By midday they'd sat together; Sakura brought some rations, and the taste… was hard to describe!
Not long after, Hinata arrived with a boxed lunch.
Naruto decisively abandoned the rations and dug into Hinata's lunch. Sakura didn't get angry — she had eaten some of the rations too and agreed they were unbearable.
"Kiyosuke, Hinata's cooking is amazing. Whoever marries you is lucky," Kiyosuke teased from the side.
Hinata's face flushed crimson; she nearly buried her head in her chest and stole glances at Naruto. That idiot Naruto acted as if he hadn't heard a word and just kept eating.
Kakashi, Kiyosuke, Yamato and Sakura all sighed — this kid was hopeless!
Not like this, you clumsy fool!
Smack!
A bump rose on Naruto's head. He yelped and asked, "Kiyosuke-san, why did you hit me?"
"Why did you follow Jiraiya-sama and learn nothing? Are you really Minato's son?"
Your dad used to charm your mom rotten when he was young, and you used to tease Hinata too — so why are you so awkward now?
Kiyosuke scolded him, exasperated: "You learned nothing! Nothing at all!"
"I learned a lot from the pervy sage, okay?!" Naruto protested.
"You learned nothing from me! You even ghostwrote Icha Icha for him — how did you manage that?!"
Naruto had once helped Jiraiya ghostwrite an Icha Icha book, and apparently he'd written it even better than Jiraiya; it had earned wide praise from fans.
Kakashi's eyes widened as if he'd heard something explosive.
"Wait, Kiyosuke, are you saying… Na-Naruto wrote Jiraiya-sama's— that book…?"
"Yes. The Icha Icha guide!"
"You—you—" Kakashi trembled, pointing at Naruto. "Quick! Write the next one!!! Jiraiya-sama's late with his updates!! I need to read the next volume!!!"
"Ah, Kakashi-sensei, stop shaking me — I'm dizzy! I still have training to do!" Naruto grew light-headed from Kakashi's shaking, eyes spinning.
The commotion died down and training resumed. Hinata lifted her head and watched Naruto practice, seeming very fond of the moment.
Kiyosuke sat beside her and said, "This fool Naruto is painfully clumsy, but Hinata, keep going — I truly believe in you both."
Why couldn't Naruto sense Hinata's feelings for him now even though he once flirted with Sakura? Kiyosuke wondered.
Hinata shook her head and smiled.
"Thank you, Kiyosuke-sensei. I believe that one day Naruto-kun will understand how I feel."
"With this idiot's wiring, it might take a long time."
"I know. I'll wait."
What a good girl.
She'd make a fine daughter-in-law!
Kiyosuke thought to himself.
They chatted with Kakashi and the others until afternoon, then patted their backsides and went home to rest. The next morning they woke up planning to go feast at Ichiraku Ramen, only to find that Ichiraku had switched to sauce noodles — the owner's daughter had learned a new method while out and sauce noodles were apparently the trend.
Kiyosuke walked away decisively. Ichiraku without ramen had no soul!
He didn't like bland sauce noodles.
He headed to Asuma's house to mooch a meal and found Asuma preparing weapons, with Kurenai holding their daughter Mirai nearby.
Asuma looked a little… upset.
"What's up with you?" Kiyosuke asked.
"Ah, Kiyosuke. The Fifth Hokage-sama gave me a mission — I have to go out," Asuma replied.
A mission at this time… if memory served…
"Something seems off with you. What happened?"
Pressed by his old friend, Asuma said,
"One of the Twelve Guards, Chiriku was killed by members of the Akatsuki… and they took the body. I have to go retrieve Chiriku's remains."
"I'll go with you."
Kiyosuke said.
He had to follow this time — otherwise Asuma might die at Hidan's hands. They absolutely couldn't let that happen.
"But you—"
"No buts. I'm coming with you. Those two aren't something you should face alone." Kiyosuke said.
"I'm not that weak, am I?" Asuma scratched his head.
"I know that, but it's the Akatsuki." Kiyosuke snorted. "Besides, I've got a score to settle with them. Alright, I'll wait for you at Konoha's main gate."
Saying that, he left Asuma and headed for the Hokage building.
...
Asuma muttered, "This guy seems to be hiding something."
Kurenai shook her head and smiled.
"Don't you know Kiyosuke's personality? Once he decides on something, nobody can change him. But with him around I feel safer. Go quickly and come back soon — be careful."
"Okay. Mirai, when Daddy returns I'll buy you candy!"
"Pappa!" Little Mirai tugged Asuma's beard and laughed.
Kiyosuke arrived at the Hokage's office and told Tsunade,
"Tsunade-sama, I want to go after Asuma — he's hunting down the Akatsuki and I'm going with him."
"Hm? How did you hear about this?" Tsunade asked in surprise. "This was information Asuma picked up when he went to the Fire Temple — did he tell you?"
"No. I guessed. But I know the Fire Temple was attacked. Whoever did this is bold — and if they killed Chiriku and took the body, they were probably after the bounty."
"Bounty Exchange?"
"That's right. The Bounty Exchange."
The Bounty Exchange was the place in this world where bounties were redeemed: people like Kiyosuke and Asuma had bounties in the underworld. If someone killed them and brought in their bodies, they could cash in for the reward.
Typically, wandering ninja without money or employment used the exchange. If they found a wanted person, they'd try to kill them and trade the body for the bounty.
Since the Akatsuki had taken Chiriku's body, they were likely heading to the nearest Bounty Exchange to redeem it.
All they had to do was stake out the exchange closest to the Fire Temple and wait for them.
Tsunade pondered for a moment and said, "Okay, Shizune, bring me the information on the Bounty Exchanges."
"All right. Please wait, Tsunade-sama."
Not long after, Shizune brought over the files on the exchanges. Kiyosuke picked them up, memorized several addresses, and said,
"I see. It looks like there's some connection between Konoha and the exchanges after all."
"Although the exchanges keep their distance from Konoha, we still need to be careful."
"Isn't Konoha's treasury a bit tight lately?"
"You mean…" Tsunade's eyes brightened.
Kiyosuke said, "Nothing concrete. Wear Akatsuki clothing, find a couple of people, and take a stroll through the Bounty Exchange. After all, it's not directly tied to Konoha."
"That could work."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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