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Chapter 61
After completing the mission to hunt down the missing-nin, Team Ling Yu didn't linger outside.
Ling Yu opened a teleportation gate and brought the three girls back to a spot not far from Konoha, then they walked the rest of the way at a leisurely pace.
It was already around four or five in the afternoon. The sun was beginning to set, and the warm glow of dusk gradually spread across the sky.
Just like when they left, the group registered briefly at the gate's guard post before stepping back into the village.
"After going out, I really realize how much better Konoha is than everywhere else."
The moment they entered the village, Ling Yu looked at the bustling streets of Konoha and sighed with genuine feeling.
On their way to the mission, since the destination was quite far, they had encountered too many refugees and wanderers fleeing into the Land of Fire due to the ongoing wars.
Now the Land of Wind and Land of Earth were already at war, and Hanzō of the Land of Rain had recklessly declared war on Fire, Wind, and Earth all at once.
The great nations naturally wouldn't tolerate such provocation from a small country. They launched offensives against the Land of Rain—and once again, it was the small nations caught in the crossfire who suffered the most.
This was the tragedy of small countries. Without a powerful hidden village to back them, they had no voice at all when the great powers clashed.
Unable to stop the wars of the major nations, these small countries could only watch helplessly as their lands were slowly destroyed in the crossfire.
"You're so young—what are you sighing about? Come on, let's turn in the mission. Then I'll treat you all to a really good meal."
Tsunade appeared from behind Ling Yu, slung an arm around his shoulders, and led the group toward the Hokage Tower.
"Really?! Then Big Sis Tsunade—I want ramen! They just released the Supreme Extra-Large Ramen bowl! Can we go there?"
The moment food was mentioned, Kushina's eyes sparkled. She grabbed Mikoto's hand and dashed in front of Tsunade, looking up at her with eager anticipation.
To Kushina, nothing beat ramen. In her heart, ramen occupied a league of its own—so naturally, a "big meal" meant ramen.
"Ramen counts as a big meal? I was thinking barbecue…"
"What about you two, Ling Yu and Mikoto? What do you think?"
Tsunade lowered her head and looked at the other two, seeking their opinion.
Kushina had already made her stance clear—now it was up to Ling Yu and Mikoto.
"I'm fine with anything," Ling Yu said indifferently.
"Um… I don't really feel like eating meat lately. I think ramen sounds better."
When meat was mentioned, Mikoto's expression shifted slightly. She spoke softly.
It was because she had only recently experienced the aftermath of slaughtering bandits—the scene of corpses strewn everywhere still lingered in her mind.
Every time meat was brought up, her stomach churned uncomfortably.
"Alright then. Ramen it is. Whenever you feel like meat later, I'll take you all out for barbecue."
Though it wasn't quite what she had in mind, Tsunade reluctantly agreed to accommodate Mikoto.
"Yay! Ramen, ramen—I love ramen!"
"Hurry, hurry, hurry! I'm starving flat already!"
Hearing Tsunade agree to her suggestion, Kushina jumped for joy and dragged everyone toward the Hokage Tower without stopping.
…
After submitting the completed A-rank mission, the group left the Hokage Tower under the stunned gazes of the registering jōnin and headed straight for the ramen shop.
As for the reward money—Ling Yu had casually tossed it to Kushina as pocket money. Neither he nor she cared much about such a small amount.
He had originally intended to give it to Mikoto to raise her favorability, but Mikoto had no interest in money—so it ended up with Kushina, who had shouted the loudest.
The group arrived at Konoha's ramen shop.
"Boss! Four bowls of the new Supreme Extra-Large Ramen! Three bottles of juice, two bottles of sake."
As soon as they sat down, Tsunade boldly called out the order.
Then she turned to Kushina and Mikoto with concern and asked:
"How about it? Want anything else? Order whatever you like—it's on me."
Since barbecue was off the table, at least they could go for the most expensive ramen—that still counted as a feast, right?
"Nothing else for now. We'll order more if we need it," Kushina and Mikoto replied, shaking their heads.
"If that's everything, please wait just a moment. Your ramen will be ready soon."
After confirming their order, the owner headed back to the kitchen to prepare.
"Huh? Ling Yu, Tsunade! You guys came here for ramen too? I thought that voice sounded familiar earlier."
At that moment, Jiraiya's voice came from behind Ling Yu.
