Ding-ding-ding—
The moment the wind chime rang, the gentle young widow wearing a headscarf, who had been busy at the counter, turned around with a smile and greeted warmly.
"Welcome, customer. Oh! It's Yahiko-sama! Please, come in, come in!"
The one who pushed open the door and entered was Yahiko, his face bruised and swollen, his clothes covered in dirt.
He nodded slightly at the widow before closing the door behind him.
Spotting Nagato sitting at the counter, pretending to be a proper gentleman with his arms crossed as if he had just finished his meal, Yahiko suppressed the urge to retaliate and took a seat one spot away from him.
"The menu's on the wall, but please try not to order dishes we don't have, like this customer did. Asking for soba noodles in a ramen shop that doesn't serve soba only causes trouble… Hehehe…"
The gentle black-haired widow reminded him again with a chuckle as she busied herself.
"Tonkotsu ramen, one serving."
"Got it! Just a moment—"
...
On the way back, Yahiko glanced at Nagato, whose eyes were slightly closed, his face still carrying a trace of emotion.
After a long silence, Yahiko finally couldn't hold back his question.
"Nagato… you and that widow from the ramen shop… you didn't already…"
Hearing this, Nagato snapped out of his thoughts, his face instantly flushing red as he angrily retorted.
"What are you talking about?! I just chatted with Reiko-san about the story of her life! None of the things you're imagining—those kinds of things and those other kinds of things—happened! Your mind is too filthy, Yahiko!"
Yahiko fell silent for a few more seconds as he watched Nagato, his eyes wide and bloodshot, panting heavily after his long, furious outburst from lack of oxygen.
"Hold on… I hadn't even finished speaking. And no one mentioned 'those kinds of things' or 'those other kinds of things'—you're the one who brought them up! Also, your tastes are way too weird! Why does it have to be a widow?!"
Nagato was also fuming with anger.
"Damn it! How dare you insult and slander me like this? Even you can't be forgiven! I already told you it was just casual conversation about what happened to Miss Reiko! Lets Duel! I challenge you to a duel!"
'Looks like you're really have a thing for her!'
Yahiko silently retorted in his mind, then fearlessly declared.
"Perfect timing! I was just thinking of teaching a proper lesson to a traitor like you! Follow me to the outdoor training ground!"
...
The so-called outdoor training ground was essentially just an undeveloped patch of land near the village.
Because the area was spacious enough and wouldn't disturb others, Yahiko and his companions occasionally came here for sparring matches.
"Ready, Yahiko?"
In the rain, Nagato stood with arms crossed, brimming with confidence.
"Yeah! Feel free to use taijutsu, genjutsu, or ninjutsu! Today I'm going to properly educate you, you traitor!"
Gripping his kunai, Yahiko showed no fear.
After all, he knew Nagato's weaknesses all too well.
The only slightly troublesome technique Nagato had was the Universal Pull, and even that had a cooldown period.
With his poor mobility, once Yahiko—who excelled in taijutsu—found an opening to close the distance... hehehehe.
Convinced of his impending victory, Yahiko resolved to seize the opportunity today and give Nagato a thorough beating!
He'd make sure this traitor learned his lesson!
"Yahiko, this is perfect timing. Today, you'll get to experience the power of my newly developed ninjutsu!"
Hearing Nagato's sudden declaration, Yahiko was momentarily stunned.
"Huh? New ninjutsu?"
"That's right! This technique took me ten years to perfect, and I've never used it before! Keep your eyes wide open!"
Clap!
Nagato slammed his palms together and roared.
"Cannon Shield·Neo Armstrong Cyclone Jet Armstrong Cannon!" ( I die 🤣)
Before Yahiko could even process the ridiculous name of the technique, he suddenly felt the ground beneath him tremble violently, as if something massive was about to burst forth from the earth!
BOOOOM—!
A gleaming silver metal cannon barrel, a full ten meters in diameter, erupted from the ground!
Over the next few seconds, Yahiko watched with twitching eyes and a face full of disbelief as the enormous cannon barrel rose with thunderous rumbles, continuing to ascend until it stood completely revealed!
Staring at the hundred-meter-tall, metallic cannon that pierced the sky—so intimidating it sapped all will to resist—Yahiko's kunai slipped from his fingers and clattered to the ground.
...After taking a deep breath,
"THAT'S JUST A GIANT DICK!!"
Yahiko pointed frantically at the two metal spheres on either side of the cannon's base.
"It's not a dick! It's the Neo Armstrong Cyclone Jet Armstrong Cannon!"
Nagato loudly corrected him, then clenched his fists as if overcome with emotion, tears welling in his eyes as he continued.
"You have no idea how hard I worked for this Neo Armstrong Cyclone Jet Armstrong Cannon! For ten years, every single day, I poured my soul into perfecting this giant dick!"
"Throw away that kind of effort right now! Please just discard that utterly useless effort! And didn't you just call it a dick too? You definitely said it, right? You admitted yourself that it's just a giant dick, didn't you?!"
"You don't understand anything!"
Ignoring Yahiko's complaints, Nagato was completely lost in his own self-righteousness.
"All these years of my painstaking efforts…"
Then, Nagato sank into nostalgic memories of his self-proclaimed efforts, starting from the day his three-year apprenticeship ended—
Helping a widow in distress by driving away rogue ninjas who came to cause trouble, and in return, she mended his clothes.
Assisting a gentle young mother who couldn't dry her laundry by using Fire and Wind Release to dry the clothes, only to be invited by her to stay for dinner.
Repairing the leaky roof for a newly widowed woman, who then gave him some salted fish as thanks.
Helping…
"Hold on a second!!"
Having witnessed these memories, Yahiko loudly interrupted Nagato's reminiscing and pointed at the so-called Neo Armstrong Cyclone Jet Armstrong Cannon while shouting his complaints.
"This has absolutely nothing to do with that thing! Your memories show no effort toward making something like that! And how many widows have you been helping behind me and Konan's backs? Why are they all widows?! Ah! I just don't get it at all!"
"Yahiko, I won't let you deny my efforts!"
"You're the one denying them!"
At this point, Nagato finally got serious, crossing his arms as he continued.
"Anyway, after years of dedicated research and the advice I received from Elizabeth-san last time, the Neo Armstrong Cyclone Jet Armstrong Cannon has finally been born!"
Yahiko pointed at the cannon, spitting as he ranted.
"I think this thing didn't need to be born at all! The world would be perfectly fine without it! In fact, it'd be better if it never existed!"
[Nagato and Konan is lost cause 😂]
Anyway starting from today i be releasing extra chapter per 100 power stones.