บท 125: The Bet that was won
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Author's Note –
Before reading this chapter I'd like for you all to check Naruto Shippuden Episode 126. Have a great read.
Oh, a flashback warning, just so you know this chapter is about 2k words so don't complain.
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Kakashi pinched his second layer and slowly brought it down.
("Kakashi-kun, you've escaped for far too long…") Minato thought as he also watched from the corner of his eyes.
("Take the mask off already!!!!") Naruto was screaming internally as though he had wanted to rip his hair off.
At this point, Kakashi's mask was half-way through…
("The moment of truth…") The three stared with the utmost calmness.
(POOF!)
"SUP, HIDDEN LEAF'S GREEN BEAST HAS COME TO FEAST!" Gai announced as he arrived on the scene with a small cloud of smoke appearing out of nowhere which completely covered Kakashi.
("NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!") Naruto wailed internally as his eyes slowly teared up.
Jiraiya and Minato, on the other hand, were too shocked to speak up.
"What's wrong?" Gai asked innocently.
"W-What's… wrong…?" Naruto mumbled in hopelessness as he stared at Gai.
("Both my lives Kakashi sensei eluded me from showing his face,")
("Gai-sensei…")
("After sharing my memories with you, the least you could do is help us,")
("Why would you deliberately show up at that kind of moment,")
("I really want to blast you off using a Rasengan right now…") Naruto thought following which he bent forward a bit to look at the smoke clearing up.
*Slurp*
"Ah,"
"The ramen was delicious…" Kakashi said as the smoke slowly revealed him covering his face again.
Naruto was no longer surprised, for the laws of luck and probability were always on Kakashi-sensei's side whenever it concerned his mask.
("I should probably ask Uchiha Madara or Kaguya herself to try to take off Kakashi's mask, in that way we probably don't have to fight a ninja war…") Naruto thought following which he turned to see Old Man Teuchi and Ayame-san standing on the opposite side at the back of their desk, staring at Kakashi as though he was the most Handsome person they had ever seen, to the point that they showed signs of being mesmerized by his appearance all over their face.
"Hehe…" Minato laughed awkwardly seeing that all three had failed to see. Meanwhile, Jiraiya snapped his chopsticks into two.
"Thank You for the meal…" Kakashi bowed towards Old Man Teuchi and Ayame.
("Oy Shū")
("Do you think you could extract the image they saw right now?") Naruto asked in desperation in finding out the truth.
("Sorry Naruto, I'm already tired from using that technique today,")
("Preferably I want to use it in meaningful situations,") Shū said.
However, internally even Shū was interested in seeing Kakashi's true face at this point.
("Damn it!") Naruto cursed.
Kakashi then looked towards his left.
"You three…"
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Did something happen?" Kakashi asked innocently.
"Gr…" Naruto almost growled. However, he silently turned to face his ramen and took a sip of it.
"Aaaah…."
"This ramen,"
"It's the best thing to have after doing a mission for a really long time…" Naruto murmured as he continued to eat it slowly.
"Order more if you'd like,"
"It's my treat today," Jiraiya said.
"Your treat?" Naruto was surprised.
"Yup,"
"So don't hold back," Jiraiya said.
"Thanks a lot!" Naruto said following which he ate more enthusiastically.
"It's all right you know…"
"I'm here after all," Minato said as he faced Jiraiya.
"Nonsense!"
"I'm the kid's teacher and Godfather,"
"I haven't done anything personally for him yet," Jiraiya argued.
Minato was extremely happy today, and so were the others.
Never had he imagined that He, his teacher, his student, and his son would sit by side as they enjoyed their dinner together.
Gai also sat down by Kakashi's side and ordered for tonkatsu ramen.
"Are you allowed to eat?" Jiraiya asked Minato.
"I'm not really sure myself…" Minato said following which he opened his mask and tried to take a sip.
*Gulp*
Minato swallowed some soup along with the noodles.
"Are you okay?" Jiraiya asked.
"I think so…" Minato said in a doubtful voice.
Meanwhile…
"Hey, dad,"
"Don't you think the man with the yellow hair is kinda familiar?" Ayame asked.
"Hmm…?" Teuchi turned towards the entrance where the four were seated.
"Ah!"
"It can't be…" Teuchi murmured.
"Yeah,"
"At first I thought he was just a regular guy, now that I see his hair, he seems to be Naruto's family or something," Ayame said happily.
"Ayame…" Teuchi murmured.
"What is it, Dad?" Ayame asked.
Teuchi poured the ramen into the bowl and walked towards the entrance.
"One tonkatsu," Teuchi placed the bowl in front of Gai.
"Thanks!" Gai said as he picked his chopsticks.
"Esteemed Guest," Teuchi approached Minato.
"Might you be, masquerading as Lord Fourth of the Hidden Leaf Village?" Teuchi asked.
"Ah,"
"Old Man Teuchi,"
"I would like you to meet my dad!" Naruto said as he pointed towards Minato.
"Hi, I am Namikaze Minato. Also, the Fourth Hokage, Thank you for taking care of my son for all this time,"
"I am grateful," Minato said as he extended his hand.
Meanwhile, Teuchi and Ayame were frozen stiff.
"N-Naruto's D-dad…h-hhuh?"
"N-Nice…t-too…m-meet…you…" Old Man Teuchi brought his hands forth to shake Minato's hand.
Minato shook Old man Teuchi's arm with a smile following which Old man Teuchi fainted and fell on to the floor.
"Dad," Ayame called out as she ran towards him.