Turning around, they saw Jiraiya sitting in a nearby corner. An empty ramen bowl sat in front of him—he had clearly been there for a while.
"Yo! Pervy Sage Jiraiya—long time no see!"
Ling Yu smiled and greeted him casually.
Tsunade gave Jiraiya a small nod, then turned back to chat with Mikoto and Kushina—sipping her sake while subtly helping Ling Yu build favorability with the girls.
For the future revival of the Senju clan, she was putting in serious effort to help her little brother build his harem.
While the three girls chatted happily, Jiraiya—knowing Tsunade had no interest in talking to him—walked over to Ling Yu's side.
As Jiraiya approached, Ling Yu noticed he no longer had the exhausted look from their last meeting. Curious, he spoke first:
"You look like you're in a good mood lately. No missions recently?"
"With the war going on, I've just been on standby in Konoha—no missions for me."
Jiraiya shrugged, a relaxed expression on his face.
Since Konoha was currently only at war with the small Land of Rain—and as the strongest of the five great nations—there was no need to deploy every ninja for the offensive.
At the same time, to guard against other countries joining the conflict, the higher-ups had ordered Jiraiya and the others to remain in the village on standby.
"Enough about that—let's talk about you, kid."
Not wanting to dwell on the topic, Jiraiya sat down beside Ling Yu, slung an arm around his shoulder, and grinned mischievously:
"Heh heh, not bad, huh? Already a jōnin, already a team leader—and your team members are your two little girlfriends."
When he first heard that Ling Yu had been exceptionally promoted to jōnin, even he had been mildly surprised.
He never expected Ling Yu to immediately apply to become a team leader after becoming a jōnin. For a moment, Jiraiya felt a pang of jealousy.
He still hadn't become a sensei himself.
"How come I see deep jealousy in your eyes? Don't tell me you also want to be a team leader and show off a little?"
Seeing through Jiraiya's cheeky expression, Ling Yu gave him a disdainful glance.
"Sigh… I want to, but I haven't found any good seedlings yet."
Jiraiya sighed lightly and said helplessly.
When he heard Ling Yu had become a sensei, he had briefly considered taking students too.
But after visiting the academy graduation exam and looking over the graduates, he found none of them particularly impressive—so he gradually gave up the idea.
"No good seedlings? I actually know a genius who seems perfect for you. Interested in checking him out?"
Hearing that Jiraiya was thinking about taking a student, Ling Yu immediately thought of Minato—Jiraiya's future disciple. He spoke up casually.
Since Jiraiya already had the idea of taking a student, introducing Minato to him early wasn't too much, right? After all, the two of them were destined to become master and disciple in the future.
Consider this a little compensation for all the times he had pranked Jiraiya.
"Come on, you're not trying to trick me again, are you?"
Jiraiya pursed his lips. Having been pranked by Ling Yu too many times, he now suspected every word the kid said.
"I'm serious—why don't you believe me? If someone else snatches him up first, you'll be crying later."
Ling Yu shrugged with an "believe it or not" attitude, making Jiraiya start to wonder if he might actually be telling the truth.
"Fine. Tell me his name. I'll go check him out later and see if he's really worthy of becoming a disciple of the great Jiraiya-sama."
Jiraiya stared at Ling Yu for a long moment. Seeing the kid's unwavering confidence, he finally decided to trust him.
"Remember—he should still be in the academy right now. A genius civilian ninja from my year. His name is Namikaze Minato. He still has one year before graduation."
As he spoke, Ling Yu dipped his finger in water on the table and wrote the name "Namikaze Minato."
"Oh? Interesting. A civilian ninja being praised this much by you… looks like I'll have to pay close attention to him."
Jiraiya frowned thoughtfully for a while. He had never heard of the Namikaze clan before. Finally, interest sparked in his eyes.
"I guarantee you'll be satisfied. When you meet him, you'll understand."
Ling Yu patted his chest confidently.
As the future Fourth Hokage, Minato's genius level was on par with Orochimaru. Once he mastered the Flying Thunder God, he would become a force capable of holding off dozens of jōnin on the battlefield—earning the title "Yellow Flash" during the Third War.
"Alright then. You guys eat first—I've got something to do, so I'm heading out."
After receiving Ling Yu's assurance, Jiraiya didn't linger. He paid his bill and left the ramen shop.
Judging by his behavior, he was clearly going to find Minato—probably to test whether this so-called genius civilian ninja was really worth taking as a disciple.
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