Pakkun had been running nonstop through the tree branches, as fast as his small but agile legs could carry him. However, every time he looked down, he saw Trunks running without any difficulty, as if keeping up with him was the easiest thing in the world. It was then that he realized the boy's extraordinary physical condition, as if he could run much faster if he so desired.
They had been traveling since morning, not once stopping to rest. Every chance he got, Pakkun tried to increase his pace, as if he were trying to challenge Trunks to a race, but Trunks didn't seem to even notice, because to him, they were running too slowly.
"When Kakashi said you were fast, I thought he was serious. Now I see he was just exaggerating."
His words had the desired effect. Pakkun became annoyed. A vein popped out on his forehead, and he began to show his teeth in a rabid-dog grin, moving faster than he had ever moved in his entire canine life.
The sun began to set timidly over the horizon, causing Kakashi's dog to smile happily. The little ninken was exhausted from traveling at that speed, but he couldn't find a way to tell Trunks to stop and rest without feeling humiliated. What bothered him most was that the boy wasn't even a genin, yet he still had that stamina and speed. Who would have thought Pugs could be so proud?
"Well... it's getting dark... I think we should rest... and continue tomorrow at dawn... it's not right... to travel without light," Pakkun said, gasping for air between sentences to recover his lost breath.
"I wouldn't have any problem continuing. I barely feel like I'm finishing my warm-up. I was just about to start running seriously," Trunks replied, clasping his hands behind his head. He wanted to appear completely serious, but inside, he was dying of laughter at the worried expression on Pakkun's face.
However, pity for the little dog filled him, thinking it wouldn't be so funny to give Kakashi's pet a heart attack. He didn't want to get into trouble so soon. "I think you're right; it wouldn't hurt to stop for a while."
The dog was almost pleased with the words coming out of the Saiyan's mouth, until something alerted him. It was the scent of chakra, typical of a high-level ninja; perhaps a jounin nearby, apparently accompanied by a small group of lower-level ninjas. However, the scent was quite familiar to him, so he decided not to be too alarmed.
Trunks didn't notice the individual's energy; it was relaxed enough to be easily noticeable. What he did notice was Pakkun's eager sniffing of the air, as if trying to capture the aroma of a succulent meal.
"What's wrong? Are they cooking something around here?" Trunks asked, trying to capture with his own nose the scent that had the little Pug so concentrated.
"It's not that. Sniff, sniff... It's a group of ninjas nearby... sniff, sniff... There are four of them exactly... sniff, sniff... one must be a jonin and the rest are genins... sniff, sniff... they're only a kilometer away." Pakkun said, sniffing the air every so often to verify each statement.
The boy tried his best to concentrate, finally managing to perceive the four presences the dog had indicated. If it hadn't been for Pakkun, he would have missed that detail. They must have been people resting or even sleeping, as their respective energies felt very tenuous.
"Do you think they're dangerous? I mean, enemy ninjas?" he asked, clutching the scroll he'd tied to his orange belt.
"On the contrary, they're more like acquaintances. They're Konoha ninja heading to the village just like us, but they stopped to rest. It would be a good idea for us to go there. The more people we have, the easier it will be to protect the message."
With that, Pakkun set off again, with Trunks following close behind.
The fire had already been lit. The small group of four ninjas were preparing to sit around it. Despite the hour, it was unusually cold for the time of year. They were very close to Konoha, perhaps half a day's walk, but nightfall forced them to make a rest stop.
Their C-rank mission had already been completed. It consisted of guarding a simple merchant to the north, specifically to the Land of Hot Springs. As expected, they didn't encounter any inconveniences during the journey due to the mission's low rank.
The jonin leading the group was eager to get back home, but for now, he just wanted to enjoy the peaceful night, so he lit a cigarette to try to relax a little. He didn't care if Ino or Shikamaru started complaining about the smoke. He really needed a smoke after so many hours of traveling.
