"Ugh, I feel terrible..."
"Damn it, I knew you were cheating! Hahaha!"
As dusk fell, Kitagawa Minamoto led the two blond troublemakers out of Ichiraku Ramen, but Deidara, who had been competing with Naruto in a ramen-eating contest, couldn't hold it together.
Although he didn't vomit himself, the mouths on his hands couldn't handle it anymore.
The mouths on his body were originally designed for chewing and molding clay, not for eating food.
But to put on a show, this guy had forcefully stuffed ramen into both hand-mouths, completely overwhelming them.
At this moment, Deidara's face was filled with misery, and the tongues of his hand-mouths hung limply outside, looking utterly "exhausted."
"Tch, whatever. I still won."
Deidara ignored Naruto's taunts and snorted, lifting his head.
"A loss is a loss. Stop making excuses, hmm."
"You cheated!"
"What, you can't accept it?"
"Both of you, shut up!"
Before their argument could escalate, Kitagawa Minamoto grabbed them both by the collars and slammed them against the wall.
"You ate so much on my dime and then puked it up? I don't care what excuses you have. I only treated you to five bowls each. For the extra, you better pay me back!"
Having said that, Minamoto finally let go of the two blondes.
This little act gave him some relief—these two had really gone too far!
But soon, he realized he might have underestimated their antics.
"Tch, it's just a few bowls of ramen. Stingy, hmm!"
"Yeah, yeah, he used to scam me for ramen all the time. I ended up spending so much money because of him."
"Money? Oh no, I never had to deal with that before. The old man always paid for me. What a hassle."
"Heh, I'm better off. I've got an old grandpa who gives me money too. Lots of it!"
Two second-generation heirs, both funded by their respective village leaders, huh?
Minamoto couldn't even muster the energy to argue with them anymore.
At this moment, several Anbu appeared nearby, clearly there to escort Deidara to a designated residence.
As an outsider, even though Minamoto had been watching over him during the day, Deidara still needed to stay in a secure location under Anbu supervision at night.
To be honest, Minamoto found this arrangement somewhat surprising. He had consistently sensed the presence of Anbu nearby, not just for Deidara but for Naruto as well.
And yet, these Anbu hadn't intervened to prevent Naruto and Deidara from interacting.
Minamoto couldn't believe Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't aware of what was happening.
"Seems like they're not trying to hide anything, or maybe they're preparing for the future?"
In the upcoming Chūnin Exams, plenty of foreign shinobi would enter Konohagakure, and Naruto would still be running around freely, even participating.
"Whatever. I'll just focus on my own tasks. The rest has nothing to do with me."
Deidara, though a bit eccentric, understood the situation to some extent.
After all, he was Ōnoki's disciple.
Even with a sour expression, he obediently followed the Anbu, not forgetting to wave goodbye to Minamoto and Naruto as he left.
"That guy... he's so bad."
Naruto pursed his lips and muttered softly.
"But he's also really impressive. How does he have so many mouths?"
"True. And you seemed to get along with him quite well, didn't you?"
Minamoto chuckled, looking at Naruto.
Naruto pouted.
"Not bad, I guess. But that guy's still a jerk!"
"Mm-hmm, congratulations. Looks like you've made a new friend."
"Hey, are you even listening to me?"
"Since he's your new friend, you can cover his bill too. I'll give you a discount."
"Whoa, I knew it! You're such a jerk!"
Naruto couldn't hold back anymore and started hopping in frustration.
But Minamoto didn't bother arguing. With a flicker, he disappeared from sight, leaving Naruto behind.
Whoosh—
Accompanied by a faint ripple of Chakra, Minamoto reappeared in his room.
Looking at the marking on the floor, he nodded slightly.
The markings for the Flying Thunder God Technique varied. The Second Hokage's mark was a symbol, while the Fourth Hokage's was a "Sword of Love."
Minamoto's mark was much simpler—a "tomoe"-shaped design.
The design of these marks was entirely up to personal preference, and Minamoto naturally chose the simplest option.
"Finally, I don't have to deal with those two anymore. Now I just need to wait for Ōnoki to come and claim his disciple."
Rubbing his temples, Minamoto sat cross-legged on the floor.
He planned to thoroughly examine the powers he had obtained from Nagato.
Speaking of Nagato, Minamoto had always been puzzled about how to measure his true strength.
From what Minamoto remembered, Nagato seemed far from reaching his limits, even at the time of his self-sacrifice.
"Otherwise, he wouldn't have had the energy to resurrect thousands of Konoha's fallen."
Resurrection techniques were rare in the shinobi world. To Minamoto's knowledge, there were only three: Rinne Rebirth, One's Own Life Reincarnation, and Dragon Life Reincarnation.
Perhaps the "Sage's Talisman," which saved the Sage of Six Paths, could also be considered one?
But regardless of the method, these techniques typically revived only one person at the cost of the user's life.
Nagato, however, not only fought for an extended period but also used techniques like Super Shinra Tensei and Chibaku Tensei.
And in the end, he still had enough energy to perform Rinne Rebirth and bring so many people back to life.
"In other words, if Naruto hadn't convinced him, Nagato could've kept fighting. Maybe even against Naruto himself..."
At this thought, Minamoto furrowed his brows.
He realized he might have underestimated Nagato.
Based on what he remembered, Nagato's capabilities were indeed extraordinary.
And the version of Nagato resurrected through Impure World Reincarnation had fully demonstrated his power.
Even after Naruto's training on Turtle Island and with Killer Bee, the Perfect Jinchūriki, they struggled against him.
It was worth noting that Nagato lacked the will to fight during that encounter; he was merely being controlled.
"What an absurd guy."
Minamoto couldn't help but sigh.
He even suspected that the existence of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path was intentionally suppressing Nagato's growth.
"But no matter how ridiculous he is, I'll surpass him in the future!"
Shaking his head, Minamoto dismissed the thought.
No matter how powerful Nagato was, Minamoto was determined to become even stronger.
"Let's begin!"
Buzz—
With a surge of Chakra, the power within Minamoto erupted, and he once again felt his bloodline boiling...
Meanwhile, in Sunagakure
"Fourth Kazekage, at this hour?"
In the Kazekage's office, Chiyo and Ebizō entered with puzzled expressions.
It was well past working hours, yet Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage, seemed troubled.
Could it be that the village was short on funds again?
"You're here. Please, have a seat."
Rasa rubbed his temples. Once they were seated, he handed them a scroll.
"This is a message from Konoha. It just arrived, and it's urgent. Please take a look."
"Konoha?"
Chiyo and Ebizō exchanged glances, unsure of what had happened.
Relations between Konoha and Sunagakure weren't exactly warm.
After all, the Land of Fire, with its fertile land, favorable climate, abundant resources, and convenient transportation, was the envy of the entire shinobi world.
Even as allies, this alliance was born out of Sunagakure's defeat in war.
"A message from Konoha? What's the matter this time?"
Chiyo asked curiously, opening the scroll. Ebizō leaned over to read it with her.
Moments later, their expressions froze.
"This... this can't be real!"
(End of Chapter)
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