Ichiraku Ramen.
Inside the shop, Kaito quietly tasted the newly opened ramen.
Before long—
The noren curtain at the back was suddenly lifted.
A black-haired young woman in Uchiha Military Police uniform stepped in, the insignia of Vice-Captain visible on her shoulder.
"Ichiraku," she said calmly.
"One signature ramen, please."
"Coming right up!"
Teuchi was still young at this time, nowhere near middle-aged yet.
After ordering, the Uchiha woman sat down beside Kaito.
"What's wrong?" she asked, glancing at him sideways.
"You look like something's on your mind."
"Worried about Genma?"
Kaito finished his noodles, then lifted the bowl and drank the broth clean—rich, freshly simmered pork bone soup.
"Delicious. Boss Teuchi's noodles and broth are really good."
"Of course!" Teuchi laughed proudly.
"I'll be counting on you to come often, Kaito-san!"
"Definitely."
Kaito nodded, then finally turned to the person who'd been glaring daggers at him for a while now—
Uchiha Mikoto.
She was no longer the willful, tsundere little miss from before.
She'd matured.
…Into a willful, tsundere grown-up.
Her figure had developed strikingly—certainly not like Sakura, who somehow stayed completely flat even by Boruto's era.
Her face was beautiful too.
Compared to canon, though, she lacked that gentle housewife aura—
Maybe that comes after having a kid.
"There's a bit going on," Kaito said.
"But I'm not too worried. Loulan's reputation doesn't seem as bad as people claim."
"Here you go—two signature ramens."
"Thanks, Boss Teuchi."
"Looks amazing."
They accepted their bowls. Mikoto leaned closer to smell the aroma, clearly impressed.
Seeing satisfied customers, Teuchi happily returned to cooking—
Kaito had ordered fifty bowls in total. This was bowl number twenty-eight.
"Slurp."
"I ran into Orochimaru-sensei today," Kaito said casually.
"He's… changed. Almost unrecognizable."
Even faster than me, he thought.
At least I'm not that cold yet.
Everything earlier that afternoon had been an act.
The goal was simple—
never let anyone realize who he really was.
If they did, things would stop being fun.
Orochimaru turning villain early?
Honestly, that wasn't so bad.
Hurry up and make some monsters. Entertain me.
Last time, Kaito had wiped out that army with a casual move—
purely to save time and demonstrate Loulan's absolute authority.
In his eyes, they were all nameless extras.
Two or three jōnin at most.
Less than two hundred chūnin.
He hadn't even left bodies behind.
Iwagakure really doesn't value its ninja, he mused.
Sending genin as chūnin, marching a thousand men with barely any supplies… forcing them into a no-retreat death charge.
"Orochimaru," Mikoto said, slurping noodles.
"He's committed quite a few crimes over the years."
"Being allowed back out now just means the village needs his brain to restart some project."
Kaito glanced at her.
"No honorifics anymore, Mikoto?"
"Someone who experiments on comrades doesn't deserve to be called senpai."
"Another bowl!" she added.
"Coming right up!"
"Then I'll treat today, sensei," Mikoto said.
"Thanks," Kaito scratched his head.
"Perfect timing—sensei's broke lately."
"You traveled for that long," Mikoto said, resting her chin in her palm.
"If you'd taken me with you, I could've paid everything."
"I've got eight digits in savings now, you know~"
"Impressive," Kaito clapped.
"Sensei's down to six digits. Starting with three."
"I'm starving."
"?"
"If I remember right," Mikoto narrowed her eyes,
"didn't Shizuka say you had over five million before you left?"
Suspicion flickered.
Kaito stroked his chin, recalling how he never once treated himself poorly while traveling.
"…I might've overspent."
"Like that time in Lightning Country—Kano Town. One meal cost me 120,000."
Clack.
Teuchi froze.
"120,000?! Just for one meal?!"
"Yes. Steak was 25,000. Pork cutlet 12,000. Chicken 13,000.
One bottle of red wine—100,000."
"…Boss Teuchi, are you okay?"
"Twenty… thirty… a hundred…"
Teuchi's eyes turned into spirals.
"But that adds up to 150,000," Mikoto pointed out.
"I ran into a merchant on the road—turned out he owned the place.
Gave me a 20% discount. So it was 120,000."
"Twelve… ten-thousand…"
"Come on, it's just 120,000," Mikoto said.
"You're overreacting."
Teuchi slapped his cheeks and pointed at the menu above his stall.
The most expensive set was 1,000 ryō.
The signature ramen was 90 ryō.
"Look at my prices!!"
"How many bowls would I have to sell to make 120,000?!"
"As expected of the Uchiha Police," he whimpered.
"Brutal…"
Just then, another customer entered—
a blonde woman with glasses.
"Teuchi! Two tonkotsu ramens, extra seafood toppings!"
"Yes! Right away!!"
Business revived him instantly.
"Nonou, you're here too?" Mikoto said without turning.
"Off work early today?"
"Not like you," Yakushi Nonou replied, sitting beside Kaito.
"Vice-Captain of the Uchiha Police, skipping duty to eat ramen~"
"You're the one trying to cut in line," Mikoto shot back.
"We agreed—fair competition means fair competition."
"Hmph."
Stare—x2.
Kaito ignored the tension and kept eating.
Afterward, Mikoto finally explained why she'd come.
"Sensei. We've got a mission tomorrow."
"A mission?" Nonou tensed.
"Not another dangerous one, right?"
"No," Mikoto shook her head.
"Just intel gathering. Careful work."
"Thank goodness…"
Kaito paused.
"…That place you mentioned—don't tell me it's—"
The Next Morning
At Konoha's main gate.
