Chapter 231: Brother and Brother
Mao Kawagoe adjusted her glasses from the side again, staring intently at Arashi.
"Ne, Yotsuki-kun. Are you interested in becoming the Raikage?"
Yotsuki Arashi froze, his eyes widening slightly. "Why do you ask that...? Do you mean as a dream or something?"
Mao shook her head. She interlaced her fingers and rested her chin on her hands, smiling lightly. "Not at all. I mean the kind of goal where you are determined and willing to put in real effort to achieve it."
Arashi's expression shifted from dazed to serious. "What do you mean?"
Mao continued, "Come to think of it, isn't Yotsuki-kun the eldest son? I did some homework before coming to this matchmaking session. When you were younger, you always talked about inheriting the name 'A' and worked so hard to prove yourself. But now, you don't mention it anymore. Yotsuki-kun... are you truly content with that?"
Arashi frowned deeply. "That is our family business."
"Although the Yotsuki Clan is the leading clan of Kumogakure, anything involving the title of Raikage cannot simply be called 'family business,' can it? Can't we ordinary ninja have opinions on who is more suitable to be Raikage? surely we have that much freedom?"
Behind the thin wooden partition, Dana fell silent.
His invisibility tool (Yusuke) had stopped working again, but Dana had no mind to care about that now.
Indeed, ever since Dana could remember, Arashi—that guy—had always talked about inheriting the name "A." He did so during training, during battles, and even when facing down the Sannin and Torifu Akimichi, charging forward to buy Dana time to retreat.
But in recent years, Dana hadn't heard that energetic boasting anymore.
"I am the ninja who will inherit the name of 'A'!"
Once, especially before Dana's Bloodline Limit stabilized, Arashi was the Raikage heir everyone watched. Whether it was the Yotsuki clan, their father, or the other clans in the village, the general consensus was: The eldest son inherits the Raikage title; the second son inherits the Bloodline.
Dana had always assumed Arashi would become the Fourth Raikage, just like in the original timeline, and he could stand behind him doing whatever he wanted.
But in recent years, all attention had shifted to Dana. The emergence of the United Iron & Steel Company, the authority of the Special Strategy Division, and the limitless potential of his Bloodline Limit... more and more people felt that Dana should be the one to inherit the name of "A."
And Arashi was no longer the highly anticipated heir.
Putting himself in Arashi's shoes... if this happened to him, Dana wouldn't feel good about it either.
A dream held since childhood, carrying the expectations of everyone... when all of that drifted away, how many people could truly remain calm?
Inside Ichiraku Ramen, the noisy slurping and chatter covered their conversation. No one noticed what was being discussed in the corner booth.
Arashi's face had darkened completely. Gone was the smile, gone was the goofy awkwardness he usually showed around women. There was only seriousness.
"You're right. As a member of the Cloud, anyone is qualified to think about who is more suitable to be Raikage. It's not even wrong to think you are more suitable."
Mao's smile grew brighter. "Exactly. Wanting to achieve something and putting effort into it... mediocre people can't understand that kind of effort, so they denigrate it as 'ambition.' But that's just a term mediocre people invent to comfort themselves. Yotsuki-kun, you are absolutely not mediocre. Your talent, your strength, your spirit... In my opinion, you are the most suitable person to inherit the name of 'A,' aren't you?"
"Two bowls of ramen! Please enjoy!" Teuchi slammed a large bowl and a small bowl onto the table, interrupting the conversation.
Mao smiled sweetly. "Let's eat first, Yotsuki-kun. We have plenty of chances to talk about this later."
Saying this, she reached for her chopsticks.
Snap!
Arashi reached out and slammed his hand down on her chopsticks, pinning them to the bowl.
"You started this topic on your own, and now you want to end it on your own? Miss Kawagoe, I need to make something clear to you."
Mao's expression stiffened slightly, but she maintained her composure. "Please speak, Yotsuki-kun."
"I haven't given up on the dream of inheriting the name 'A.' I just realized my own shortcomings. The Raikage is an existence that needs to carry the hopes of the entire village and lead everyone forward. Anyone has the right to dream of being Raikage, even if they aren't a Yotsuki. But in the end, only the person who can best lead the village to glory can inherit the name of the Shadow."
Arashi looked her in the eyes. "Compared to my brother, I lack in strategy, foresight, and even strength. The reason I stopped talking about inheriting the name 'A' is simply because I don't want to cause trouble for my brother."