"This mission has been very boring. All we've done is walk and walk," said the young man from the Nara clan, lying on the grass with his hands clasped behind his head. Choji remained at his side, too busy eating his chips to answer.
Shikamaru's weariness with almost everything was nothing new, so it was almost always downplayed or simply overlooked.
Asuma was too focused on the smoke emanating from the tip of his cigarette, almost hypnotized by the undulating motion of the whitish gas. Suddenly, he sensed someone approaching them at great speed. His developed jonin senses allowed him to be much more alert than his younger students.
The strange thing was that whoever it was wasn't taking the slightest care in approaching the place, completely disregarding stealth.
"Be alert, someone is approaching," he warned the rest of the group, quickly drawing his chakra-conducting blades.
None of the unsuspecting genin even had time to stand when the unknown individual leaped through the bushes. It was a boy dressed in a green dogi and carrying a small ninja dog, which Asuma immediately recognized.
"Pakkun? What are you doing here? Where's Kakashi?" the jonin immediately asked, throwing his cigarette aside.
"Asuma... I should have guessed it was you," the small, talking dog replied in his deep voice, slightly impressing the three genin present. "Kakashi is currently in the Land of Waves, finishing a mission with his team. He sent me to Konoha with this boy to deliver an urgent message to the Hokage."
" An urgent message for the Hokage? " Asuma thought, holding his chin, as he looked the mysterious boy from head to toe.
He didn't understand why Kakashi had entrusted such an important message to such a young boy, who didn't even appear to be a ninja due to the lack of an identifying band. A message of that kind was supposed to be at least a B-rank mission, completely beyond the scope of a genin, or even some chunin.
"And who are you supposed to be?" a suspicious Asuma asked the Saiyan. "I don't remember seeing you among the genin Iruka graduated; you don't even look like a ninja." The situation was too strange, making Asuma think it was some kind of trap or ambush, maybe even some kind of genjutsu.
"My name is Trunks, and I met Kakashi a couple of days ago near the Land of Waves." Trunks's distrust flashed in his pupils. "The mission got a bit complicated because the person they were supposed to guard lied about the scope of the mission, which turned out to be more dangerous than expected. I had to help them in a battle against a ninja named Zabuza, so they sent me back to inform the Hokage about everything."
"Was anyone seriously injured? Are Kakashi and his group okay?" Asuma asked immediately. He was well aware of Zabuza Momochi's reputation as a rogue ninja assassin from the Hidden in the Mist Village.
"Nothing happened. The guy got what he deserved, and everyone's fine," Trunks replied, his eyes closed and waving his hand casually, as if dismissing the matter.
Asuma was confused. Even though everything was fine, he didn't quite understand Kakashi's urgency in delivering the message. After all, there was something else the boy was hiding from him. "Are you supposed to be some kind of ninja?" I don't understand why Kakashi would entrust something so important to someone who isn't even part of Konoha.
"I already told you. Since I helped him defeat that Zabuza, Kakashi trusted me. I had to save him from a trap myself," he replied with obvious annoyance. He understood that all ninjas were very suspicious.
"It's true, this boy has extraordinary abilities, don't be fooled by his appearance," Pakkun intervened, noticing that Asuma's posture remained tense. Perhaps he should have avoided the group and stayed only with Trunks to avoid any misunderstandings.
"If I were allowed to show you the message, I would, but Kakashi made it clear that it was a matter of concern only to the Hokage. Because of this boy's strength, he felt confident enough to send the information through him. I'm only acting as a guide."
"Well, you finally admit how good I am, doggie," Trunks said with a mocking smile. Pakkun held back; the last thing he wanted was to cause trouble, so he confirmed the situation to Asuma to clear his doubts.
Still, the jonin didn't understand how Kakashi could entrust such a message to a foreigner. He also didn't understand why it was necessary to send Trunks himself, instead of Pakkun alone, although he supposed it was a somewhat dangerous task for the ninken. Finally, with a sigh of resignation, Asuma decided to let it go for the moment.
