"You are in the way—"
The cold, flat words echoed right as the dark space-time rift snapped completely shut, cutting off the dusty air of the ruined street.
CRASH!
With a heavy, ungraceful thud, Minato tumbled straight out of the empty air and slammed face-first into a pile of wooden furniture.
The ancient chairs and tables shattered instantly under his weight, crashing into a hundred pieces with a loud, snapping echo.
"Ow, ow, ow...!" Minato groaned miserably, buried under a heap of broken legs and shattered tabletops.
A thick cloud of fine wood dust erupted all around him, filling the room and making him cough softly as it settled over his blonde hair.
He stayed flat on his back for a second, completely dazed by the sudden drop.
Slowly, he raised his right hand, using his palm to deeply rub the back of his aching head where a bump was already starting to form.
He let out a long, tired sigh.
With a soft blink, he carefully opened just his right eye. The single, piercing blue eye glanced through the settling wood dust, scanning his brand-new surroundings to figure out exactly where Sasuke's forceful push had sent him.
The moment the dust cleared, Minato froze.
Right there, standing just a few feet away from the wreckage of the broken furniture, a young man and a completely random woman were staring down at him in absolute, dead silence, their eyes wide with total shock.
The silence in the room didn't last for more than a second.
Before Minato could even scramble out of the pile of broken wood, the random woman completely lost her mind with panic. Moving with great speed, she threw herself forward and knelt down deeply, bowing so formally that her forehead practically touched Minato's wet boots.
'Huh...?' Minato thought, his single open blue eye blinking in utter confusion as he stared down at her. 'What is she doing...?'
He opened his mouth to tell her to stand up, but his voice was instantly cut short by the woman's loud, trembling scream.
"I-I AM SO INCREDIBLY SORRY, HOKAGE-SAMA!!!"
Right at that exact moment, before the words could even echo out of the room, something warm and incredibly wet was suddenly splitting right onto the top of Minato's spiky blonde hair.
SPLUTCH.
Minato froze flat on his back. A heavy, thick liquid began to run slowly down from the crown of his head, dripping past his forehead, sliding over the bridge of his nose, and hanging off the tip.
His face twitched. A look of sheer horror crossed his regular handsome features as he lay paralyzed in the wreckage.
'Heh...?' Minato's mind went into an absolute, frantic panic. 'Why does it feel so wet?! No... no, please don't tell me... don't tell me a bird or some random animal just did its business right on my hair?!'
The woman kept her head glued to the floor, her voice shaking violently as she continued to kneel, "My deepest, deepest apologies, Hokage-sama! My ramen bowl flipped completely out of my hands when you crashed out of nowhere! It has completely ruined your hair!"
The moment the word 'ramen' was uttered, Minato let out a massive, visible sigh of pure relief. He closed his eyes tightly, a small, bright smile returning to his face as he wiped the broth away from his nose.
'Thank goodness...' Minato thought, his heart rate finally returning to normal. 'It's just ramen broth and noodles... I seriously thought some wild animal had just peed all over my head!'
Wiping the stray noodles out of his blonde bangs, Minato began to push himself up from the shattered furniture.
But before he could even stand on his own two feet, a strong, welcoming hand suddenly appeared right in front of his face, offering to pull him out of the mess.
Minato looked up the arm to see who it belonged to. Standing there with a kind, reassuring smile, completely unfazed by a Hokage dropping out of the sky, was none other than a young Teuchi—the famous ramen guy himself!
Minato accepted Teuchi's hand, using the grip to hoist himself completely out of the shattered wooden wreckage. The moment his feet touched the floor, he immediately began to look here and there around the small shop, trying to calculate the damage.
He reached down with his hands, vigorously wiping the fresh layer of wood dust and dirt off his damp pants, his mouth forming a slight pout.
' 'You are in the way!' ' Minato grumbled in his head, mimicking Sasuke's serious tone. 'What is that even supposed to mean? I was just trying to help him out! He really didn't have to throw me straight into a space-time portal for that...'
