make it now."

"We can pay him," Maki said.

"How much?"

They both looked at the money and discovered that profit was easier to imagine than wages.

He looked at the figures after Sasuke departed. "Are these really worth that much?"

"Why are you here?" Tenyu asked. He wanted time to divide the unexpected fortune with Maki before their parents returned. "Did you come for supper again?"

"No. And call me Big Brother Naruto."

"Naruto," Maki said.

"Big Brother."

"Tell us or leave."

Naruto's annoyance vanished beneath excitement. "I start at the Academy in a few days. Grandpa Hokage already knows. I came to tell Tonbo."

Hiruzen and Tonbo's family were the only people with whom good news felt safe. The twins understood that much despite their teasing.

"Dad will be pleased," Maki said.

"If you study," Tenyu added.

Naruto groaned. Tonbo had clearly been speaking through his children.

"Academy students learn transformation," Tenyu said. "Can you turn into a frog?"

"Of course I can. Probably."

"Show us."

Naruto formed a seal, produced a cloud of smoke, and emerged with green skin, orange hair, and his original human proportions. Maki laughed so hard that she dropped her candy. Naruto abandoned the technique and swore that the Academy would teach him a better one.

Far away, Tonbo sensed the three children inside his home and the unusual weight entering Tenyu's pocket. He had allowed the twins their short independence to see how they used it.

The answer appeared to be commerce without permission. He allowed himself a minute of private amusement before considering the lesson. Returning the payment would teach the twins that consequences disappeared when adults intervened. Keeping it would reward deception. The better answer would require them to fulfill the agreement, calculate the actual cost of labor and materials, and surrender every coin above a reasonable commission.

Sasuke would receive an excellent figure. Tenyu and Maki would receive their first lesson in contracts.

Naruto would receive dinner, praise for entering the Academy, and strict advice never to negotiate with either twin without an adult witness.

Everyone would remember the agreement.