Shikamaru watched the boy with extreme curiosity. An expert at assessing situations simply by observing them, he assumed Trunks must be a taijutsu fighter, judging by his body, not to mention the martial artist attire he was wearing. But that wasn't all: he also assumed he must be someone very powerful, since only jonins were assigned missions as important as his.
The most carefree was Choji, who listened to the conversation without paying much attention, eating nonstop from the bag of barbecue-flavored chips he had in his hands.
The other curious person was Ino, but for different reasons than Shikamaru. She wasn't absorbed in analyzing the boy's strengths or combat capabilities based on his appearance and physical characteristics. She was observing his physique, yes, but from another point of view: that of a girl. She was completely in love with Sasuke, like any other girl in Konoha, but she had to admit that she found Trunks quite attractive.
The kunoichi carefully observed all of the boy's characteristics, his facial features, the color of his eyes, his serious and masculine gaze, his height, his posture, his body; in short, everything. She observed him from head to toe. Judging by his arms, she imagined that the Saiyan must be hiding an incredible body beneath his clothes despite his young age. Only her sensei's words pulled her out of her daze.
"Forgive the suspicion, it's just that you always have to be prepared, you never know." Asuma put his blades away again. "Pakkun, Trunks, as you can see, this is the group I'm in charge of. They are Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, and Ino Yamanaka."
Trunks watched the three of them, but his gaze fell especially on the girl because she seemed quite pretty. He remembered his mother once telling him that if he met a beautiful girl like her (what arrogance of Bulma!), he should be attentive and chivalrous. He once claimed to be the boyfriend of a girl named Mai, whom he met during his mother's birthday, the same one in which Beerus, the God of Destruction of the Seventh Universe, made a huge fuss to find the Super Saiyan God. But it was just something he said to show off in front of Goten. Then she disappeared along with Pilaf and Shu, and he never saw her again, so the matter remained irrelevant.
"How troublesome. And to think we were alarmed over nothing," Shikamaru grumbled in his typical monotonous voice, lying back down on the grass and becoming absorbed in the stars, just as he had been a few minutes ago.
"Don't pay attention to him. Everything is a nuisance to him," Ino intervened, noticing the bewilderment on Trunks's face. She didn't want him to think his presence was bothering others.
Before he could reply, his stomach let out a loud growl, demanding the precious food he'd been denied all day. A slight blush appeared on the Saiyan's face, embarrassed by his obvious hunger.
"I see you're hungry. You probably haven't eaten all day. We already had dinner, but at least this survived Choji's appetite." Asuma handed him a rice ball.
"Thank you very much, sir," Trunks said as he took it in his hands. Forgetting the others' presence, he stuffed the entire rice ball into his mouth, swallowing it whole without chewing. He was so hungry that he couldn't stop himself.
Everyone was dumbfounded by what they saw. Even Choji dropped a chip on the floor in surprise. The plump Akimichi hugged his bag of chips warily, afraid Trunks would ask for some.
"Choji doesn't share his food easily. It's not something he's particularly fond of," Asuma explained with a smile, lighting another cigarette.
"It doesn't matter, that's enough, really, thanks." Trunks lied, sitting in the wide space between Choji and Ino. Without Goten by his side, he felt a little more insecure in front of the group of newly met people, because neither of the two Saiyans had many friends besides themselves.
Asuma was quietly smoking. Shikamaru was stargazing, still lying on the grass, threatening to fall asleep at any moment. Choji had finished eating his chips, but without warning, he pulled out another bag from who knows where and continued eating.
Trunks looked at the chubby boy with pleading eyes, about to ask him for some, but the Akimichi, noticing this, turned his back on him and continued with his own business. The group seemed perfect; they were perfect for each other, and no one seemed to need to talk to anyone, unlike Team 7, where Naruto was constantly talking.