"I didn't fail to become the most qualified heir because I have an outstanding brother. It's because I am not qualified enough yet. actually, he is the one who wants me to be Raikage the most. He hates trouble, hates being stuck in an office, and has never expressed a desire for the name 'A.' The reason everyone is pushing him forward is partly because I, as the older brother, failed to surpass him."
Arashi's voice softened but remained firm. "After all... what kind of older brother would be jealous of his younger brother's excellence? All I feel is frustration at my own inadequacy."
Mao looked a bit panicked, unsure of how to respond. Arashi's speech had completely disrupted her plan.
Arashi lowered his voice. "Sorry. Very few people talk to me about this issue. I unconsciously said too many things I shouldn't have."
Mao finally found an opening and hurriedly said, "No need to apologize! I'm very happy that Yotsuki-kun could open his heart to me."
Arashi stared at her expressionlessly.
"Is that so...? Then you're happy too early."
"I have reason to suspect that you are deliberately trying to drive a wedge between Dana and me. Your motives are suspect. You might even be a spy from another village. I will notify the Anbu to investigate you. You can rest assured—if everything you said was truly just your own feelings, there will be no consequences. But if you have ulterior motives... that's hard to say."
"I know very well how bad I am at dealing with the opposite sex. The fact that we could even chat this much is suspicious enough, let alone touching on such a sensitive topic. Don't underestimate my intuition as a ninja..."
As he finished speaking, Arashi's large hand clamped onto Mao's slender arm like a vice. With his other hand, he pulled out a Communication Snail and called the Anbu.
Mao tried to struggle a few times, but realizing Arashi was serious—and physically overpowering—she gave up resisting.
A few minutes later, the Anbu arrived and took Mao away.
The appearance of the Anbu drew attention in the ramen shop, but since this was a hidden village, people were used to it. The noise soon returned to normal.
Arashi sat alone at the table, dazed for a moment. Then, he grabbed his hair and wailed.
"WHY DO I ALWAYS RUN INTO THIS KIND OF CRAP?! The first time I meet a date, I end up arresting her... How am I going to explain this to Mom when I get back?!"
"Sigh... Luck with women is truly unfathomable."
Arashi could only sigh deeply.
The ramen shop remained noisy, customers coming and going in a bustle.
Just as Arashi sat in silence, a hand patted him on the shoulder from behind.
"I haven't seen you for days since you got back. Can't find you at meal times either. And here you are, ordering two bowls of ramen for yourself..."
Dana spoke as he sat down next to Arashi.
"Dana? How did you know I was here?"
Dana feigned helplessness. "With your build, it's hard not to notice you. There's only a curtain separating the booths."
Arashi grumbled, "Speaking of build, haven't you grown to be about the same height as me?"
"I'm talking about width! Width! Anyway! I haven't eaten either, so I'll gladly accept this bowl!"
Dana naturally picked up the chopsticks and started eating the untouched, slightly cooled Tonkotsu Ramen that had been sitting in front of Dana (the empty seat).
Arashi paused, then swapped the Tonkotsu Ramen in front of Dana with the super-large "Appetite Special" in front of himself.
"You're so skinny because you don't eat properly. You need to eat more to get strong."
Dana looked at the deluxe ramen in front of him—piled high with shrimp and char siu, with two spiral-patterned fish cakes floating on top.
"My muscles... You're the only person who would call me skinny. But this bowl does look appetizing. So, why don't we just order another one? It's not like we can't afford it. Boss! Another 'Appetite Special'!"
"Understood!"
"One bowl each. Race to see who finishes first?"
"You're always confident in weird places, Dana. Hey! Yours hasn't even arrived yet and you're already eating mine?!"
Late at Night.
After finishing a day of business and spending another two hours cleaning the shop, it was only a few hours until dawn.
Running a shop was like this—no days off, leaving early and returning late. His wife wasn't feeling well and had gone home to rest earlier, leaving Teuchi alone.
However, the satisfied smiles of the customers and the growing recognition always made Teuchi feel that his hard work was worth it.
"Kumogakure is truly a place full of hope. Choosing to open a shop here was definitely the right choice."
Teuchi pulled down the shutter, locked up, and prepared to go home for a good sleep.
Then, he saw a figure lying in the alley next to his shop...
"Young man! Young man, are you okay? Why did you faint in a place like this?! My God! You're practically a dried corpse!!"
"....Water.... Mister.... Help me..... I need water....."
"Young man! Wake up! Don't sleep! If you sleep now, you might not wake up! Hang in there, I'll take you to the hospital right now!"