Konoha Village, Hokage's Office.
Shinju's clone was working through paperwork inside the office when a girl from the Cipher Division pushed the door open, holding the newest intel sent from Kirigakure.
"Hokage-sama, this is a confidential letter from the Mizukage."
Shinju didn't even lift his head, replying lightly,
"Put it on the desk."
The Cipher Division girl didn't say more. She placed the letter down and quietly left… but before leaving, she couldn't help sneaking several glances at Shinju!
After a long while, once Shinju's clone finished the documents at hand, he finally had time to open the Mizukage's message…
The message was simple. Terumi Mei had heard that Shinju captured Chino and Fūshin, and she wanted the two extradited to the Land of Water for her own uses…
Shinju rejected her outright, writing back: "These two committed crimes within the Land of Fire's territory, causing many offenses…"
In short, Shinju's reasoning left Terumi Mei unable to argue.
But at the end, he added one more line—if Kirigakure was willing to invest in Konoha's development, he might consider extradition…
Upholding the duties of his position—now that Shinju sat in the Hokage's chair and was well-fed himself, naturally he should work for the village's benefit. ୧⍢⃝୨
...
Inside the Land of Fire, in a town near Konoha.
Shinju was taking Naruto around the city enjoying daily life.
"Is it really okay for us to sneak out like this? If someone notices—" Naruto sounded uneasy.
Shinju stared at him speechlessly. "Are you kidding? I'm the Hokage now. Going out to enjoy life a bit is perfectly reasonable…"
"And besides, we're doing legit business today. There's that guy in the Land of Fire who invented a new game console—we're buying his patent! (๑ت๑)"
Naruto blinked. "That game console… is it that important? (꒪⌓꒪)"
Shinju: "Not bad. Since the war has stopped, the people's lives have stabilized, they're fed and clothed. Now they start thinking about entertainment. Buying this could earn us a lot…"
Naruto's eyes lit up. "If that's the case, wouldn't that Thunder Vehicle invented by that genius from the Land of Lightning be even more profitable? Transportation is a huge deal…"
Shinju gave Naruto an impressed glance. "Not bad. You do know economics. （＾ワ＾）b"
"Relax, I already sent Sasuke and a clone to negotiate for the Thunder Vehicle. I told them beforehand—no matter the price, bring it home!"
Naruto silently gave Shinju a thumbs-up. "Looks like you're planning to start a company and rake in money. ( ˝ᗢ̈˝ )"
Shinju shrugged and nodded. "Money's gotta be spent on something, right? (ﾉ∇︎〃 )"
They were chatting inside a ramen shop. Prices were cheap, many customers around.
Several people were staring at them like they were idiots.
"No money but pretending to be rich—talking about acquisitions while eating ramen? Hilarious…"
"Do they really think they're loaded? I'm dying over here. (σ≧▽≦)σ"
"Judging by their forehead protectors, they're Konoha shinobi… When did Konoha shinobi fall this low?"
Shinju and Naruto heard the murmurs, but ignored them.
With mindsets that small, they'd never afford even four dishes in their lifetime! (′д｀σ)σ
A bit later, the ramen was served. Shinju and Naruto were ready to dig in.
Right then, a bespectacled middle-aged man suddenly noticed something outside, and—whoosh!—bolted out like a hunting leopard!
Outside the shop, the glasses-wearing man blocked the path of a pair of passing women.
Shinju glanced at the woman being stopped. She wore tight combat attire, her hair tied high, her eyes sharp and spirited—either a kunoichi or a swordswoman!
"Should we go help? ꐦ≖ ≖" Naruto, who had inherited the Fourth Hokage's sense of justice, couldn't ignore anything unfair.
Shinju: "No rush. That girl should be able to handle it."
Right after Shinju said that, the glasses-wearing man somehow pulled out a puppet mecha—Model [99].
Naruto couldn't sit still anymore.
"That big puppet isn't something normal people can deal with!"
Shinju still looked calm. "The girl outside isn't panicking. Why are you?"
Next moment—
BOOM!!!
A huge crash echoed through the ramen shop. Naruto looked up to see the puppet mecha smashed to scrap—kicked apart by the black-haired girl!
Naruto: (꒪⌓꒪) b
"…Looks like my worries were unnecessary."
Outside, the girl who had destroyed the mecha and her attendant felt Naruto's gaze and looked toward Shinju and Naruto.
Seeing the Konoha forehead protectors on their heads, the two entered the shop.
The older attendant beside the girl bowed.
"Greetings. We are from Nadeshiko Village. Due to a certain agreement, we are heading to Konoha, but we lost our way…"
Helpful Naruto answered, "Oh~ Looking for Konoha? Leave the town and head northeast about fifty or sixty li…｡◕‿◕｡"
"Thank you." The girl and her attendant bowed.
Naruto grinned. "No need to be formal. If I may ask—what business takes you to Konoha?"
The one answering was still the attendant.
"Years ago, Jiraiya-sama of Konoha fought our previous village chief of Nadeshiko. Their battle ended in a draw. The agreement between them has been passed to the next generation."
She pointed toward the girl beside her.
"This is Nadeshiko Shizuka, the current village chief. We are heading to Konoha to find Jiraiya-sama's disciple and fulfill the agreement."
Naruto's eyes widened. "That's perfect—we are Jiraiya-sensei's disciples! (ﾉ∇︎〃 )"
The attendant froze, stunned that such coincidence could exist.
"Truly?"
Naruto and Shinju nodded together. "Truly."
The moment they said this, Nadeshiko Shizuka's expression changed. She suddenly pulled out two kunai and pointed one at each of them.
"Then let us fulfill our masters' promise—let's fight!! (●･̆⍛･̆●)"
"For the sake of marriage, I will NOT lose! (｡•ˇ‸ˇ•｡)"
A few black lines slid down Shinju's forehead.
"Even if you want to fight, can you let us finish our ramen first? (||๐_๐)"
"Wait… Did you just say 'marriage'? Isn't this supposed to be a normal spar? ◝₍ᴑ̑ДO͝₎◞"
Suddenly Shinju's eyes went wide.
"Not so," the attendant explained. "Nadeshiko Village is entirely female. There are only women."
"Thus, the rule is this: the village chief candidate must challenge powerful men from outside. Whoever defeats her—she takes back as her husband…"
"So this is a battle with marriage on the line."
Naruto: "That's crazy—I'm not joining! Shinju, you do it! T_T"