C691 Spider-Man (Patreon)
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Peter stood in the center of the training ground, watching as Itachi and Shisui fell unconscious after their hard-won victory. He released the enchantments he had placed on himself, rolling his shoulders in relief.
Golden spell lines and runes appeared on his body, deactivating and fading away. Just as the last of the enchantments vanished, Minato appeared beside him, accompanied by Jiraiya and Fugaku.
Fugaku immediately knelt beside his son and Shisui, checking their injuries. He sighed in relief, realizing they were just exhausted and a bit beaten up.
Peter's eyes widened for a fraction of a second as he noticed Jiraiya. The pervy sage was one of his favorite characters in the Naruto anime, and seeing him in person was a bit awe-inspiring.
Jiraiya noticed Peter's look and raised a brow, a knowing smile gracing his lips. He misinterpreted Peter’s reaction, thinking perhaps this was one of his fans. ‘Maybe I should sign a copy of my work for him,’ he mused, chuckling to himself.
Minato, still processing the scene, turned to Peter. "What was this all about?"
Fugaku turned to Peter, asking the same thing. "Yes, I’d like to know as well."
Peter smirked and gestured at the children. "You’re looking at my newest students."
The statement shocked everyone around them. Minato's eyes widened, Jiraiya's smile turned into a look of surprise, and Fugaku's stern glare softened into one of stunned realization.
Whispers of disbelief and awe spread through the crowd as they absorbed Peter's announcement, realizing that these two young Uchiha had just earned the right to be trained by someone powerful enough to defeat the Nine-Tails with a single slap.
Fugaku stood stunned and tongue-tied as the realization of why they were doing the bell test sank in. He slowly rose to his feet, bowing deeply toward Peter. "Thank you for being willing to accept Shisui and my son as your students. This is a great honor for the Uchiha clan."
The depth of his gratitude was evident in his voice. With Peter as Itachi's master, the discrimination they faced in the village would all but vanish. In the ninja world, strength was everything, and Peter had enough strength to destroy the entire village if he wanted to.
Fugaku couldn’t be more proud of his son. Without his or the elders' involvement, Itachi had managed to pull off something incredible for their family and for himself. With Peter as his master, Itachi's future as a ninja was almost certain. He could possibly even become the Hokage one day.
Itachi was already considered a genius, and Shisui was as well, but now they would be geniuses with a master who could push them to the very peak of the world. The possibilities were endless, and Fugaku's heart swelled with pride and hope as he looked at his son and Shisui, unconscious but victorious.
The whispers of awe and admiration continued to ripple through the crowd, as everyone began to understand the significance of this new mentorship. Peter's smirk softened into a genuine smile as he looked at Fugaku. "You're welcome. They earned it."
Beside them, Minato offered Fugaku a heartfelt smile. "Congratulations, Fugaku. This is a remarkable accomplishment for Shisui, your son, and your clan."
Hearing the sincerity in Minato's voice and seeing that he meant what he said, Fugaku let out a sigh of relief. He couldn't help but feel happy.
If this had been the Third Hokage, Fugaku would have felt worried and suspicious. He knew how Hiruzen would react to something like this—suspicious of the Uchiha, and possibly even try to find a way to place someone he trusted as Peter’s student as well, or perhaps employing Danzo to work in the shadows and ruin the Uchiha’s relationship with Peter.
But not Minato. Minato was a true leader of the village. He wouldn’t be suspicious of people who hadn’t done anything wrong, and he most certainly wouldn’t conspire and act against his own people. Minato saw this as a win for the village and nothing more.
Fugaku couldn’t help but appreciate Minato. After all, he and the Uchiha had been dealing with hostile Hokages ever since the first Hokage passed away. And now, they finally had a leader worth following again.
Fugaku bowed deeply to Minato. "Thank you, Lord Hokage."
Minato immediately got flustered, waving his hands dismissively. "You don’t have to be so formal, Fugaku. We’re friends, after all."
Lifting his head, Fugaku couldn't help but smile. "Minato, you are the Hokage now, and that position demands a certain level of respect." He gestured to the many Uchiha surrounding the area, who had been watching the fight. "Especially with so many eyes on us, I must show respect. I don’t want to teach the Uchiha that they can be disrespectful to their Hokage."
Minato sighed, halfheartedly annoyed. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. But can’t you just be normal when we’re alone? It’s tiring hearing everyone being so formal all the time."
Fugaku smiled wider. "As you order, Lord Hokage." He bowed again, but this time Minato could tell he was only doing it to mess with him.
Minato shook his head, a smile tugging at his lips despite himself. "You’re impossible..."
Smirking, Fugaku turned back to the sleeping kids and flared his chakra, calling some Uchiha ninja over. They arrived swiftly, kneeling respectfully. Fugaku ordered, "Take Itachi and Shisui to the hospital for treatment. I'll be there to check on them in a moment."
As the ninjas moved to take the boys, Peter called out, "Wait! I'll heal them. There's no need for the hospital."
The ninjas stopped, glancing at Fugaku for further orders. Fugaku raised an eyebrow, surprised that Peter was a healer as well. Minato and Jiraiya exchanged looks of surprise.
Peter glanced at Fugaku, "I mean, if that’s alright with you?"
After a moment of thought, Fugaku nodded to the ninjas. "Step back and make space." He orders, gesturing for Peter to do his thing.
The ninjas obeyed, and Peter stepped toward Itachi and Shisui. He waved his hand, conjuring multiple golden spell circles that began healing the boys. Their bodies returned to pristine condition before everyone’s eyes, with cuts and bruises disappearing in seconds.
