Naruto: Ghosts of the Warring States

Chapter 413 413: Wedding and Whispers

Nagato was born in Konoha Year 29. At five, Akio brought him back to the Land of Whirlpools.

Konan was also born that same year, and at eight, Akio found her and took her in as his student.

Now it was early November, Konoha Year 56.

They were both twenty-eight. After two decades of shared hardship, battles, and growing up side by side, the senior disciple and junior disciple were finally getting married.

Akio folded his arms, staring at Nagato.

"If it weren't for Killer B, you two would already have a kid old enough to run errands. And you still want to invite him to your wedding?"

He shook his head. "Aren't you worried Konan might change her mind at the altar?"

Nagato scratched his head and laughed.

"Yo, Konan already agreed."

Akio fell silent.

"Fine. It's your wedding. When's the date?"

"December 31st. It lines up with the Land of Whirlpools' New Year festival this year. We figured we'd hold the wedding the day before and roll straight into the celebration."

Akio stared at him in disbelief.

"So the day after your wedding, you're hosting a national festival? How did I end up with a student this dense?"

Nagato blinked.

"Yo! That was Konan's idea, Sensei."

Akio sighed.

"Do whatever you want. Who's officiating?"

"I wanted you to," Nagato admitted. "But Konan said she wants you there as family."

"That works. I retired from ceremonial duties a long time ago anyway."

Nagato nodded.

"So I asked Minato to officiate."

Akio paused. Everything was already arranged. Thought through, Balanced.

He'd teleported over in the middle of the night to offer advice and discovered they didn't need any.

"Well," he muttered, "the chicks have left the nest. Guess the old bird can finally stop hovering."

He yawned.

"Time for sleep."

Time Moves On

Konoha Year 56 slipped toward its end.

Akio felt like the year had flown by then remembered he'd literally slept through half of it.

The wedding preparations in the Land of Whirlpools were in full swing.

Akio, however, sat alone in Ichiraku Ramen, lost in thought.

With his restored memories fully intact, every smile, every pause, every "coincidence" from Teuchi replayed clearly in his mind.

This wasn't paranoia.

Teuchi had to be hiding something.

All Akio needed now was one undeniable piece of proof.

Attend the wedding tomorrow. Family dinner the next day. After that… I test him myself.

"Father? Why are you zoning out again?"

Sara's voice snapped him back.

"It's lunchtime. Have a bowl of ramen."

"ramen…?"

He looked at the steaming bowl of miso chashu ramen in front of him.

And suddenly, the final gap in his reasoning clicked into place.

Two years ago, when he'd been in a slump, Teuchi had made him a bowl so perfect it tasted like comfort itself.

At the time, Akio had suspected something impossible:

Level Ten cooking skill.

Over the years, he'd learned something about how talent scaled.

Level Eight? The absolute limit of an ordinary human.

Level Nine? Required rare bloodline or prodigious genius.

Level Ten? That was practically sage-tier.

No civilian should be capable of that.

"Father?" Sara looked worried. "You're doing it again."

"I'm fine," he muttered, mind racing.

If I raise my own cooking skill to the highest level and replicate that bowl… I'll know.

"Hey! Matsu? What are you doing here?" Sara suddenly called out.

Akio looked up.

The apprentice who had spent over a decade training under Teuchi and still hadn't graduated, burst into the shop.

"Senior Sister! Master ran away!"

"Ran away?!" Akio shot to his feet.

Matsu hesitated.

"Uh… I think you're…?"

"I'm Sara's father," Akio replied smoothly. "It's been years. You forgot me? What do you mean he ran?"

Matsu scratched his head.

"He left a letter. Said Ichiraku had made too much money and attracted dangerous attention. Sold off the branches. Took his family into hiding. Could be three years, could be ten."

Akio clicked his tongue.

"'Dangerous attention,' huh? That's convenient."

Suspicion confirmed.

"Master left Konoha's shop to me and the Whirlpools branch to Senior Sister," Matsu continued miserably. "But my cooking's nowhere near his level. I've already closed the Konoha shop. And what if those 'dangerous people' come after us?"

Sara looked between them.

"Father… do you know what he meant?"

Akio exhaled slowly.

"I'll look into it."

"Did you bring the letter?" Sara asked.

Matsu nodded and handed it over.

She read it carefully, then frowned.

"The handwriting… it looks familiar."

Akio froze.

He pulled another letter from his robe one from before, supposedly informing him of Sara falling ill.

They compared them.

Identical.

Sara blinked.

"So Master wrote that one too? He was worried about me all along?"

Akio rolled his eyes.

Worried? Maybe.

But how had Teuchi known news from the Land of Whirlpools faster than shinobi messengers?

That didn't add up.

"So he is looking out for Sara…" Akio muttered. "What are you playing at, Teuchi?"

Matsu stared at the ramen bowl on the counter.

"Smells amazing. Senior Sister, your cooking's still great."

He deflated again. "Mine isn't. What am I supposed to do?"

Sara glanced at Akio.

"Father?"

Akio let out a long breath.

"'Dangerous attention,' huh? Fine."

His eyes sharpened.

"Then this so-called 'danger' is coming to find him."

He stepped toward the door.

"Teuchi. Run all you want."

A dangerous grin spread across his face.

"I'm coming after you and when I catch you, I'm knocking you into next week."