The world I hear is completely different from yours.

Of course, for Yekura, who had never had any personal romantic experience, she had no idea what a love bento meant. She just thought it sounded better that way. Anyway, there would be a lot of such fragmented information to record in the future, so adding one or two words didn't matter. After all, the higher-ups of the Akatsuki organization couldn't possibly verify every single one of them, right?

...................

That night, Tensei once again found herself at Ichiraku Ramen. Although she had already eaten dinner at Tenten's house, how could she possibly ward off the chill without a late-night snack? Besides, as someone with a collecting obsession, how could Tensei be satisfied without trying all the delicious ramen at Ichiraku Ramen?

"Boss, this time I want the Hell Lava Flavor Ramen!" Tian Qing said, skillfully picking up a pair of chopsticks.

"Alright! One serving of Hell Lava Ramen!" Ichiraku said with a smile, adding a few slices of char siu, Ten's favorite, as a special treat for his regular customer. Over the past few days, he had somewhat remembered this young girl who always ordered a different flavor of ramen whenever she came.

"Thank you, boss!" Tianqing said happily, and began to prepare large chunks of ramen.

Just then, a timid female voice came from the side: "Boss... one bowl of ramen, please."

"Alright! One bowl of ramen!" Ichiraku said with his usual smile. He always gave that genuine smile to every customer, which was probably one of the reasons why Naruto Uzumaki always loved eating ramen here. After all, in the current Konoha Village, there were probably only a handful of people willing to give him a genuine smile.

Tianqing turned her head and stared blankly at the owner of the voice, who was Hinata Hyuga, the future Hokage's wife.

Facing the steaming ramen, Hinata gently brushed her hair aside, carefully blew on the steam, and then picked up a small amount of noodles to eat slowly. After a few bites, Hinata suddenly noticed Tenharu staring intently at her. Naturally shy, a blush crept onto her face, and she whispered, "Um, is that Tenharu, the girl we took the graduation exam together? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Because it was just too similar! Tianqing stared at Hinata Hyuga in astonishment. Her face, figure, and movements—weren't they just like her former teammate, Hinata Kagetsu? For a moment, Tianqing even felt as if she had returned to her long-ago youth! Back then, she, Uchiha Haruno, and Hinata Kagetsu would often sneak out at night to wander around and eat. Suddenly, all those memories and countless emotions flooded Tianqing's mind, leaving her with a complex mix of feelings, unsure of what to say.

But now, only Tianqing is left.

Is this bitter taste the taste of loneliness?

"Excuse me, Tianqing, what's wrong?" Hinata Hinata asked again in a low voice, looking at Tianqing who was staring blankly at her.

"No, nothing! I just remembered a friend from the past!" Tianqing quickly shook her head, hastily composing herself, then picked up her ramen and casually sat down next to Hinata Hyuga. "Hinata, are you eating ramen alone? You don't mind if I sit here and eat with you, do you?"

....................

PS: Second update. Today, on the recommendation of a top student, I started watching Guilty Crown. The Sword in the Breast truly lives up to its name; it's worthy of being compared to the Sword in the Stone!

Chapter Twenty-One: Did You Know Your Father Wears Women's Clothes?

In the night in Konoha, two girls sat chatting and continued to enjoy Ichiraku Ramen. However, this time, Tenharu met a worthy opponent. By the time Tenharu finished her third bowl of ramen, Hinata Hyuga had already eaten her eighth.

Finally, Hinata Hyuga put down her chopsticks with satisfaction and put her hands together: "I'm full. It feels really good to go out for a late-night snack once in a while!"

However, Tensei sensed a hint of worry in Hinata's tone, so he activated his listening ability with a question in mind, wanting to find out.

Hinata's headband spoke up readily, showing none of the shyness or timidity its owner might have displayed: "Hinata was criticized by her father again, which made the usually docile Hinata a bit annoyed. That's why she secretly ran out to eat a midnight snack to relieve the stress. However, the Hyuga clan's rules are always very strict, so Hinata will probably get a lecture when she goes back now."

Surprisingly, the Hyuga clan still maintains its strict daily routine after all these years! Tianqing chuckled inwardly, then stood up alongside Hinata: "Hinata-san, are you planning to go home now? But it's not safe for a girl to walk home alone so late at night! How about this, I'll take you home this time!"

