Half a month had quietly passed.
For the entire ninja world, there was good news to report.
The Daimyos of the Five Great Nations had already reached an agreement after discussions.
Next would be the post-war negotiations between the Kages of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
As the victorious side, Konoha—the Hidden Leaf Village—would naturally demand reparations.
How much compensation would be paid and how it would be handled—all that still needed negotiation. Naturally, Konoha couldn't simply name any amount and expect others to pay on command.
Since this was the negotiation stage, no battles would break out at such a critical moment.
After all, countless shinobi had fallen during this Great Ninja World War, and the Five Great Shinobi Villages were exhausted from constant fighting, needing time to recover and regroup.
A week ago, Minato Namikaze had already returned with Obito, Kakashi, and Rin Nohara.
Inside Minato Namikaze's home.
Present were Minato Namikaze, Kushina Uzumaki, the three members of Team Minato—Obito, Kakashi, and Rin Nohara—as well as Shindai and Pakura.
Kushina Uzumaki and Pakura talked cheerfully as they prepared lunch together.
Shindai lounged lazily on the couch, clearly bored out of his mind: "Ugh, when will those stupid negotiations among the Five Great Shinobi Villages end? Let this war officially finish already so I can start preparing to open my shop~"
Minato chuckled and replied, "It won't be long now."
Shindai grumbled, "That's what you keep saying! 'Soon'—I've heard nothing but that word over and over again, and I'm sick of hearing it."
Rin Nohara asked curiously, "By the way, Shindai, did Orochimaru-sama really never mention taking you as his apprentice?"
"Hmm? No, he hasn't brought it up at all."
Not being taken in by Orochimaru was great news for Shindai.
If he became Orochimaru's apprentice, he wouldn't have the freedom to ask him questions whenever he wanted.
Being an apprentice might limit that flexibility.
While it was excellent news for Shindai, it wasn't quite the same for Obito and the other two.
They'd hoped that being under Orochimaru might soften Shindai's rough edges—but clearly, it hadn't worked at all. Shindai stayed just the same as ever.
Obito grumbled, "Shindai, even with Hokage-sama helping you, you still failed to become Orochimaru-sama's apprentice. You're really useless!"
Shindai shot him a very dangerous look: "Useless? Obito, I suggest you rethink your wording very carefully."
"You don't scare me anymore! Check this out—what's this?!"
Obito activated his Mangekyo Sharingan, then reverted back to the Spinning Three-Tomoe Sharingan, switching repeatedly between the two forms...
Just showing off!
Shindai frowned, annoyed, "What are you showing off for? Who doesn't have a Kekkei Genkai these days? Be careful you pull something!"
Meanwhile, Kushina Uzumaki, Kakashi, Rin Nohara, and Minato Namikaze all turned their gazes toward Shindai at once.
None of them had one!
Obito smirked, "Cramp? You're kidding, right, Shindai? How could that possibly happen... Ah!"
Suddenly, Obito covered his left face, looking pained.
Rin Nohara exclaimed in surprise, "Hey, Obito, what's wrong with you? Don't tell me you got a cramp in your face? And why are you holding your face if it's your eye?"
Obito's left cheek twitched repeatedly, "B-blinking too fast made my face twitch! This is all your fault, you jinx, Shindai!"
Shindai huffed, "That's got nothing to do with me!"
Kakashi and Rin Nohara watched Obito silently; only Obito would do something this stupid.
Rin turned toward Pakura, "Still, you really did it, Shindai. You actually brought Pakura Big Sister back to Konoha and convinced her to join our village."
"Heh, I said so—she wouldn't dare defy me!"
Shindai said with bravado but kept his voice barely above a whisper, fearful of being overheard by Pakura.
Obito held his twitching cheek, his eyes darting around before shouting loudly, "What? Shindai, did you say Pakura Big Sister dares not defy you?"
Pakura glared sharply at Shindai.
Shindai nearly jumped out of his skin, sitting bolt upright as he hastily replied, "Obito, if you want my ears cut off, be my guest! I meant exactly the opposite—I'd never dare defy Pakura!"
"Hmph."
After a cold chuckle, Pakura turned away and resumed chatting happily with Kushina Uzumaki while preparing lunch.
Obito, Kakashi, and Rin Nohara exchanged awkward glances toward Shindai.
Only Minato Namikaze seemed to understand completely, having experienced similar situations himself.
After all, Kushina Uzumaki had quite the temper; sometimes even he didn't dare oppose her.
Kushina Uzumaki removed her apron and announced, "Okay, let's eat. Come on, everyone."
At the dining table,
Shindai and Obito were at it like two warring armies, fighting over their meals.
Unbeknownst to them, Kushina and Pakura had already turned serious with annoyance.
BANG! BANG!
A lump formed on Obito's head, while Shindai had two.
Why did Shindai have an extra bump?
Because both Kushina and Pakura had simultaneously landed punches on Shindai's head.
Kushina snapped angrily, "Eat properly! If you won't eat, then don't ever eat again!"
Instantly, Shindai and Obito cowered into silence.
Kakashi and Rin chuckled slightly, somewhat delighted. Minato gave a helpless smile.
The reason was because when Kushina and Pakura hit Shindai, food flew out of his mouth and landed on Minato's clothes.
...
Early the next morning inside the Hokage Building,
Hiruzen Sarutobi received a scroll—a request for aid from Loulan Country in the Land of Wind.
After reading the scroll's contents, Hiruzen Sarutobi paused in thought, then dispatched someone to summon Minato Namikaze.
Minato Namikaze let out a sigh as he stared at the long queue ahead, muttering, "Man, there's seriously so many people."
It was Ichiraku Ramen's grand opening day in Konoha—and everything was half price!
"Hey~"
Jiraiya suddenly appeared beside Minato Namikaze.
"Master Jiraiya."
Jiraiya eagerly called out, "Minato Namikaze, over here! Come on!"
Jiraiya led Minato Namikaze into an empty alley.
"Wait till you see this—you're gonna be blown away!" Jiraiya thrust his palm forward, conjuring a spiraling sphere of chakra. "How's that for your masterpiece? I've already got it down cold. Pretty damn impressive, huh?"
"That's amazing! No wonder you're my master!"
Minato Namikaze gave him a strong sense of appreciation, but the next second he said, "Well, I still need to get back in line fast."
He hurried off.
Jiraiya's face instantly fell. "Huh…"
But as he stepped out of the alley, a ninja called out urgently, "Minato Namikaze, Hokage-sama needs you—right away!"
Minato Namikaze hesitated, glancing toward Ichiraku Ramen before finally sighing and heading toward the Hokage Building.
Around ten o'clock, Shindai, Obito, Rin Nohara, and Kakashi were stuck in line.
"Is it seriously this hard just to grab a freaking bowl of ramen?"
Shindai was losing his patience. Ichiraku Ramen, man—he'd been dying to taste it ever since it was announced. Now that it was finally open, of course he wanted to be one of the first to try it.
But the line was just too freaking long!
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