"Ahem, sir, I think you have the wrong person..." Uchiha Nagi said with an awkward laugh.
"Hmm, maybe I do. My apologies..." Gai scratched his head. He'd always been terrible with faces. It was strange that he would find this particular stranger so familiar.
"It's no problem. Let's go," Uchiha Nagi said with a smile to Kimimaro and Yukihime. The three of them then continued toward the gates of Konoha.
"Hey—wait."
Hm?!
Uchiha Nagi turned again, involuntarily taking a step back as his lips twitched.
Gai had leaned in so close that his face was less than five centimeters away, staring intently at him. If he hadn't been careful, they might have accidentally kissed.
"You look a lot like a friend of mine. Same hair, same face mask. Are you Kakashi's long-lost twin brother?" Gai asked with a dead-serious expression.
"Honorable ninja-sama, I don't have any brothers. You must be mistaken..."
"Oh, my apologies. I just thought you looked so much like him..." Gai scratched his head again and walked away, stroking his chin in thought. "That's right, Kakashi and I grew up together, he doesn't have any brothers. But why do I still get this feeling of familiarity..."
Uchiha Nagi didn't move, watching him until he was gone. This guy might be face-blind, but his intuition was far too sharp...
He was finally gone...
If there was anyone in all of Konoha right now who could make him feel even a hint of apprehension, it was that man...
However, it was only a hint of apprehension. As long as he didn't open the Gate of Death, Uchiha Nagi had no fear. He knew the characteristics of the Eight Gates all too well. Ten minutes of open gates meant half a month in the hospital.
"Big Brother Nagi, where are we going now?" Yukihime asked, looking a little overwhelmed by the sheer size of Konoha.
"First, we'll enter Konoha to restock our supplies. I need to buy some spare storage scrolls. Then, we'll have a good meal before we set off again," Uchiha Nagi said.
"Right. For the time we're in Konoha, let's all use aliases. Kimimaro, you'll be Kimi. Yukihime, you'll be Yuki. As for me, just call me Shi..."
"Understood, Sensei."
"Nagi and Shi... there doesn't seem to be much of a difference, is there?"
Uchiha Nagi: "....."
Konoha wasn't as heavily guarded as outsiders might think. At the main gate, the three of them simply registered their names and were allowed inside.
Though called a village, it was effectively a city, with walls dozens of meters high. Naruto's favorite pastime was jumping off them...
After passing through the city gates, they were met with a surging crowd of people, even more than outside. This was likely due to its geographical location in the center of the five nations and its incredibly fertile land, which resulted in a particularly high number of merchants traveling to and from Konoha.
"Buns, get your fresh buns..."
"Ramen! Fresh ramen, made with the most tender deep-sea fish from the Land of Water..."
"Come take a look! Special beef from the highlands of the Land of Lightning! Nutritious, delicious, and cheap..."
"Come have a look, esteemed customers! Weapons from the Land of Iron, sharp and durable..."
After the end of the last Great Ninja War, Konoha had enjoyed many years of peace. Under the Third Hokage's governance, the economy had begun to soar. Konoha's unique geographical position allowed it to acquire specialty goods from the other great nations.
Even a pig could have made the economy prosper in this situation, but Konoha's Third Hokage, though a coward in foreign policy, was a master at managing the economy. Konoha was now even more prosperous than it was before Uchiha Nagi had defected.
Merchants from all over the ninja world transported all sorts of goods to Konoha for trade. By collecting just a small tax, Konoha was raking in a fortune, not to mention all the money these merchants spent on food and lodging along the way...
"Mmm, this dango is delicious! Sir, give me three more skewers!" Yukihime was like a little country girl in the big city, buying anything and everything she saw.
"Ah, I'm sorry, excuse me!" Yukihime accidentally bumped into a woman and quickly bowed in apology.
"No problem. Here, your three-color dango." A young, beautiful, and carefree female ninja wearing fishnet stockings caught the dango Yukihime had nearly dropped and cheerfully handed it to her.
Then she hurried into the dango shop, afraid they would sell out...
With her three skewers of dango, Yukihime ran back to Uchiha Nagi and Kimimaro.
"Here, Kimi, Big Brother Shi. This dango is sweet, but it's really delicious..."
Kimimaro also swallowed, taking a skewer and devouring it in single bites. His kekkei genkai meant he had a particularly large appetite. Any snacks Yukihime couldn't finish were usually handled by Kimimaro.
"Mmm, Yuki... Big Sister Yuki, this is really good. Sweet, but not too rich. How come you're not eating, Sensei?"
"I am..." Uchiha Nagi took a bite. The three-color dango was indeed good. Even he, who wasn't a fan of sweets, found it quite pleasant.
"It's good, right? That shopkeeper is so weird, though. Business is so good, but he wouldn't let me buy more. How annoying!"
"Haha, don't be angry. I'll take you to eat something even better. There's a really delicious ramen place here in Konoha. I guarantee you'll be singing its praises after you try it..."
