Ludwig reappeared in front of the door to his restaurant in Tempest. It was a wooden building that was visibly different from other buildings around. Rather than having the same japanese-style architecture, it sticks out due to the only one with European style along the street.
He laid a hand on the doorframe and exhaled as his sense attuning to the restaurant's frequency once again.
When he was in Tempest or in the forest of Tempest, he could feel that it was there. However, it's faint, like knowing that a star was in outer space but not really seeing it. But now, the connection feel more. Like the restaurant was actively talking with him.
Maybe the previous connection he had with the restaurant was why the Voice of The World called him the Sanctuary-bound Enlightened Human. And now, with how it became a written fact in his status window on Tempest side, it became stronger than before.
"Alright." Ludwig murmured to the wood. "Tell me how bad it is."
The latch clicked with a tired little sigh as he stepped inside.
The first thing he noticed was the air. It smelled like ash and ozone stacking on top of each other while also mixing with the usual mix of spices, ales, and fried chicken. A faint tang of blood could also be smelled sitting underneath it all,
Mana and Chakra also could be felt inside, but the most prominent one? Ilea's ashy and dangerous-feeling mana and lightning mana.
The Restaurant itself felt… ruffled.
Then his eyes caught up with his other senses.
He could see tables shoved at odd angles, some with legs twisted or half-embedded in warped floorboards. A jagged ridge of lifted planks and bent nails running between bar and door like someone had tried to make a barricade out of the floor. One support beam at the far side was cracked, like an open wound in a flesh.
His gaze then tracked to the bar.
Valerie stood there. Her hair was a mess as she tried to compose herself by crossing her arms in front of her chest. Behind her, Vilera and the other staff moved with a timid precision of people who'd had to act calm while danger brushed past them.
At one of the intact tables near the wall, Ilea lounged in a chair that had clearly lost a leg. The reason it still stood was due to how Ilea used her ash to prop it up. Her clothes were torn in a few places, while some places had a clear darker mark, obviously from blood.
But when he saw her lips curving upwards as her eyes landed on him told him that she was anything but bothered.
Sitting across her was an old man in robes. Not just any old man, though. Even without a goblin runner bringing him the news he would instantly know that the old man was someone who came with bad intentions but got repelled.
The thin cut along his temple was proof enough.
"I was gone for a day and a half. Hunt a hog and cook a feast like any normal tourist…" His voice trailed. When he opened them again, he let the air he inhaled escape in slow and steady flow. "…Of course this happened."
He swept around the restaurant with his eyes once again. But now, he couldn't help but chuckle. At the same time, he also felt proud.
Even after the attack, even after all the cause for the aroma that shouldn't belong in the restaurant and all the spell that still left a residue in the air, some patrons were still inside. Though now, they were sitting on a makeshift bench while the ale and foods were resting on some makeshift table.
Probably his employees had given them those to thank them and apologize for what happened. If so, it seemed like he should thank them and also do the same to them later.
But before he went straight to address the elephant in the room, he walked towards another table first. It was the table of those who Claire had placed to guard the restaurant in his absence.
"Trian, Kyrian." Ludwig offered them a short nod as he arrived a few steps before the table.
Both of them stood up and lengthened their hands towards him. "Ludwig."
Ludwig clasped their hands one by one. He gripped them just enough to let them know he was appreciating what they had done. "Before I go to that bench, which I know will bring me an insane amount of headache. I need to hear it from you guys first."
"Understandable. Ilea is never known for words. Her fist always did the job after all." Trian chuckled
"Hey!" A voice and a handful of ash shot at them. But without Ludwig having to do anything, a shield stopped the attack dead on its track.
But before he could hear Trian's explanation, Ludwig couldn't help but to chuckle as weight suddenly pressed down on his head. "Raon. Did you help in the fight?"
Even without him looking at the little dragon or sensing it with his connection with the restaurant, Ludwig could see the little dragon was puffing his chest forward. "Of course, human! I, the great Raon, help defend this restaurant from those cretin!"
Ludwig laughed at the little dragon's words. That 'Cretin'. He must've picked it somewhere through his journey. "Thank you for that. You must be hungry after all the fighting. What do you want to eat?"
"Of course it's pudding!" The little dragon answered in an instant. After a heartbeat, the two cats meowed as well, as if they agreed with the little dragon's answer.
"Alright, alright." Ludwig chuckled. "Go to Vilera and tell her you want a pudding."
Without even answering, the weight on his head disappeared. The two cats also hopped away from him, leaving him with the two Shadow Hands.
"So?" Ludwig asked.
Trian crossed his arms before his expression turned flat, a tell that meant he was about to be very, very honest.
"The short version is…" He said. "Konoha entered your door with other intentions than eating and drinking."
Kyrian snorted at the explanation.
Ludwig's fingers tightened once on the edge of the nearest table. "From the start please."
"Fine." Trian rolled his shoulders, something Ludwig saw often from people who were about to formally report something."The door opened after lunch rush. Hokage, the three Sannin, and the masked operatives came in. They were tense, but not immediately hostile. They claimed they were here for Kushina. They started polite, then they started talking like your staff were evidence to collect."