Ino had managed to get used to the company of her friends, although seeing the new boy, she wanted to chat with him to get to know him a little better. She had nothing to lose by doing so. That was her nature, a confident and self-assured girl.
"So tell me, Trunks, where do you come from? Do you belong to one of the five great shinobi nations? Or do you come from a smaller village?"
Asuma continued smoking, feigning complete indifference. But inside, he was dying to know a little more about the unknown boy. The information he had was too vague and imprecise. He was grateful for Ino's questioning, who, without realizing it, was doing him a great favor.
"I-I'm sorry, b-but I ca-can't tell you. That's p-part of the message I have to deliver to the Hokage. Th-that's why Kakashi sent me to Ko-Konoha…"
"I see. And can you at least tell me your age? Or is that also a confidential matter?" the kunoichi pressed, staring at him with her beautiful blue eyes, her fine, platinum eyebrows furrowing.
Without knowing why, Trunks was getting very nervous. The blonde's gaze was as deep as it was indecipherable. "Yes-yes, of course, I-I'm 13 years old..."
"Ummm, I see... you're a year older than us. And you always stutter like that? Because when you talked to Asuma Sensei, I noticed you were quite normal." The girl continued, still staring, although this time she gave a small smile at Trunks' shy attitude. She knew she was intimidating him with her presence, so she wanted to take advantage of the situation to play with him a little. So she approached him little by little, giving him a sharp look.
"Of-of course not!" he replied, gathering his courage. "It's just that I'm very busy thinking about my mission, that's all! Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go to sleep. I'm very tired from the journey."
With that, Trunks took a capsule out of his pocket and tossed it a few feet away. Once the smoke cleared, everyone stared in amazement at the sleeping bag. The Saiyan unrolled the bag and placed it a few feet away from the group, stepping back slightly to make it clear he was unwilling to answer any more questions.
"Wake me up when it's my turn to be on watch. And no, it's not a smoke bomb or a summoning jutsu. It's a capsule used to carry luggage. That's all!"
Without further ado, the Saiyan settled into his sleeping bag and turned his back on the genin, who were somewhat taken aback by his unexpected outburst. Even Shikamaru snapped out of his usual state of introspection, staring at him almost open-mouthed. Only Asuma remained indifferent: he assumed Ino's attitude had something to do with it.
"―AAAARRGGG! Why do boys act like idiots?! Are they all that abnormal?!" Ino grumbled with her arms crossed, visibly angry, because Trunks didn't fall for her game and put her in her place.
Of course, the Saiyan was lying. He wasn't sleepy or tired from the stupid, snail-paced journey. He acted so rudely because being in front of Ino made him incredibly nervous, and he couldn't help but react inappropriately. His heart beat faster than during any fight he'd ever been in.
Curled up in his sleeping bag, he gritted his teeth, feeling more capable of handling himself in a battle than of speaking three sentences in a row without stuttering in front of the kunoichi.
The next day, as soon as the sun began to rise, Trunks woke up. Yawning deeply, he began stretching his arms to shake off the laziness that had numbed his body. He realized it was dawn and realized that Asuma hadn't woken him up to stand guard. For some reason, he had decided to let him rest the whole night.
He checked to see that all the team members were fast asleep in their sleeping bags. All except one, who didn't hesitate to call out to him behind his back.
"I see you're awake. I hope you slept well after such a busy day."
"This can't be true! Why does this have to happen to me?" He thought in anguish, slowly turning to face the young Yamanaka. There, sitting on the floor with her arms crossed, was Ino, watching him with that beautiful gaze that disconcerted him so much. "Damn it... What's wrong with me? Why is it so difficult to talk to her?"
It wasn't her eyes, but rather her gaze... or perhaps all of it. The fact is that Trunks couldn't decipher it; he was still too young, or at least too inexperienced, to understand what was happening to him. Steeling himself, he took a deep breath, preparing to answer the girl as calmly as possible.
