The next day.
Konoha Village.
Inside Ichiraku Ramen.
A boy was sitting in the ramen shop, slurping his noodles with great relish.
A young man with glasses was sitting next to him, picking up noodles with his chopsticks and biting into them seriously.
Even after taking a bite, he would take a napkin to wipe the corners of his mouth.
This way of eating was undoubtedly more refined than the boy next to him, inevitably making others feel that the way the boy ate noodles was a bit rude.
"So...so gentle!"
A girl was looking at the refined young man with stars in her eyes.
The owner of Ichiraku Ramen was a middle-aged man, known in the village as Teuchi or the Handmade Boss. The girl speaking was his only daughter, Ayame.
Teuchi seemed to feel it was a bit impolite and gently patted the girl speaking: "Ayame, don't stare at the customers like that, it's disturbing them eating their ramen..."
"I know!"
Ayame pouted unhappily and then sneakily looked at the boy who was eating somewhat rudely: "He's quite good-looking, why does he eat so voraciously?"
"Because your family's ramen tastes good!"
The boy praised sincerely: "I feel like I have energy after eating a bowl of ramen, though it might be because I skipped breakfast!"
"Uh...thanks for the compliment."
The Handmade Boss could only continue to thank the customer as usual.
"I've never seen you before!"
Ayame was somewhat curious about the boy of her age: "Are you a ninja from another village? Here in Konoha for the Chunin Exams?"
"I am a member of the village's Anbu."
The boy boasted about his identity unabashedly.
The boy seemed to fear that Ayame didn't understand and earnestly explained to her: "Anbu, you know what that is? It's the darkest department in the village! The kind that appears in people's homes in the dead of night and kills the entire family!"
"..."
Ayame's eyes widened.
"..."
The noodle shop owner struggled to open his eyes, somewhat surprised that, having been in Konoha for many years, he had never heard such a strange saying about the Anbu...
The noodle shop owner faintly felt that something was not quite right.
Just then, a white-haired Anbu ninja came over with his teammates and corrected, "Hey, don't slander the Anbu's reputation here. Akihara Kagura, I remember you're not an Anbu ninja, right?"
"Eh? Am I not an Anbu ninja?"
The young Akihara Kagura looked up in surprise, recognizing the familiar person. He narrowed his eyes and chuckled, "Kakashi-senpai, are you saying that the Anbu training class is not part of the Anbu's operational sequence?"
"..."
Hatake Kakashi remained silent, unable to answer.
Although everyone thought that the Root division was not officially part of the Anbu, its official name was the Anbu Training Class, and theoretically, Root ninjas were indeed part of the Anbu organization.
This little guy...
Seemed to have become more polite than last time?
At least he was willing to address himself as 'senpai'...
"Long time no see!"
The young Akihara Kagura greeted Hatake Kakashi enthusiastically, then turned his gaze to Tenzo beside him, "Yo, traitor, you're here too, long time no see. Don't worry, Lord Danzo won't let me kill recklessly in the village, you're safe."
"..."
Hatake Kakashi withdrew his earlier judgment.
"..."
Tenzo hesitated, unsure whether to greet him or not.
"Sizzle... sizzle..."
Yakushi Kabuto still sat at the table, eating ramen in a refined manner.
"You're supposed to be at the Chunin Exam today, right?" Hatake Kakashi walked over, curiously asking, "Do you have time to eat ramen here? The first written test should be starting soon, right?"
"It's okay."
Akihara Kagura indifferently shook his head and said, "What's the difference between entering early or late? Anyway, I don't know anything on the exam paper."
"..."
Everyone present fell silent.
So why do you have the nerve to say that!
"That... about the Chunin exam..."
Amidst the hesitation, Tenzo, who was standing nearby, still spoke up to remind, "If you're late, it seems you'll be disqualified from the exam..."
"Oh."
Akihara Kagura nodded in understanding, her gaze turning towards Yakushi Kabuto, still calm: "Kabuto, didn't you hear what others said? Didn't you have breakfast? Haven't you eaten ramen before? Didn't you bring money to pay?"
"Such a... bit of a nasty character!"
Little Ayame couldn't help but retort, but when she saw the boy's gaze slowly moving towards her, she got scared and quickly bowed her head to apologize, "I'm sorry!"
"No problem."
Akihara Kagura shook his head, pointing to the empty bowl on his table: "So, as a sign of your apology, can you let me off the bill today? Otherwise, I might have to run a tab to rush for the exam. Just send the bill to Anbu..."
"..."
Little Ayame was dumbfounded.
"I'll pay."
Three voices spoke up at the same time.
One sounded somewhat helpless, one sounded a bit restrained and uneasy, the last one sounded untroubled.
Hatake Kakashi's hand reached into his pocket, surprised to see Tenzo beside him also taking out his wallet, and then looked at Kabuto who was paying.
"Seems like you're quite popular..."
Little Ayame took the money, rarely praising the boy.
"Maybe."
The young Akihara Kagura seems quite self-satisfied: "Actually, the three people who wanted to pay for me are all people I want to kill..."
"..."
Everyone present fell silent.
This kid really knows how to offend people!
"Go take the exam quickly!"
Hatake Kakashi frowned.
If it weren't for the precedent set by Tenzo, Kakashi would not want to deal with such an arrogant kid and pull him out of the hellish place like Root Organization.
"Let's go."
Akihara Kagura waved to Kabuto and took a glance at Kakashi and Tenzo: "Tsk, what a pity, you two were a step late in paying. If you want to get things done by treating someone to a meal in the future, you better be quicker in paying than others…"
"..."
Hatake Kakashi and Tenzo exchanged a puzzled look.
At this moment...
They didn't understand what this kid meant.
However, Kabuto, the person who paid first, soon realized the advantage of paying for Akihara Kagura's meal.
"Kabuto, I will still kill you and the Dean, Yakushi Nono."
"But, considering you treated me to a bowl of ramen today, I can tell you a piece of useful information first…"
Akihara Kagura's gaze shifted to the unflappable Kabuto, and he continued leisurely: "The Rock Village you're planning to infiltrate, the Dean, is also there…"
~~~
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