But knowing Itachi from the Naruto anime, Peter didn’t just heal them; he scanned their bodies with a specific spell circle. He remembered that in the anime, Itachi had a life-threatening disease…
Now that Itachi was his student, Peter wouldn’t let him suffer from such a disease. As the spell scanned Itachi, Peter immediately identified the ailment.
As the healing concluded and the spell circles disappeared, Fugaku, Minato, Jiraiya, and the surrounding ninjas were awed by Peter’s healing abilities.
Fugaku turned, a smile on his face. "Thank you, Peter, for—" He stopped mid-sentence, noticing the contemplative frown on Peter’s face as he stared at Itachi.
Alarmed, Fugaku asked, "Is there something wrong with Itachi?"
Snapping out of his contemplation, Peter turned to Fugaku. "You know your son is sick, right?"
Fugaku was shocked to hear this. "Sick? But I've never noticed anything wrong with Itachi. He's never even had a cold before. What's wrong with him?"
Peter thought for a moment before replying. "I don’t think what he has actually has a name. But I can tell you what’s happening. His chakra is leaking ever so slightly into his body, specifically into his lungs, and it appears to be slowly damaging them."
Fugaku's worry deepened as Jiraiya and Minato looked contemplative, trying to recall if they’d ever heard of such a thing happening before, but they came up empty.
Peter continued, "It’s not severe now, which is why you probably haven’t noticed anything. But give it seven or eight years of this, and he’ll start having serious respiratory problems. And If it continues to remain untreated, he’ll either need a lung transplant or he’ll die from respiratory failure in about fifteen to twenty years, give or take."
The gravity of Peter's words hung in the air, leaving everyone in stunned silence as they processed the news.
Fugaku, shocked and fearful of his son dying, even if it was years away, immediately fell to his knees. "Please, Peter, save my son," he begged, his voice trembling with desperation.
He groveled before everyone, including his entire clan. He didn't know for sure, but after seeing Peter’s abilities, something told him that Peter could heal Itachi. He only needed to convince him.
Peter, not expecting this, tried to tell him to stand up. "Fugaku, please, stand up. There's no need to—"
But before he could finish, every Uchiha in the surrounding area copied their clan leader, groveling on the floor around them. Each of them mirrored Fugaku’s words, begging Peter to save Itachi. To them, if their leader was going to grovel, they would shame him by standing and not following suit.
Peter felt a wave of embarrassment. He didn’t like being put on a pedestal like this. He walked over and helped Fugaku to his feet. "Fugaku, you don’t have to beg. I was already planning on fixing it. Itachi is my student, after all. I can’t just let him live with a sickness that’s so easily fixed."
Fugaku, overwhelmed with gratitude, thanked Peter profusely. "Thank you, Peter. Thank you so much."
Minato and Jiraiya stood beside them, smiling. They were happy to see such a heartwarming moment, the bonds of trust and respect strengthening within the village.
“No problem.” Peter said as he glanced at Itachi, "I might as well fix him up now since I have something else to deal with afterward..."
“?” Minato raised a curious brow, wondering what Peter planned after this. ‘Is he leaving?’ He exchanged a worried glance with Jiraiya.
Without another word, Peter waved his hand again and conjured new spell circles, their characters intricate and glowing with a soft golden light.
Jiraiya watched intently, recognizing the complexity and uniqueness of the symbols. As a seal master himself, he couldn't help but wonder if Peter was using some sort of advanced sealing technique. He made a mental note to ask Peter later if he would be willing to teach him.
Fugaku watched Peter work with concern etched on his face, hoping that his son would be okay.
Peter's spell circles sealed the chakra leak in Itachi’s body, the golden symbols wrapping around him gently before fading away. Then, Peter conjured another set of spell circles to heal the small amount of damage that Itachi’s lungs had taken over the years, making them perfectly healthy again.
As the healing process completed, Itachi coughed in his sleep, expelling a small bit of black blood. The sight shocked everyone present.
Fugaku rushed to his son's side, cradling him as he turned to Peter, his voice frantic. "What happened? Is he okay?!"
Peter smiled reassuringly. "He’s fine. That was just from years of small damage to his lungs. The leak is fixed, and his lungs are perfectly healthy now."
Fugaku, overwhelmed with relief, held his son close, gratitude evident in his eyes. The surrounding Uchiha and other onlookers were equally awed and relieved by Peter’s abilities.
Minato and Jiraiya exchanged pleased smiles, happy to witness such a heartwarming and miraculous moment.
With Itachi's treatment complete, Peter spoke. "Let the boys rest for the night. But, inform them that they are to meet me here tomorrow morning after breakfast for training. I expect them here by 7 AM sharp. If they're late, I'll have to punish them." As he said the word ‘punish,’ a sadistic smile appeared on his face, sending chills down the spines of every ninja in the area.
Even Minato seemed a little scared as he glanced down at the kids, hoping they wouldn’t be late.
Fugaku nodded seriously. "I’ll inform them as soon as they wake up and make sure they’re here half an hour early." He gestured to the children, instructing the ninja to take them to his house for rest.
Peter then turned to Minato. "Do you need anything more from me before I leave?"
Minato asked worriedly, "You’re leaving?"
Peter nodded. "I have something to take care of, but it shouldn’t take long. I’ll be back tomorrow at the latest. I need to be here to start Shisui and Itachi’s... torture—" He paused, clearing his throat before correcting himself. "I mean, training."
Minato, Jiraiya, and Fugaku couldn't help but pray for Itachi and Shisui, knowing they would need all the luck they could get tomorrow.
A/N: 2083 words :)