"Yeah, well, I slept really well. In fact, I slept through the night."
"Asuma-sensei decided to let you rest overnight. He said you'd traveled a long distance," Ino replied, turning her head away so Trunks wouldn't notice the slight blush that appeared on her cheeks. The truth was, Ino herself had convinced Asuma to let him sleep while she took over. She felt a little bad for trying to play on the boy's obvious shyness.
"Hey... about what happened yesterday... I wanted to apologize. I don't know what came over me. Maybe I was a little tired from the trip. I'm sorry for speaking to you like that..." Trunks apologized, placing a hand on the back of his neck.
At all times, the Saiyan avoided his eyes meeting hers directly, or else he would not have been able to speak to her as normally as he had.
"Don't worry, I think we're off on the wrong foot." With that, the young kunoichi began walking toward Trunks, crouching down in front of him. She extended her hand in a friendly manner, a sign of wanting to make peace.
The boy was somewhat surprised by the gesture, but he quickly returned the greeting, gently taking her hand in his own, while giving her a genuine smile. The two remained like that for a long time.
"Well, at least they've made up." Asuma's voice interrupted, waking up just in time to hear Trunks' apology.
They both immediately separated, as if they'd been shocked when they came into contact with each other, but it was only the embarrassment they both felt at being discovered at that very moment. For a few moments, they thought they were completely alone.
"Is it really that hard for you to tell me you're here? You almost scared me to death!" Ino yelled, completely enraged, at Asuma, who just held a hand behind his head. He was already used to the kunoichi's strong temper and rude nature.
"Uh... if you'll excuse me, I'll go get something to eat. Pakkun, are you coming with me?" Trunks said suddenly, trying to avoid the awkward situation. The little Pug was just waking up, but he didn't resist the boy's proposal. While he wasn't a hunting dog, he knew the area very well and could perfectly guide him to a nearby river.
By the time it was almost noon, Team 10 was about to arrive in Konoha. Everyone was satisfied with the breakfast Trunks had brought them, even Choji. This, at least, made the young newcomer fit in quickly with the group. No one seemed to have any problem with his presence.
However, despite the delicious breakfast, the Saiyan was still failing. He wasn't as good at fishing as Goten, so he wasn't able to get as much food as he had. Trunks swore he'd be able to devour an entire banquet by himself once he got back to the village. Of course, no one knew about his inhuman appetite, though they did notice he ate quite heartily.
"Well, here we are," Asuma announced as soon as he saw the enormous and imposing green gates that corresponded to the entrance to Konoha.
Trunks was stunned by the surprise. He'd never imagined the place could be so big. When he heard the word "village," he thought it was some very small town, but in reality, Konoha seemed more like a city.
"Welcome, Asuma. I see you and your team did well. Nothing new?" Izumo, one of the ninjas guarding the village entrance, asked kindly.
"You could say everything was pretty peaceful," he replied, taking out a cigarette and starting to light it.
However, Trunks and Pakkun's presence did not go unnoticed. The two ninjas on guard perfectly recognized Kakashi's ninken, but not the young warrior. One of them was about to ask about the boy's identity, but anticipating this, Asuma explained that he had come with him, that Kakashi had sent him with Pakkun to deliver a message, and that he himself would be responsible for guiding him to his destination.
After walking for a few minutes, Asuma took charge of giving final instructions to his team. "Okay, you can all go home now. First thing tomorrow morning, we'll meet at the usual training grounds. I'll take Trunks straight to the Hokage's office. I'll also take care of delivering the mission report. Believe me, nothing interesting," the jounin concluded with a slight smile, as if his comment was specifically directed at the young Nara.
Shikamaru turned around and started walking away from the group with his hands in his pockets, but not before saying goodbye with a slight, lazy gesture.
"Hey, Shikamaru, wait for me!" Choji exclaimed, trying to catch up with his friend.
