With his free hand, Kaien made a string of text in the air, tilting his head toward Chino as if demanding she read it aloud.
Chino swallowed hard, her shoulders slumping in deep regret. She realized her attempt to de-escalate the situation had only made things worse. Reading the glowing text, she spoke in a small voice: "It looks like I won. And I don't like it when people lie to me."
Kaien released his grip, stepping back. Hidan collapsed to his knees, coughing violently, spitting out dirt and saliva as he gasped for air. But as he looked up at Kaien, a terrifying, maniacal grin spread across his face. "You... you're strong," Hidan wheezed, his eyes wide.
Kaien narrowed his eyes. "You are absolutely worthy of my respect," Hidan added loudly, his grin widening. "And I will beat you someday! It's just as I heard from Yushiro-sensei and the clan head."
Chino stepped forward, bowing lightly to Kaien. "I am truly sorry for lying. I didn't want to escalate the situation so I lied."
Looking at the two of them, Kaien found himself completely dumbfounded. He had fully expected Hidan to harbor a deep hatred for him after such a swift defeat, not offer praise. Reflecting on his own actions, Kaien realized it wasn't like him to get so easily riled up over something as minor as a lie and he was not so petty.
"The pressure is getting to me," Kaien thought, taking a slow breath. His repeated failures to master the new Kekkei Genkai, combined with his overwhelming frustration at being unable to do anything substantial against Konoha, were pushing his mind into a state of fury.
"This anger shouldn't be directed at Hidan or Chino," he scolded himself, forcing himself to cool. "I just have to hope Sayami-san has mastered the technique. If not, Hidan will have to be the one to take it up. I need to be patient."
Sighing internally, Kaien dissolved the old text with new Kanji:
[Let's go to Kairaku Ramen... my treat.]
~~
The Ramen shop was packed to the brim, a testament to its roaring success. It was no secret that the establishment's signature recipe was an import from Konoha... a parting gift from a legendary chef.
While Kaien couldn't set his foot inside the famous Ichiraku Ramen, his Grandpa, the Third Raikage, had fallen completely in love with the dish during the diplomatic talks. Old man Teuchi had been generous enough to share the secrets of his rich broth and perfect noodles, and thus, Kairaku Ramen was born, tailored perfectly to satisfy the hearty appetites of the Cloud Village.
The trio sat tucked into a corner booth, the steam from their bowls rising. Hidan didn't waste any time as he shoved a massive tangled forkful of noodles into his mouth, slurping loudly with absolute disregard for table manners. He swallowed hard, his eyes widening.
"Holy hell, this is damn good," Hidan barked, pointing his chopsticks at the broth. "I could literally eat this every single day." [A/N: I wonder how it would look like, holy hell.]
Across from him, Chino sighed, adjusting her posture. "Everything needs to be part of a balanced diet, Hidan. You'll ruin your body eating like that."
Hidan rolled his eyes, waving off her with a dismissive wave. "Man, you are a total buzzkill and a real party killer. By the way, Kaien..." Hidan leaned back. "Where's that little duckling who used to follow you around everywhere? That brat sure is loud and mannerless."
Kaien continued to enjoy his meal. As the Kanji showed: "You mean Hinata. She's incredibly motivated to get stronger, so she's off doing her own intense training."
Hidan squinted his eyes furrowing in frustration. He shot a helpless look at Chino, who simply shook her head in mild exasperation, leaned over, and read the message aloud for him.
Once Hidan nodded in understanding, Chino's expression turned more serious. She leaned in closer, her voice in a low murmur to avoid being overheard. "Now that we've officially become recognized as a noble clan of Kumo, things are going to change. It will be impossible to hide our existence from the Daimyo for much longer."
Kaien caught her eye, gave a reassuring nod: "You can rest assured about that. Let the Raikage deal with the political fallout. All you two need to concentrate on right now is getting stronger and making your clan and the village proud."
He paused, changing the Kanji. "What is the general opinion within the Chinoike clan regarding the Uchiha?"
Chino's eyes darkened slightly as she stared at the text. "It's not good," she admitted softly. "Honestly, I can't help but blame the Uchiha clan for throwing our ancestors out of the Land of Lightning in the first place. Because of them, our people have suffered in the Valley of Hell for the last few decades."
Kaien watched her closely, keeping his expression neutral as he took another sip of his broth. "I guess a deep-seated hatred like that can't just be forgotten," he thought to himself. "But in my blueprint for the future, the Uchiha clan is going to defect and join Kumo. The future dynamics between the Chinoike and the Uchiha are going to be incredibly volatile... and fascinating to watch."
"The pieces were already falling into place. It was high time for the Uchiha to break away from Konoha. With Grandpa's tactical rage-baiting Danzo and the kidnap of Hinata, the seeds of distrust had been deeply sown. All the major clan heads in Konoha... especially the Hyuga... would naturally assume that the ostracized Uchiha had leaked the vital intelligence to Kumo."
Kaien felt a sudden thrill of anticipation. "I'm genuinely eager to see how the prodigies handle it... Itachi, Shisui, and even young Sasuke. That trio represents an ultimate power pack for Kumo. But can I actually contend against geniuses of that caliber? I need to speed up my own Kekkei Genkai training if I want to stay ahead of the curve."
Suddenly, his train of thought was cut short. Hidan climbed on top of the table and bent as he looked into Kaien's eyes.
"Hey! What the hell are you thinking about so deeply?" Hidan demanded, staring intently into Kaien's eyes. "You're spacing out on us."
Kaien controlled the Kanji: "In the near future, the Uchiha will likely be joining Kumo. So, you both better step up your game and get significantly stronger. Hidan, Chino... your clan needs to start picking up and mastering other nature transformation jutsus and need to find ways to amplify your existing blood control. I think En Oyashiro-san would be willing to listen to this proposal and back the training, provided you both can demonstrate the clear tactical merit to him."
~~
A/N: for those who forgot Chinoike had deep hatred towards Uchiha for years now. Wonder how that will turn out.
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