If we hit 255 powerstones, I'll upload another chapter.
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The evening chill set into his bones as Hidetada and Kushina reached the stall at the corner of the street. The rays of the sun had dimmed in favor of the silver moonlight, leaving the air cool and crisp against their skin.
Flipping the noren flap above his head, Hidetada bent down to sit on a worn wooden stool. He held the fabric open for Kushina, who glanced around with wide, curious eyes. Her red hair danced in the light evening breeze as she settled onto the stool beside him, the wood creaking softly under her weight as she adjusted herself to the counter.
"It is good to see you again, Teuchi," Hidetada greeted the young man behind the counter. At twenty, Teuchi was lean and thin, though his eyes were still squinted. There was not much difference in his appearance between the future and current him.
The warm orange glow of the lantern light inside the stall stood in sharp contrast to the pale, silver moonlight bleeding in from the street outside. Teuchi looked up and beamed, his eyes curving into thin, cheerful crescents. "It is good to see you here as well, Hidetada-kun." He paused, shifting his gaze to Kushina. "I see Mito-sama did not come with you today, though this young lady looks quite similar to her."
He leaned forward, his expression open and friendly as the steam from the large vats swirled around his head. "Who might you be?"
Kushina stared at Hidetada for a moment, an unsure flicker in her sharp purple eyes before she replied, "I am Kushina Uzumaki." She figured if this man truly was the best ramen maker in the village, as Hidetada claimed, it would be wise to stay on his good side.
Teuchi nodded, leaning back with a hearty chuckle. "It is good to meet you, Kushina-san. I am Teuchi, the owner of this humble stall." He turned away to hoist a heavy box of fresh, vibrant ingredients onto the prep station, giving the two a moment to talk.
Kushina sat awkwardly, her fingers drumming an impatient beat against the smooth, polished countertop. She bit her lip and stole a quick glance at Hidetada. He seemed entirely at peace, his posture relaxed and an easy, effortless smile playing on his lips. Just looking at him made her chest tighten with a strange envy; how could someone be so entirely sure of themselves? Shaking her head to clear the thought, she finally spoke up. "So, Hidetada-san, what is your favorite ramen?"
"My favorite?" He leaned forward, resting his cheek against a closed fist as he turned toward her. He flashed a pretty smile that sent a sudden, unexpected flurry of butterflies—seriously, how could someone look this good? It was totally unfair—through her stomach. Reaching up, he flicked a stray strand of brown hair from his forehead before answering, his warm eyes locking onto hers. "Hmm, if I had to pick one, I would probably go for Miso Pork Ramen."
Kushina's mouth fell open, her carefully maintained composure vanishing instantly, "That ramen is the best of them all! It is my favorite as well, dattebane!" She blurted out the words with a sudden burst of excitement before narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "Wait... are you reading my mind? First the shop, and now the exact same bowl?"
Hidetada chuckled at her defensive tone, raising his hands in a playful gesture of surrender. "I think you caught me. Though I think I lost my way once or twice after realising that your head from empty except for the thoughts related to noodles."
A red flush almost as bright as her hair ran through her face, as she bristled at the jab, before turning away with a dramatic, exaggerated pout. But as the silence hung for a second, she could no longer hold it in and let out a laugh that echoed through the small stall.
Shaking his head with an amused smirk, Hidetada turned back to the counter. Teuchi was already poised, his tools gleaming under the soft orange light of the lanterns. Before the chef could even ask, Hidetada spoke up. "I want one large bowl of Miso Pork Ramen, Teuchi. As for Kushina..."
They both looked at her expectantly. She stopped her giggling and straightened up on her stool. "I will be having the same thing as him!"
Teuchi nodded, his hands moving in a blur of practiced motion as he lowered bundles of fresh noodles into a boiling vat of water, "Two large bowls of Miso Pork Ramen, coming right up!"
For a few minutes, the only sound was the steady, comforting bubbling of the broth and the rhythmic clack-clack of Teuchi's knife as he sliced through green onions and bamboo shoots. Hidetada watched the steam rise into the wooden rafters, lost in thought, before turning back to the girl beside him. "Say, Kushina, how is Uzushio compared to Konoha?"
She gave a small, proud sniff, her eyes lighting up. "It is a hundred, no, a thousand times better than this village!"
Hidetada felt a comical bead of sweat form on his brow at her sheer passion for her village. "I have not seen much of this place yet," she continued, puffing out her chest, "but I do not need to see more to know my home was better. All the buildings are made of pure white marble, with lush trees and fountains at every corner. We have transportation circles to move from one district to another in a heartbeat. Even out barriers are impenetrable, that's if they someone somehow managed to get past the massive whirlpools.
She trailed off, a sudden, heavy wave of homesickness clouding her eyes as she stared at the wooden wall of the stall.
"I bet you are exaggerating at least half of that," Hidetada said, his voice laced with a playful challenge.
Kushina snapped out of her funk, sticking her tongue out childishly with her eyes squeezed shut. "Nuh-uh! You are only saying that because your village cannot compare, dattebane!"
Before the argument could escalate, Teuchi slid two steaming, massive ceramic bowls onto the counter. The aroma that hit their nostrils was strong, a rich, earthy scent of fermented miso perfectly blended with the savory, fatty saltiness of slow-cooked pork.
