Lunch

"I now have two paths before me..."

One is gentle...

"I suppose I'll build a 'mini -Shinobi World's that I want here. There might be some changes, or there might be none..."

"The other one is violent..."

"I will subdue all those who oppose this world, and then make them operate according to my will, in the way I desire..."

Several days have passed since the incident in Konoha, but even now, the Kage of the major ninja villages still have the illusion that they have fallen into Genjutsu.

Minato Namikaze, the newly appointed Fourth Hokage of Konoha, died during the Tailed Beasts' rampage.

This is good news...

There was no better news than this, especially for the Cloud Shinobi. However, among the intelligence reports from various spies, there was also some 'bad news' that other ninja villages had to take seriously— the Nine-Tails' destructive power was truly astonishing.

Even those who were somewhat tempted couldn't help but weigh the options: if Konoha, still possessing the Nine-Tails as a 'weapon,' chose to take a desperate gamble, could the village, fresh from the ravages of war, possibly escape unscathed...?

Minato Namikaze's death was more like the end of an era. All the major ninja villages were in turmoil, yet all calmed down. The Shinobi World seemed to have once again entered a similar starting line.

They've fallen into the vicious cycle of competing to see who's worse...

Kato Osamu had already returned to the attic in Kusagakure. Shiro slowly emerged from his neck, its eyes shining with a human-like light, quietly watching Kato Osamu, who was resting his head on his hands, deep in thought and muttering to himself.

It seemed it had never seen Kato Osamu so deep in thought before, and it stopped moving. The snake's head rested on Kato Osamu's head, and it slowly closed its eyes. In recent days, it seemed to be sleeping for longer and longer periods of time, as if it had entered the juvenile stage of snakes.

"Compared to a gentle, passive approach, I would probably prefer to take this almost forced, life-risking, and arduous path..."

Quietly recalling his journey to the Shinobi World, Kato Osamu sighed softly, then chuckled as if he had thought of something.

"How arrogant! They've already started thinking about changing the world?"

Desire is endless, like a combination of angels and demons, manipulating everyone's heart, either guiding the world's pioneers forward or tempting the ignorant masses to drift and sink in the world.

"Lord Kato..., Rin..."

Outside the attic door, a slow knocking sound rang out. Dou hurried along, pushing open the door as usual, and headed deeper inside.

Over the past few days, Dou has become familiar with this place and has even met a girl of his 'age'. Although he was slightly puzzled as to whether this girl was his 'senior sister', he did not ask her anything.

Perhaps, without realizing it, Dou had already become like a little adult—calm, composed, and like a natural-born scientific researcher.

Kato Osamu snapped out of her daze and came down from the second floor. The table was already filled with all kinds of delicious food. Kato Osamu was busy setting out the tableware and chairs. When he saw Kato Osamu's question from yesterday.

He didn't avoid the topic. Although there was a slight regret, Kabuto looked up at Kato Osamu with a hint of disappointment in his eyes.

"Lord Kato, I have completed the task you assigned me yesterday..."

"Oh? Did you discover something?" Kato Osamu asked casually.

"Nothing... we found nothing..."

Dou's tone was tinged with frustration, but he continued to express his confusion.

"Not only that, her cellular activity is several times stronger than that of an average person, and her brain is full of active neurons. I can't find the reason why she has been in a coma until now..."

"There's no sign that the Genjutsu is being maintained... and the brain hasn't been sealed by Sealing Jutsu..."

"She was just as if she were asleep..."

Kabuto's eyes were filled with confusion, as if this situation was completely beyond his comprehension, and he had never encountered a similar case in the Medical Ninjutsu he had learned.

"Dou, did you know that yellow fern leaves in autumn are a delicious field vegetable..."

Kato Osamu sat at the dining table, seemingly oblivious to Kabuto's confusion. He pointed to the plate placed in the center of the table, chuckled, and said nothing more.

Yellow fern was a delicious treat that Nonō discovered between autumn and winter.

Golden leaves with a small flower in the center. Wrap a few slices of fresh fish in yellow fern leaves, steam them in a steamer, and the smoothness of the fish will blend with the aroma of the grass, making it very delicious.

Kabuto paused for a moment, seemingly not understanding why Kato Osamu was saying these things. He hesitated, then sat down without touching his chopsticks, as if waiting for something.

"Kabuto, you're here..."

Lin didn't keep Kabuto waiting too long. With a slightly sleepy look on her face, she greeted Kato Osamu with a smile, and then sat quietly at the dining table.

"Lin, didn't you get enough rest yesterday?"

"No..., it's fine..."

Perhaps unaccustomed to being treated as a 'peer,' Lin's smile was somewhat stiff, but she didn't say much.

Kato Osamu ate his meal in silence. Perhaps they weren't particularly outgoing people, and their lives were usually rather quiet and reserved.

"Brother Bai sent a message saying he and Zabuza will be back in a couple of days..."

"Okay, I understand..."

"Little Xiangling is almost ready to walk, and Mother is very happy..."

"Um..."

Kabuto would occasionally say a few words, trying his best to break the silence, but most of the time, Kato Osamu and Rin seemed uninterested. However, he remained enthusiastic and would occasionally make himself laugh when he talked about something interesting.

"If you've eaten, let's come to the lab..."

Putting down her cutlery, Kato Osamu gently patted Kabuto's head, as if in a prank, treating him the same way she treated Kabuto. She then ruffled Rin's hair, and Rin rolled her eyes, as if to say that Kato Osamu really treated her like a child.

"Yes, Lord Kato..."

Kato Osamu's figure disappeared, and Kabuto seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. For some reason, he always felt a faint pressure when facing Kato Osamu, which he couldn't quite explain.

"Rin... just now, Kato said, 'Autumn yellow fern leaves are a delicious country vegetable.' Was he trying to tell me something?"

"I've thought about it for ages, but I still can't figure it out. Can you give me some advice...?"

Rin is probably the only person her age right now, so Kabuto seems to be naturally closer to her and will say things to her that he wouldn't dare to say in front of Kato Osamu.

"Oh? Is that so...?"

"I guess it's to make sure you eat properly..."

Lin didn't think too much about it and shrugged slightly. She quite liked Dou, this cute kid, as long as he didn't see himself as a successful peer.

"That shouldn't be... Lord Kato isn't such a superficial man; there must be some deeper meaning behind it..."

"Just now I saw that Lord Kato's chopsticks landed on the fern leaves 32 times, on the tempura 10 times, and barely touched the rest of the dishes..."

"Is there any special meaning behind the number 32?"

Seeing Kabuto's serious expression, Rin couldn't help but laugh. She hadn't expected Kabuto to record even the smallest details of Kato Osamu's meals; he was adorably silly...

"Haha... I guess Xu-kun really likes this dish..."

A sliver of light reflected through his glasses, making his eyes brighten slightly. He clenched his fist, tapped it lightly against his palm, and nodded thoughtfully.

"Indeed, I must tell Mother this information..."