"Huh? Aren't you a girl too?" Hinata Hinata thought to herself, but before she could refuse, Tensei had already grabbed Hinata's hand without any hesitation and walked towards the Hyuga clan's territory, just like in those long, long ago.

Compared to before, the Hyuga clan's territory has expanded. After all, with the Uchiha clan wiped out, the Hyuga clan can truly be considered the most powerful clan in Konoha. In addition, the Hyuga clan's population has increased during peacetime, so the Hyuga clan is now very prosperous.

However, having witnessed too many ninja clans rise and fall and eventually disappear completely, the Hyuga clan has always maintained a cold attitude of keeping a certain distance from the outside world. They neither participate in the struggle for the Hokage throne nor get involved in the infighting in the village, nor do they actively communicate with other clans. They simply stay in their clan territory and live their own lives, occasionally sending some branch family ninjas out to carry out missions in response to the village's orders.

When Hinata and Haruhi arrived at the gate of the Hyuga clan, the gate suddenly opened, and several people who had been waiting for Hinata for a long time walked out. The one leading them was Hinata's father, Hyuga Hiashi, the current head of the Hyuga clan.

"Eh? Father?" Hinata asked with a hint of fear, while Tensei noticed Hinata's hand tremble slightly at that moment.

"Hinata, why did you violate the Hyuga clan's rules by running off so late at night?" A Hyuga elder jumped out and said aggressively, "Don't you know how dangerous your actions are? Have you forgotten what happened before?!"

Just a few years ago, a ninja leader from the Land of Lightning infiltrated the Hyuga clan while on a mission to Konoha, attempting to uncover the secrets of the Byakugan and kidnapping Hinata. Although this overconfident individual was later killed by the Hyuga clan head with a single slap, the Land of Lightning refused to acknowledge the incident and demanded that Konoha hand over the murderer, or they would immediately go to war.

At that time, Konoha was already in decline and had no strength left to wage war against the Land of Lightning. They had no choice but to endure humiliation and force the Hyuga clan to hand over Hyuga Neji's father, the younger brother of the Hyuga clan head, thus managing to appease the situation. It was after this incident that criticism of Hinata increased within the Hyuga clan. Coupled with Hinata's less-than-ideal ninja talent, the Hyuga leadership's attitude towards her became increasingly harsh.

After angrily accusing Hinata, the Hyuga elder noticed Tensei standing next to Hinata, and his old face immediately furrowed: "And who are you? Why are you walking with Hinata? Did you seduce Hinata and violate the Hyuga clan rules?"

"No!" Hinata, who had been keeping her head down and silent, raised her head for the first time and denied it repeatedly. "I decided to run away on my own. Tenharu-san just brought me back! This has nothing to do with Tenharu-san!"

What a kind child! Tianqing looked at Hinata beside her, who stood up for her without hesitation, and was deeply moved. Then she glared at Hyuga Hiashi. How could you bear to give up such a pure and kind daughter?!

"Hinata, what kind of attitude is that?!" Elder Hyuga was furious when he saw that Hinata dared to defend herself. Just as he was about to say something more, Hiashi Hyuga suddenly raised his hand to stop the elder.

Then, Hyuga Hiashi, contrary to his usual demeanor, spoke in a kind tone that Hinata had never seen before: "Mr. Tenharu, thank you very much for accompanying and escorting my daughter home. If you don't mind the simplicity of my humble abode, please come in and have a chat."

Although the Hyuga clan has always maintained a distant attitude towards outsiders, this does not mean they do not seek information about Konoha. In particular, Hyuga Hiashi, as the clan head, needs to constantly communicate and maintain contact with the higher-ups in Konoha to ensure that the Hyuga clan's fundamental stance remains aligned with the Hokage's.

Following the Hokage's lead and not opposing the village is one of the key reasons why the Hyuga clan has survived to this day! It is precisely because of this that the Hyuga clan has always been an active supporter of the current Hokage. In particular, the Hyuga clan's act of handing over the corpse of the clan leader's younger brother in order to protect Konoha Village, in accordance with the Hokage's orders, has made the Konoha leadership trust the Hyuga clan even more.

