Steam drifted in from the kitchen, meat-rich and faintly sweet, and Konome's empty stomach clenched tighter.
She did not feel like eating.
She had not even reported back to the Hyuga, yet the gate guards already had her tagged as an outside spy. She had barely sat down, the ramen had not arrived, and the alert had gone straight to the Hokage.
Worse, she was sitting right in front of him, chatting away with the village's Nine-Tails jinchūriki.
That pushed her suspicion rating up another step.
At a look from Sarutobi Hiruzen the ANBU withdrew. A hush fell over the shop.
Even Naruto, who could not read a room to save his life, went quiet under the press of that sixth sense of his.
Konome's thoughts raced. To clear the Third's suspicion, she could simply reveal the Byakugan. She did not want to. Her mother, Hyuga Amafuki, had left home years ago. Who knew if the Main House's great elder, her grandfather, was even alive. The Hyuga were not a single slab of iron. The rules were a thicket, and whether a child with Hyuga and Kaguya blood could claim a place in the Main House was anyone's guess.
Showing the Byakugan now would put her straight in the crosswind. If anything went wrong, she could not accept the cost.
What then.
The Yamanaka specialized in memory probes, and her memories would not withstand scrutiny. She would not even need a jutsu. One X-ray at Konoha Hospital and they would see it, the dense skeletal plating under that harmless exterior, a bone structure that did not belong to a human being.
After devouring the Three-Tails' meat and boosting the engine of chakra, she had pushed her own body through another round of monstrous modification. She stood a meter thirty and weighed an astonishing two hundred pounds, heavy-footed even at a stroll. The baseline had climbed so high that the act itself showed. The disguise that had worked in the Mist was failing now. That was the downside of power. A lion can pull on a sheepskin, but it rarely passes for a lamb.
"Hokage-sama."
The cramped ramen shop felt even tighter. Konome turned her head without warning, and the Third actually started.
"Oh. What is it," Hiruzen said, smoothing his beard with a gentle smile that made him look nothing like the man who ruled one of the Five Great Villages.
"If you have questions, ask them. Please do not stare."
Naruto, who had been openly admiring her profile, dropped his head at once. Hiruzen's mouth tugged in embarrassment.
Girls these days were direct. Her eyes were covered, yet her senses were sharper than most.
The thought passed. Since she had already noticed that they had noticed a problem, there was no need to tiptoe.
"Konome, you are from outside the village," Hiruzen asked.
"Did your ANBU not tell you," she said.
"Your hearing is excellent."
"Something like that."
"What brings you to Konoha."
"Family, academy, revenge."
"How did you fool the detection barrier."
"A natural gift."
Konome slowed her pulse and heart rate, spun the lie without a ripple. No matter how he looked, Hiruzen found no tells.
"If you want to become a Konoha shinobi you must enter the academy. The academy only accepts original residents of the village. It does not take in wandering shinobi," he said, blunt in his role as headmaster.
Konome smiled. She lifted a pale forefinger and pointed at the kettle behind the counter.
Hiruzen and Naruto followed her gesture.
Szz.
The lid rattled. Boiling water surged from the spout, rose in three even streams, and poured into their cups without a splash.
No-hand seals ninjutsu. No, something more. A bloodline limit.
Hiruzen stared at the water, perfectly motionless in the cups, not a single ring of ripples. His thoughts churned. Water Release without seals. Effortless. The control finer than his own. At her age that was impossible, unless it was a bloodline at work.
"Will that do," Konome asked, meeting his startled gaze.
This was all she could afford to show. It was enough. No village would waste the treasure of a bloodline user as a spy, certainly not one this young. The economics did not work, and the profile was far too conspicuous.
Three-Tails no-hand Water Release married to Byakugan control. Even standing in front of Tobirama Senju himself, she would not lose a contest of water control.
Her true identity might still be in question, yet the word spy no longer fit. If she was not an infiltrator, then when she eventually revealed the Byakugan and returned to the Hyuga Main House, any paperwork wrinkles could be ironed flat with clan backing. Showing a slice of power was a stopgap, nothing more.
"Konome, that was awesome. Can you teach me," Naruto said, wide-eyed. He peered at the cups and, curious, took a sip, yelping as his tongue burned.
"That one cannot be taught. So, Third Hokage," Konome said, ignoring Naruto's crestfallen look.
"Remarkable," Hiruzen said at last. The surprise ebbed from his eyes and with it the edge of hostility. He understood her meaning. Bloodline users were rare. Not even Shimura Danzo would spend one on espionage. That would not be infiltration. That would be talent delivery. If some Kage did send a bloodline down that road, Hiruzen would line the streets to welcome them, and hand them the info they wanted. As long as the bloodline spy could have children.
He was called the Professor of Ninjutsu, yet even he could not match a little girl in water control. The envy that bloodlines inspired was not a small thing.
He thought a moment. "Bloodline users are precious, but Konoha has rules. The academy truly cannot enroll outsiders. That rule comes from the Second Hokage. No one breaks it."
"No problem. I respect rules," Konome said with a nod and a small smile.
She had heard the subtext. The academy could not accept outsiders. If she became a Konoha villager, the academy could accept her. That made things simple.
"Ramen up," Ayame and Teuchi called as they came out with three bowls of tonkotsu. The tension broke like steam under a draft.
"No shop talk at the table," Hiruzen said.
"As it should be," Konome answered.
Two strangers, a shared nod, a neat little accord.
"Smells amazing," Naruto cried. Joy spilled across his face.
"Konome, try it."
She lifted a slice of chashu and tasted. Savory and rich, soft with a hint of sweetness.
"Delicious. Good pick, Naruto."
"Heheh," he laughed, hands on hips like a little Squirtle from a sticker sheet. Hiruzen's eye-wrinkles deepened.
"How many bowls this time," Teuchi asked, drying his hands on his apron.
"Five." Naruto spread his fingers wide.
"Impressive," Teuchi said, playing along.
"My poor wallet," Hiruzen sighed, theatrical and long-suffering.
"Then you must eat with all your heart, right Naruto," Teuchi said.
"Yes," Naruto answered, and Ayame hid a giggle behind her hand.
Under that warm wash of laughter, the shop's sharp air scattered completely. Watching Naruto grin and slurp and pull faces, Konome found her own mouth curve. She glanced up at the calligraphy on the wall that read Ichiraku and let the quiet, homely peace soak in.
In a life like his, that the future Naruto could stay sunny was a miracle. This place helped. It felt less like a shop and more like family.
At Ichiraku, what you eat has never only been noodles.
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