"I'm alright…"
"Ayame…" Old Man Teuchi uttered.
Ayame was also shocked in seeing the Fourth Hokage right in front of her.
…
"So that's how things came to be…" Teuchi sighed after hearing the story from Kakashi as the others continued to eat.
"Well, this ninja business really spins my head, but hope you all keep yourself safe…" Old Man Teuchi said as he headed inside.
"Seconds!" Naruto raised his bowl.
"Coming Right Up!" Teuchi shouted from inside.
…
After a while…
*Sound of footsteps…*
Jiraiya and Kakashi looked outside from within.
"Tsunade…" Jiraiya murmured.
"Minato, Naruto, Gai"
"I'll catch up with y'all later…" Jiraiya said as he got up.
"Old Man Teuchi put theirs on my tab," Jiraiya said.
"Got it!" Teuchi nodded from inside the kitchen.
"Hmm…?" Naruto looked outside to see Tsunade walking down towards them.
("Granny!")
Tsunade stops in front of Jiraiya.
"Wanna go for a drink…?" Jiraiya smiled as he held two fingers in a form of a sake cup on his left hand indicating that they were going for sake.
"Jiraiya…" Tsunade murmured as she thought back to the time she announced Jiraiya's death to Naruto within his memories.
…
*Door slides open*
Jiraiya and Tsunade enter a restaurant and take a seat.
"What would you like?" a waiter asked.
"Bring two bottles will ya," Jiraiya gestured.
"Got it," the waiter nodded.
"also a recommendation from your shop for something on the side," Jiraiya added, following which, he looked towards Tsunade.
"Do you want anything in particular?" Jiraiya asked.
"no,"
"I'll just have the same as you," Tsunade said.
Jiraiya nodded following which he turned towards the waiter.
"That will be all," Jiraiya said.
"Got it," The waiter noted down and left the spot.
A few moments later, the waiter brought the bottles and two sake cups.
"Here you go," Jiraiya said as he took a bottle and poured some of its contents onto Tsunade's cup following which he poured some for himself too.
Tsunade looked at her reflection that was on the sake cup, she was once again reminded of her calm image in front of Naruto as she announced Jiraiya's death. However, she knew that the she of the future must have used all the strength present within her body to show such a calm expression.
She thought of the events that followed the incident such as Naruto fighting against pain, and pain reveling that he was Nagato who was a former student of Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya…" Tsunade murmured.
"Hmm…?" Jiraiya looked at Tsunade.
"Do you think it would have been better for you to not save those kids after all?" Tsunade asked.
----FlashBack---
"Tell you what."
"If you stop interfering, I might revive Nawaki for you!" Orochimaru said.
"After all, if this child continues to live there will be trouble in the future on a variety of levels," Orochimaru said.
("Nawaki…") Tsunade hesitated a bit.
"Hmph!" Orochimaru snickered following which he sent Tsunade flying with a kick.
"You are fooled so easily!"
"Trembling at the sight of blood, why would you, one of the sannin, risk your life to protect a kid who's nowhere related to you."
"Back then, you were not even concerned about those three kids that we met during the war," Orochimaru said.
"You may be right…"
"Unlike Jiraiya who looked after the kids by staying back, I hesitated even to make such a simple choice…" Tsunade said as she tried to catch her breath by holding the place which was bleeding with her hand.
"Tsunade…" Jiraiya murmured.
"However, this kid, I will protect him…"
---End of FlashBack---
"…" Jiraiya was silent for a moment following which he took a sip from his cup.
"Maybe I would have just provided them with a few supplies that would last them for a while,"
"However, my mission at that time was to find a savior," Jiraiya said.
Tsunade thought back to the time Jiraiya had left the village after the Elder Sage's prophecy.
"I felt that it was my mission to find a boy who could save the world…" Jiraiya said as he poured some sake for himself.
"And here you thought Minato was the prophesized child. However he died a few years ago,"
"Still, I was surprised you managed to end up taking his kid as your disciple…" Tsunade said as she took a sip too.
"Naruto, eh?"
"He sure was an unexpected one," Jiraiya laughed.
"I think I like the one who had nothing but guts better," Tsunade thought back to the first timeline in which Naruto stood up for her by taking down Kabuto with a Rasengan.
"Nah, no matter what you say, they are the same,"
"You lost the bet to the both of them,"
"You always were a terrible gambler," Jiraiya said.
"I probably must have bet that you will die when you were going to infiltrate the village hidden in the rain," Tsunade said.
"I guess, that was the first time you won a bet, huh…" Jiraiya thought back to the pain that Naruto went through as he shouted at Tsunade for letting Jiraiya go on that suicide mission.
Tears slid down Tsunade's cheeks as she cried silently, thinking back to the times Jiraiya always asked her out acting cool, only to be rejected by her. The times how he stayed by her side when she lost those who were close to her.
"You've grown beautiful over the years…" Jiraiya smiled as tears appeared at the corner of his eyes.
"Jiraiya.."
"I know what you want to ask me…"
"at this point…"
"Even if I were to give you a chance…"
"it's already too late…" Tsunade said.
"…" Jiraiya stared silently at her.
"At my age, I am no longer able to bear a child…" Tsunade said.
"Fool,"
"Do you think that's enough to stop me?" Jiraiya asked as he glared at Tsunade.
"Jiraiya…" Tsunade murmured.
"Things like that wouldn't stop me," Jiraiya laughed.
"What a touching Reunion…" a voice interfered.
"Orochimaru!" Jiraiya and Tsunade were surprised.
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