Therefore, as the head of the Hyuga clan, Hyuga Hiashi had heard, somewhat subtly, from Hiruzen Sarutobi about the secret news that Ame-no-Kage had returned. In particular, when Ame-no-Kage secretly made a special gesture, it instantly reminded Hyuga Hiashi of his childhood experience of being lured away by Ame-no-Kage with a lollipop and forced to dress in women's clothing with his younger brother, serving as backup dancers for some Uchiha dancer.

“Alright, I’ve long heard of the Hyuga clan’s reputation as the ‘Number One Clan in Konoha,’ and I was just about to come and pay them a visit!” Tianqing replied casually, accepting Hyuga Hiashi’s invitation with an air of entitlement.

And so, to the astonishment of the Hyuga elders and Hinata, Ameyoshi, guided by the Hyuga clan head, stepped into the Hyuga clan, a place she hadn't visited in a long time.

...........

PS First update

Interlude: Naruto and the Jedi

Night fell in a dense forest on the border of the Land of Fire. A middle-aged man with a full beard hurriedly made his way towards Konoha Village. However, his steps were very unsteady. The excruciating pain from the wound on his back prevented him from making any vigorous movements. A large amount of blood gushing from the wound stained his clothes, and bloodstains were left all around him.

"I...I absolutely cannot fall here! We finally escaped from the Land of Waves, and this time I must find Konoha Village, for everyone in the Land of Waves!!" The bearded man shouted in his heart, struggling to throw off the slightly heavy backpack behind him, hoping to lighten his load and speed up his pace. However, he tightly clutched the bag of money intended for hiring ninjas in his arms, because it was a sum of money that they had saved up through scrimping and saving, and it was their hope for the future.

Not far behind, two figures followed the trail of blood left by the man, quickly arriving at the border of the Land of Fire before stopping.

"Captain, what should we do? That Tazuna has already crossed the border of the Land of Fire. If we continue to chase him, we might attract the ninjas of Konoha!" one of the men dressed as a samurai asked.

"What's there to be afraid of? What's there to fear about a village like Konoha that's already fallen into decline?! Besides, do you think he won't hire Konoha ninjas to sabotage our plans if we don't kill Tazuna?" the captain said viciously. "Full speed ahead, kill Tazuna and leave immediately!"

Whoosh! In an instant, two figures quickly caught up, their speed comparable to that of a typical Jonin!

With Tazuna's ordinary-level skills, how could he possibly escape the pursuit of a Jonin-level ninja? Moreover, Tazuna was already seriously injured at this time and could not engage in strenuous exercise at all!

Soon, the two men dressed as samurai caught up with Tazuna in a forest and kicked him hard to the ground!

"Old man, run! Go ahead and run again!" The samurai swore as he approached, delivering another vicious kick to Tazuna's chest. "This time, there's no one else willing to risk their life to shield you and cover your escape! Remember that person? He was your son, right? Looks like there aren't any men left in your family! Guess what we'll do to your daughter-in-law and grandson next?"

Tazuna didn't speak, only clenching his fists in anguish. He knew all too well that these ruthless individuals would mercilessly kill anyone who dared to resist. What was most infuriating was that, at some point, these brutal samurai had also acquired power comparable to ninjas, leaving everyone in the Land of Waves powerless to resist and forced to rely on hiring ninjas to fight these brutal samurai.

As a small island nation, the Land of Waves is located in a sea area between the Land of Lightning, the Land of Water, and the Land of Fire. However, no matter how much the people of the Land of Waves pleaded, the Land of Lightning and the Land of Water refused to accept their mission, so they had no choice but to place their last hope on the weakest village at the time, Konoha.

However, at the last moment, the news leaked. As a result, Tazuna and his group, who were responsible for heading to Konoha, were hunted down by a large number of samurai. Tazuna's son even stayed behind with the others to buy time and cover his escape. Tazuna, severely wounded, barely managed to escape the battlefield, but he still couldn't escape the samurai's pursuit.

Looking at Tazna lying on the ground silently awaiting his final fate, the captain did not draw the sword hanging at his waist. Instead, he gripped something that looked like a flashlight. With the captain's movement, a dazzling beam of energy burst out, revealing itself to be a lightsaber similar to that of a Jedi!

hum! !

