In fact, not only had Teuchi never seen Namikaze Minato in a state of collapse, but very few people in Konoha had. Minato had always presented himself as optimistic, cheerful, and driven. This attitude constantly empowered those around him, pushing them to strive forward and make progress.
As for matters like this, Teuchi wasn't exactly an expert. Running the Ichiraku Ran shop, he had seen many things. He had overheard countless conversations, learned secrets others didn't know, and gleaned information from people who ca to his shop and talked while eating.
In a way, Teuchi was like a walking encyclopedia of Konoha. He probably knew more about the village's happenings than many of the shinobi assigned to gather intelligence, as he was entrenched in the community.
Because of this, Teuchi usually remained low-key and humble, acting as though he didn't know anything. Now that Minato was suddenly asking him about sothing, he seed to be asked to provide a defense or explanation. Teuchi wasn't sure how to handle it. He hadn't dealt with such situations before, as he was usually just an observer of events in his shop and didn't involve himself directly.
For a mont, Teuchi remained silent.
"Teuchi-san, when did she co in? Did she order two bowls and stay here the whole ti?" Minato asked again, seeing that Teuchi hadn't responded. Minato's tone was not harsh. When speaking to Teuchi, he retained his usual gentle deanor. After all, Teuchi was soone he trusted utterly—a rare person he could let his guard down around.
"Well..." Teuchi understood it was ti for him to speak up after Minato's second, more detailed inquiry. First, he glanced at Konan, then at the gatekeeper shinobi, and finally back at Minato, whose face was filled with anticipation.
"She ca here a while ago. At first, she ordered just one bowl of ran. But later, she ordered a second bowl. I served it not too long ago, and she hadn't finished eating when you arrived. That's all I know."
Teuchi had a good impression of Konan, especially after she gave him that thumbs-up gesture earlier. It ant a lot to him when custors appreciated his ran. Even a simple complint like "delicious" gave him imnse encouragent. That was the driving force behind his constant effort to perfect his ran.
Teuchi loved cooking, not just because of the joy of making food but because of the happiness he saw on his custors' faces after eating his ran. It gave him a deep sense of accomplishnt.
Running the ran shop wasn't just about making money for Teuchi. It was also about fulfilling a personal passion. At this point in his life, he was unequivocal about what he wanted, and Konan's gesture won him over.
Naturally, he was inclined to speak a little more favorably about her. However, Teuchi didn't lie—everything he said was true, and he simply emphasized Konan's actions positively.
"Hmm?" Minato was taken aback. He hadn't expected Teuchi's account to align perfectly with Konan's. His confusion deepened as he watched Konan continue eating her ran, seemingly engrossed in her al.
"What's going on? Could she really just be here for the ran? That's so strange. It doesn't seem right... Or is this just a trick to lower my guard?"
Minato's mind raced with questions. Recent events had left him ntally exhausted, and he had lost so of his usual clarity in decision-making. He hated This feeling, but he couldn't escape it because too much had been happening recently.
"Haah..."
Minato took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, trying to calm himself down. He worked to keep his emotions in check and appear as composed as possible. He didn't want to let these incidents throw him off, especially since he still didn't fully understand Konan's intentions. Was she genuinely aligned with him? Did she have any connection with the Third Hokage's faction?
The more he thought about it, the harder it beca to judge the situation. He wasn't sure what Konan's plans were, and until he knew the whole truth, he had to be cautious in his approach.
After all, this could involve Jiraiya, his ntor.
This was Minato's first real encounter with the Akatsuki trio, and he had already found their behavior sowhat strange. Out of caution, he had refused to allow them to settle in Konoha, but that didn't an he held any particular animosity toward them.
As he observed Konan, Minato couldn't help but wonder if she was just here to eat ran. But even that thought felt absurd to him.
The idea that this girl had traveled to Konoha to eat ran at Ichiraku seed ridiculous. She had claid to know about the ran shop from Jiraiya, but Minato knew that Jiraiya wasn't even aware of Ichiraku Ran's existence when he was training the Akatsuki mbers.
Yet, despite the absurdity, this was precisely what seed to be happening.
"What's going on?"
Minato shifted his gaze toward the gatekeeper ninja, who also had an empty bowl of ran in front of him. It was clear that the gatekeeper had finished eating as well.
Minato was reluctant to believe Konan's excuse, but all the facts seed to point to it being the truth.
"Explain yourself," Minato finally said, his attention now focused on the gatekeeper. He hadn't planned to ask him imdiately, but he figured it was best to clarify things now.
After all, the gatekeeper was in a difficult position. As soone supposed to guard the village gates, he had left his post to escort a girl into Konoha to eat ran. This was more than just dereliction of duty—it was suspicious behavior.
The gatekeeper looked visibly embarrassed. Just a short while ago, he had inford Minato about the Akatsuki trio's arrival and witnessed the entire exchange between Minato and them. Yet here he was, having brought Konan into Konoha against Minato's instructions, and Minato had caught him in the act.
"It's true, she only wanted to eat so ran. She's one of Jiraiya-sensei's students, and I didn't know what else to do. So I decided to supervise her while she ate and then escort her out once she was done."
"And... the other two didn't enter the village. It seems they had so sort of disagreent and parted ways."
The gatekeeper revealed everything he knew, hoping to clear up the misunderstanding. He knew that Minato would soon beco the Fourth Hokage, and he didn't want any issues hanging over his head. Jiraiya might have a strong reputation, but Minato was the future of Konoha.
"???"
Minato's mind swirled with even more confusion.
"Parted ways?"
He glanced back at Konan, who was still quietly eating her ran, and his confusion deepened.
What in the world was going on?
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