Ichiraku Ramen

Konoha was somewhat quiet under the night sky.

Konoha Village currently allowed entry but forbade departure. Before dawn had even broken, the ninjas were already gathering in haste for drills.

Over the past few days, even the civilians had sensed that something was different.

"They say another war is about to start."

"Isn't that so? My son has to go train at the Training Field every day before the sun even rises."

"What a world."

Hearing the scattered discussions on the streets, Danzo wore a sorrowful expression. His attempt to win people over had failed once again.

Ever since Might Guy had been won over a few days ago and contributed one Skill Point, Danzo had deliberately been persuading ninjas he knew had emotional shortcomings.

With seniority on his side, and the Kumogakure matter as his objective, although those ninjas did not wish to associate with him, they could only patiently listen as he finished speaking.

One sentence, then another.

Danzo pushed everything he had learned in his life to the limit. Since he already knew their emotional weaknesses in advance, the persuasion process went exceptionally smoothly.

These ninjas, who had experienced war and possessed emotions far richer than ordinary civilians, were stirred into a passionate fervor one after another under Danzo's assault. The results were excellent.

Still, not everyone could be swayed by Danzo's words alone. Quite a few people did not care for such empty talk.

He opened the status panel. He had just come out of a retired Root Ninja's home, and that Root Ninja had not been very friendly toward him inwardly.

Thus, he had not gained the man's acknowledgment or received any Skill Points.

--

Primary Attribute Panel

Name: Shimura Danzō.

Age: Twenty-one.

Strength: C+

Body: C+.

Speed: A+

Spirit: A+

Skills:

Strength Amplification (Activated) Critical Hit (Not Activated)

Body Amplification (Activated) Endurance Amplification (Not Activated)

Speed Amplification (Activated) Sprint (Not Activated)

Spirit Amplification (Activated) Mental Resistance (Not Activated)

Skill Points: 3

--

All four basic skills had been activated, and the attribute gains they brought were excellent. The only drawback was that he currently had only three points, still far short of the ten needed to activate subsequent skills.

Almost no one in the village currently dared to make a move against him, but there were quite a few who wanted to.

There was no good way for those attribute gains to show themselves in actual combat. He could only vaguely sense that he had become very fast, and that his mental state was more relaxed.

He tried forming hand seals, but they were somewhat rusty and stiff.

Danzo sighed helplessly. He had never had any experience with forming hand seals and casting techniques in his previous life.

Although he had the memories of his former self as a teacher, he was still lacking when it came to actually using them.

At least in terms of hand seal speed, Danzo might not even compare to a Genin now.

Genin.

At the thought of that title, Danzo suddenly remembered that Konoha's Genin were different.

It should be that he was inferior to a Chunin.

Danzo silently corrected his assessment of his hand seal speed.

However, there was no need to rush this matter for now. The letter sent to the Fire Country Daimyo had yet to receive a response, and news of the Kumogakure Delegation's murder had not yet spread.

As long as he accumulated enough Skill Points, even without using ninjutsu, those people would be unable to do anything to him.

Among the Root Ninjas he knew, there were still quite a few with emotional shortcomings who could provide him with Skill Points.

In the past, those Root Ninjas had appeared utterly loyal to him, but that had mostly been because of the cursed seals.

But things were different now. Having lived two lives, Danzo's ability to brainwash people was not much worse than Orochimaru's.

Under the lure of strength, status, fame, and profit, those who had contributed Skill Points had come to completely acknowledge and admire Danzo, both outwardly and inwardly.

As long as he did not truly do anything too damaging to his character, these people would not betray Danzo.

"What smells so good?"

Around noon, the wandering Danzo caught a scent unlike anything he had ever smelled before.

Fresh, fragrant, sweet.

His first instinct was to twitch his nose.

Without realizing it, Danzo followed the fragrance to a familiar noodle shop.

Ichiraku Ramen.

The rich aroma made Danzo lick his lips. This was a place every transmigrator had to visit, yet he had been so busy recruiting subordinates that he had forgotten about this little noodle stand.

According to Danzo's memories, he had often eaten noodles at this shop with Sarutobi when he was young. Back then, the shop was not called Ichiraku, and it had been run by Teuchi's father.

However, ever since the Second Hokage's death, he had never again had time to leisurely sit by the street and eat a bowl of noodles like this.

Perhaps because he had not tasted it in so long, the aroma drifting from the shop seemed even richer than what Danzo remembered.

He lifted the curtain. A few scattered customers were already seated at the little noodle stand.

"Welco— Is that you?"

The place was somewhat like the open kitchens of his previous life. As the curtain lifted, it rang a bell, and Teuchi, who had been preparing ingredients, turned around with a smile.

But upon seeing Danzo's face, his expression became somewhat strange.

Danzo smiled at him. "It has been quite some time, Teuchi. The young man from back then has already inherited the family business, and your skills have improved quite a bit as well."

They were old friends, so Danzo was not particularly surprised that Teuchi recognized him immediately.

After all, his current appearance was that of this body in its twenties. Danzo had begun aging after his twenties, and he had not visited this Ichiraku Ramen stand since then.

Teuchi's memories of him only remained at the time when he was in his twenties.

Though Teuchi was surprised that Danzo still looked so young, Danzo was not the only one who maintained a youthful appearance. He did not pay it much mind.

"We're getting old. You ninjas really don't show any signs of aging at all."

Seeing an old friend, Teuchi's face was full of nostalgia. With Lady Tsunade around, it was not hard to accept that Danzo had remained youthful all this time.

"What would you like to eat?" Teuchi asked, handing the menu to Danzo.

The menu was somewhat different from what he remembered. Danzo could not tell which one carried the flavor from his memories, so he replied, "I'll have a large bowl of the house special."

"Coming right up." Teuchi smiled. An old customer returning was a happy occasion.

Looking at the scattered customers, Danzo asked curiously, "I heard you have a daughter. Hasn't she started helping you yet?"

Ayame should have been around ten years old by now. This was the world of Naruto; since she had not gone to Ninja School, as a civilian, Ayame should have begun helping her parents take over the business once she reached a certain age.

At the mention of his daughter, Teuchi's face overflowed with a happy smile. "She only just started helping me. She's handling ingredients in the back kitchen and has to learn from the basics first."

Then he called toward the back kitchen, "Ayame, come out and say hello."

"Got it."

A crisp, capable voice rang out. A pretty young girl wearing a white apron came out from the back kitchen. Since she had been handling ingredients, she inevitably carried a faint scent of blood.

"This is Uncle Danzo," Teuchi introduced her.

Danzo's expression stiffened. Uncle?

Ayame also looked strangely at the young face seated at the noodle stand.

Uncle?

Even if this person looked somewhat mature, shouldn't she call him big brother instead?

Her heart full of confusion, Ayame still stammered, "Hello, Uncle Danzo..."

"I—"

Danzo opened his mouth, wanting to explain something, but ultimately only sighed. Uncle it was, then. What else could he do when his seniority was so high?