With the war over, the Chiba Ramen Shop reopened.
Business after reopening, however, was nowhere near as good as Tetsuya had imagined.
"Ah, just as I thought. War only brings suffering, even if you're the winner."
Looking at the handful of customers in the shop, Tetsuya sighed.
Although Konoha had won the Second Shinobi World War and, under Tobirama's leadership, extracted a hefty sum from the Hidden Cloud at the negotiating table, things were far from perfect.
The Konoha ninja who had died would never return.
Konoha had lost a great many ninja in this war. Those left in the village were only enough to keep it running normally.
The Hidden Cloud probably wasn't much better off. Besides fighting Konoha, they had also been plunged into a civil war by Kinkaku, Ginkaku, and their followers.
Strictly speaking, none of the ninja villages had come out ahead in this Shinobi World War.
Of the five villages' second-generation Kage, four had died. The only survivor was the one he had saved himself.
"Boss! You're finally open! I've missed your ramen so much! Come on, hurry up and get me a bowl of your signature tonkotsu ramen!"
Jiraiya's boisterous voice reached them from outside before he even came into view.
"Oh, Jiraiya. Long time no see."
"Long time no see, boss."
"It's been a while, boss."
Tsunade and Orochimaru followed Jiraiya inside.
"Good to see you both again. What would you like?"
Tetsuya asked with a smile.
"I'll have the mixed ramen." "And I'll have the flaming fried noodles."
"Coming right up. Please give me a moment."
Jiraiya and the others found seats.
Orochimaru, however, kept his eyes on Tetsuya.
"What's wrong, Orochimaru? Why do you keep staring at Boss Chiba?"
Seeing Orochimaru watching Tetsuya so closely, Jiraiya couldn't help wondering what he was looking at.
Orochimaru shook his head.
"Nothing. Maybe it's because I haven't seen Boss Chiba in quite a while, but I feel like something about his demeanor has changed."
"Huh? Has it? Why does he seem exactly the same to me?"
Jiraiya scratched his head, then promptly stood up to look toward the kitchen.
"You idiot, Jiraiya. Why are you making such a fuss?"
Seeing how conspicuous he was being, Tsunade couldn't help rolling her eyes.
She had noticed it too. Although Tetsuya's smile was the same as before, there had been a moment when the look in his eyes as he watched other people was noticeably different.
The change was slight, but they were ninja, naturally more sensitive to such subtle details.
"I'm just curious! But I really can't see any difference. Maybe you only feel that way because you haven't seen him in so long?"
Jiraiya sat back down, feeling wronged. Why couldn't he see anything different about Boss Chiba?
"I only sensed it for a moment. If it were just me, I might have imagined it. But since Tsunade noticed it too, that's unlikely."
Orochimaru looked at Tsunade as though seeking confirmation.
Tsunade nodded.
"You didn't imagine it. I think Boss Chiba's eyes have become much colder when he looks at people."
"You're right. Although Boss Chiba doesn't look any different, he gives me this feeling... how should I put it? A sense of intense bloodlust."
Orochimaru thought for a moment before explaining.
"The last person who gave me that feeling was an Anbu ninja serving under the Second Hokage."
"What are you two even talking about? Boss Chiba is just a ramen shop owner."
Jiraiya couldn't understand his two companions. What was all this nonsense?
Cold eyes. Intense bloodlust.
Was Boss Chiba secretly some powerful ninja who had slaughtered countless people?
How could that be? Boss Chiba's chakra level was even lower than his own.
"Your noodles are ready."
Tetsuya came out of the kitchen carrying a tray with three bowls of noodles, each a different flavor.
Tsunade immediately gave Orochimaru a meaningful look. He understood that she wanted him to sound Boss Chiba out.
Tetsuya set the three bowls on the table.
"Enjoy your meal."
Orochimaru picked up his chopsticks and asked casually.
"Boss, did something happen at home? When I came in earlier, you looked a little unhappy."
"At home?"
Tetsuya was puzzled for a moment, then remembered what had happened earlier.
"Oh, nothing's happened at home. It's just that the shop reopened today, and business isn't as good as it used to be. I was a little worried, that's all."
"I see."
Orochimaru smiled.
"You don't need to worry about that, boss. You only reopened today, so people probably don't know yet.
"After all, you have both the skills and the reputation. Stay open for a few more days, and once the rest of the village hears about it, they'll naturally come here to eat."
"Haha, I hope you're right. Still, getting business back to where it used to be might be difficult."
"Why do you say that?"
At Orochimaru's question, Tetsuya simply sat down beside them and explained.
"The main reason business used to be so good was that the village's ninja liked coming here. My ramen isn't expensive, but ordinary families still can't afford to eat it regularly. Only ninja have the money to come often.
"But..."
Tetsuya sighed as he spoke, looking at the pedestrians passing outside in twos and threes.
"War has taken far too many lives."
Orochimaru felt those words deeply as well.
"Yes. Life really is far too fragile."
Tsunade, sitting beside him, countered.
"Although many people died, their sacrifices meant something. It was their sacrifices that brought us peace!"
Hearing Tsunade's words, Tetsuya narrowed his eyes slightly and agreed.
"Tsunade's right. Life may be fragile, but those who sacrificed themselves used their lives to make a brilliant flower bloom. That flower is called peace.
"So we must cherish this hard-won peace."
"What are you talking about? Aren't you going to eat? Your noodles will get soggy."
Jiraiya shoveled noodles into his mouth, clearly paying no attention to their conversation.
The three left the ramen shop after eating their fill. Only once they were some distance away did Tsunade ask her question.
"What do you think, Orochimaru? Is there anything wrong with Boss Chiba?"
Orochimaru shook his head.
"I don't know. Nothing seemed wrong. Perhaps the sheer number of lives the war took has left him feeling depressed. After all, many ninja were loyal customers of his.
"Thinking about how he'll never see those regulars who praised his cooking again might be why he seemed a little off."
Tsunade nodded too.
"I think you're right. Boss Chiba loves peace. Perhaps we're overthinking it."
"Oh, come on. What are you two worrying about?"
Jiraiya picked his nose indifferently as he spoke.
"We can just bring Teacher Sarutobi along for ramen next time. He'll be able to tell at a glance whether there's anything wrong with Boss Chiba."
At Jiraiya's suggestion, both Orochimaru and Tsunade froze for a moment.
"Not bad, Jiraiya. Since when did you get so smart?"
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