On the street, on the right side of Ichiraku Ramen, in a simple temporary "shack," Masahiko and seven others sat there eating Ramen.
The cabin occupied most of the street, and pedestrians could only pass one-way through, which is "illegal occupation."
"Elder Masahiko, is it okay for us to do this?" Minato said with a wry smile.
After he squeezed in and pushed the three boys out of the line, he was "attacked" by the three little boy's grievances. Minato also persuaded him, so Masahiko simply decided to temporarily expand the shop.
"What are you saying? Didn't you see how these three kids looked at us?" Masahiko smiled, then shook his head, "I told you it was a bad idea…"
The three children almost buried their faces in the Ramen bowl. They didn't have much contact with Masahiko, but their fathers were all familiar with Masahiko, which was enough.
Masahiko glanced at them, smiled, and turned to Minato again, "You see they are hungry, did you wanted them to line up again?"
"Minato, hurry up and just eat the noodles, so we can quickly pour out this place," Jiraiya said, but he actually felt at ease.
Minato could only start eating, with an anxious expression.
Masahiko ate Ramen last night, so he wasn't in the mood for another bowl; he was just here for fun.
After eating two bites, Masahiko suddenly remembered something.
"Kakashi, it has been three years since your graduation. Why didn't you take the Chunin Exam yet?"
He remembers that in the original, Kakashi becomes a Chunin when he was Six-years old, and a Jonin at twelve. Masahiko thought he could soon gain some witness points, but he didn't expect the latter not to take the exam for three years.
"I assume that you've been really busy working hard in these three years." Masahiko smiled, Konoha is in peacetime, and Kakashi is only a Genin, so all that he has been doing was catching cats for the last three years, also know as D-Class tasks.
Kakashi smiled bitterly, then he quickly reacted, "Elder Masahiko, can you please…"
"No." Before he could even finish the sentence, Masahiko directly refused.
But Kakashi didn't give up, and immediately thought of another way, "Minato-San, can you take me out of the village with you the next time you do a mission?"
These words made Minato stunned and glanced at Masahiko and Jiraiya, who just shrugged, indicating that they didn't care.
Gai, Asuma, and Shizune cheered up. Although they were just students, they have also heard about the "tragic life" of the genius Kakashi after he graduated early.
Before Minato could answer, an Anbu appeared next to them.
Masahiko smiled, "Wow, Konoha is really going through weird times, so the Anbu now are responsible for demolishing illegal buildings?"
The Anbu didn't reply, nor did he say his purpose, and silence controlled the scene for a while.
This awkward moment lasted for half a minute. Just when Masahiko felt that things were getting really embarrassing and tried to help him out, the Anbu spoke, "Aah… Namikaze Minato, Hokage-Sama has summoned you."
"Hey, did that guy has just forgotten what he wanted to say?" Jiraiya mocked him, "The old man's Anbu are really talented."
Masahiko was stunned by the standards.
"I see, I'll go now then," Minato replied, and left instantly.
Masahiko frowned, looking at his half-finished bowl of Ramen.
"Elder Masahiko, thanks for the meal, we're going too." Simultaneously, the four kids said, then put the bowls down, got up, and left.
Masahiko didn't react until their figures completely disappeared.
"When did I say I'm gonna treat you?" Masahiko's face stiffened, and slowly glanced at Jiraiya.
"Elder, I'm full too, thanks for the hospitality. I need to prepare for my book's release, goodbye!" Jiraiya finished his bowl quickly and left as if he was running.
"Well, I'll let it slid… Just this time, though." Masahiko smiled and shook his head, then he walked toward the Hokage building. He wanted to see what all of this fuss was about. The Anbu didn't even wait for Minato to finish his meal.
In the Hokage building, Masahiko paused for a moment. In addition to Minato, he felt two slightly familiar Chakras there.
"Elder Masahiko, you're here." Hiruzen greeted him, then looked at the three of them solemnly.
"Namikaze Minato, Choza Akimichi, Aburame Shibi, this is going to be an S-Class Mission, and I'm counting on you to finish it!"
Masahiko was startled. There shouldn't be many A-Class mission in this peaceful era, let alone an S-Class mission!
Before asking, Minato said, "Hokage-Sama, can you add one more person to this team.
Masahiko's mouth twitched; Minato wouldn't be thinking seriously of letting Kakashi join such a mission.
Things were as he expected, but what he didn't expect was that Hiruzen would actually agree.
After the three of them left, Masahiko looked at Hiruzen, confused.
"What kind of urgent S-Class mission is this, and why are you letting Kakashi join in if it's so important?"
Hiruzen nodded slightly, "The difficulty of the current task shouldn't reach the S-Class. And as long as Minato is there, Kakashi won't be in danger."
"But it's still classified as an S-Class Mission, which means that they might get in trouble in the future, right?" Masahiko was taken aback for a moment, then he immediately stared at Hiruzen, "Just stop this diplomacy act, and say it!"
Hiruzen hesitated for a moment, then said, "Have you heard of Roran before?"
"Roran?" Masahiko frowned, feeling a bit familiar.
Hiruzen nodded, "It was originally a small country in decline, but they suddenly developed rapidly six years ago."
"So what, are they a threat to Konoha now?" Masahiko didn't believe it.
"That's right." Hiruzen said solemnly, "Not only Konoha but other major villages too, even the Uzumaki won't be safe either."
"You're joking, Hiruzen." Masahiko felt offended. With his current strength, the Uzumaki should be safe for the next two decades.
"I didn't care much about this small country at first, but the news that the Anbu recently collected left me no choice but to deal with them. According to the rumors, they have discovered the Source of the Ryūmyaku, which is an ancient source of endless Chakra that flows deep under their country. Six years ago, a man named Mukade, who is their minister now, used this source's power to create an army of puppets…"
"Hold on, hold on." Masahiko's expression changed.
"Isn't this a movie? Why does this world contain a movie plot too?"
The source of the Ryumyaku or whatever, it's too unscientific!" The truth Masahiko doesn't remember most of the events in the movie, but he remembers this Chakra origin.
Dragon veins with endless Chakra, how is this possible…