Thud!
The young waiter suddenly received a knock on his head. A middle-aged waiter appeared, bowed in apology, and held the young waiter's head.
"I'm sorry, this guy is new and always forgets things."
"This bowl of tomato beef noodles was actually ordered by neither the blond guest nor the silver-haired guest but by this little girl with purple hair."
Hearing this, Natsuhiko and the blond youth looked down and saw a small, cute head sticking out from the partition in the middle. The head was staring at them angrily as if afraid they might take her noodles.
Natsuhiko and the blond youth exchanged glances; both gave a sheepish smile and apologised to the little girl.
At this moment, Yuhi Shinku was also attracted by the commotion, poked his head out to look, and then exclaimed in surprise:
"Isn't that Minato!"
Indeed, the blond youth was none other than Minato Namikaze, who had recently returned to Konoha.
...
Similar to Natsuhiko, Minato and Yuhi Shinku had worked together on a few missions before, so they were familiar with each other.
Therefore, at Yuhi Shinku's invitation, Minato, who was alone, joined their booth and sat opposite Natsuhiko.
Then, under Yuhi Shinku's introduction, they briefly introduced themselves.
Although they had only occasionally seen each other from a distance before, Natsuhiko could tell that Minato had matured a lot in both height and appearance recently.
He increasingly had the aura of the Golden Flash that Natsuhiko remembered.
Moreover, he noticed that Minato spoke in a gentle tone, making people feel as if they were bathed in a spring breeze. Indeed, he had a leader's charm.
After a few polite exchanges, Minato noticed the documents on the table and hesitated slightly:
"Are you discussing something? Am I interrupting?"
Yuhi Shinku waved his hand and said, "It's okay, it's nothing confidential."
Natsuhiko nodded and said, "That's right, it's actually about the reform of the Ninja Academy's curriculum. It's great to get the opinion of the former top student, Minato."
"Ninja Academy curriculum reform..."
Upon hearing this, Minato became very interested, picked up the documents, and quickly became engrossed in their content.
Even when his ramen arrived, he continued reading while eating.
When everyone finished their noodles, Minato also finished reading the documents.
He closed his eyes to organise his thoughts, then smiled appreciatively.
"Natsuhiko, your plan for the Ninja Academy is exciting. It makes me a bit envious of the future students."
"And although this plan hasn't been implemented yet, you've managed to draft such detailed regulations out of thin air, which is truly remarkable."
"Especially this extracurricular tutoring class, which is very beneficial to civilian ninjas like us!"
It's no wonder Minato gave such high praise to Natsuhiko's plan.
Compared to the children of ninja clans, many aspects of this plan were more beneficial to civilian ninjas, especially the talented ones among them.
Minato, being a typical example of someone whose growth was restricted by the Ninja Academy due to his civilian background, deeply appreciated this.
Although he was a top-tier genius on par with Tobirama Senju, Kakashi, and Itachi Uchiha, he couldn't fully realise his potential until he graduated at ten due to his civilian status.
However, considering that early graduates often had issues, Minato wasn't sure if this was good luck or bad.
After praising the plan, Minato expressed some concerns:
"However, implementing Natsuhiko's plan might require significant funding."
For example, inviting special Jonin or even Jonin to teach the extracurricular classes would cost a lot.
Yuhi Shinku laughed and pointed at Natsuhiko:
"You don't need to worry about that, Minato. You might not know since you just returned to Konoha, but this guy, being a teacher, is just his hobby. His real job is being the owner of the recently popular Ninja Tavern."
Natsuhiko helplessly said, "Actually, teaching is my main job."
Yuhi Shinku laughed and said, "Main job or side job, whatever. This guy can easily make a lot of money by changing the outfits of the card characters and selling them."
Shinku-senpai, what kind of blatant truth are you spouting?
Natsuhiko complained inwardly.
"Ninja Tavern?"
Minato asked curiously, "I heard a lot about this tavern while on the front lines."
"People kept saying things like 'I'll die without Ninja cards.'"
"So, this tavern is run by you, Natsuhiko?"
Natsuhiko nodded with a smile, "Yes, it's a way to enrich the entertainment of ninjas. You should visit sometime, Minato."
Then Natsuhiko couldn't help but add, "Seeing your hairstyle, you must be good at card games."