Kaito slung his pack over his shoulder, eyes dead.
Damn it. I just got back from Loulan… and now I'm going again?!
Especially when almost everyone there—
aside from Nawaki—already knew who he really was.
Chills ran down his spine.
On his finger was a silver ring, engraved with an eastern dragon—
Loulan's ultra-long-range communication device.
Signal quality was poor.
No voice calls—only message transmission, like physical versions of QQ or WeChat.
He also had another method.
A way to cross vast distances instantly.
Heavenly Transfer Technique.
A Lightning Release spacetime jutsu—
the future Cloud ninja Mabui's technique.
In principle, anyone who could use this could also learn Flying Thunder God.
Same fundamentals.
Different execution.
The Heavenly Transfer's channel was too narrow, surrounded by violent spatial friction.
Anything sent through arrived… shattered.
Kaito had spent about a month studying spacetime ninjutsu, but most of his time went into senjutsu.
So for now, he could only use the Lightning variant.
He'd tested it secretly—
objects could teleport from Konoha to his tower room.
Downside?
They arrived as dust.
Too dangerous.
He hadn't dared try it with shadow clones yet.
Pain is scary.
"Senseiiii~!"
The voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
A young woman in light, vacation-style clothes ran up.
Jiraiya stood beside Kaito, looking hollow—
until he turned his head.
Nosebleed.
Kaito sighed.
Softness pressed against his arm.
He looked down—
his arm was practically buried in a bottomless black valley.
"Mikoto. Too close."
Good thing he wasn't a virgin anymore.
Poker face. Poker face.
"Sensei, your face is red," Mikoto teased.
"Are you shy?"
"You're dressed like that and calling it a mission outfit?"
"Nope~"
"I'm a tourist now."
"Tourist?" ×2
"That's right."
Tsunade approached from behind.
"This mission—Mikoto plays a wealthy traveling heiress."
"The three of us are her guards. We're heading to Loulan."
She added coldly:
"Once inside, no ninjutsu unless absolutely necessary."
"Scientific ninja tools?" Jiraiya asked.
Tsunade nodded.
Kaito already knew—
those were his chakra weapons, armor, goggles, surveillance devices.
Fire–River border.
To avoid suspicion from Sunagakure, they rented a carriage and traveled openly.
A trip that should've taken two days now took four.
Land of Rivers — Construction Site
The sun blazed.
Minato hauled stones under the heat, sweat soaking his clothes.
Numb. Exhausted. Empty.
So this is labor reform…
After a week, he'd accepted his fate.
As long as he survived his sentence, he'd return to Konoha a hero.
Chōza crept over while working.
"Minato… what do you think these devices are made of?
We can use chakra, but can't form ninjutsu."
Minato glanced at his prisoner number—66.
"No idea."
"I've never heard of tools this advanced."
—Enhancing strength, yet blocking ninjutsu.
Completely overturning Konoha's understanding.
"Minato, look!" Chōza hissed.
"That carriage—Isn't that Jiraiya-sama?!"
Minato looked up.
"…It is."
He noticed Nawaki overseeing the site.
"And the guards have noticed too."
Click. Click.
Aside from Nawaki, the guards disengaged their safety locks.
Guns trained on the road.
Jiraiya froze when he saw Minato.
"Tsunade… I think I see Minato."
"Including guards?"
"About fifteen. And one with a brown ponytail and a horned mask…"
"That's not Nawaki," Tsunade said flatly.
"He hates long hair."
The carriage stopped.
Silence fell over the site.
Naruto leaned on his shovel, confused.
Saï followed his gaze.
"…That's Jiraiya-sama."
"What?!"
At Tsunade's signal—
"Move."
The carriage halted.
Mikoto, Tsunade, and Kaito stepped down.
Nawaki stiffened.
Sis…?
He barked at the prisoners:
"Looking for solitary?! Back to work!"
Saï broke into cold sweat.
Naruto puffed up.
"My sensei and Tsunade-baa—!"
Guns raised.
Naruto froze.
"…Sumimasen!!"
"Solitary tonight," Little Wood Bug said calmly.
"WHAT?!"
"Rest in peace, Naruto," Saï whispered.
"I hope you sleep well."
Naruto turned pale.
Then—
Jiraiya's group dropped down into the quarry.
"Why are Konoha ninja in your custody?" Tsunade demanded.
"They violated Loulan law," Nawaki replied steadily.
"One month of labor reform. Then release."
"One month?" Tsunade frowned.
"How long have you been detained?"
Genma raised his hand.
"Half a month."
"…One week," Minato said quietly.
"Five days," Saï added.
"And you are?" Tsunade squinted.
Before Saï could answer—
"It's me! Uzumaki Naruto!!"
BAM.
Tsunade punched him into a human-shaped crater.
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A GRANDMA?!"
"I'm thirty-one!!"
"No difference."
"…Hm?"
"Sorry," Kaito said calmly.
"Hmph."
Tsunade turned back.
"Hey. You there."
"…Me?" Nawaki pointed at himself.
"Fight us."
"One of you versus one of us.
You win—you keep them.
We win—you release them."
Nawaki hesitated.
Rules were absolute.
Even Queen Sally or Honglian couldn't bypass them.
Then—
Kaito spoke lightly.
"What? Afraid?"
"Loulan's ninja aren't that impressive after all~~~"
Nawaki twitched.
"…Fine."
"One opponent, right?"
"Yes!" Tsunade nodded.
Nawaki pointed.
"I choose the short black-haired man."
Kaito: "..."
Mikoto: "..."
Jiraiya: "..."
Tsunade: "?????"
"And if Konoha loses?" Nawaki added calmly.
"We need a fair wager."
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