Chapter 26 : stall

Hiruzen POV /

I look at the hatake boy who went out looking as if all this was a waste of time for him .

' he is not normal ' i thought while i remember the moment he grabs the hand of katsuki nearly crushing it with only his fingers .

If it wasn't for me intervening then i am afraid that katsuki's hand bones would have been crushed by now .

' to have such extreme muscle control is not normal, and that very ominous feeling i sensed from him when he entered my office ' i thought while getting some bad feelings from him . 

" bird " i called and a ninja immediately appeared before me kneeling with a bird mask .

" what are your orders hokage-sama ? " bird asked .

" go call sakumo for me " i ordered .

" Hai " he replied and immediately disappeared .

10 minutes later /

* swoosh *

A young man then appeared in front of me immediately kneeling . He had spiky, silver-coloured hair that reached into the middle of his back tied in a ponytail . He wore an anbu attire and a mask .

" Hokage-sama ! " he said and i smile at him .

" ohh, sakumo, you are already here, how are you doing ? " i asked him.

" i am fine hokage-sama thank you for asking " he replied looking down .

" that's good to hear sakumo . Well, i have asked for you to ask some questions about someone, do you mind answering me " i asked calmly .

" you can ask anything hokage-sama, i will answer the best i can " he answered and i nod gratefully .

" before you came, there was someone else in here, his name was hatake garou " i said and pause to see his reaction and he turns up to look at me but said nothing .

" he is the new heir of your clan, so i wanted to know if you know anything about him that we don't know " i said while looking at him .

" can i know the reason for him being here hokage-sama ? " he asked a little nervously .

" well, on his first day of the academy, he nearly crippled one of the best students in a spar. I am curious by how someone without any chakra could pull something like that, is there anything you know about him that we don't ? " i asked with interest .

" sighhh, that kid haven't changed since that it seems " i hear sakumo say tiredly .

" what do you mean by that sakumo ? " i asked him raising an eyebrow and slowly prepare my pipe to smoke .

" hokage-sama, some years ago i had a spar with him... well, it was more like a fight not a spar " he said and pause a little for me to nod at him to continue " in that fight, i was defeated " he suddenly said much to my surprise .

" he what ?! How can that be ? you are a jonin sakumo " i said in surprise because a kid beating a jonin is something impossible .

" i lowered my level to a high genin at that time hokage-sama to make it a fair fight " he said and i sigh in relief because i misunderstood for a moment .

" through the fight he fought very well, actually he was quite excellent but ... " he said and pause a little .

" but ? " i said eager to know what happened .

" i don't know what he did but he went into a state were only war ninjas whom has nothing to lose are in, his overall power increased to a peak genin, maybe even low chunin at that moment . i was too shocked to react and he defeated me with a only a punch, if it wasn't for me immediately using chakra and getting away, then i don't think i could stand a chance with only genin level power, and i think if it were any other genin at that time, then i don't think they would come out of that fight alive ... " he said much to my surprise and shock .

I narrow my eyes because that doesn't make any sense, chakra is a potent energy from our spirit and body that nourish us to be better . Now you tell me that there is someone with absolutely no chakra could compete with the likes of people like us ?

" how can someone without chakra could achieve something like that sakumo, you are not lying to me, are you ? " i asked frowning,even though i know it's impossible for him to tell lies . he is a firm believer of the will of fire and very loyal to the village .

" i dare not hokage-sama, but i have speculated that maybe he has some sort of kekkei genkai " he said much to my surprise again .

" hmmm, kekkai genkai, that's possible but isn't the hatake clan only known for your proficiency in tantos and swords, is it a mutation then ? " i asked with a raised eyebrow .

" it's very possible that it's a mutation hokage-sama " he replied .

" sighhh, well, thank you sakumo for providing this information, you can now go back to your duties " i said while slowly putting the pipe in my mouth and ' pufff '  .

" it's my job hokage-sama don't mention it " he said and i nod at him. He stood up and bowed then...

* swoosh *

He disappeared .

" bird " i call bird and he appears infront of me .

" what are your orders hokage-sama ? " bird asked while kneeling .

" look out for that boy but be careful not to get too near, unless we offend his parents, understood ? " i told him strictly .

" hai hokage-sama " he said and i nod at him to go then he disappears .

I sighh and look out the window to look at the village that's bustling with people, you could hear laughter everywhere which i smiled at .

" hope this peace will last forever " i mutter to myself .

Garou POV /

As i got out of the hokage building, i start to walk down the streets of konoha, Stalls lined the path, displaying handmade crafts and souvenirs. The air was filled with delicious scents of teriyaki skewers and blooming cherry blossoms.

