Chapter 15: The Mark of the Flying Thunder God
After learning that Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki had died sealing the Nine-Tails, Hashirama Senju fell into a deep depression. He never imagined that Konoha, the village he and Madara Uchiha had built together—once the strongest ninja village—had weakened to the point where the Nine-Tails could run rampant.
Meanwhile, Ren Arakawa was happily devouring the barbecue that Ino kept handing him. Since someone was finally treating him, he intended to eat his fill. He had to admit, the barbecue in the Naruto world was fantastic. The quality of the meat and the seasoning were impeccable, far superior to the buffet-style barbecue and street stalls he'd experienced in his previous life. No wonder the main characters in the anime always chose barbecue restaurants for their gatherings; there was a good reason for it.
"Wow~ I never knew Ren-kun could look so handsome even while eating. This is wonderful..." Watching Ren wolf down his food, Ino's face blossomed into a happy smile. She continuously grilled meat and placed it into his bowl, not eating a single bite herself. Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chōji had already moved to sit to the side. They weren't eating either—they were waiting. They planned to order more for themselves only after Ren was done. Otherwise, if they ordered now, Ino would just give all the meat to him.
However, they had clearly underestimated Ren's appetite. After finishing the ten large plates of barbecue Chōji had initially ordered, Ren proceeded to order several more rounds, each time asking for ten additional plates. Akimichi Chōji was utterly disgusted. This guy looked slim, but he could eat even more than he could! Fortunately, after polishing off over fifty plates, Ren finally let out a satisfied burp.
"Ino, I've really put you through a lot today," Ren said, putting down his chopsticks and politely thanking Yamanaka Ino.
Ino, her face flushed, replied, "It's no trouble at all! If Ren-kun is willing, the three of us can treat you to barbecue every day!"
Nara Shikamaru's expression shifted. "Hey, Ino, if you want to treat someone, don't drag me into it! I was planning to use my money to buy shōgi books!"
Akimichi Chōji quickly added, "Yeah! I need to save my money for potato chips! I don't have any extra to treat Ren!"
"What did you two just say? I don't think I heard you clearly. Could you repeat that?" Yamanaka Ino rolled her eyes, the corner of her mouth twitching as she glared at them.
Seeing her suddenly murderous expression, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chōji immediately swallowed hard, lowered their heads, and didn't dare utter another word.
"Well, I have some things to attend to, so I'll take my leave now!" Sensing the dangerous atmosphere, Ren quickly made an excuse and hurried out of the barbecue restaurant.
"Ino, Ren's gone. Can we order some food now? I'm starving!" After Ren left, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chōji immediately looked up.
Yamanaka Ino, hands on her hips, scolded, "Look at you two! We're all classmates; what's wrong with treating each other to a meal? Look, you scared Ren away!"
Nara Shikamaru: "I think Ren was scared away by you. The way you were acting just now was really terrifying."
"It's all your fault!" Yamanaka Ino sat back down, grumbling.
Next, the three of them ordered ten more plates of barbecue. However, when the bill came, Yamanaka Ino discovered she didn't have enough money. She clearly hadn't expected Ren to have such a large appetite, consuming over fifty plates in one go! He had eaten through her entire monthly allowance as the rich young lady! In the end, Akimichi Chōji and Nara Shikamaru had no choice but to take out their own pocket money. The three pooled their funds and barely managed to pay the bill under the shop owner's disdainful gaze.
"I never expected Ino to be so... enthusiastic." While Ino and the others were scrambling to pay the bill, Ren had already strolled back to his residence. However, the moment he got home, he dismantled the only wooden chair in the house. Then, using a kitchen knife, he whittled the pieces of wood into simple wooden kunai. They were called kunai, but they were really just sharpened sticks of wood, varying in size. The smaller ones were only palm-sized, while the larger ones were as thick and long as an adult's forearm.
"Only six kunai from one chair? I'll have to make do for now." After finishing the wooden kunai, Ren laid them all out on the floor. He then extended his right hand, placing his palm on one of the kunai. A faint blue light glowed, and the kunai began to vibrate slightly, as if pulled by an invisible force. It was quite a magical sight.
[Minato Namikaze: So all this time, you were just imprinting a spatial coordinate for the Flying Thunder God Technique. I thought you were going to tear your own house down.]
Seeing what Ren was doing, Minato Namikaze instantly understood.
[Tobirama Senju: A spatial coordinate for the Flying Thunder God? How does this kid know the Flying Thunder God Technique?]
Having joined the live stream relatively late, Tobirama Senju was unaware that Minato Namikaze had already passed the Flying Thunder God Technique to Ren.
[Minato Namikaze: I gave it to him.]
[Tobirama Senju: You? The Fourth Hokage who was defeated by the Nine-Tails... knows the Flying Thunder God Technique?]
In the Pure Land, Tobirama Senju wore an expression of utter disbelief. The Flying Thunder God Technique was a space-time ninjutsu he had created himself. It was extremely difficult to master; even his own six disciples had failed to learn it back in the day. He never expected this Fourth Hokage, whom he had never met, to have mastered it!