Fourth Hokage

Time flew by.

Tobitake Tonbo worked quietly and dutifully visited Ichiraku.

His work was stable, and his conversations with Ayame were pleasant as well.

It was around this time that Orochimaru returned with his team.

Minato Namikaze had returned with him as well.

Forces had been left on the battlefield to guard against the armies of other villages and prevent a sudden counterattack.

Among the welcoming crowd, Tobitake Tonbo did not see Orochimaru. He figured Orochimaru simply disliked this kind of atmosphere.

"It's finally over."

With the war over, they could live peacefully for a long while—aside from the Nine-Tails' Attack.

Thinking of that, he looked toward the escorting forces.

At last, he saw the legendary Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze.

Just as the stories said, he was incredibly sunny and cheerful.

One only had to look at the enthusiasm of the people around him to know how famous he was now.

They were all cheering for him.

After taking a look at the person he had wanted to see, Tobitake Tonbo turned and headed home.

Their paths would not cross often.

Tobitake Tonbo had no intention of latching onto some powerful figure. As long as he stayed close to Yamanaka Inoichi, that was enough.

His affiliation was secure.

He belonged under Ino-Shika-Cho.

As one of Konoha's Three Swordsmen, whoever became Hokage would have the other two serve as advisers. Their political alignment was obvious.

And their status was high.

Over the following days,

a grand funeral was held for those who had fallen in the war.

Everyone in Konoha's upper ranks, from Jōnin to Genin, came to the cemetery to bid farewell to their comrades.

There, Tobitake Tonbo saw many of the major figures of the Hokage era.

Orochimaru, Minato Namikaze, Kakashi, Guy...

There were many familiar faces. Orochimaru was still young then, and Minato was only around twenty.

The others were young as well.

He also saw the pregnant Kushina Uzumaki.

Her red hair, the immense chakra that could be sensed even without trying, and the oppressive aura rolling off her—

she was impossible to mistake for anyone else.

The funeral was solemn and grand. For once, the Third did not preach his usual Will of Fire doctrine in public.

Instead, he silently mourned the fallen comrades.

The funeral ended.

The war ended.

Konoha quietly returned to its usual course.

Tobitake Tonbo gradually received word that the Third truly intended to select a Fourth Hokage.

After a month of deliberation, they finally reached a conclusion.

Minato Namikaze would succeed as the Fourth Hokage.

Konoha was abuzz, filled with excitement.

The Third stepped down, and Minato took his place.

The people welcomed it wholeheartedly.

On the day he assumed the position of Fourth Hokage, every Konoha resident watched the figure in the Hokage robe as it fluttered in the wind.

That sunny smile.

He was perfect. Other than a few shadowy figures, not a single resident opposed him.

Tobitake Tonbo did not see Orochimaru there.

He did not know whether Orochimaru was angry at being unable to become the Fourth, or busy conducting his human experiments.

Nor did he see the legendary king of Root, Shimura Danzō.

That left Tobitake Tonbo somewhat disappointed.

It seemed that unless there was some special mission, he would never get to see him.

"Ah, it's probably better not to see him. I should go get ramen today."

Tobitake Tonbo went to Ichiraku Ramen again.

The moment Teuchi saw him arrive, he wanted to hit him with a rolling pin.

This brat actually wanted to pursue his daughter.

Still, professional integrity prevailed. He maintained his naturally warm smile and served him his ramen with a smile.

"Tonkotsu ramen. Please enjoy."

"Thank you, sir. Where's Ayame?"

Tobitake Tonbo was very polite, though his eyes kept darting around the shop.

"She went to deliver ramen to an elderly woman with poor mobility."

Teuchi said.

It was not that he was dissatisfied with Tobitake Tonbo. He simply was not ready to become a father-in-law yet.

"How about I give you a hand? I'm very quick with my hands."

Seeing that Ayame was absent and the shop was rather busy, Tobitake Tonbo offered.

Teuchi's expression stiffened. "No. I have to be responsible for the quality of the food I serve. You've never learned the craft, and I'm afraid you'll ruin my reputation."

He absolutely would not permit it in this regard.

Seeing how insistent Teuchi was, Tobitake Tonbo decided to take a step back. "How about this? I'll knead the dough for you. I'm a ninja, so I'm strong."

Without waiting for Teuchi to agree, he quickly finished the ramen in his bowl and slipped into Teuchi's work area.

"Hey, don't mess around!" Teuchi cried in alarm.

But Tobitake Tonbo had already started.

After observing for so long, he definitely could not handle the seasonings, but he was thoroughly familiar with kneading dough.

Flour, the right amount of water...

Knead, pound, rub, stretch... every movement flowed smoothly.

Once the flour became dry, he lightly wet his palms to keep the dough hydrated.

His powerful mind told him exactly when the dough had reached its best chewy texture.

With a ninja's senses, even the ingredients the dough needed could not escape his perception.

Teuchi stared in astonishment. Those techniques, that level of proficiency—had he really never learned the trade?

"You brat, you clearly learned this before, yet you still lied and said it was your first time." Teuchi spoke irritably.

His hands did not stop moving as he prepared ramen for the customers.

Tobitake Tonbo smiled. "I come here every day. I learned just by watching your hand movements. Look, I'm using the exact same motions you do."

With his help, Teuchi's work became much easier.

The ramen was served faster as well.

After learning how quickly Tobitake Tonbo picked things up, Teuchi was quite satisfied. This kid's learning ability was pretty good.

If he really became his son-in-law, then after retiring from being a ninja, he could inherit the ramen shop.

Thinking that, Teuchi even began explaining the ramen-making process and its finer details to Tobitake Tonbo.

With the guidance, Tobitake Tonbo, already quite skilled, became even more proficient.

Tap, tap, tap!

Just then, a blond man entered with a redhead whose belly was already quite large.

"Lord Fourth Hokage."

Tobitake Tonbo's heart jumped, and he immediately bowed to him.

Good grief, he had only taken office less than half a day ago, and he had already brought his wife out for ramen!

"You're a ninja, aren't you?"

Minato's senses were not weak either, and he spoke to Tobitake Tonbo.

Since it was the day of Minato's inauguration, Tobitake Tonbo had not needed to carry out a mission, so he was not wearing his forehead protector.

"Yes. I'm Tobitake Tonbo, a member of the Dokuro Kei Team in the Analysis Division under Yamanaka Inoichi."

Tobitake Tonbo answered honestly.

He did not dare be anything but honest. Kushina was a Jinchuriki, so he could not let his eyes wander.

It would be bad if Minato suspected him of being a spy or something.

"Minato... Lord Hokage, he saw that I was too busy and offered to help." Afraid that Tobitake Tonbo would be punished, Teuchi hurriedly explained.

"Haha, Kushina's belly is already this big. Just a few more months, right?"

At that, Kushina, standing beside Minato, revealed a blissful smile and stroked her belly. "Yes, it'll be soon."

Minato remembered Tobitake Tonbo's name.

"One tonkotsu ramen and one seafood ramen."

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

Tobitake Tonbo continued helping with the work. He had nothing to feel guilty about.

He was a proper inheritor of the Will of Fire.

Still, it was better not to get entangled with these important figures if possible. A ninja should simply work honestly.

As long as he did his job as a ninja well, that was enough.