The aroma of ramen wafted from the shop as Deidara pushed aside the curtain and stepped inside.
What the—? Two adults, two kids?
Is this still some kind of time loop?
No, wait. Deidara sighed in relief when he spotted Itachi in the corner on the right.
Ah, so the time loop had finally ended.
"Takaya, you're here too?" Deidara greeted cheerfully. Takaya was the alias Itachi was currently using. He had managed to rescue Sasuke from Root but couldn't yet reunite with his foolish little brother openly. So instead, he pretended to eat ramen here, subtly keeping Sasuke company.
As for the other "two adults, two kids," they were, of course, Jiraiya, Naruto, and Sasuke.
Sasuke was still seated in the same left-hand corner as last time, but his face looked gaunt, and his body bore numerous wounds. Clearly, he hadn't been spared from mistreatment.
Naruto, on the other hand, was faring much better. He'd been rescued by Jiraiya on the first day he was imprisoned in Root and had been living with him ever since. The kid was clearly enjoying himself; his cheeks were noticeably rounder.
"Welcome! What would you like to order?" Teuchi, the owner of the ramen shop, asked with a warm smile.
"The most expensive ramen, three bowls!" Deidara announced grandly.
Naruto immediately cast a longing gaze in his direction, but Jiraiya quickly held him back, shaking his head.
"That won't do, Naruto!"
"Why not? You just want to save your money for the tavern tonight, don't you?" Naruto retorted loudly, refusing to believe him.
Jiraiya let out a lecherous laugh. "That's called research. Something you wouldn't understand."
Deidara leaned over, grinning. "Hey, kid. Say 'Uncle is so cool,' and for every time you say it, I'll treat you to a deluxe bowl of ramen. Deal?"
Naruto scratched his head, feeling a strange sense.
But who cared? If he could get a bowl of deluxe ramen, a few compliments wouldn't hurt, right?
"Uncle is so cool!"
"Uncle is so cool!"
"Uncle is so cool!"
"Mm!" Deidara nodded in satisfaction.
Then, without warning, he plopped down beside Sasuke and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
"Hey, kid. How about you? Want to give it a try? Uncle will treat you to deluxe ramen too!"
Sasuke squirmed uncomfortably under Deidara's sudden familiarity, trying in vain to free himself.
"Let go of me, you bastard!" he growled, his tone icy.
Deidara leaned closer, whispering conspiratorially into Sasuke's ear.
"I know something about that Uchiha Itachi guy."
"If you behave, I might just share a bit of that info with you."
At the mention of that man, a blaze of hatred lit up Sasuke's eyes. He glared coldly at Deidara.
"You better not be lying," he warned.
"Or you'll regret it."
"Ah, does this kid always have to act so full of himself?" Deidara exaggeratedly pinched Sasuke's cheek, speaking loudly enough for everyone to hear.
Itachi, seated nearby, tightened his grip on his chopsticks. Though his foolish little brother wasn't truly harmed, a fire was quietly kindling in his chest.
"Cool uncle, don't mind Sasuke," Naruto chimed in, shaking his head in mock disapproval.
"He's always like this, pretending to be all mysterious and aloof."
Deidara nodded in agreement. "I thought so too. Must be an Uchiha thing. I knew another Uchiha like that—always acting so stuck up."
"Right? So annoying!" Naruto slurped down a mouthful of ramen, closing his eyes in bliss.
"Come on, Sasuke. Give Uncle a smile," Deidara teased, using two fingers to tug at the corners of Sasuke's mouth.
Sasuke stiffened, forcing out the most awkward smile imaginable. His pitiful expression sent Naruto into fits of laughter.
"Takaya, this kid is hilarious, don't you think?"
Crack!
The sound of chopsticks snapping echoed through the room.
"I think you'd look beautiful in a dress. Want to try it on?" Deidara joked.
"That's enough, Jihiro!" Itachi stood abruptly, his tone sharp. "We're guests in someone else's village. Don't be so reckless." He turned and walked out. "When you're done fooling around, come back."
Deidara shrugged, nonchalant. "Man, my partner is such a buzzkill."
"Oh well. Let's enjoy the ramen while it lasts."
"You still haven't told me about that man," Sasuke said, blocking Deidara's exit. If this lunatic dared back out after humiliating him, Sasuke wouldn't hesitate to end him right here.
"Tch. You didn't amuse me enough, so I can only answer one question," Deidara said lazily.
"Where is he?" Sasuke demanded, without hesitation.
"You planning to rush off and fight him now? That's suicide, kid."
"My advice? Train harder before thinking about revenge."
Sasuke clenched his fists in silence, acknowledging the truth in Deidara's words.
"How strong do I have to get to defeat him?" he finally asked.
"When you're strong enough to take down the current Hokage, Shimura Danzo, you'll be close."
Deidara smirked. Though Danzo's strength wasn't quite on par with Itachi's, it wasn't far off either. Itachi would never let Sasuke lose, though—of that, Deidara was sure.
With the tension eased, they all returned to enjoying their ramen, until the bill brought its own drama.
"Why am I paying?!" Anko complained, her irritation evident.
"Didn't I pay you 700,000 ryo last time for keeping me company? Now you can't even treat me to ramen? How stingy," Deidara retorted casually.
"You—!" Anko's face turned crimson under the scrutinizing stares of Teuchi and his daughter Ayame.
Was the economy for ninja so dire these days? Teuchi thought to himself. Maybe running a shop was the better way to go—at least his daughter wouldn't have to resort to...whatever that was.
"Wait a minute! Why are you even in the village?" Anko quickly shifted gears, realizing there was a bigger issue at hand.
"I was wondering the same thing," Jiraiya said as he reappeared. Earlier, he'd refrained from intervening to avoid alarming Naruto, but Deidara's and Itachi's strange behavior hadn't escaped his notice.
Deidara followed them to a secluded alley and dropped his transformation jutsu, smirking arrogantly.
"I'm here as an honored guest, invited by the Fifth Hokage. If you mess with me, you'll ruin the alliance between Konoha and Amegakure. Big mistake."
"Konoha would never ally with Amegakure," Anko shot back coldly. "Don't think I don't know—it was you and your people who helped Orochimaru attack Konoha!"
"And what of it?" Deidara replied nonchalantly.
"Right now, Danzo runs the show in Konoha. If you don't like it, go complain to your Hokage."
He was deliberately stirring the pot. The more chaos in Konoha, the better it was for the Akatsuki and Amegakure.
"This isn't over," Jiraiya said grimly. "Anko, keep an eye on this dangerous man."
Anko nodded, her expression equally serious. If Deidara made a single wrong move, the village could be in grave danger.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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