Although he had come to the front lines with Tsunade-
Jin had no intention of fighting alongside the Sannin against the Amegakure's forces on the battlefield.
He only planned to join the fight when Hanzo himself appeared.
He would use this Kage-level Ninja, nicknamed the [Demigod], as a whetstone for his Mangekyo Sharingan.
And as a bonus, he could gain some favor with Tsunade.
"Boss! One bowl of ramen! Extra noodles, extra scallions, extra meat!"
Months passed in the blink of an eye.
Jin had run off to a place far away and ordered a bowl of ramen.
There was no helping it… the food at the military camp was terrible.
As a hedonist, Jin couldn't stand it.
"Hey, kid, if you want that much extra, why not just order two bowls?"
The shop owner said with a wry smile.
"Stingy,"
Jin chatted idly with the owner, "Boss, the fighting could reach this area any time. Aren't you going to run?"
"What's the use of running? My life's work is this shop. If I stay, I might not get killed, but if I run, I'll definitely starve to death."
The owner chuckled bitterly as he cooked the noodles.
Jin shrugged, not commenting further.
He just added an extra bill when paying.
He wasn't a saint, nor did he like meddling in other people's business.
Occasional acts of kindness were his limit.
"Ahahaha~ Here's your ramen~"
The owner, finding joy amidst hardship, brought over a large bowl of noodles.
Just as Jin was breaking apart the disposable chopsticks, ready to dig in-
He noticed a thin, petite figure standing dumbfounded outside the shop door.
Messy, light blue bangs covered her eyes.
But Jin could still tell the little beggar was looking right at him.
"Kid, don't mind it. The Land of Rain is full of homeless people who've lost their families nowadays."
The shop owner said, unsurprised.
'This little beggar... could it be...'
Jin stroked his chin, an idea forming in his mind.
Then, Jin waved at the figure, signaling her to come over.
The little beggar was clearly startled.
Seeing Jin waving at her,
She hesitated timidly for a long while before finally gathering the courage to step inside the shop.
"Eat."
Jin pushed the bowl of noodles in front of her.
The little beggar sitting opposite him trembled all over, not daring to touch the chopsticks.
"If you don't eat it, I'll throw it away. It's getting soggy anyway."
Jin made as if to toss the bowl into the trash.
"No!"
The little beggar was startled and hurriedly picked up the chopsticks, eating large mouthfuls.
'A girl.'
Jin determined the beggar's gender from the voice.
"What's your name?"
He asked after the girl finished eating and lowered her head.
"K-Konan..."
The girl stammered timidly.
Hearing this, Jin's lips curled into a slight smile.
"Come with me. I won't let you go hungry."
Jin stood up and walked out of the shop.
Konan stared blankly at his retreating back.
A moment later, she ran hard to catch up.
…
Three hours later, inside the Konoha's military camp.
"Can you teach her how to extract Chakra?"
Jin brought Konan, who had just bathed and was wearing clothes of his that were clearly too big for her, in front of Tsunade.
Looking at this five-year-old loli, whose head bowed and face shy-
Tsunade's eyes widened, a dangerous curve forming at the corner of her mouth.
"You little brat, you went and got yourself a little wife?"
"N-no... I, I just..."
Konan hurriedly tried to explain but couldn't find the words.
[Izuna: Hahaha! This is killing me! See that, Tobirama? Your granddaughter's expression is like the original wife seeing the mistress! To actually fall for a kid over ten years younger! Women of the Senju Clan are surprisingly easy to fool!]
[Tobirama: Izuna! You want to fight, is that it!?]
[Izuna: You think I'm afraid of you? Back then, I was just careless and didn't see through your Flying Thunder God!]
[Edward Newgate: According to my experience, the blonde girl isn't really in love with Jin-boy either. She just feels like something that belongs to her is being taken away.]
[Ace: Wow~ Pops, you know about this stuff?]
…
Nearly half a year passed.
Konoha finally invaded the territory under Amegakure's jurisdiction.
This meant Hanzo could no longer watch from the rear.
He had to take the field himself.
The final battle between Konoha and Amegakure was imminent!
Tsunade came to the barracks where Jin was staying and found the kid lying with his head on the loli Konan's lap, having her massage his temples while feeding him fruit.
Barely suppressing the urge to slap him, she said with a cold laugh, "You're quite enjoying yourself, kid."
"I'm conserving my energy."
Jin stretched lazily, his eyes meeting Tsunade's.
"Don't worry, today, we can use Hanzo of the Salamander's head to pay respects to Nawaki."
Tsunade's heart trembled. She pressed her lips together and replied in a low voice,
"Mhm~"