Through the main streets of Konohagakure, five individuals walked side by side.
At the center was an elderly man who appeared to be in his late fifties. He had long gray hair that nearly reached his waist, with bandages wrapped around his head. His black eyes were sharp, accentuated by distinct wrinkles beneath them. A gray goatee and mustache frad his stern expression.
He wore a simple purple kimono-like outfit layered with light traditional samurai armor, adorned with the sigil of the Land of Iron. A katana was strapped to his waist, and he walked in sturdy sandals. His very presence exuded authority and experience.
Clearly, this man is no ordinary man, but a very famous and powerful Samurai from the Land of Iron.
His fa and strength were so renowned that anyone who laid eyes on him would instantly recognize him—he was none other than Mifune, the General of the Land of Iron.
The four individuals accompanying Mifune wore heavy, segnted plate armor that covered their shoulders, chests, abdons, lower backs, upper backs, sides, and thighs. They were also equipped with gauntlets, shin guards, and horn-adorned helts. Each carried four swords, with their scabbards mounted directly onto their faulds.
Due to the face masks they wore, their features were not clearly visible, but there was no doubt—they, too, were Samurai from the Land of Iron.
As the samurai passed through the streets of Konoha, onlookers gazed at them in awe, instinctively stepping aside to clear their path.
Although samurai are far less nurous than shinobi in this world, the common folk still hold them in high regard—and they certainly have no desire to cross them.
Noticing the awed expressions of the townspeople, one of the masked samurai chuckled. “Look at them staring at us… They’re completely srized. Heh… I didn’t want to wear this stupid heavy armor, but I have to admit, it feels pretty good being admired like this.”
At the sa ti, another masked samurai spoke eagerly, “Hey, hey… look at all that food! It looks so delicious… I want to try so!”
“Now that you ntion it… I want to try it too,” the third samurai agreed.
Then, the fourth samurai added thoughtfully, “If we eat… maybe we’ll finally understand what it’s like to poop.”
Hearing their conversation, Mifune let out a tired sigh and spoke in a hoarse voice, “Don’t do anything foolish. I don’t want our cover to be blown. We are not here to eat; we have a few objectives. We have to figure out whether this is so kind of trap, and we also need to quickly find our target.” He then added, “Besides, we aren’t human… None of us need to eat to survive.”
“But… black… look around,” one of them protested. “Everyone’s eating. Not eating anything might actually make us stand out more.”
Finding those words logical, Mifune hesitated before nodding, “Alright… let’s eat.” He definitely didn’t want to stand out, especially when they hadn’t been able to determine the location of their target.
The eyes of the four armored samurai lit up as they all turned toward the shop. It was packed with custors, and a long queue stretched outside.
One of the Samurai spoke excitedly, “I’ve heard rumors… Ichiraku Ran is extrely popular in Konohagakure. Shall we give it a try?”
“Ran?” the other three murmured in unison before glancing at Mifune.
Although Mifune couldn’t see their expectant gazes through the mask, he could still feel it, and thus, relented, “Alright, let’s eat ran.”
With that decision made, the five of them joined the queue outside Ichiraku Ran.
…
After waiting in line for a while, it was finally their turn to take their seats and enjoy the famous ran. As the four Samurai and their General began to walk in the store, Mifune leaned in and reminded them in a low voice, “Make sure not to ss up your appearance when you remove your masks.”
The four Samurai nodded, one of them starting to say, “Don’t worry, Black… we kno—”
Mifune cut them off with a cold warning, “Don’t call Black in front of others, you idiots!”
“Ah… right… Mifune-sama!” the four Samurai quickly corrected themselves, reacting in unison.
Mifune sighed and glanced around, checking if anyone had noticed their slip-up. Seeing that no one was paying attention, he let out a breath of relief. ‘Luckily, no one is paying attention to us…’ With that, he settled into his seat, as did the four Samurai.
Aya, standing on the other side of the counter, noticed the five individuals and curiously asked, “Eh? Samurai? You’re Samurai, right? I never thought we’d have Samurai visiting our shop one day…”
Hearing her question, Mifune gave a slight nod. “Indeed. We are Samurai from the Land of Iron,” he confird before adding, “I am Mifune, and these four are my subordinates.”
Aya muttered to herself, trying to recall the na. “Mifune? I think I’ve heard that na before…” Then, as realization struck, her eyes widened in surprise. “Wait… isn’t he the General of the Land of Iron?” She looked at Mifune and asked directly, “Are you, The Mifune-sama?”
Mifune nodded. “Yes, that would be ,” he confird. “And these four are my subordinates.”
As if on cue, the four Samurai sitting to Mifune’s left removed their masks and greeted Aya with polite smiles.
Aya blinked in astonishnt. “Ahh… I didn’t expect the General of the Land of Iron to visit our shop,” she said, still processing the surprise. Then, quickly regaining her composure, she picked up her notepad and pencil and asked with a bright smile, “So, what can I get for Mifune-sama and his fellow Samurai?”
The four Samurai exchanged glances before answering in unison, “Ran…”
Aya paused, blinking at their response. “Um… okay… but which kind of ran?” she asked, tilting her head.
The four Samurai exchanged confused glances. They hadn’t realized that ran ca in different varieties and had no idea what to order. Instead, they began making random requests.
“I want the tastiest one…”
“And I want the best one…”
“I want one three tis tastier than his…”
“I want the one that will allow to poop…”
Aya’s lips twitched. “Your orders don’t make any sense…” She let out a small sigh before pointing at the nu. “We have these types of ran, so please choose from here.”
At the sa ti, she glanced at the four of them and Mifune suspiciously, thinking to herself, ‘Are these guys idiots?’
Mifune, sensing that letting them speak too much might not be wise, quickly scanned the nu and selected five random dishes. “We’ll have these five,” he said, handing the selection to Aya.
“Alright, I’ve got it.” Aya nodded before turning to the kitchen. “Otou-san, here’s the order from the Samurai from the Land of Wano.”
“Coming right up,” Teuchi replied, imdiately getting to work on the ran.
anwhile, Aya continued her conversation with Mifune. “So, Mifune-sama… are you here to watch the Joint Chūnin Promotion Exam as well?”
Mifune shook his head slightly. “We are rely escorting Daimyō-sama, who was interested in watching the Chūnin Exams,” he explained. Then, after a brief pause, he added, “Because of that, we’ve had the opportunity to watch the fights so far… and I must say, I am truly impressed. I’ve never seen battles like these before—they’re incredible. These young shinobi are remarkably strong.”
After a mont of thought, he asked, “Are the Chūnin Exams always this intense?”
The one to answer Mifune’s question wasn’t Aya but soone else who had just walked into the shop.
“No… this ti is an exception,” the newcor said. “This is likely the first and only ti the Chūnin Exams have been this intense—and it may never happen again.”
“Um… you are…”
All five Samurai, including Mifune, turned their attention to the speaker. Their eyes widened in surprise as they called out his na in unison, “Hatake Kakashi?”
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