After a long time, Senju Chen slowly retracted his hand and took a deep breath. His face also became a little pale.
"Okay." He wiped the sweat from his forehead, "The new seal should last for another six months. Within half a year, the teacher should have results."
"Teacher...Lord Orochimaru?" Lin sat up and asked with some worry, "Didn't he already..."
"The teacher has defected." Senju Chen said in a calm tone, "But this does not affect him from becoming the top Cursed Seal and forbidden arts expert in the entire Shinobi World. Only he can unlock the spell on you."
Lin bit her lip, nodded, and did not ask any more questions. She knew that the more questions she asked, the more trouble she would cause Senju Chen.
"Chen-kun, thank you." She looked at Senju Chen and said seriously, "If it weren't for you, I would..."
"We are companions, aren't we?" Senju Chen interrupted her and smiled, "Don't think so much, just stay here and wait for my news."
He stood up and prepared to leave.
"Kakashi... Is he okay?" Rin Nohara suddenly asked Senju Chen.
"Not good." Senju Chen shook his head and took out a letter. "He thought you were dead and his whole person had changed. This is the eulogy he wrote to you. I secretly copied a copy."
After saying that, he stopped staying and pushed Gate of Opening out. Lin was the only one left in the room, staring blankly at the letter on the table.
After a long time, she stretched out her trembling hand and picked up the letter. Looking at the familiar handwriting, her tears finally burst.
Senju Chen stood in the corridor on the third floor, listening to the suppressed cries coming from the room, his face expressionless. For Rin Nohara, he could only use this method. Only by letting her see the pain of Kakashi could she have the motivation to continue living and wait.
As for that letter, of course he forged it. With his knowledge of Kakashi, it was not easy to imitate his handwriting and tone.
Alas, I am really worried about my friend's lifelong happiness.
Senju Chen complained silently in his mind, turned around, and walked downstairs. The opening was about to begin, and he still had many things to confirm in person.
This "Food Is Heaven" is more than just a safe house.
It will be the first chess piece to leverage the entire Land of Fire, and even the entire Shinobi World pattern.
A day flies by in a blink of an eye.
Capital of Fire On the busiest Vermilion Bird Avenue, a brand new three-story restaurant unveiled its mysterious veil amidst the noise of gongs and drums in the early morning.
"Food Is Heaven".
These three characters were inscribed by Capital of Fire, the most famous calligrapher, with an extraordinary momentum. Under the plaque are two doors made of fine golden nanmu. There is a bright red carpet in front of the door, which extends to the center of the street.
Today, only invited guests are welcome here.
Just after midnight, one after another ornately decorated carriages stopped at the door of the restaurant.
"Hey, isn't this Mr. Yamada from Ministry of Internal Affairs? Have you received the invitation too?" A fat businessman with a beer belly and a gold-embroidered kimono waved his fan and greeted a middle-aged official who had just gotten out of the car with a smile on his face.
The official named Yamada looked arrogant. He just said "hmm" from his nose, straightened his clothes and walked straight in.
The fat businessman was not annoyed. He smiled and whispered to his companions, "You see, this 'Food Is Heaven' has a lot of reputation. Even a guy like Yamada, who has a higher eye than his head, can even invite him."
"Not only that, I heard that even the chief attendant of Daming Palace sent people to send congratulatory gifts."
"Hey... who is the owner of this restaurant?"
Amid the discussion, guests filed in.
They were either fat businessmen, officials in important positions, or even a few aristocratic ladies with exquisite makeup and swaying figures. They looked around curiously, with picky and scrutinizing eyes, as if they were not here to eat, but to inspect their own territory.
A store manager wore a decent butler's uniform, his hair was combed meticulously, and he had a gentle and distant smile on his face. He stood at the door personally and welcomed every guest in just right. He had an excellent memory and could call out every guest's surname and official position accurately without appearing overly enthusiastic or disrespectful, which made these self-esteemed dignitaries feel very useful.
On the second floor, in a private room with the best view.
Senju Chen was holding a cup of tea, and Maruboshi Kosuke was standing behind him. Through the gap in the bamboo curtain, he looked expressionlessly at the "upper-class" social drama going on in the lobby downstairs.
He didn't change his appearance, he just changed into ordinary cloth clothes, which looked out of place with the fragrant clothes and jewels downstairs.
"What a... vivid lesson." Senju Chen took a sip of tea and complained silently in his heart.
Look at that fat man, who smells like copper all over his body, but he can chat and laugh happily with the upright-looking official next to him. The jade pendant hanging on his fan is probably enough to pay an Genin team of Konoha to perform B-Rank Mission several times.
Look at Mr. Yamada again. He had an expression of "you guys are just mortals" just now. Now he was almost bent to the ground in front of a colleague who seemed to have a higher official position.
There are also those noble ladies who discuss which company's rouge is better and which company has new models of silk and satin, but they don't know that the price of a kimono they wear is enough for an orphan who lost his parents in the war to live safely for several years.
Ninjas exchanged their lives for peace on the border, and these people, in the greenhouse of peace, enjoyed all this to their heart's content, and regarded ninjas as tools with peace of mind.
What a wonderful irony.
However, precisely because of this, this place is full of opportunities.
"Master."
Maruboshi Kosuke was behind him.
"Is everything settled?" Senju Chen asked without looking back.
"Yes. A total of thirty-seven guests came, all of them Capital of Fire are well-known people. Among them, the assistant to the finance minister, Lord Fujiwara, was full of praise for our food." Kosuke reported respectfully, "In addition, the deputy commander of the city guard, Mr. Saeki, seems to be very interested in the guards of our restaurant, and asked several times about their origins."
"Oh?" Senju Chen raised the corners of his mouth slightly.
"Then... do you need me to deal with it?"
"No need." Senju Chen waved his hand, "Let him guess. The more mysterious it is, the less they dare to act rashly. All you need to do is tell the kitchen to bring out the best craftsmanship, and make sure these people come here today and come back with a lot of fun."
"Yes."
Maruboshi Kosuke looked at his young master's back, his eyes filled with relief.
This "Food Is Heaven" appears to be a restaurant, but is actually the prototype of a huge intelligence network and relationship network.
Using food and money as bait, the powerful people of Capital of Fire were drawn into the net one by one. This skill and scheming are really shocking.
Senju Clan, there is a successor.
Kosuke quietly retreated and continued to play his role as the perfect butler.
In the private room, silence returned again.
Senju Chen drank all the tea in the cup and felt the fragrance of the tea leaves echoing in his mouth.
He knew that today was just the beginning.
The chess piece "Food Is Heaven" has landed on the chessboard of Land of Fire. It will continue to break and change like a spider web until it covers the entire Shinobi World.
Through it, you can continuously obtain funds and information to support your various future plans.
Through it, I can weave a huge network of relationships, penetrating influence into all aspects of Land of Fire, and even... influence the decisions of daimyo.
Senju Chen stood up, walked to the window, and opened the window.
The hustle and bustle downstairs spread before his eyes like a scroll.
He looked across the crowd and into the distance.