If you put on that flamboyant robe, you could fit right into the world of Yu-Gi-Oh.
Although Minato didn't fully understand Natsuhiko's comment, he nodded gently and said, "I'll definitely visit when I have the chance."
But then he asked, "How is your tavern related to the Ninja Academy?"
Natsuhiko replied, "My tavern collaborates with the academy and provides funding to it every year."
He then briefly explained the background.
"So, Ninja cards were initially teaching aids to attract students, and the tavern was also opened for the students..."
Minato understood after Natsuhiko's explanation and smiled,
"It seems a lot has happened while I was away from Konoha."
He then looked at Natsuhiko with admiration, recognising him as a true inheritor of the Will of Fire.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh:
"Recently, we who have just returned are often called Konoha's heroes. I've been feeling quite proud."
"I almost forgot that there are people like you and Shinku-senpai who quietly contribute to the village."
Minato placed a hand on Natsuhiko's shoulder and said sincerely,
"You are the real heroes."
Why does this sound so familiar?
Natsuhiko pondered deeply.
Then Minato said, "If there's anything I can help with, just let me know. I'd be more than happy to assist."
Natsuhiko's eyes lit up and said,
"Since you offered, would you be interested in working as a special instructor?"
"You mean teaching the extracurricular tutoring class?"
Having read the documents, Minato knew what a particular instructor was but hesitated, "Am I up to the task?"
Yuhi Shinku said speechlessly, "Minato, you're too modest. I heard you achieved several kills against Jonin in the recent war."
Minato scratched his head and laughed, "Most of the time, it was with the help of my teammates."
Natsuhiko said, "Even so, it's still impressive, making me, who is older, feel a bit ashamed. I've never killed a jonin."
Yuhi Shinku, a veteran of Jonin, felt a bit of a toothache listening to them, "Do you think Jonin are cabbages? They are important in any village."
"Why do you make it sound like not killing a jonin at fifteen or sixteen is failing?"
Natsuhiko and Minato were momentarily stunned, realising they couldn't argue, so they exchanged a wry smile.
The three then discussed the curriculum reform in detail, providing Natsuhiko with many valuable suggestions.
Minato also agreed to Natsuhiko's invitation and would proudly become a particular instructor at the Ninja Academy.
When not on missions, he will visit the academy in the next academic year to teach students basic teleportation techniques and give them combat experience.
Hearing the unique instructor benefits Natsuhiko offered to Minato, Yuhi Shinku also volunteered to join.
He didn't care about the money; he just wanted to contribute to Konoha's future.
Well, actually, his salary as a ninja instructor was so low that he could barely support his little princess at home, so he needed some extra income.
Finally, while there was still time, Yuhi Shinku took out a photo album and shared recent pictures of his daughter with them.
This made Natsuhiko think that once the communication bracelets were widespread, Shinku-senpai would definitely be the type to post about his daughter online daily.
...
As it neared eight o'clock, the three finally left the Ichiraku Ramen Shop.
Originally, Natsuhiko wanted to invite Minato to the tavern, but Minato declined, saying he was in the crucial stage of training a new technique.
Natsuhiko had no choice but to let it go.
After seeing Minato off in the direction of the village outskirts, Natsuhiko also said goodbye to Yuhi Shinku and returned home.
Upon entering, he saw the three little ones tinkering with a strange black tower in the yard.
It was the prototype model of the Dark Tower that Natsuhiko had envisioned.
After greeting the three little ones, Natsuhiko sat in a recliner in the yard and then swiped his left hand to open the communication bracelet interface.
As expected, a bunch of messages popped up.
It was the right decision to mute the bracelet when meeting Minato.
After all, Natsuhiko always felt a strange sense of guilt when chatting with Kushina in front of Minato.
He idly scrolled through Kushina's various trivial messages with his finger.
Seeing nothing significant, he was about to reply with, "Oh, hehe, I'm going to take a shower," and then really go take a shower.
But just then, a new message popped up.
This little girl sure has a lot of free time.
Natsuhiko muttered inwardly and casually opened it, but his expression immediately turned.
Serious.
The message read as:
[Red Comet: Natsuhiko, I've been captured by the bad guys from the Hidden Cloud Village. I'm in the woods north of Konoha. Save me!!]
(End of Chapter)
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