Ramen Friendship

"Uncle, another bowl of ramen for this beautiful big sister!"

"Hmph! Who wants your stuff, brat? Get lost."

Kushina liked ramen, but how could her pride let her accept someone else's gift—or their pity?

Not even from a child.

"I apologize for being rude just now. How about you take this bowl of ramen as compensation?"

Kaede climbed down from his stool and apologized to Kushina.

Getting close to Minato Namikaze by winning Kushina over was a perfectly sound plan. Minato seemed cheerful and easygoing, and he treated people warmly, but he was no fool. A sudden approach would make him suspicious.

By contrast, though the hot-tempered Kushina seemed difficult to get along with, she wasn't very calculating and was an easier target to win over.

He coveted the Flying Thunder God Technique.

I'm Uchiha Kaede. I'm going to surpass that man and become the fastest man in the Shinobi World.

There were two ways to get the Flying Thunder God Technique. First, he could ask the Third Hokage, but getting access to the Sealing Scroll was a dead end. Second, he could approach Minato Namikaze. At least that left a tiny sliver of hope.

"Well, then I accept your apology, brat."

The ramen had already arrived, and Kushina had started eating, though she'd initially been reluctant.

"My name is Uchiha Kaede. You can call me Kaede, big sister. What's your name, beautiful big sister?"

She answered around a mouthful of food.

"Uh... it's... Uzumaki Kushina."

Her cheeks were stuffed full. It was best not to interrupt a foodie while she was happily eating.

Watching her wolf down the food, Kaede felt as if he wasn't hungry anymore. Was this the charm of a foodie?

"Ah~ I'm finally full. That was the biggest meal I've had in three days. Brat... no, Kaede, thanks for treating me."

"It's my pleasure!"

Kaede smiled brightly. His sunny, handsome look reminded her of Minato. Thinking of Minato made her annoyed; she'd been away from the village for so long, and he still hadn't come back.

When would she get to leave the village and see the world?

Kushina longed for it.

If Kaede knew what she was thinking, he would certainly have said:

Letting you leave the village wouldn't be a good thing. It would mean Konoha was preparing to unleash its nuclear weapon—the Nine-Tails.

"Kaede, you can count this meal as a debt. When I have money, I'll definitely pay you back."

Kushina had already left Ichiraku Ramen when she suddenly turned around and spoke to Kaede.

"No need. I said it was an apology gift."

"I said I'll pay you back, so I will."

She stood in front of Kaede with her hands clasped, her stance carrying a clear hint of menace.

"Heh... fine, pay me back if you want. I don't mind." Kaede quietly took a step back. He'd heard that the Uzumaki Clan were pretty strong.

What a temperamental, hot-tempered beauty! She looked ready to throw hands at the drop of a hat. How did Minato put up with her?

"Well, it's already late, and my mother's waiting for me at home. Boss lady, I should get going!"

If he stayed with this violent girl any longer, he'd end up getting beaten sooner or later. Never mind whether he could beat Kushina right now—even if he could, he wouldn't dare lay a hand on her.

Besides, Kushina had inherited the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu, and that was no joke. If she hit him with a Four Symbols Seal, he'd be finished.

He'd better make a quick getaway. Kushina seemed to be on good terms with Mikoto Uchiha, so he should keep that in mind. They could meet again in the Uchiha Clan Grounds.

He'd gotten close enough for today. Any further, and it would seem too deliberate. Even if Kushina hadn't noticed, it would surely alert the people watching her.

"Kaede, remember to come find me! I've already given you my address. Next time, I'll treat you to ramen."

"Sure. See you later, boss lady!"

Kaede had already gone some distance. He called back to Kushina from afar.

"This Uchiha brat doesn't seem all that annoying."

Kushina waited until Kaede had turned onto another street at the corner before setting off with a smile.

"That brat just now was from the Uchiha Clan. He approached the Jinchūriki. Should we report this to the Third Hokage?"

The famous Konoha ANBU were lying in wait in the shadows.

It was a three-person ANBU squad. At that moment, only two of them were following Kushina from a distance; the other had left after Kaede.

"Swan is following him. We'll decide what to do when he gets back." The ANBU ninja who seemed to be the captain wore a cat-faced mask and signaled to his companion beside him.

As the Jinchūriki, Kushina's safety was of the utmost importance to Konoha. From the moment she inherited the duty of serving as the Nine-Tails' vessel from Mito Uzumaki, she had lost her freedom.

With Minato away, the Third Hokage couldn't possibly leave her without security measures.

Kushina's chakra-sensing abilities weren't weak. The ANBU could only follow her quietly from a distance; they didn't dare get close. If they gave themselves away, they'd be the ones to suffer.

In terms of strength, the three of them weren't necessarily a match for a Jinchūriki.

So they communicated entirely through hand signals, not daring to make the slightest sound. They suppressed their chakra fluctuations as much as possible, becoming like the dead. It made them feel a little more at ease.

When Kushina returned home, they only dared to hide themselves on the rooftop across the way, watching over her from a distance.

"Captain, I'm back."

"How was the brat? Any problems?"

Their impression of the Uchiha Clan wouldn't affect their work. Still, they had to be extra cautious when it came to the Jinchūriki, and they were particularly wary of any Uchiha who approached her.

"There's nothing wrong with him. He's just an ordinary Uchiha brat. I also went to the academy and looked into his background. He has decent talent, but he isn't one of the very best students. He's somewhere in the upper part of his class, more or less.

"I also asked the classmates who know him. He's never used the Sharingan, and given his age and talent, he probably hasn't awakened it yet."

In just a few hours, the ANBU had thoroughly investigated the traits Kaede had displayed in public.

"Though all the signs suggest they simply ran into each other by chance, let's be safe. Sparrow, follow him in secret and observe him for a few days. I'll report what happened today to the Third Hokage."

The fact that the Sharingan could control a Tailed Beast might have been a secret to ordinary people, but as ANBU directly under the Hokage, they knew plenty of secrets.

This was one of them. So they absolutely had to be wary of an Uchiha approaching the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, even if he was just a child.

It was already the middle of the night, but the Hokage Building was still brightly lit.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was still hard at work reviewing documents. Being Hokage was no simple task; being a Hokage accepted by the whole village was even harder.

At that moment, he frowned as he smoked and read a document in his hand.

"Ah! They really don't make things easy for me."

First Mikoto Uchiha, and now another Uchiha, Kaede. It wasn't a good thing for Kushina to get too close to the Uchiha.

He had just warned her not to go to the Uchiha Clan Grounds by herself.