He crossed his arms, placing a thoughtful hand firmly on his chin as his brows knitted together.
'Seriously though...' Minato's mind drifted into a more analytical track as he tapped his fingers against his jaw.
'I guess it's still much better than him throwing me into a completely new dimension where there is no way out at all. Ichiraku Ramen is still a better choice.'
While Minato was standing there perfectly still, completely locked in his own thoughts about Sasuke, the random woman was still bending down deeply on the floor.
Her knees were starting to ache, and the intense, heavy silence in the shop was driving her crazy with fear.
Trembling, she slowly glanced a look upward through her bangs to see what the Hokage was doing.
The moment her eyes landed on him, she went totally shocked. Her heart skipped a beat, and she suddenly slammed her face right back down toward the floorboards.
'Oh no... oh no, oh no!' the woman panicked in her mind, her face turning entirely pale. 'He is standing there with his hand on his chin, thinking so deeply and thoughtfully just to figure out how to punish me! Oh no, oh no! It was just a bowl of ramen noodles! Why does he have to think about my punishment for so long?!'
Tears of pure terror started forming up in her eyes as she kept staring at the floor. 'Does Hokage-sama really love his blonde spiky hair that much?! Is a ruined hairstyle an automatic death sentence according to Yondaime Hokage-sama...?!! I've never once witnessed Sandaime-sama like this!'
She was spiraling into absolute chaos, completely convinced her life was over.
Meanwhile, completely unaware of the absolute drama happening at his feet, Minato finally let go of his chin.
A soft, proud smile returned to his face. He let out a low, fond laugh, shaking his head as he whispered entirely to himself under his breath.
"He will never change... as smart and thoughtful as ever."
The total irony of the moment hung heavily in the air—Minato was practically glowing with respect for Sasuke's tactical quick-thinking, while the poor woman on the floor was sweating, fully believing that those exact words was the dark reality to her execution!
Minato finally snapped out of his deep thoughts and looked down, finally noticing the poor woman who was still practically glued to the floorboards.
His eyes went wide with realization, and he quickly waved his hands back and forth in a panic, trying to fix the misunderstanding.
"Umm, please get up!" Minato said quickly, a gentle, sheepish smile breaking across his face. "There is absolutely no need to apologize!"
The woman paused, slowly raising her head. Her eyes were still wide with comedic shock as she stared up at him. "Are... are you sure, Hokage-sama? You aren't going to throw me in prison...?"
Minato let out a soft laugh, nodding his head vigorously. "Yes! I am completely sure! It was just an accident!"
Hearing those magical words, the woman finally stood up, letting out a massive sigh of relief as she dusted off her skirt. But she still couldn't hold back her absolute confusion.
She gestured wildly with her hands, continuing her rapid-fire explanation.
"I mean, seriously! If I had known that you would come flying out of thin air from absolutely anywhere into this exact corner of the shop, I would have never been sitting here with my ramen bowl in the first place!"
'Flying... seriously...' Minato thought to himself, a huge sweatdrop appearing on the back of his head as he imagined how ridiculous he must have looked crashing through the furniture.
He couldn't help but burst out laughing, rubbing the back of his noodle-covered hair. "Ahaha... aha... ha! Yeah, I guess you're right about that!"
But right as his laughter faded, the soft, rhythmic sound of light footsteps caught his attention.
Minato turned his head toward the back of the shop. Walking out from the kitchen area was a very young girl, balancing a small wooden bowl filled with clean, warm water in her tiny hands.
A neat, fluffy white towel was draped carefully over her shoulder as she walked straight toward the ramen-soaked Hokage with wide, curious eyes.
The tiny girl walked over with careful, slow steps, making sure not to spill a single drop of the warm water from the wooden bowl
Minato's blue eyes instantly lit up the moment he saw her approaching. A bright, grateful smile broke across his face as he let out a happy breath. "Ah, just what I needed!"
Instead of standing tall and looking distant like a formal leader, Minato immediately bent down, dropping to his knees so he could bring himself perfectly face-to-face with the tiny figure. He looked at her with pure, gentle warmth.
