The Akimichi Barbecue Restaurant was unusually quiet at lunchtime.
"Teacher, did everything go smoothly for you today?" Amemiya Kenichi asked curiously, casually placing a slice of beef on the sizzling iron grill.
"Not bad," Orochimaru replied with a gentle smile. "My relationship with the Hokage remains strained, but there's been some progress."
Kenichi nodded thoughtfully. It seemed Orochimaru's plans weren't going entirely as planned, but at least there were some results.
"The Third Hokage will definitely understand your intentions, Teacher," Kenichi said with feigned innocence.
They were in public, after all. Even though the Third Hokage had stepped down, his influence still lingered. They needed to be cautious, lest eavesdroppers overhear.
"Intentions..." Orochimaru sighed wistfully. Then, teacher and student exchanged knowing smiles. This "intention" was far too heavy a burden. Who knew if the Third Hokage could bear it?
Seeing the beef was cooked, Kenichi quickly snatched it off the grill before it burned.
Amemiya Kenichi stared at the beef slice on his chopsticks, unable to bring himself to eat it.
"Teacher, didn't you invite Anko?" Amemiya Kenichi felt a chill run down his spine, the intensity of the resentment was overwhelming.
"I thought you had, Kenichi," Orochimaru replied calmly, seemingly oblivious to the figure clinging to the doorway, only her head visible.
Amemiya Kenichi's lips twitched, but he awkwardly turned around and called Anko Mitarashi in from the doorway.
During the barbecue, Amemiya Kenichi had sensed a piercing gaze and noticed Anko Mitarashi lurking at the entrance.
Come to think of it, Teacher had only ever invited him to Akimichi Barbecue Restaurant. Anko Mitarashi rarely came along.
"Senior Brother Amemiya..." Anko Mitarashi gazed at Amemiya Kenichi with a pitiful expression, wondering if she was truly Teacher's disciple.
They were both Teacher's disciples, yet Teacher treated Senior Brother Amemiya so kindly, while being so strict with her.
"Ahem... I was just about to head over to your place to get you," Amemiya Kenichi said awkwardly, clearing his throat.
Fortunately, Anko wasn't too hard to cheer up. With Teacher Orochimaru and Kenichi both comforting her, she quickly put aside her earlier mood and happily started digging into her meal.
The atmosphere in the barbecue restaurant soon warmed up.
"Teacher! Can we take a group photo together?" Anko looked at Orochimaru with hopeful eyes, then turned to Kenichi with a pleading gaze.
Kenichi scratched his head. A group photo? He didn't mind.
"Sure," Orochimaru said with a gentle smile. He seemed to be in a particularly good mood today.
So when Kenichi prepared to leave, he found a group photo in his hand—a picture of him, Teacher Orochimaru, and Anko.
"Come to think of it, Konoha seems to have a tradition like this," Kenichi mused, looking at the photo.
Team Minato had one, he and his teacher had one, and Kakashi and Naruto would likely have similar photos in the future.
Speaking of Kakashi...
Amemiya Kenichi scratched his head. Kakashi had been gone for a while, off on some mission. He'd have to postpone asking Kakashi about the Chidori.
Passing by a bento shop, Amemiya Kenichi went inside to buy dinner.
He'd barely stepped inside when he ran into two familiar faces—well, not exactly familiar, more like people he'd met once.
Two kids from the Uchiha Clan: Shisui and Itachi.
They clearly noticed him too, so Amemiya Kenichi nodded in greeting.
"Hello. Thank you for looking after Itachi last time," Uchiha Shisui said politely, approaching him before Amemiya Kenichi could move on.
Despite Shisui's kindness, Amemiya Kenichi couldn't shake the feeling that the Uchiha might have ulterior motives. He took the thank-you seriously.
"No problem at all. I think the kid's pretty cute," Amemiya Kenichi waved dismissively with a chuckle.
He still preferred to keep his distance from the Uchiha Clan. Even though the Third Hokage was gone, Danzo was still around.
Currently, Namikaze Minato seemed to have a neutral opinion of the Uchiha Clan, at least not sharing the Third Hokage and Danzo's penchant for suppressing them.
Minato's attitude toward the Uchiha was perfectly normal, but tragically, he wouldn't live long. Had he survived, the Uchiha Clan's fate might have been different.
After the Fourth Hokage's death and the Third Hokage's return, the Uchiha Clan's situation grew increasingly dire, sealing their inevitable doom.
Watching Shisui lead Itachi out of the convenience store, Amemiya Kenichi scratched his head. He wondered if he should back up Shisui and Itachi's DNA information, just in case he wanted to clone them later for fun.
He knew cloning was part of Teacher Orochimaru's research projects, but the current technology wasn't advanced enough for that.
Even with the high failure rate, it wouldn't hurt to preserve the data.
"But these two are a bit of a hassle," Kenichi muttered, scratching his head. "I can't exactly just grab them by the hair, can I?" Shisui and Itachi were too vigilant.
"Besides, she's not a girl. If she were, maybe..." Amemiya Kenichi mused thoughtfully.
When he was collecting Kushina Uzumaki's DNA, he'd considered rummaging through the Namikaze Clan's trash. After all, even though Kushina was a Jinchūriki, she was still a girl, and girls of a certain age have periods. That meant Konoha's stores actually sold sanitary pads.
Extracting DNA from blood would be easier, but the thought felt a bit perverted. Since he had other methods, Amemiya Kenichi abandoned the idea.
Still, from that perspective, if he really wanted to, he could probably collect DNA from most of Konoha's residents.
After buying his bento, Amemiya Kenichi returned home to continue refining his ninjutsu development.
He'd bought quite a few cigarettes lately, making the shop owner suspect he'd picked up a bad habit at a young age. The man had even tried to dissuade him a few times.
Amemiya Kenichi was left both amused and exasperated.
The limitations of nicotine were becoming increasingly apparent, forcing him to prioritize collecting radioactive materials.
Of course, he knew this wouldn't be easy. He'd have to take it one step at a time. Fortunately, he had plenty of time.
Naruto hadn't even been born yet.