They ate in silence for a while, the warm broth and perfectly cooked noodles exactly what Kenji needed after weeks of field rations. Honoka seemed to be enjoying herself too, her earlier nervousness fading as she focused on the food.
Then voices from the next table over drifted into Kenji's awareness.
"Did you hear about Sakumo?"
"Yeah, terrible business. Apparently he abandoned a mission mid-operation."
"I heard the village took serious losses because of it. People are saying he chose his teammate over completing the objective."
"A ninja violating the mission protocols like that... it's disgraceful."
Kenji's chopsticks froze halfway to his mouth.
His mind immediately jumped to the original timeline. He knew this story. Sakumo had been forced to make an impossible choice during a mission, saving his teammate's life by abandoning the objective. And instead of being praised for valuing his comrades, he'd been condemned by the entire village. Even the teammate he'd saved had turned on him, claiming it was his fault they'd failed.
The pressure and shame had eventually driven him to take his own life.
Kenji set down his chopsticks and stood abruptly.
"We're leaving. I need to get to the Hokage Building."
Honoka blinked in surprise but quickly followed, grabbing her things. "What's wrong? You've looked upset ever since we left the shop."
He realized he'd been walking fast enough that she was having trouble keeping up. He slowed down, and said, "Sorry. I just heard that someone I know might be in trouble. After I finish reporting to the Hokage, I need to check on the situation. Don't worry about it."
They reached the Hokage Building quickly. ANBU operatives stood guard at the entrance, watching everyone who approached.
Kenji stepped up to the nearest guard, and explained his purpose.
"Jonin Yamanaka Kenji, returning from a mission. I need to report to the Hokage."
The ANBU's mask tilted slightly in acknowledgment. "One moment."
The operative vanished in a flicker. Less than a minute later, he reappeared in the same spot, and gestured for them to enter.
"The Hokage will see you now. Please proceed to his office."
Kenji nodded and led Honoka inside. He could feel her tension increasing as they walked through the corridors. This was the seat of power in Konoha, and she was about to meet the Hokage himself.
"Just stay close and let me do the talking," he said quietly.
They reached the office door. Kenji knocked once, waited for the response, then opened it.
"Hokage-sama. Jonin Yamanaka Kenji, reporting on my completed mission."
Hiruzen sat behind his desk, pipe in hand, the familiar smell of tobacco smoke hanging in the air.
"Welcome back, Kenji," Hiruzen said. His eyes shifted to Honoka almost immediately. "And you've brought a guest."
Kenji pulled a storage scroll from his pouch and placed it on the desk. "The medicinal herbs from the mission. Everything's sealed inside, quantities and varieties matching the requirements exactly."
Hiruzen's gaze lingered on the scroll for maybe half a second before returning to Honoka. His expression was carefully neutral, but Kenji could see the calculation happening behind his eyes.
"This young lady... am I correct in assuming she's...?"
Honoka bowed quickly. "Hello, Hokage-sama. My name is Uzumaki Honoka."
The moment she said "Uzumaki," something shifted in Hiruzen's demeanor. His expression warmed, genuine interest replacing political calculation.
"An Uzumaki. I thought so from your hair." He set down his pipe and leaned forward slightly. "Kenji, explain."
"On the return voyage, our ship was caught in a storm and blown off course," Kenji said concisely. "We ended up at an island called Summoning Island. There was an incident there involving a failed research project. Honoka's entire team was killed. She had nowhere else to go, so I brought her back to Konoha."
He met Hiruzen's eyes directly.
"I'm requesting that she be granted Konoha citizenship."
He knew the request would be approved. After Uzushio's destruction, Uzumaki survivors were rare. And their unique physiology made them ideal jinchūriki candidates. Konoha would never turn away someone with Uzumaki blood.
The mention of the Uzumaki clan triggered another thought. Karin's mother. He remembered that there was another Uzumaki woman who'd end up in Kusa, where she'd eventually be worked to death through repeated healing sessions. Karin and her mother.