Kyrian's eyes flicked toward the bar. "He looked at Vilera, Valerie, the others the way nobles look at gold mines."
"Checkpoint rules and the true story were explained a few times." Trian continued. "When it fell on deaf ears, Ilea did it her way. The Hokage pushed back. He kept framing Kushina as 'asset' in one sentence, and 'precious comrade' the next. Ilea did not like that. Neither did others."
Ludwig's gaze slid briefly to Ilea. "So she didn't swing first."
"No." Kyrian said. "I applaud her for her restraint. But she still warned them. The Shadow Hand team that was accidentally as well as your other patrons backed her. Though, the Hokage still tried to 'compromise' by demanding we hand over a staff member to go back with them as a bargaining chip."
The lines at the corners of Ludwig's mouth deepened. "And when she refused?"
Trian's smile went thin. "Hiruzen gave a clean order. Take one of the employees. Disable only, no killing, and stay out of the civilians. The so-called ANBU or maybe ROOT moved for your employees while Tsunade went for Ilea."
"The whole place went to hell after that." Kyrian put in. Tapping his own chest, "I raised a barrier from the nails to slow them. Lee Han over there, your newest customer, started using his fist. Kashi drew a line in the air with his bow. Raon zapped the first idiot who tried to throw jutsu near the bar while that redheaded noble protected the staff with his shield ability."
Trian nodded. "Ilea let Tsunade hit her several times. Then she stopped pretending. She locked the room down with ash, took chakra out of anyone who tried to flex, and started returning strikes. Though, the Sannins showed why they're called legends. Substitutions, swamp techniques, snake summons. They didn't fold easily. But this isn't their world, and they weren't the strongest ones here."
Ludwig's attention sharpened. "Any casualties?"
"None dead on either side." Trian said immediately. "Though, several masked operatives left with broken limbs, cracked ribs, and concussions. Tsunade took a hit that would've pulped a normal person and walked it off with her ability. The guy called Jiraiya's going to feel his side for a week. While the grotesque one of the three mostly collected bruises and new research interests. Don't worry, your staff is safe. Maybe shaken, but that's better than losing a limb."
Kyrian's jaw twitched and nodded. "We made sure of that."
"What about the Hokage?" Ludwig asked.
Trian's gaze drifted to the old man at Ilea's table at Ludwig's question.
"He fought when he had to. When his people started going down, he stepped in personally. All elements discipline, good use of battlefield control. He also tried one last time to escalate."
Ludwig's eyes narrowed. "Tried."
"Ilea stopped him." Trian said simply. "Hand on his staff, ash eating through the reinforcement. She told him through her action that if he brought a bigger sword to the room, he'd stop pulling her punches. He believed her."
Kyrian huffed. "The rest of us did too."
Trian nodded before adding. "There's a few moments when it could've gone either way. He could've forced it. Though, it seems like aging really makes someone wiser. Credit is where it's due."
Ludwig absorbed the explanation.
"Then why is he still here?" he asked.
"Because he doubled down on hostages even after the first exchange." Trian said. "He gave the 'take one' order twice. Ilea warned him twice. The second time, she just stopped playing."
Kyrian's mouth flattened. "In other words, she took him hostage."
Trian nodded. "Once the ANBU and Sannins were either down or pinned, she told Konoha to collect their wounded and go home. Then informed Hiruzen he was staying as collateral until you and Claire come home."
"His people of course argued." Kyrian added. "He overruled them. Choose retreat over getting more of them broken. He told them to treat this as 'ongoing negotiation,' not a death."
Ludwig let out a breath through his nose.
"Damage to the restaurant?" he asked.
"As you can see, cosmetic and structural." Kyrian said crisply. "One cracked beam, warped floor, scorched boards, blood on a few surfaces. Seems like no dimensional breaches. I kept my weight off anything load-bearing when I was twisting nails."
"And the patrons?" Ludwig's gaze swept the room again, lingering on the mixed crowd.
"They are fine for people who stood with us." Trian said. "Tempest orcs drew lines. Goblins backed staff. A few got too close and almost caught stray hits, but we kept that to bruises and scares. Your staff had been busy with giving them more drinks and food."
"Anyone angry enough to swear off the place?" Ludwig asked.
Kyrian shrugged. "If they are, they can take it up with the woman who just went three rounds with a Kage and his legendary babysitters."
Trian's eyes crinkled slightly. "Overall? We held to the rule you and Claire set. No danger to the staff and patrons who choose to stay away from the fight. We did it loud enough that every world-hopper in the room heard it."
Ludwig was quiet for a long moment.
"Thank you." Ludwig said eventually.
In front of his sincere thank you, Trian inclined his head while Kyrian did the same.
"You're still going to have a headache." Trian added cheerfully. "Ilea's been saving some of the explanation for you."
"I noticed." Ludwig said dryly.
He glanced once more around the room and at Ilea's satisfied posture as well as Hiruzen's composed wariness.
"Alright." He said. "I'll go see what kind of deal your ash wielder friend thinks she's negotiated with a Kage in my dining room."
He clapped Trian's shoulder once, nodded to Kyrian, and started toward the table where Ilea and Hiruzen waited.
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