An Unexpected Encounter at Ichiraku Ramen and an Extremely Suppressed Ambiguous Tug-of-War

The morning mist had yet to fully dissipate from the streets of Konoha.

In front of the Ichiraku Ramen stall, the rich aroma of tonkotsu broth drifted through the cool morning breeze. This was usually the most vibrant, down-to-earth scent in the village, but at this moment, it was stifled by an incredibly oppressive atmosphere, making even the sound of the boiling soup in the pot seem jarringly sharp.

"Snap!"

The crisp sound of wooden chopsticks breaking exploded within the narrow counter space.

Uzumaki Kushina stared fixedly at the figure outside the window. That pale, featureless "Owl" mask was like a red-hot iron nail driven deep into her retinas. She didn't even notice the beads of blood seeping from her fingertip where a wooden splinter had pierced it; her chest heaved violently, her breathing as ragged as that of a drowning person.

Outside the window, Baishi stopped in his tracks.

Through the semi-transparent plastic curtain, he could clearly feel the temperature of Kushina's gaze. It was a look mixed with paranoia, fear, and extreme possessiveness, one that almost seemed capable of setting his black ANBU trench coat ablaze.

The eyes behind Baishi's mask remained calm. He channeled his Lightning Release chakra with extreme subtlety into the soles of his feet, suppressing his body's instinctive defensive reactions, and stood rooted to the spot like a piece of deadwood.

"Kushina?"

Namikaze Minato's gentle voice sounded from behind the counter. The smile on his face faltered for a second; he turned his head to follow his fiancée's gaze, his eyes passing through the gap in the curtain to lock precisely onto Baishi, who stood at the street corner.

Minato's pupils contracted slightly.

He stood up, the hem of his coat tracing a sharp arc in the air.

"Uncle Teuchi, the money for the ramen is on the table." Minato left a few coins, reached out to lift the curtain, and stepped outside.

His golden hair shone brilliantly in the morning light, and the smile on his face had returned to a flawless, impeccable state. He stopped two meters in front of Baishi—a distance that sat exactly on the edge of an ANBU ninja's defensive perimeter.

"Owl." Minato spoke in a gentle tone, yet it carried the invisible pressure of a Kage-level powerhouse. "Heading out for a mission so early?"

Baishi did not hesitate. He pulled his right leg back half a step and dropped to one knee on the cool bluestone pavement.

"Jonin Namikaze." He lowered his head, his voice sounding dry and mechanical through the mask's voice modulator. "Per ANBU regulations, the content of the mission cannot be disclosed."

It was a standard, textbook response for a low-level cannon-fodder ninja, leaving no room for criticism.

Minato looked down at the kneeling ANBU. His smile did not fade, but his nose twitched with extreme sensitivity.

The smell of nitric acid.

An intensely pungent, acrid scent of nitric acid, mixed with the smell of low-quality sealing ink from the black market, was seeping out from under the hem of Baishi's oversized trench coat.

Minato's gaze swept discreetly over Baishi's lower back, his thighs, and the inside of his coat. There was an unnatural bulkiness there.

Thirty thousand ryo worth of Explosive Tags—no matter how well Baishi hid them, he could not fully mask that destructive aura capable of leveling half the street.

The curve of Minato's lips cooled by half. Why would an ANBU vanguard heading to the border for a routine clearing mission carry so many Explosive Tags? This wasn't reconnaissance; this was a suicide mission.

Combined with Danzo's abnormal attitude in the Hokage's office last night, countless tactical simulations flashed through Minato's mind. He vaguely sensed that this Genin codenamed "Owl" was not as simple as he appeared.

"The border hasn't been peaceful lately; Iwagakure has been making many moves." Minato's tone was level, as if he were offering advice as a senior. "Since it's a classified mission, I won't pry. But as a fellow ninja of the village, I hope you return safely."

The words were perfectly spoken, leaving no room for doubt.

"For Konoha, I would die without regret." Baishi replied with his head bowed, like a heartless recording machine.

He knew clearly that Minato was testing him. The intuition of this golden-haired genius was too sharp; if he showed even the slightest flaw, the other would surely seize the opportunity to detain him.

Just as Baishi prepared to stand and take his leave, a flurry of footsteps erupted from the ramen shop.

Kushina rushed out.

She hadn't even put her shoes on properly, her fair heels pressing directly onto the rough bluestone. Her wild red hair danced frantically in the morning breeze like a raging fire.

"Kushina, Owl has a mission to carry out, don't hold him up." Minato immediately turned sideways, reaching out naturally to wrap his arm around Kushina's shoulders, attempting to assert his claim while simultaneously distancing her from Baishi.

"Don't touch me!"

Kushina swung her hand violently, slapping Minato's arm away.

"Snap!"