Amidst the buzzing of the lightsaber, Tazuna's head fell off, but no blood spurted out, because the high-temperature lightsaber had already charred the huge wound on Tazuna's neck as it severed his head.

"Search him and take everything he has! Then leave immediately, without attracting the attention of those Konoha ninjas!" The captain grabbed Tazuna's head and ordered his subordinates.

"Yes!!"

A few dozen seconds later, the two warriors quickly disappeared into the distance, leaving behind only a headless, completely charred corpse. No clothes or any other identifying items or symbols were left on the body.

Two hours later, a group of Konoha ninja patrolling the border of the Land of Fire discovered the body, guided by the faint smell of blood.

Three hours later, the body appeared in the Konoha Village's autopsy team. Several experienced Konoha ninjas carefully examined the headless corpse, trying to find any clues left on the body in the hopes of solving the mystery contained within it.

"There are no traces of chakra attacks on the body, so it must have been killed by some ordinary weapon and then the body was burned to cover up the crime!" a Konoha ninja judged. "It seems it wasn't done by another ninja village! However, the motive for the murder is still unclear!"

Finally, during a meticulous inspection, a careful Konoha ninja found a crumpled little note in Tazuna's tightly clenched fist.

Two hours later, the small note, along with information about the Land of Waves, was placed on the desk of the current Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"The samurai who dominate the Land of Waves? I remember that big merchant Gato, who was based in the Land of Waves, did indeed keep a large group of down-on-his-luck samurai as his lackeys and henchmen!" Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed on his pipe, silently pondering the mission. "Although the autopsy and intelligence indicate that this mission doesn't involve any fighting between ninjas, it only requires dealing with a group of samurai wielding swords, so it's not that difficult. However, the client is now dead, and they can't even pay the reward! Moreover, even the Land of Lightning and the Land of Water didn't accept this mission before. If the Land of Fire accepts it, it might cause trouble in those two countries!"

After much deliberation, Hiruzen Sarutobi moved the document away from his face and placed it on the side of his desk. Although he greatly admired Tazuna's courage, as the leader of Konoha, he had to prioritize the interests of the village and could not make decisions based on his personal likes or dislikes.

.................

PS First update

Chapter Twenty-Three: Everything is going according to plan

Hiruzen Sarutobi originally planned to seal this mission request without a client in the archives forever. However, things didn't go as planned. Just then, as if by some predetermined fate, the instant Hiruzen Sarutobi put down the mission request, Kakashi Hatake walked into the Hokage's office with his three restless genin subordinates, and looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi with a helpless expression.

"Kakashi Hatake, what's going on? Didn't you take your students on a mission?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked slowly, puffing on his pipe.

Before Kakashi Hatake could even speak, Naruto Uzumaki jumped out from behind and yelled at Hiruzen Sarutobi, "Grandpa Sarutobi, it's about these missions! Why are we getting all these menial tasks like cleaning sewers and finding lost pets after graduating for over a month? Shouldn't excellent genin like us be doing more advanced missions? Shikamaru and the others next door have already started accepting missions outside the village. Does the village think our class isn't important at all?!"

"Ugh, it's you again, you little devil!" Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a headache coming on. He couldn't just tell him that his weakling skills only qualified him for these menial tasks, nor could he let the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki leave Konoha. So, he could only glance at Kakashi Hatake with hidden displeasure, expressing his dissatisfaction with Kakashi's previous unreliable teaching, and then said very tactfully, "Naruto, I know that young people are eager to take on some high-level missions, and this eagerness to contribute to Konoha is indeed commendable. However, there really aren't any suitable missions for you right now!"

Under Hiruzen Sarutobi's skillful words, Naruto Uzumaki lowered his head in shame, regretting his earlier suspicions based on petty assumptions. Kakashi Hatake also scratched his head with a wry smile, thinking that he would probably be criticized again for his handling of Naruto's education.

Unfortunately, man proposes, God disposes, and the gears of fate mercilessly crushed Hiruzen Sarutobi's insignificant resistance!

Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi uttered this excuse, a Konoha staff member pushed open the door and walked in, saying, "Hokage-sama, didn't you tell me to seal that application from the Land of Waves? I've come to retrieve the file now, but I don't know where it is?"

