Land of Whirlpools Outside Ichiraku Ramen
Akio stood outside the ramen shop, his face so long it could've scared a mule. He stared at the steady stream of customers coming and going.
"Someone actually had the guts to mess with me like this?"
The letter he'd received back in the Sand Village contained only four words: Sara has fallen ill.
That was why he'd rushed back at full speed with Kimimaro and the others. And yet Ichiraku was open as usual, business booming, and Sara's chakra felt perfectly stable.
To be fair, Akio had been suspicious when he got the letter. If Sara were seriously ill, a single messenger bird wouldn't have cut it, Nagato would've come himself. Still, Akio hadn't expected anyone to actually pull a stunt like this.
"Don't let me find out who did it…"
"Great Elder," Karin said beside him, "did we rush all the way back just so we could eat Sara's ramen for lunch?"
Akio froze.
"Uh… y-yeah. That's exactly why."
What else was he supposed to say? Admit he'd been played by an anonymous letter? Karin would laugh about it for a year.
"So who did it?" Akio wondered silently. "Very few people even knew I was in the Sand Village…"
After mentally cursing the culprit a dozen times, he turned to the kids and forced a smile. "Come on. Let's eat."
The ramen shop was packed. Sara was busy in the kitchen. Seeing her healthy and energetic finally put Akio's last bit of worry to rest. He ordered four bowls, and they ate together.
"So… what're we doing this afternoon?" one of the kids asked.
Akio thought for a moment. "You three head home and rest. Get ready for your first mission after becoming chunin. Actually, give it a couple days. I'll have Konan take you on a simple A-rank mission. You're ready for it."
"Konan's leading us?"
Akio nodded. "Your ancestor's busy. I can't babysit forever. I still need to go to Konoha and form Team Hawk."
He hadn't forgotten. This trip alone had netted him a lot; his Witness Points were up to 295. Just 205 more and he could push Yin Release to max. Full Yin–Yang Release was something he'd been dying to test. Who knew, maybe he could even fire off a Ten-Tails-level Tailed Beast Aaronl someday.
"Team Hawk? That name's kinda weird "
"Even noodles can't shut you up, Karin," Akio cut in. "Eat faster and get out of here."
After sending the kids off, Akio stayed behind, staring into his empty bowl long after he'd finished the broth. He still couldn't figure out the sender's motive.
"If it was an enemy trying to lure me away to attack the Sand Village… that wouldn't work. The spore I planted's still there. It only has one percent of my chakra, but in danger it can siphon power straight from Shukaku. Even Madara would have trouble pushing through that."
His expression darkened.
"But if it was someone from the Uzumaki clan… tricking me like this? I'll beat them senseless."
"Father? What are you thinking about?"
Sara's voice snapped him out of it.
He looked up. "Sara, done for the day? You've been feeling okay lately?"
She smiled and sat down across from him. "Of course. Why do you ask?"
"Ah… nothing." He scratched his head, then pulled out the letter and handed it to her. "Some idiot decided to mess with me."
Sara blinked. "A letter? Oh well, I did feel a bit under the weather a few days ago. Nagato even called in a medical jonin. It wasn't serious. I'm fine now."
Akio blinked. "So you were sick? Then it wasn't a prank…"
He examined her carefully. No lingering issues. She really was fine.
"I'm okay, Father," Sara said gently. "Whoever sent that letter really overreacted."
Akio laughed. "Anonymous sender. No idea who's that worried about you. Still, they did the right thing. If you're sick, I should know. And you need to rest when your body tells you to."
"I do rest," she insisted.
"Not enough. Back in Konoha, I could at least make Teuchi give you weekends off. Now that you run your own shop, you're open nonstop month in, month out."
It took Sara a moment to realize what he meant. She smiled wryly. "I'll be more careful, Father."
She said that but the moment new customers walked in, she gave him an apologetic smile and headed straight back to the kitchen.
Akio sighed. As his daughter, she could've lived any life she wanted. And yet, she chose to spend it running a ramen shop.
"Ōtsutsuki Ichiraku truly is something else…"
With that thought, Akio reread the letter one last time, then left the shop and headed straight for Nagato.
Even if it wasn't a prank, he needed to know who sent it.
"Anyone that concerned about Sara… has an agenda."
Shortly after — Uzumaki Clan Council Hall
Akio studied the documents Nagato handed him. "This many clan members have bird summons?"
Nagato nodded. "Yo! Sensei, need something delivered?"
"This letter about Sara's illness, someone sent it using a bird summon. Anonymous. That wasn't you, was it?"
Nagato frowned. "A letter? She just had a mild cold. I had the med-nin give her medicine. She should be fully recovered."
"So it wasn't you…" Akio said quietly. "Who else knew? And next time she's sick, tell me immediately."
Nagato thought for a moment. "The two elite jonin assigned to protect her. A few people in the medical division, too."
"And my whereabouts in the Sand Village?"
Nagato froze. "You went to the Sand Village?"
Akio's expression changed instantly.
Nagato didn't know. Which meant the Land of Whirlpools hadn't received that intel, yet the sender knew Sara was sick and managed to get a letter to him in the Sand Village.
"Was it that bastard?" Akio narrowed his eyes. "Using Sara to warn me not to interfere? No… if it were him, he'd save that leverage for the Two-Tails or the Nine-Tails."
He shook his head.
"So who was it?"
"This was a wake-up call," Akio thought. "More people know Sara's my daughter now. Two elite jonin won't be enough. I've made too many enemies to count."
"Yo! Sensei," Nagato asked, "want me to look into it?"
Akio shook his head. "No need wait."
Suddenly, a strange ripple passed through his chakra, like it was resonating with something distant.
"This is… Sage Mode?" His eyes widened slightly. "So, I can feel it when someone else uses my Sage chakra. Is that Kushina… or Konan?
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