"Thank you, Ayame-chan..." he said softly, his voice full of genuine appreciation.
The little girl instantly froze in her tracks, her wide eyes blinking in absolute shock. A bright, rosy blush spread across her chubby cheeks, making her look incredibly embarrassed, but a tiny, happy smile completely betrayed how excited she was.
"Y-You..." Ayame squeaked, her voice small and trembling as she looked up at the legendary leader. "...You know my name, Hokage-sama?"
"Of course I do!" Minato chuckled warmly, his heart completely melting at how adorable she was.
He gently took the fluffy white towel from her shoulder, dipping it into the warm water. Lifting it back up, he twisted it a little with his strong hands, letting the excess water drizzle back into the bowl with a soft splashing sound.
Once it was perfectly damp, he began using it to gently rub the sticky ramen broth away from his forehead, his cheeks, and the bridge of his nose.
Just as he finished wiping his face and was about to raise the towel up to start cleaning the noodles out of his messy blonde spikes, a tiny voice stopped him short.
"Umm..." Ayame muttered nervously, her small fingers fidgeting together as she looked at his ruined hair. "Can... can I do it, Hokage-sama?"
Minato blinked, completely shocked by the sweet offer. He looked at the tiny towel in his hand, then back down at the little girl who was looking at him with the most hopeful, shiny eyes ever.
His expression instantly softened into absolute sweetness. He smiled gently, placing the damp cloth right back into her tiny hands.
"Sure—" Minato replied softly, bowing his head down even lower so she could easily reach his spiky hair. "If you don't mind, I would love the help."
Little Ayame took the damp towel in her tiny hands and stepped closer, carefully and gently wiping the sticky noodles and warm broth out of Minato's spiky blonde hair. She was working so hard, her little tongue poking out slightly in concentration.
As she worked, Teuchi stepped forward over the broken wood, clearing his throat softly. "So... Hokage-sama."
The moment that official title hit Minato's ears this time, a sudden jolt went straight through his brain.
'Oh my god...' Minato thought, his eyes widening in pure shock as a massive sweatdrop appeared on his head. 'Don't tell me... don't tell me I am actually the official Hokage in this exact era right now?! How can I be so incredibly dumb?! The whole time they were referring to me as Hokage-sama, I just assumed they were talking about Sandaime-sama!'
While Minato was having a mini mental breakdown over his own silliness, Teuchi continued speaking, completely unaware of the Hokage's internal chaos. "So, I mean... I really shouldn't ask you about the clan meeting..."
'A clan meeting...?' The words instantly ringed loudly in Minato's head, his tactical instincts completely locking in.
Teuchi rubbed the back of his neck, looking a little awkward. "As it is not my right, since I am obviously not a clan head... but, did you happen to come teleporting straight from that ruined dango shop right in front of us...?"
The heavy question hung frozen in the quiet air of the shop.
---
⚡NEXT CHAPTER⚡
A village trembles.
A battlefield falls silent.
And a question buried deep within the past begins to awaken.
As Minato races to gather allies, an unknown force tightens its grip over the Commercial District. Kakashi faces an enemy unlike anything he has ever encountered, while Tenten finds herself trapped beneath the gaze of a pair of terrifying Sharingan.
But something is wrong.
Very wrong.
A face.
A memory.
A feeling that refuses to fade.
Why does an unfamiliar girl seem strangely familiar?
And why does a forgotten fragment of the past refuse to stay buried?
As blood is spilled and old memories begin to stir, the line between stranger and acquaintance starts to blur.
An encounter that should be impossible.
A recognition that should not exist.
And a mystery that refuses to be ignored.
👉Chapter 42: An Unfinished Memory
"Where Have I Seen You...?"
... the past may remember what the future has forgotten.
SNEAK PEEK LINES 💬
"LET GO OF ME, WE NEED TO RUN!!!"
"By the time you finish counting, the nice boy will be fast asleep,... "
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—With love, one forehead poke away from collapse,
Sakura Shinomiya 💫
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