The timing was tricky though. Based on what he remembered, Karin's mother might have already relocated to Kusa, or she might still be in hiding somewhere else. Going to retrieve her now would be complicated. Kusa was technically an ally, but tensions were rising across the shinobi world. Barging in to extract someone could easily be seen as an act of aggression.
Better to wait for the Third War. Once chaos erupted, he'd have cover to retrieve them without triggering an international incident.
"Of course," Hiruzen said, already reaching for pen and paper. He wrote out an approval note with quick strokes. "Take this to the registration office. Tell them it's a special authorization from the Hokage's office."
Before handing it over, he added, "And let them know you'll be acting as her point of contact for now. You're already familiar with her, so it's best if you help her settle in until she gets accustomed to the village. Show her around, handle any basic procedures she doesn't understand, and make sure she doesn't get overwhelmed. Consider it part of your responsibility for bringing her here."
Kenji accepted the paper and tucked it away. "Thank you. One more thing, the island where I found Honoka has a large population of wild summoning beasts. If it could be developed as a resource base, it might help address the village's summoning animal shortage, especially for civilian ninjas who don't have clan contracts."
Hiruzen frowned slightly, tapping his pipe against the ashtray.
"The village has received intelligence about that location before. The problem is geography. Summoning Island sits at the border between the Lands of Fire, Lightning, and Water. Establishing any kind of permanent presence there would be seen as an aggressive move by our neighbors. The risk of triggering border conflicts outweighs the benefits."
He shook his head.
"Besides, most of our summoning contracts are clan legacies. Civilian ninjas do have needs, but not enough to justify that level of risk."
"Understood," Kenji said.
He pulled out his mission report scroll and placed it on the desk alongside the herb container. Then he turned toward the door. But he couldn't leave without addressing what he'd overheard at the ramen shop. His hand was on the door handle when he stopped and turned back.
"Hokage-sama. I heard something disturbing when I arrived back in the village. Rumors about Hatake Sakumo. They're saying he abandoned a classified mission to save a teammate, and that it caused major losses to the village. People are calling him a disgrace."
His tone was direct, with none of the usual deference. At his current level of strength and with his service record, he didn't need to bow and scrape to anyone. And more importantly, the way leadership was handling this situation set a dangerous precedent. If they could destroy Sakumo's reputation like this, what was to stop them from doing the same to anyone else who became inconvenient?
Hiruzen picked up his pipe and took a long draw, exhaling smoke that obscured his expression.
"Sakumo did choose to save his teammate over completing the mission. And the village did suffer losses as a result. It's natural that people are upset. I've already assigned people to manage the situation and guide public opinion."
"Natural?" Kenji raised an eyebrow, and pressed on. "That was a classified mission. How did the details get leaked to the general public? And what exactly are these 'major losses' everyone keeps mentioning?"
"Likely enemy intelligence operatives," Hiruzen said. "ANBU is investigating. We'll have answers soon."
It was a non-answer. A politician's deflection.
Kenji saw right through it but decided pressing further would accomplish nothing. Hiruzen had made his position clear through what he wasn't saying.
"I understand. Just keep in mind that war is coming. The Third War could break out at any time. Konoha can't afford to lose someone like Sakumo."
He took Honoka's hand and walked out without waiting for a response.
The door closed behind them.
Once they were in the hallway and out of earshot, Kenji let out a frustrated breath.
The whole situation was absurd. The village leadership spent all their time preaching about the Will of Fire, about protecting your comrades and understanding each other. Then they turned around and condemned one of their strongest ninjas for actually living by those principles.
Sakumo's reputation exceeded even Hiruzen's at this point. The man was feared across the shinobi world. Suna had tried repeatedly to kill him on the battlefield and failed every time. And now Konoha's own people were tearing him down from the inside.
It was kind of idiotic. If Sakumo went through with suicide like in the original timeline, Konoha would have to throw countless ninjas into the meat grinder just to compensate for the loss of his combat power during the Third War.
But pointing that out to Hiruzen had been pointless. He had already made his decision, or more accurately, had decided not to decide. He'd let the situation play out, either through indecision or political maneuvering.
Either way, one of Konoha's greatest warriors was being destroyed by his own village.