The next three days, I did absolutely nothing. You might ask how that's possible. Easy. I slept until noon, went out for a walk around four in the afternoon looking for spots where I could build my fast food restaurant. Unfortunately, there was no free land in the center of the village, but honestly, I probably couldn't afford it anyway, so I had to settle for the outskirts, searching in my own district - the southwest part of the village. It wasn't huge, but just walking down one street took twenty minutes, and there were about fifteen of them. After checking out five streets, I'd look for a place to grab a bite, then head home and brainstorm how I could make things work here. [ image ]

On the fourth day, I went to the village administration - the first floor of the Hokage building.
I wanted to ask about an old wooden house that was in pretty bad shape. It was on the corner, not far from the main southern street in the southwest district. Unfortunately, none of the neighbors knew who owned it - no one had lived there for ten years.
"Let's see, house number 195, Shirohochi Street, southwest district... It's owned by the Yamanaka clan. I'm afraid that's all the information I can give you. If you'd like, I can give you the address of the clan's territory, and you can try to negotiate with the head or a representative."
"Alright, got it, thank you," I nodded and left, scratching my head.
Dealing with the mind-readers? No, thanks. But maybe I could find a representative... hmm, if I'm not mistaken, Ino is in the same class as Naruko. She's the clan head's daughter, right? Maybe it's worth a shot.
Back home, I mulled it over. I wasn't going to find a better spot in this district, and I was already tired of trekking to the other side of the village every day. In the end, I just knocked on my neighbors' door for help - who else would help me if not the neighbors?
"Oh, Akira-san, good to see you. Would you like to come in?" I wondered what she did in her free time.
"I just have a question, maybe a favor to ask, if this isn't a bad time..."
"No, no, come in."
"Mom, who's there? Oh, Akira-san, hi! What brings you over?" Naruko came out, curious and full of energy.
"Naruko! Mind your manners."
"It's fine, I appreciate honesty in people - it shows they're genuine," I smiled at Naruko, making her blush.
Over tea, I explained how I'd been looking for a good spot and stumbled on an abandoned house owned by someone from the Yamanaka clan. As I told her, I was new in the village and didn't know what was allowed and what wasn't.
"Huh? Well, Ino-pig is in my class, I can ask her tomorrow. I'm sure she'll help," Naruko, who'd been eavesdropping nearby, perked up.
"That really would be the fastest way," Kushina nodded, then explained how to approach the clan in these situations. She said it was best to go through the clan head's daughter.
Naruko didn't let me down - in fact, she went above and beyond, bringing the clan princess right to my doorstep. I mean, huge thanks and all, but for most people, it would look pretty weird - the clan princess showing up at some random villager's house just because he wanted to buy a property from her clan. Not exactly proper protocol.
I blinked a couple times when I saw the blonde girl. She looked at me like I was some kind of alien.
"Uh, this is unexpected," I said, scratching my head awkwardly. "I thought I'd come to you myself... but please, come in, Yamanaka-hime. It's an honor to welcome you to my humble home." I hadn't been trained in local etiquette, but I had a rough idea how it worked. With Kushina, I could just be respectful since she was my neighbor and I "didn't know" her status.
"Thank you, I'll accept your invitation," Ino said, bowing slightly like a true clan princess, while Naruko stared in awe.
"It's pretty spacious in here."
"Heh, people keep telling me that. But I still don't know what this place is missing."
"At the very least, a few flowers and pots," she said, giving the apartment a professional once-over.
"I'll trust your judgment. Naruko, have you eaten?"
"No, of course not, I just got back from the academy. Got anything to offer?"
"Chicken stir-fry. Ino-hime, would you like some with your tea?"
"Mmm, I'd love some."
I sat the two girls down (they were about eleven, I think), served them both a generous helping, and put on some tea - the same blend Kushina had brought over when she visited with Naruko.
While we ate, we chatted about the academy. I was curious about all the little details of their training.
"Akira, do you want to enroll in the academy or something?" Naruko asked, surprised. I guess she'd put two and two together from how many questions I was asking.
"Well, as a kid, I always dreamed of being a shinobi. The samurai path never interested me, but unfortunately, they don't train shinobi where I'm from."
"So you came to Konoha to become a shinobi?" Ino asked.
"I'd like to, but I think it's too late. I'm past the age for training, and who would take me? They'd probably think I'm a spy."
"But you're not a spy, and you cook really well!" Apparently, in Naruko's world, spies can't cook. Made me wonder what she thought a spy actually looked like.
In Naruko's mind, a spy was a super shady guy, covered head to toe, always looking over his shoulder.
"As far as I know, they don't usually accept people from outside the Land of Fire, except in rare cases. But I can't say for sure." Ino took a sip of tea and continued, "So, from what I understand from my classmate, you want to buy a property in this district that belongs to my clan, right?"
"Yeah, that's right." Damn, this eleven-year-old talked like an adult.
"And what for, if you don't mind me asking?" She leaned forward.
"I want to start my own restaurant business."
"Wow." Ino nodded respectfully. "Alright, I can't promise anything, but I'll try to convince my father."
"Thank you so much." I stood up and gave a small bow. "If you ever need a favor from me in the future, just ask - I'll help however I can."
"Well, I don't know... Naruko told me you promised her a permanent discount."
"Hmm, I'll give you a special VIP card - limited edition, thirty percent off."
"Hey, you only offered me twenty percent!" Naruko squawked.
"I'll thank you in a special way," I winked at her, and she grinned, a little embarrassed, and went back to her tea.
"Alright, I'll remember that," Ino said, satisfied. I guess it wasn't the discount itself, but the fact that she'd get a special VIP card that made her happy.
And that wrapped up our little tea session.
****
"See, I told you he's better looking than any of the boys. And you, Ino-baka, didn't believe me."
Ino couldn't argue. She'd wanted to meet this neighbor Naruko had been going on about for days. She was curious if he was really as handsome as Naruko claimed, and now she had the chance to see for herself. Naruko hadn't lied - he really was dazzling. When she saw him, for a second she even wondered if he was real or if it was some kind of genjutsu, but a quick chakra check told her there was no jutsu at work.
As a young girl just hitting puberty, Ino had noticed she was starting to pay more attention to boys than before. After meeting this guy, something clicked in her head. Even now, back home, she couldn't get the image of that polite, handsome guy out of her mind. She wasn't sure what was going on inside her. But tomorrow, she'd talk to her father and make sure he agreed to sell that old house.
****
—[Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office]—
"So you're saying someone from outside the village has been hanging around Naruko lately?" Hiruzen asked his old friend.
"Technically, he's one of our villagers now, but yes, he's only been here about a week."
"And how did he get close to the Jinchuriki?"
"My people checked everything. The fact that he bought a house next door to the weapon - and the former weapon - is just a coincidence. We'll know more about this Akira in the next month."
"Hmm, alright. Just in case, I'll assign someone to keep an eye on him."
Danzo nodded, not mentioning that he'd already put one of his own ANBU on the job. Hiruzen understood that anyway.
"And now, I want to discuss..."
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