Hidetada stared down at his bowl. The surface was a beautiful, opaque tan broth, dotted with droplets of glistening oil that shimmered like amber under the lights. Slices of tender chashu pork belly sat atop the noodles, their edges caramelized and dark, accompanied by a perfectly soft-boiled egg, a handful of vibrant green onions, and a sheet of crisp nori.
He snapped his wooden chopsticks apart with a crisp crack, offered a quick thanks for the meal, and dug in. The first sip of the broth reminded him why Ichiraku Ramen was the best. The broth was thick, creamy, and packed with a deep umami flavor that warmed him from the inside out. The noodles were firm and springy, holding onto the rich soup as he pulled them from the bowl.
After a few more slurps of the noodles, he set down his chopsticks to take a sip of water, Hidetada glanced sideways to see how Kushina was faring. He blinked in shock. She was shoving the ramen into her mouth in enormous helpings, her cheeks puffed out like a squirrel storing nuts for the winter.
He sipped his water, amused, and went back to his own meal, savoring the way the pork practically dissolved on his tongue. When he finished a particularly large mouthful of noodles and leaned back to check on her again, he found her staring at him expectantly. He looked down at her bowl; it was bone-dry, as if she had polished the ceramic herself. There was not a single drop of soup left.
"Uh, Teuchi... it seems like we will be needing another bowl," Hidetada said, his voice tinged with disbelief. Kushina's eyes practically turned into glowing hearts at his words. With a small sigh and a smile, he leaned toward her. "Eat until your heart is content. Money is not an issue for me."
She looked at him as if he had just offered her a kingdom on a platter, eh, maybe it actually was a kingdom for her. Hidetada turned back to his own half-finished bowl, shaking his head. Money truly was not a concern for the Senju heir, but at the pace she was eating the food was terrifying, 'I guess all Uzumakis are the same when it comes to ramen,' he thought, remembering his grandmother's own ramen eating habits.
Turning to his own bowl with a shake of his head and an amused smile, he started eating the ramen at his own pace. What Kushina had said made him wonder; if the Village Hidden in the Whirlpools was really this strong, then how had it fallen? Fuinjutsu was, without a doubt, very powerful. Even the barriers around his own compound would be almost impossible to break even if an army battered all of their strength against it.
But then, how did the Uzumakis fall?
Unfortunately, all his knowledge came from the anime and the few movies that he had watched, and according to his memory, there was no mention of how the nations had managed to defeat them. Transporting a large number of shinobis to the island itself would be an impossible challenge, considering that it was surrounded by impossibly large whirlpools that never stopped their movements. No matter how good your chakra control was, you would never be able to walk on them. And then there were the various abominations lurking deep in the ocean at every hour, creatures that would attack any shinobi ship without discrimination.
So Hidetada eliminated the option of reaching there by the sea; it would be nearly impossible, and even if they did do that, barely a few shinobis would be left to actually begin their assault on the village.
Maybe they had flown there? But how? He could not remember any Jutsu that would allow you to fly, except the one used by the Tsuchikage. And even if they did know something like that, it would require too much effort to teach it to everyone. So how had they done it? How had they managed to destroy the island completely, leaving barely any survivors behind?
The most obvious answer was a traitor within their own ranks. But why would someone willingly call for the destruction of their whole village? Not even leaving the children behind. Hidetada set aside his chopsticks and looked at the bowl; all the noodles, pork, and other ingredients were eaten by him, leaving only the ramen stock in the bowl. He turned his head to look at Kushina, only to see that the girl was on her sixth bowl and working her way down the seventh one. A stunned look overcame his face as he looked at her.
Where did all that food disappear?
Shaking his head, he turned away and picked up his bowl to drink the soup. The thought that a traitor was within the Uzumaki clan did not make any sense. As far as he knew, it could not be someone from a different village, because no one was allowed inside the island without explicit trust. The thought that they would willingly let a shinobi of any nation except Konoha inside was incredibly stupid, especially in the times of war.
Hidetada set the bowl down and wiped his mouth. Should he eat another bowl? He glanced at Kushina and realized that she probably would not be stopping anytime soon. With a shrug, he decided to order another bowl of ramen.
Teuchi set to work immediately, preparing the bowl with a smile as Hidetada tapped his finger on the counter. He did not have to wait long, as the man placed it in front of him. Picking up his chopsticks, he began eating again.
He did not know the internal dynamics of the Uzumaki clan, but who would willingly massacre their own village, except maybe someone like Itachi? Hmmm, thinking about Itachi made him consider the fact that it might not be that absurd for someone to betray their entire clan.
Still, if he removed the traitor theory, then what remained? Hidetada slurped the noodles as he thought before pausing. He had completely forgotten about Black Zetsu. It made sense; out of everyone, he was the one who stood to gain the most with the destruction of the Uzumaki Clan. But what exactly would he gain from destroying them? Maybe the information related to sealing Kaguya? That made sense at least. If anyone would know how to seal her, it would be the Uzumakis. As even Sasuke and Naruto would not have been able to seal her away had it not been for Hagoromo.
The theory started to make sense the more he thought about it. Only Black Zetsu would have the ability to sneak into the island, disable all their protective measures, and go back out. Only he would gain the most from the destruction of the clan.
Even then, this was just a theory, an anime theory.
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Word Count: 2228.