But having a prodigy stand at the door and smile to welcome customers was absurd in itself.
The corners of Hashirama's mouth rose slightly.
His smile was as stiff as if someone had forced it onto his face by hand.
Madara Uchiha, standing beside him, was even more extreme.
His arms were folded across his chest, his crimson armor imposing in the setting sun, and his face showed none of the warmth a server should have had.
Zhang Yu had just told him to smile.
So Madara actually smiled.
But to Kakashi, that smile was no different from the King of Hell appearing before an enemy dying on the battlefield.
Kakashi halted, his back instantly tensing.
"Welcome!"
Hashirama's voice boomed as though he were calling for battle.
Madara looked coldly at the two men.
"Go in."
Kakashi: "..."
Might Guy, however, noticed nothing wrong. He gave them a thumbs-up, his teeth gleaming.
"What an energetic welcome! That's the spirit of youth in customer service!"
Kakashi's eye twitched slightly.
That was customer service?
It felt more like walking in to be executed.
Especially that long-haired man in red armor. Just standing there made the chakra in Kakashi's body tense instinctively.
And there was the man beside him, trying so hard to smile.
He looked so familiar.
Far too familiar.
But for the moment, Kakashi didn't dare let his thoughts go in that direction.
Was this some kind of joke?
How could someone like that be standing at the entrance of a remote tavern, welcoming customers?
When Zhang Yu saw the two men enter, he was overjoyed.
On the first day of business, the first customers to actually come in and spend money were Kakashi Hatake and Might Guy.
One was the future Sixth Hokage, the other the Blue Beast of the Hidden Leaf.
Wasn't this a great start?
He immediately came out from behind the bar and greeted them with a smile.
"Come in and have a seat, you two. We're opening today, and there's plenty to drink."
Might Guy strode over and sat down. "Boss, what good liquor do you have here?"
Zhang Yu pushed the menu over.
"Ordinary beer, two hundred ryo a bottle."
"Our specialty liquor isn't for sale yet."
Kakashi glanced down at the menu, and his eyelid twitched.
"Two hundred ryo a bottle?"
Might Guy stroked his chin and gave it serious thought.
"That's not cheap."
Zhang Yu didn't bat an eye.
"Our specialty drinks are the only ones of their kind in all of Konoha."
Hashirama nodded along from the side.
"They certainly are."
Madara said indifferently, "Drink it or don't."
Hashirama hurriedly nudged him with his elbow and lowered his voice.
"Madara, the boss said we can't scare the customers away."
Madara snorted coldly and turned his face away.
Kakashi watched the two of them, the chill in his heart growing stronger.
The way they interacted was familiar too.
Might Guy, however, was already fired up.
"Two hundred ryo it is! Youth means having the courage to try new things!"
Kakashi immediately held him back.
"Guy, let's just buy two bottles for now."
All he wanted now was to leave as quickly as possible.
There was something wrong with this place.
Zhang Yu's smile grew brighter.
"All right, two beers. Four hundred ryo."
He turned, retrieved two bottles of beer from the cellar, and set them on the table.
Through the transparent bottles, fine bubbles slowly rose through the pale golden liquid.
Might Guy's eyes lit up at once.
"Oh! This drink looks special!"
Kakashi, however, was in no mood to taste it. After paying, he picked up the two bottles and stood.
"Boss, we still have a mission. We'll come again next time."
Zhang Yu felt a little regretful, but he still smiled and nodded.
"Take care. We hope to see you again."
Hashirama once again struggled to put on a smile.
"Come again!"
Madara looked at them.
"Take care."
Kakashi walked even faster.
Might Guy, still reluctant to leave, looked back and waved.
"Boss! Next time, I'll come back with the passion of youth!"
The two left the tavern and walked a dozen or so paces down the street before Kakashi stopped.
He glanced back at the Undead Tavern's sign and lowered his voice.
"Guy, don't you think those two servers looked familiar?"
Guy blinked.
"Familiar?"
"Yes."
Kakashi frowned.
"Especially the one with the stiff smile."
Guy stroked his chin and thought for a long time before finally clapping his hands.
"I remember now!"
Kakashi's heart tightened.
"You recognized him too?"
Guy said seriously, "He has the warmth and friendliness of youth!"
Kakashi fell silent.
He shouldn't have expected Guy to be reliable about details like that.
Kakashi looked up at Hokage Rock in the distance.
In the setting sun, the first face on Hokage Rock came clearly into view.
The broad, kind features.
The resolute contours.
Then he compared it with the face of the man in red armor at the entrance just now.
Kakashi's pupils contracted sharply.
The beer bottles nearly slipped from his hands.
The First Hokage.
Hashirama Senju.
That man looked almost exactly like the First Hokage on Hokage Rock!
No.
Not almost.
It was the very same face!
Kakashi's breath caught for a moment.
The image of the other long-haired man in red armor surfaced in his mind.
That oppressive presence, those cold, hard eyes.
That face he had seen in Konoha's historical records.
Madara Uchiha!
Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha were standing at the entrance of a little tavern, working as servers?
That was even more absurd than the Nine-Tails suddenly coming to buy three-color dango!
A chill ran down Kakashi's back.
He had been on too many bizarre missions and faced too many dangerous enemies, but this completely overturned common sense.
Two legendary figures who should have died long ago had appeared in Konoha.
And they were wearing Warring States-era armor and welcoming customers to a newly opened tavern.
This was definitely not normal.
Seeing that something was wrong with his expression, Guy finally grew serious.
"Kakashi, what is it?"
Kakashi thrust the two bottles of beer into Guy's hands, his voice grave.
"Guy, I need to see the Third."
"Now?"
"Now."
Kakashi took one last look at the Undead Tavern, then pushed off with his foot and vanished from the spot.
Inside the tavern.
Hashirama watched the direction Kakashi had gone, the smile slowly fading from his face.
"Boss, I think that silver-haired ninja recognized me."
Madara returned to his seat by the bar, his tone flat.
"There's no 'think' about it."
"He recognized you."
Hashirama gave a bitter smile.
"At this rate, our identities will be exposed sooner or later."
Madara looked at Zhang Yu.
"If Konoha learns we've appeared, there'll be plenty of trouble."
Zhang Yu put the four hundred ryo into a drawer, showing no sign of panic.
"Then let them be exposed."
Hashirama blinked.
"Boss, you're not worried?"
"Worried about what?"
Zhang Yu pointed at the two of them.
"One of you is the God of Shinobi, and the other is Madara Uchiha."
"If I really wanted to sell drinks in peace and quiet, I shouldn't have put you two at the door to welcome customers in the first place."
Hashirama opened his mouth, but for a moment he couldn't find a response.
Madara stared at Zhang Yu.
"You did it on purpose?"
Zhang Yu smiled.
"What else?"
"My tavern is so far out of the way that ordinary advertising is useless."
"But as soon as word of your identities gets out, all of Konoha will be curious."
"Then I'll have customers, missions, and gold coins."
He raised a hand and tapped the bar.
"What I lack isn't ordinary money."
"It's system gold coins."
"With gold coins, I can exchange them for ocular techniques, Senjutsu, bloodline limits, and even more things in the shop."
Hashirama and Madara fell silent at the same time.