That very day, Jiraiya drank himself into a stupor and slept straight through until noon the next day.
Arima bustled about, taking care of him from start to finish, until he finally couldn't help complaining, "I really brought this suffering upon myself."
After sobering up, Jiraiya glanced at the date.
After muttering a quick "Thanks," he hurried out the door. As Hiruzen's disciple, he had to be present on time for the farewell ceremony held that afternoon for his teacher.
From a distance, Arima watched the memorial service.
It was also then that he finally saw the three figures who had always stayed behind the scenes: Danzo, Homura, and Koharu.
All three looked old and frail now, which filled Arima with quiet sighs of emotion.
Over the next few days, Jiraiya was constantly busy handling village affairs and rarely had time to visit Arima's barbecue shop.
In the eyes of Konoha's upper ranks, Jiraiya was the most likely candidate to become the next Hokage, but from Arima's perspective, the man didn't seem to have any desire for the position at all.
One morning, while Arima was busy attending to customers, he suddenly noticed two strangely dressed individuals passing by the entrance of his shop.
They wore conical hats and black cloaks patterned with red clouds. The taller of the two had a weapon wrapped in white bandages strapped to his back.
Driven by curiosity, Arima activated his Observation Haki. From that special perspective, he discovered that both of them were rogue ninja.
One was the former Kirigakure shinobi Kisame Hoshigaki, and the weapon on his back was the great blade Samehada.
As for the other… It was Uchiha Itachi, the man who had slaughtered his entire clan. The sole survivor was his younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke.
At that moment, Itachi seemed to sense something and abruptly turned his head, looking in Arima's direction.
Arima merely smiled and went back to his work. Yet waves stirred in his heart. His Observation Haki was usually flawless, only Itachi had ever been able to notice something amiss.
'That young man is truly outstanding… what a pity,' Arima thought.
That evening, Jiraiya dragged his exhausted body into Arima's small shop. The moment he stepped inside, he rushed straight into the kitchen and began stuffing himself without restraint.
After eating and drinking his fill, Jiraiya collapsed into a lounge chair in the courtyard, letting out a long sigh before saying.
"Arima, you know… whenever there's something weighing on my heart, the first place I think of is coming here to vent."
Arima replied dryly, "Then should I thank you for trusting me? Or is this your excuse for running up a tab?"
Jiraiya chuckled. "You're Tsunade's clansman, and I'm Tsunade's teammate. With that kind of relationship between us, why are we still talking about money?"
Arima never truly cared about the cost of the meal anyway, it was just their usual banter.
After a long pause, Jiraiya finally said in a low voice, "Two terrifying guys showed up today… and Kakashi got injured."
The moment he heard that, Arima knew exactly who Jiraiya was referring to.
"Two people wearing black cloaks with red clouds?" he asked.
Jiraiya looked astonished. "What you know about them?"
While wiping a plate with a clean cloth, Arima replied, "I don't. I just noticed them passing by my shop. Based on decades of experience, I could tell those two were serious trouble."
Jiraiya slapped his thigh in agreement. "Boss, you're absolutely right. I say you should come work in Konoha's Intelligence Division."
Arima shot him a glance. "What, is the barbecue not good anymore? Or is the liquor not strong enough?"
Realizing his slip of the tongue, Jiraiya lightly smacked his own mouth.
He'd only been joking, after all, Arima's background hadn't been fully investigated yet, let alone allowing him into the Intelligence Division.
The two fell into silence. At last, Jiraiya said, "Boss, I won't be coming by for a while. I'm heading out on a trip. Pack me a few bottles of liquor, I'm giving them to someone."
Arima pointed toward the cellar. "Help yourself."
Jiraiya didn't stand on the ceremony. He hauled out a large jar of wine and strode out of the shop in high spirits.
Watching Jiraiya leave with the wine jar on his shoulder, Arima couldn't help laughing.
"That kid must've suffered a lot when he was young. He really knows how to live."
Over the next ten or so days, Jiraiya indeed didn't show up again. At the same time, the energetic, if somewhat noisy, Naruto also appeared far less frequently.
Reservations at Arima's shop were incredibly hard to come by. Hinata and the other two had waited nearly two months in line before their turn finally arrived.
That morning, Hinata, Kiba, and Shino arrived at the shop at their scheduled time. Following behind them was a black haired, red eyed female jonin.
Arima recognized her at once. She was the newly promoted Konoha jonin Kurenai, their instructor. Moreover, she had been secretly observing him for quite some time now.
Arima smiled as he welcomed the three students and took the initiative to waive their bill for the meal.
Ever since the day of the Chunin Exams, Kurenai had been paying close attention to Arima.
On that day, she had accidentally witnessed him treating Hinata's internal injuries, and even more astonishingly, Hinata had fully recovered by that very same day.
This mysterious man had piqued her curiosity.
Afterward, she had subtly questioned her three students about Arima, only to learn that he had first appeared in the Forest of Death.
Even more interesting was the fact that they had once encountered Gaara, the One-Tail jinchuriki.
Yet before Gaara could even approach them, he had fled at the first sign of danger, and coincidentally, Arima had been right by their side at the time.
All of this pointed to one conclusion, this man was hiding extraordinary depth.
For reasons even she didn't fully understand, Kurenai had been coming here every day since then, quietly observing.
After Arima served the four of them their dishes, he also brought out a serving of specially prepared fruit juice. This kind of treatment had so far been reserved for them alone.
After the first bite, the three children were completely conquered by the flavor of the grilled meat. Paired with the fruit juice, it was nothing short of a feast for the soul.
That description wasn't exaggerated in the slightest. Arima's Paw-Paw Fruit ability could, in fact, affect the soul itself.
Kurenai had never dined inside the shop before, but once she tasted the food, her chopsticks didn't stop moving.
She, too, seemed deeply moved by the exquisite sensations within the dishes.
During the meal, something amusing happened. Hinata's appetite left Arima utterly stunned.
He served her ten extra-large portions of barbecue before her stomach was finally, just barely, satisfied.
After the four finished eating, Arima brought out dessert.
In the end, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they practically had to hold onto the wall as they walked out of the shop.
As he saw them off, Arima smiled at Kurenai and said, "If there's anything you want to ask me, you're welcome to come find me after I close. Anytime."
Kurenai hadn't expected her recent actions to be so transparent. She'd thought she was being perfectly discreet.
At first, Arima's words sounded a bit sharp, almost sarcastic. She was just about to glare back at him, but the sincerity in his eyes quickly dispelled the anger in her heart.
She nodded. "Then I'll take you up on that."
With that, she led her three students out of the shop.
Arima had long since experienced countless schemes and power struggles, things that truly drained the heart.
Now, he preferred to treat people with sincerity and speak openly.
On that very day, Jiraiya returned from his journey, covered in dust and travel-worn.
The first thing he did wasn't to head for the hot springs, but to go straight to Arima's barbecue shop to relax his spirit and soul.
Behind him came three others. Naruto, Shizune, and the person Arima had longed for with all his heart.
Tsunade.
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