Uchiha Nagi cheerfully led the two of them toward Konoha's inner city. Konoha had a rule: no non-village ninja or outsiders were allowed to jump or run on the rooftops. Violators would be treated as enemies and killed on sight. So, they could only walk slowly toward the inner part of the village.
Ichiraku Ramen was, of course, in the inner city. Naruto also lived in the inner city, which was primarily where the major ninja clans resided. The security there was top-notch, though of course, the prices were a bit higher than in the outer areas...
After the three of them had left, the beautiful young kunoichi in fishnets came out of the dango shop, holding a large bag of three-color dango, ready to head home.
"Yo, Kurenai! What a coincidence. Did you just get back from a mission too?"
A beautiful ninja with red hair and red eyes turned at the sound of her voice and smiled. "It's you, Anko. I just finished my mission and was about to report to the Hokage's office. You're eating dango again. If you eat so many sweets, you'll get fat and no one will marry you~"
"Hey! Kurenai-nee, I won't get fat! And you're cursing me to be single forever! As punishment, you have to get fat with me!"
With that, Anko Mitarashi took a dango skewer and stuffed it toward Kurenai's mouth. Kurenai laughed and accepted it, taking a bite.
"Hmm, you've got something on your chest. Let me get that for you..."
Kurenai took out a handkerchief and wiped Anko's chest...
"Huh? It must have been that girl from before. She was in such a hurry when she was buying dango, I wasn't paying attention, and we bumped into each other. It must have gotten dirty then..." Anko Mitarashi muttered as she wiped herself off.
But after she finished wiping, Anko frowned, lost in thought, as if she had realized something was wrong.
"She... no, it was probably my imagination..."
Kurenai was taken aback and asked with concern, "What's wrong? What wasn't right? Imagination? What are you muttering about?"
Anko snapped back to reality and said to Kurenai Yuhi, "Just now, when I was going to buy dango, I was bumped into by a girl. Logically, with the skills of a jonin like me, I shouldn't be bumped into by an ordinary person. But it was as if she didn't exist. I was in a hurry to buy dango at the time, so I didn't pay attention, and then... we bumped right into each other..."
"But now that I think back on it, the feeling she gave me at that moment... it was as if that girl wasn't even there in front of me at all. Damn it, something's not right with that girl. I can't believe I only just realized it."
Kurenai comforted her, "Maybe it was a coincidence, or maybe it was just an illusion because you were in such a hurry..."
Anko Mitarashi shook her head, then nodded. "Maybe. But I still feel like I should follow them and check. It would be trouble if they're a spy with ill intentions."
Kurenai thought for a moment and said, "Alright. I'll go to the Hokage's office to report my mission first, then I'll come find you. If it really is an enemy who has infiltrated Konoha, we'll capture her together."
"Okay! Then hurry, Kurenai-nee..."
A chance encounter. Uchiha Nagi, who thought his disguise was flawless, had unexpectedly attracted some trouble because of Yukihime's unique nature.
Inside Ichiraku Ramen—
"Mmmph~ Sir, another bowl... no, five more bowls..."
Under Uchiha Nagi's guidance, Kimimaro and Yukihime had arrived at Konoha's signature ramen shop, Ichiraku Ramen.
Yukihime couldn't eat more than one bowl because the portions at Ichiraku were very generous. Uchiha Nagi ate two bowls.
As for Kimimaro, his small body somehow managed to put away ten bowls...
Uchiha Nagi couldn't help but marvel inwardly. The Shikotsumyaku was truly the strongest taijutsu kekkei genkai. Once developed, the appetite that came with it was truly frightening.
The Hyuga clan, though also a taijutsu clan, had fundamentally inherited Hagoromo's Byakugan. The physical abilities had been fully inherited by the Kaguya clan. So, while the Hyuga could eat a lot, Kimimaro could naturally eat even more.
Just as they were heartily digging in, a carefree and boisterous voice called out. "Old Man Teuchi! Give me a super-sized bowl of chashu ramen, with extra meat!"
The curtain at the entrance was lifted, and a little blond kid of about eight, dressed in an orange jumpsuit with goggles on his head, walked in. The key feature was the several whisker marks on his face...
Uchiha Nagi narrowed his eyes. A faint, evil aura emanated from the boy's body—a very uncomfortable chakra. The chakra of a Tailed Beast.
Uzumaki Naruto...
The moment he walked into Ichiraku Ramen, Uchiha Nagi sensed several figures secretly positioned around the ramen shop. If any trouble broke out inside, they would rush in immediately.
They had formed a perimeter, ensuring that even if an enemy managed to capture Naruto, they wouldn't be able to leave Ichiraku Ramen right away.
Uzumaki Naruto suddenly noticed the stack of bowls in front of Kimimaro. "Whoa, you can really eat! You ate more than ten bowls all by yourself..."