We Meet Again

"Kabuto, don't eat so fast. If you choke..."

Before the words could even finish, Kabuto, sitting on the stool at Ichiraku Ramen, was clutching his throat for dear life, one hand pounding frantically against his chest.

"Thwack!"

Sora slapped Kabuto on the back with one palm, finally forcing him to swallow the ramen stuck in his throat.

"Whew..."

After letting out a sigh of relief, Kabuto looked at Uzumaki Sora with gratitude: "It's not every day that a big brother treats me to ramen, so I definitely have to eat my fill."

Sora smiled: "I brought enough money. Once you're done, pack up twenty servings to take back for your friends and the headmistress to taste."

This made Kabuto's eyes light up: "Are you really allowed to do that? The headmistress hasn't had a good meal in a long time. I overheard yesterday... the Orphanage's funding..."

Yun smiled and looked behind him, as someone had arrived outside the fabric curtain of Ichiraku Ramen: "If my guess is correct, the Orphanage's funding issues should already be resolved. Rest assured, neither you nor your headmistress will need to become any kind of spy."

The curtain was lifted, and the headband covering Kakashi's Sharingan was already pushed up, the Three Tomoe within it rotating slowly as he stared fixedly at Sora.

"Don't be so nervous, Kakashi. Your Kamui won't be able to hold me. If you want to chat, I can treat you to a bowl of ramen." Sora smiled.

"Under the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, Konoha's barrier seems to have no effect on you at all... Uzumaki Sora, facing someone like you, I dare not be the slightest bit careless."

As Kakashi spoke, he looked at Kabuto to the side and asked in confusion: "A powerhouse like you, actually making friends with a child?"

Sora smiled and retorted: "You don't seem that old yourself, is it really okay to say that? Besides, this child's talent is no worse than yours."

"Swish!"

With a soft sound, Minato, wearing the Fourth Hokage cloak, appeared beside Kakashi.

He patted Kakashi on the shoulder: "Close your Sharingan. If my guess is correct, he could use the Flying Thunder God to leave here the moment before Kamui is activated."

Hearing this, Kakashi asked doubtfully: "Even if it is the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, not everyone has the same speed as you, Teacher, right?"

Minato took a breath after glancing at Sora: "That is exactly why I am most worried..."

Under this inexplicable answer, Kakashi obediently pulled down his headband, blocking the Sharingan that was on the verge of becoming a Mangekyou.

"Teuchi, one large bowl of original broth ramen."

Teuchi, busy in the kitchen, responded immediately upon hearing the voice, only to realize when he brought the ramen out that it was the Fourth Hokage himself.

"Aren't you busy today, Fourth Hokage? This bowl of ramen is on the house."

Teuchi feigned generosity, but glanced at Sora on the side; clearly, he had no intention of waiving the bill for him. Having just heard about the twenty servings to be packed, that was no small sum.

Minato smiled and waved his hand: "No need, Teuchi. Just charge the regular price. You go back to work."

Once Teuchi entered the kitchen, Minato looked at Sora and smiled: "We meet again."

Without denying it, Sora also smiled and nodded: "We meet again, Fourth Hokage. The fact that the intelligence from last time allows me to see you again means your response was quite good."

Minato continued, probing: "Was it because of that arm from last time that you gained the power of the First Hokage's Wood Release?"

Yun reached out, holding a piece of Chakra test paper between his fingers. Suddenly, flames erupted from it, followed by crumbling, slicing, and soaking.

"Four types of chakra nature transformations. The time was indeed a bit short; otherwise, you wouldn't have seen Danzo yesterday."

Minato looked at the test paper on the table with a solemn expression. Fire, Wind, Earth, Water—has it reached this point already?

After thinking for a moment, he still asked: "Why did you kill Danzo?"

As he spoke, Minato glanced at Kabuto: "Your goal shouldn't just be him, right? A child with some talent."

Sora smiled: "You and Kakashi both underestimate this child. If everything follows the path toward the future, this child's power could even sway the entire world."

As the words fell, Minato looked seriously for the first time at Kabuto, who was sitting to the side, still looking completely bewildered.

White hair, wearing glasses that clearly didn't fit—a Hatake?

"He is not a relative of Kakashi, just a commoner child. However, his talent in certain areas is indeed at the pinnacle of this world."

Sora said, looking at Kabuto: "I will be leaving here in a while, and you have two choices."

Kabuto nodded blankly.

Sora continued: "First: Follow the Fourth. I will suggest you join the Scientific Research Department and the Medical Department. Second: Return to the Orphanage and continue helping Headmistress Nonō take care of the children."

As the words fell, Kabuto fell into deep thought.

He remembered what happened yesterday, that man wrapped in bandages and the other man with snake-like pupils. The Root Division, the headmistress...

"You seem to have understood."

Sora sighed: "Although I would like to see you stay quietly in the Orphanage, guarding this piece of Pure Land, it seems you have also realized that without power, everything you guard will turn into bubbles."

"Follow the Fourth and bring your own value into full play. As someone connected to the bond of the Orphanage, only by exerting value that the Fourth cannot discard will the Orphanage become increasingly safe."

As the words fell, Kabuto looked up slightly at Sora and smiled: "Yes, I trust you, big brother!"

Sora was stunned for a moment, then rubbed Kabuto's little head: "Your fate has also been changed by me... As an orphan yourself, you shouldn't fall into darkness for the sake of someone else's ambition."

"Ahem!"

Minato, standing to the side, was a bit confused. He coughed and said: "It seems none of you asked for my opinion? You've already decided on a decision for me, the Hokage?"

Kakashi reached out and poked Minato, whispering: "Teacher, aren't they enemies? Is it really okay to let a spy be planted so blatantly?"

Minato looked at Kakashi and sighed; there were some things that simply could not be told to this disciple.

An enemy? It did not seem so.

"Swish!"

A Kunai slashed through the air, leaving a wound on Kabuto's arm as blood began to trickle out.

"Kabuto, use the medical ninjutsu the Director taught you and show it to the Fourth."

Kabuto, who had offered no resistance just moments ago, nodded, understanding Sora's intention.

Green Chakra flooded his hands, and the shallow wound stopped bleeding immediately, its healing speed visibly accelerating.

"Very precise Chakra control. This child truly has the talent to enter the Medical Department," Minato evaluated.

"Medical ninjutsu is not worth mentioning among his talents."

Sora shook his head as he spoke, then tapped his own temple: "Talent is different from bloodline, and there is a fundamental difference between one intellect and another. This child's true power lies right here in his brain."

"He is inferior to the Second, but compared to you, who developed the hand-seal-less Rasengan, the difference should be negligible."

These words made the Fourth's eyes light up instantly; geniuses were not rare in Konoha, but those were merely ninja geniuses.

For so many years, the Scientific Research Department and the Medical Department had only produced one Orochimaru and one Tsunade, yet neither of them belonged to his side.

"I agree."

"By the way, Sora, when you say the difference is negligible, does he lag behind me, or do I lag behind him?"

"You lag behind him."

???