On one side, a cozy teahouse invited visitors to sit on tatami mats and enjoy tea. On the other, street vendors sizzled tempura and grilled yakitori skewers. The sound of a sushi chef's precise cuts echoed nearby.

Katsuki left without taking me back to the academy, probably angry at me and get back at me , but I didn't even bother to go back to the academy, i will just walk around the district and eat something, i am starving .

i continued to walk around the street before i hear someone shouting about selling some hot food, i get near that place where i heard the shout to see a boy my age running a stall selling ramen .

He wears a white chef uniform and has dark black hair. His skin is light brown, skinny, and his eyes are closed.

' he looks familiar ' i thought as i went near his stall .

He spots me coming near his place " ohh, sir costumer ! are you interested in some hot ramen ?!  " he said as he looked up at me because of the difference in height .

I was about 170cm tall which is quite abnormal for a 10 years old if you ask me .

I look at the boy who was nervous, probably due to my bulky and aggressive appearance .

" what kind of ramen are you selling ? " i asked while staring at the familiar boy .

" it's miso ramen sir costumer " he said with hope in his eyes .

" bring me a bowl then " i replied as i sit in one of the wooden chairs in front of the stall and cross my arms .

"Right away sir ! " he said excitedly and began to work .

I look at him as he prepares the ramen and ask " your stall is quite empty, why is that ? why are you working alone at this age ?"

He paused for a little as he looked at the dough that's used to make the ramen .

" my parents were civilian ninjas and died in the first ninja war years ago, i became alone from that moment on and had to rely on myself to live, i didn't want to go to the orphanage and leave the house that my parents left for me . The money they left for me was about to finish but i opened this ramen stall in hope that i can make some money from it " he said with a sad smile as he nearly finished making the ramen .

I look at his figure making ramen with pity while being thankful that i got blessed with good and rich parents who care for me .

" my ramen is not very delicious but not bad either, there are people near my place who sell better ramen so that's why it looks empty here " he said and i humm at his explanation .

" what's your name ? " i ask as he put the miso ramen in front of me .

" my name is teuchi sir " he said and i nod at him , then start to dig in after i mutter ' itadakimasu' .

I was devouring my food when teuchi said " i haven't seen you around here sir, are you new to this village ? " he asked curiously .

" my name is hatake garou from the hatake clan, i am 10 years old and i have been in this village for as long as i remember but didn't visit this parts of the villiage that frequently " i answered while eating my ramen which was a little good but not delicious. 

" WHAT ?! " he shouted in surprise and some pedestrians looked at him in confusion, then he starts to bow and say sorry to them .

I look up then raise an eyebrow at his sudden outburst but i shrug my shoulders and start to eat again .

" how can you be a 10 years old ?! I thought you were 17 or 18 " he said with sweat running down his face, stuttering while looking at my bulging muscles nervously  " are you a ninja ? " he added .

I look at him for a little and shake my head in denial " no i am not, i am a martial artist " i replied .

" ano,but what's the difference ? " he asked confused while scratching his cheek .

" ninjas live to kill, backstabb and serve. If they were ordered to kill a civilian like you for no reason, they will do so without questioning anything, am i right ? " i said and ask but he didn't say anything , he just kept looking at me .

" but we martial artists live to be better, have honor, give respect to the strong, protect the weak and guide the weak to be a better version of themselves " i said some bull while contemplating about making his daughter my future disciple when i open my dojo .

He was nodding at me while rubbing his nonexistent beard " that makes sense i guess " he muttered to himself but i could hear .

I finish the ramen and stand up, i take out some money that was in my underwear real fast so he couldn't see.

i count around 30000 Ryo which is around 3000$ by the way .

" here, take it " i said as i handed him the money .

" THIS IS A LOT I CAN'T TAKE IT !!! " he shouts again nervously while opening his closed his widely which was a normal black coloured eyes much to my disappointment, hoping to see some renningan or shit .

He tried to hand me back the money but " this amount of money is nothing to me, you can take it and improve your stall and your cooking skills, just give me some discount when i come by from time to time,ok ? " i said nonchalantly while slowly turning around leaving like a badass .

I leave the shocked teuchi who was still looking at the money and get away but i hear him shout with tears falling down his eyes " THANK YOU GAROU-SAN I WILL NEVER FORGET THIS KINDNESS !! "

I didn't look back, just raised my hand and continue to leave .

" so this is how mrbeast feels like when he wastes money on good " i mutter to myself while smiling a little .

But honestly, teuchi is one of the very rare men whom i respect because of how pure and selfless he is .

And the amount of money i gave him is nothing to me, really .

I just hope he becomes the same good man of the anime i watched and taste his future ramen .

i thought as my stomach grumbled, still hungry .

The End