Suddenly, Naruto Uzumaki, who had been lowering his head in shame after being spoken to by Hiruzen Sarutobi, raised his head abruptly, staring at Hiruzen Sarutobi with eyes as big as copper bells. "You said there were no missions to carry out? Then why are you sealing them away now?"

Under Naruto Uzumaki's burning gaze, even a seasoned politician like Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been in power for many years and had developed a thick skin, couldn't help but blush. He then reluctantly picked up the application from the Land of Waves and handed it to Kakashi Hatake.

"The person who commissioned this mission is dead, and there was no reward either. Therefore, according to the rules of the ninja world, Konoha cannot accept this mission. However, since the body was found within the territory of the Land of Fire, Konoha has an obligation to return the deceased's belongings. Since your Kakashi team happens to be here, then this mission will be assigned to you!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said while smoking his pipe. In any case, according to the intelligence he had received before, no other ninjas would be involved in this mission, so the difficulty of the mission was quite suitable for these rookie genin. Moreover, Ame and Yamato would be following behind to provide protection!

With Tianqing's protection, this mission shouldn't have any problems, right? Hiruzen Sarutobi thought to himself as he looked at the excited Naruto Uzumaki.

................

At night, Ame was busy packing some essential personal belongings, planning to follow Kakashi's team out of Konoha the next day and head to the Land of Waves, a small country with a very important geographical location.

"Luckily, I was prepared and had a backup plan, otherwise the Land of Waves storyline might not have happened this time!" Tianqing thought to herself.

Yes, the Konoha staff member who exposed Hiruzen Sarutobi's lie was actually Amemori secretly manipulating things so that he unwittingly pushed open the Hokage's office door at that exact moment, thus forcing Hiruzen Sarutobi to ultimately hand over the task to Kakashi's team.

As the most prestigious person in Konoha, Tensei naturally had many confidants and informants within the village. Even after Tensei lost contact for many years, many people were still willing to pass on information to him. Therefore, after the request from the Land of Waves appeared, those informants who had been instructed by Tensei to pay close attention to this matter promptly passed on the relevant information to him.

That's why Tian Qing arrived so quickly.

Of course, since Hiruzen Sarutobi is now the leader of Konoha, it was inconvenient for Tensei to directly ask Hiruzen Sarutobi to accept the mission, so he chose such a tactful approach.

Just as Tianqing was busy packing her things, Tiantian curiously pushed open the door and walked in: "Hey? Cousin Tianqing, are you going on a long trip?"

Although Tian Tian knew that her cousin Tian Qing's identity was unusual, the two appeared to be the same age, and Tian Qing was indeed quite skilled at flirting. Therefore, Tian Tian and Tian Qing quickly became friends, and their relationship was fairly good. As a result, Tian Tian often went upstairs to chat with Tian Qing in her free time in the evenings.

“Yes, I’m planning to go to the Land of Waves this time!” Tianqing replied.

"The Land of Waves? What country is that? I've never heard of it before!" Tenten asked curiously. After all, there are many small countries in this world, and as a genin, Tenten is certainly not the kind of academic genius who is well-versed in geographical information. Therefore, she had never even heard of the Land of Waves before.

"Soon, the Land of Waves will cease to exist, or rather, after a while it might be renamed the City of Waves in the Land of Fire!" Ame said jokingly.

For Tensei, the Land of Waves was not just a plot point, but also a frontline base for dealing with the Land of Lightning and the Land of Water! How could Tensei let such a strategically important fortress slip by? Therefore, from the very beginning, Tensei was determined to use Kakashi's team's mission as a breakthrough to secretly take control of the entire Land of Waves!

.............

Chapter Twenty-Four: Do you want me to be your matchmaker?

It was a bright and sunny morning. In the afterglow of the rising sun, the gates of Konoha Village slowly opened, and several ninjas carrying packs walked out, preparing to leave Konoha to carry out a mission. Leading them was Kakashi Hatake, who stared with one lifeless eye.

"Luckily, Kakashi-sensei wasn't late this time!" Naruto Uzumaki said happily, looking excitedly at the scenery he had never seen before in the distance, with an eager expression on his face. "I thought Kakashi-sensei would have to wait until the afternoon to get to the meeting point again, so I specially brought a bento box for lunch!"