Only Ino remained, staring at Trunks in total silence. The kunoichi didn't know what would become of the Saiyan from this moment on. She thought that after delivering the message to the Hokage, he would return to his village and never see him again. She felt the need to get to know him a little better. Somehow, she would have liked to share a little more, show him the village, or something like that.
And before she realized it, Trunks had already turned his back on her and was walking alongside Pakkun and Asuma toward the Hokage Tower. Ino watched him throughout the endless walk until, before they crossed the corner, Trunks timidly turned his head, looking at her one last time before disappearing from her sight.
"Ugh! All boys are complete idiots," she said to herself, almost in an inaudible whisper.
Trunks was a little nervous, sitting in a sort of waiting room, waiting for the moment when he would be allowed to enter the Hokage's office. If only Sarutobi had realized the importance of the matter, he would have let him in immediately.
Pakkun had already left a few minutes ago, his mission complete. Now, he would return to Kakashi to report that the Saiyan was already waiting just outside the doors of the Hokage's office. Besides, Asuma was there, and he could perfectly handle the rest.
He was deep in thought when the jounin called out to him to bring him out of his meditative state. He stood up, walking slowly toward the office. He paused for a few moments before knocking on the door, as if it was something he was hesitant to do.
"Come in," a voice invited from behind the door, even before Trunks touched it. The Hokage knew perfectly well that his strange guest was right there.
The Saiyan cautiously entered, only to find an old man sitting at his desk. The old man wore the traditional Kage uniform, which basically consisted of a long white robe with a circular red hat.
"I understand you've come here to deliver a very important message from Kakashi," the old man said solemnly, looking him over curiously from head to toe while smoking a pipe. Asuma had also entered the office with him. Being a complete stranger, it was protocol for the boy to be watched by at least one high-level ninja, such as a jonin.
Trunks wordlessly approached the Hokage's desk, handing him the scroll he'd always had tied to his orange belt. Once he received it, the old man opened it and calmly began reading its contents. The message was extremely long; it wasn't just any mission report.
From a distance, Asuma noticed the expressions of astonishment and bewilderment that occasionally appeared on the Hokage's face. It must have been something extremely strange to provoke such reactions in Sarutobi. Asuma knew him very well; after all, that was his father.
The old man continued reading the contents of the scroll for perhaps half an hour. What it said was so unheard of that the Hokage finally put his pipe aside after removing it from his mouth several times. Finally, the time came for the old man to roll up the curious document again.
"Trunks, if you'd be so kind, could you wait outside the office for a moment? I'd like to speak with Asuma alone. It'll only be for a few moments. And please, excuse me for the inconvenience."
With a slight bow, the boy did exactly as the old man asked, leaving the room and closing the door behind him. Trunks waited again, seated in the waiting room. The conversation that took place there lasted longer than expected, which is why he began to get a little nervous.
"Stupid old man! He's probably refusing to let us live in the village. But I don't care. Goten and I can manage on our own."
The wait of more than an hour and a half ended up boring him completely, to the point that he began to fall asleep in his seat. The sound of the door opening was enough to wake Trunks with a start. It was Asuma, who had finally come out and was standing right in front of him. The jonin's face looked different somehow. It was as if he had seen a ghost, which had left him pale with shock.
"What happened? What did the Hokage say?" Trunks asked, trying to hide his anxiety about what they had talked about.
"We discussed the content of the message," he mumbled slowly, taking out a cigarette and clumsily beginning to light it, as if performing a task he'd never done before. "And as you can understand, it's quite strange... almost madness..."
"I know. That's why Kakashi sent me. He said you might want to ask me some questions or request a demonstration."
"Don't worry, I think the message was actually quite explicit," Asuma replied with a strange grimace that resembled a smile. The jonin found it amusing to imagine the lazy Kakashi carrying out with such care a task that everyone knew caused him great annoyance, almost repulsion.
