That Title Is So Hard to Come Up With...

The restaurant was bustling with noise.

It was noon, and the two-story building by the harbor was packed with diners.

The air was filled with the savory aroma of seafood soup. Waiters weaved through the narrow aisles with trays, while customers raised their glasses and talked loudly, sometimes breaking into peals of laughter.

Outside the windows, sunlight pierced the mist, casting hazy patches of light across the wooden floor.

Kou wolfed down the large bowl of seafood ramen in his hands. He had already eaten most of it, leaving only a pool of thick broth and a few sheets of seaweed.

He lifted the bowl and gulped down the last of the broth, then smacked his lips with satisfaction. His dark eyes were full of contentment.

"Mm, delicious! The flavor's so rich!"

Kou set down the bowl, picked up a napkin, and wiped the corner of his mouth. With a touch of nostalgia, he said:

"It's not as authentic as Big Brother Ichiraku's ramen, but it's pretty good. This is the best I've had in the past five years."

"No wonder this place managed to survive such fierce competition. Verdict's in: this ramen gets a solid A!"

Mei Terumi stared speechlessly at Uchiha Kou, who had just devoured three bowls of noodles. Her green eyes were full of bewilderment, as if asking, What am I even doing here?

"Was this guy reincarnated as a starving ghost? How can he eat so much?! Wasn't he already full before this?!"

Her gaze fell on the three empty bowls stacked in front of Kou, and her mouth twitched.

Kou noticed Mei Terumi looking at him and raised his head. A mischievous glint flashed in his dark eyes.

He held out the bowl in his hand and enthusiastically recommended it:

"Want to try some? It's really good!"

Mei Terumi stared at the noodles he'd bitten through and the broth he'd stirred into a mess, then shook her head expressionlessly.

"I haven't even complained about you, and now you're the one complaining? Suit yourself!"

Kou immediately pulled the bowl back. He lowered his head and happily went back to eating, making slurping noises as he did.

Mei Terumi let out a weary sigh, feeling utterly numb.

She seemed to have gotten used to his pace and didn't get angry again.

Mei Terumi only looked at him coldly and said expressionlessly:

"...We didn't come here to eat."

"We're here to discuss the details of the job, right?"

Kou swallowed his ramen and nodded as he replied.

"You actually know that?!"

Hearing such a reasonable answer, Mei Terumi couldn't help being surprised.

This guy can actually say something sensible?!

Seeing Mei Terumi's astonished expression, Kou replied irritably:

"Hey, I may be a ninja, but I still have basic professional ethics!"

"What do you even take me for?!"

"...Idiot."

"You—"

"Forget it. I'm not going to argue with you."

Kou grumbled as he pulled out a napkin and wiped his mouth.

Then he leaned forward slightly and spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"I'd advise you to order something and act like an ordinary tourist, unless you want to attract unnecessary trouble."

Hearing his warning, Mei Terumi immediately grew alert. A sharp glint flashed in her green eyes.

She lowered her voice.

"What do you mean by that?"

She had stayed vigilant the entire time and was completely certain that there was no one in the restaurant who could threaten her.

But these words came from Uchiha Kou, the man who had evaded her senses not long ago and made her look like a fool.

If he was telling the truth, it meant there was someone nearby whose ability to conceal themselves was strong enough to escape her notice!

...Of course, that was assuming he wasn't just teasing her again.

Though she was skeptical of Kou's warning, Mei Terumi put the mission first and cautiously sensed her surroundings again.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

"All right, all right. Stop looking around. There's nothing wrong with this place."

Kou's lazy voice rang out.

"You!"

Realizing she'd been fooled again, Mei Terumi shot to her feet. Her beautiful, cold face was full of barely contained fury.

She planted both hands on the table and leaned forward, looking like a cat about to hiss.

"Wait! Hear me out first."

Kou raised a hand in a "stay calm" gesture. For once, his dark eyes held a trace of seriousness.

Seeing his earnest expression, Mei Terumi forced down her anger and sat back down so as not to draw attention.

She glared at him, waiting for his "excuse," and swore to herself that once this mission was over, she would find a way to kill him and rid the Ninja World of this menace.

Seeing Mei Terumi calm down, Kou smiled to himself, feeling a little wistful.

This girl's really grown up. She doesn't hiss all the time anymore, like she did when we first met in the Mist Village...

In reality, Kou rarely looked so serious. He lowered his voice and said:

"You may have misunderstood what I meant."

He paused, his dark eyes sweeping over the diners around them.

"When I said trouble, I wasn't talking about some powerful ninja. I meant the ordinary people around us."

Mei Terumi looked puzzled, confusion filling her green eyes.

But seeing how serious he was, she set aside her questions and waited for him to continue.

Kou looked around, his eyes sweeping over the place like a louse surveying its territory.

"You must have noticed that Mist Harbor is a mixed bag. Tourists, merchants, even ninjas... There's just about every kind of person here.

Naturally, that includes some who are looking to steal or pull other shady stunts."

Mei Terumi frowned. Of course she knew all that.

Quite a few people in this little restaurant seemed to be ordering food and eating, but were actually keeping an eye on everyone around them.

However, since they were ordinary people and not ninjas, Mei Terumi had merely kept them in mind and hadn't paid them much attention.

"There are always people like that in places like this."

Kou continued, his tone carrying the calm of someone who'd seen it all:

"They watch how people act and talk, then try to figure out who they are and how much money they have.

Maybe they're trying to steal from them, sell information about them to the local gangs, or kidnap them... Whatever it is, they're all scummy people up to disgusting things."

Mei Terumi seemed to realize something. Her brow furrowed further, and a trace of wariness flashed in her green eyes.

"You mean... my behavior makes me an easy target for those people?"

"What do you think?"

Kou rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"You've done a good job hiding your presence, and no one would notice your appearance unless they were looking closely.

But don't forget where we are. This is a restaurant! If you just sit here talking without eating, it's hard not to attract those people's attention."

He lowered his voice even further.

"You have to understand, most people who sit in restaurants talking without eating are doing business. To those guys, they're what you'd call 'fat sheep.'"