The crisp sound of the strike echoed through the street.

Minato's hand froze in mid-air, and the smile on his face vanished completely. Deep within his azure eyes, a flash of undisguised embarrassment and gloom flickered.

The few civilians passing by sensed the shift in atmosphere and hurried to escape the street. Inside the Ichiraku stall, Uncle Teuchi pulled down half the rolling shutter in a tacit understanding, pretending he had seen nothing.

The air pressure on the entire street dropped to freezing.

Kushina didn't care about Minato's feelings. All her attention, every nerve ending, was pinned firmly on the kneeling Baishi.

As the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, her perception of chakra and her sense of "malice" were ten times sharper than Minato's.

In the moment their eyes had met just now, she had clearly smelled a sickening scent of death on Baishi. It was the scent of despair, wrapped in layers of malice, of someone being treated as a sacrificial pawn.

She didn't know what mission Baishi had received, but her intuition was screaming: if this man went, he would never come back!

In the simulated world, the back of the man who had shoved her out of the barrier to face the Nine-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb alone, and the ANBU cannon-fodder kneeling before her, calculated by the village's top brass, overlapped with cruel precision.

"You..." Kushina bit her lower lip, the metallic taste of blood spreading in her mouth. She took a step forward, crossing the safety distance Minato had set, and stood right in front of Baishi.

The distance between them was less than half a meter.

Baishi could clearly smell the unique, faint, grassy scent of chakra that belonged to the Uzumaki Clan on her.

"Look up." Kushina's voice trembled, carrying an irresistible command, yet laced with a trace of humble pleading.

Baishi did not move. He remained in his kneeling position, his gaze fixed on Kushina's dust-stained toes.

"I told you to look up!" Kushina's voice rose sharply, her eyes instantly turning bloodshot as a wisp of manic, dark-red Nine-Tails chakra began to gather at the tips of her hair.

Minato's brows furrowed, his right thumb rubbing the handle of the Flying Thunder God Kunai inside the ninja tool pouch on his thigh with extreme subtlety. He was prepared to suppress the Nine-Tails chakra at a moment's notice, and at the same time, his killing intent toward Baishi reached its peak.

Baishi slowly raised his head.

The pale mask met a pair of bloodshot eyes.

The very instant their gazes locked, Kushina's red lips moved ever so slightly. She made no sound, but the shape of her mouth was perfectly clear.

It was two words.

Don't go.

For a rare moment, Baishi's heart skipped a beat. He looked at Kushina's face, slightly distorted by the extreme suppression of her emotions, and his brows knit tightly beneath his mask.

This crazy woman.

She had no idea about the Venom Fang Squad's scheme, nor did she know of Danzo's conspiracy; she was simply relying on a completely illogical intuition to intercept an ANBU member on a classified mission in the middle of the street. This wasn't just a slap in the face to Minato; it was a provocation against the authority of the Hokage.

Baishi analyzed the situation before him with cold rationality. His primary goal now was to leave the village, use the terrain and Explosive Tags to counter-kill the Venom Fang and the Wildcat, and tear Danzo's chain of schemes to shreds.

Any emotional attachment at this moment was a fatal burden.

"Lady Kushina." Baishi's voice was devoid of inflection, as cold as a block of ice. "Please do not obstruct the ANBU from carrying out their official duties."

As soon as these words left his lips, Kushina's body stiffened. She stared at that emotionless mask, tears swirling wildly in her eyes, yet she bit her lip hard to keep them from falling.

Minato stepped forward at the right moment, placing himself firmly between the two.

"Owl, it's getting late. Go to the main gate and assemble." Minato looked down at Baishi, his eyes filled with a warning.

"Yes."

Baishi stood up decisively, not sparing Kushina another glance, and turned to leave. The hem of his black trench coat cut a cold arc through the air.

The very moment he turned.

Under the cover of Minato's body, Kushina tucked her hands into her wide sleeves and formed a seal with extreme stealth and speed.

Index fingers crossed, thumbs tucked inward.

It was an obscure seal, one that did not belong to the ninjutsu system of any of the Five Great Nations.

As he turned, the corner of Baishi's eye caught the micro-movement with pinpoint precision.

His nerves, stimulated by max-level Lightning Release, exploded at that moment.

That was the "distress signal" he had taught her himself in the simulation world to prevent her from being kidnapped by the Cloud Hidden again. As long as she formed that seal, no matter where he was, he would rush to her side at any cost.

In reality, he had never taught her that.

Baishi's footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

Behind him, Minato sensed Baishi's highly abnormal pause; his thumb instantly pushed the latch of his Flying Thunder God Kunai, and his eyes turned completely cold.

Baishi stood where he was, his back to the two of them, his right hand moving with agonizing slowness toward the ninja tool pouch at his waist.