"The message also contained some information regarding you and your friend Goten, related to your personalities and attitudes. Kakashi proposed several solutions, but always left the final say to the Lord Hokage. As you can understand, he analyzed the situation and made his own decisions, even before reaching an agreement with Kakashi. The Hokage believes it is the most appropriate…" Pausing briefly, the jonin took a deep inhale from his cigarette, then slowly released the large amount of smoke into the air. "You and your friend Goten will be able to live in a house that will be assigned to you, in exchange for your services to Konoha as compensation."
That was exactly what Kakashi had explained to Trunks, so it didn't surprise him in the slightest. But there was something else he didn't expect. "However, the Hokage doesn't think it's appropriate for Kakashi to take charge of both of them. Two new additions are a lot for one team, not to mention the great responsibility it will be for one person to lead both of them. What I mean is, from now on, you'll be on my team."
"I understand..." was Trunks' only response. It wasn't that he felt sad or anything, but he would have preferred to be with Kakashi. After all, he was the first person he felt comfortable telling everything to.
"Don't be so upset," Asuma replied, noticing the slight hint of disappointment that crossed her face. "If you know me well, you'll see I'm not such a bad person." The sarcastic comment brought a slight smile to Trunks' face, because the jonin had actually been very kind to him so far.
Asuma then handed him a small bag that, judging by its appearance, was filled with money. "This will officially be your first paycheck. You delivered an important message fairly quickly and in perfect condition. That's a B-rank mission, to say the least, not to mention a little extra for single-handedly defeating a dangerous rogue jonin."
"And what am I supposed to do with this?" Trunks asked, a little confused. He'd always had everything he wanted; his family was multi-millionaire. He'd never had to manage his own money, so he was somewhat puzzled about it.
"I don't know, it's yours. Spend it however you want," Asuma shrugged. "Now I'll show you your new home so you can get acclimated. Then you can wander around the village as you please and use the money. But be careful not to spend it too quickly."
At first glance, the place looked much worse than Trunks had imagined. Accustomed to living in the luxurious Capsule Corporation facilities, the new dwelling seemed, at the very least, like a dump. But he couldn't complain too much. At least the humble apartment had everything he needed to live. It had a kitchen, a bathroom, a living room with a small sofa, and even some chairs. There was only one bedroom, but it had a bunk bed. Trunks would choose the top one for when Goten arrived, just to spite him.
Although it seemed like little, the gesture was what mattered. They had fallen into the hands of good people who even took the trouble to provide them with a roof over their heads, so that was enough.
"Well, I think that's all," Asuma concluded as he was about to head out the door. He remembered one last detail that made him pause. "I almost forgot! Here, this is yours! Try to carry it with you from now on." He handed her a ninja headband with the distinctive leaf symbol that now identified him as a Konoha shinobi.
It was laughable how easily he had received the symbol that practically made him a ninja, without having to go through the academy, take a graduation exam, or anything like that. Anyone would think that all it took was to make an appointment to talk with the Hokage and have the same number of legs as lungs.
"And try to be early for training tomorrow. Be punctual; I'm not usually late like Kakashi."
Trunks stared at the bandana in his hands. He'd never in his life thought he'd go through such an unusual experience. He was in another dimension, which in itself sounded crazy.
He just had to wait for Goten to return. He'd surely be glad he was on the same team as Naruto and Kakashi, although he imagined Sasuke and Sakura wouldn't take it too well. However, he immediately pushed all those thoughts out of his head. His priority was something else: he had to find food; he was starving.
"I hope this is enough for me..." thought the young Saiyan, taking a look at the small but full bag of money.
He had enough cash to feed thirty men without any problem, in a luxurious restaurant, even enough for dessert for every one of them. The problem was that when it came to a Saiyan who hadn't eaten properly in days, dinner was for just one person. Of course, he wouldn't spend all his earnings in one night. He wouldn't eat in a luxurious establishment, far from it. At that very moment, he was craving something much simpler.
"I wonder how good the ramen Naruto talks so much about is."