Chapter 316: Concert
The next day, approaching noon.
Land of Whirlpools, Ichiraku Ramen branch.
Bang bang bang!
A hurried knocking sound woke Masahiko from his slumber.
Having played poker all night, Masahiko saw that the two children were truly exhausted, so he rearranged the tables and chairs in the Ichiraku Ramen dining area, used Wood Release to make two small beds, and let Kimimaro and Haku rest there briefly.
Sara returned to her bedroom on the second floor. After thinking it over, Masahiko couldn't be bothered to go home. Since there was space in the dining area, he simply made a large wooden bed and slept there himself.
He didn't expect to be disturbed by knocking after barely sleeping for four hours.
"God? Is it morning?" Kimimaro's voice came from nearby.
Masahiko couldn't even be bothered to get up. "It was already morning before we went to sleep. You should be asking if it's dark yet."
"God, is it dark yet?"
On the other side, Haku was a bit more awake: "Great Elder, does that sound like someone knocking? Shall I go open it?"
Masahiko half-closed his eyes, activated his sensory abilities, and was startled. "It's Konan, go open the door."
The knocking outside had stopped, replaced by Konan's murmur, "Is he not here? Where did he go?" Just as she was about to turn and leave, Haku finally opened the shop door.
Konan's face lit up with joy. "Teacher, I finally found you! Stop sleeping!"
Masahiko, eyes half-closed, didn't even get up. "What's the rush?"
Konan paused, shook her head, and said, "It's Nagato. Nagato... wants to hold a concert!"
"Oh?" Masahiko replied lazily. "Let him sing. He loves rapping so much, I can't control him anyway."
"But the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki is also here!"
Masahiko shuddered, his sleepiness vanishing completely. "He's here again? Did this guy sneak out again?"
He didn't care much about Nagato holding a concert. Although the constant "yo yo yo" was a bit annoying, Nagato was somewhat reliable when it came to rapping... At least his singing wouldn't kill anyone, so let whoever wants to listen, listen.
Killer B, however, was a different story; his singing was lethal.
Konan shook her head. "No, he's here representing the Hidden Cloud Village to negotiate peace. During the years you were missing, didn't they miss a few material payments..."
"Oh, I see. Understood."
Masahiko lay back down and frowned.
Over the past decade or so, because of their defeat in the Second Ninja War, Masahiko had seized the opportunity to sign an unequal treaty: the Land of Lightning had to pay seventy percent of its annual income to the Land of Whirlpools every year.
When Masahiko went into seclusion for five years, starting from the third year, the Land of Lightning stopped paying. Now that it was time for a new payment, the Fourth Raikage sending Killer B probably meant he wanted to play the 'emotional card'... No, the rap card.
Lying on the bed with his eyes closed in thought for a moment, Masahiko shook his head speechlessly.
The Fourth Raikage sent Killer B to plead their case, but Killer B was thinking about holding a concert. He would probably be beaten to death by his older brother when he returned to the Cloud Village.
"The Land of Whirlpools can't withstand his tossing about." Masahiko rubbed his eyes, sat up, and draped his outer coat over his shoulders.
"Kimimaro, Haku, you two keep sleeping. No need to train today; just refine chakra for a bit. Stay in the shop and follow Sara's instructions."
"Yes, God (Great Elder)."
Having arranged this, Masahiko turned to Konan. "Let's go take a look together."
...
Outside the Uzumaki Clan Head's hall in the Land of Whirlpools.
Masahiko saw Minato pacing back and forth at the entrance. Minato, who always wore a sunny smile, currently had his brows tightly knitted, making Masahiko almost laugh out loud.
He could imagine the devastation the two "yo yo yos" inside coming together would wreak on Minato's nerves...
"Great Elder." Seeing Masahiko, Minato breathed a sigh of relief and went to meet him.
"Mm, you've worked hard. Pfft... ahem." Masahiko couldn't hold back a laugh, giving Minato a face full of dark lines.
Glancing at Minato and Konan, Masahiko shook his head. "You guys stay outside, I'll go in alone."
Konan didn't want to go in either. "Teacher, we're troubling you!"
Masahiko waved his hand and pushed the door open to enter.
What greeted his eyes were... two dancing monkeys?
"If you're going to sing, just sing. What are you gesturing with your hands for? Bang!" Masahiko slammed the door shut.
"Teacher, you're here." Nagato slowly moved the hands he had placed on his chest upwards, scratched his head, and smiled awkwardly.
Killer B, however, did the exact opposite. He slowly moved his hands from his chest down, around the sides of his bucket waist, and covered his butt, his face full of terror.
Masahiko was speechless. What did this gesture mean?
He had forgotten that when he fought Madara previously, the Fourth Raikage and Killer B had suffered collateral damage.
The Fourth Raikage Ay had taken a punch from Madara's Susanoo and rested for two days, while Killer B had taken a kick to the butt from Masahiko... He had to sleep on his stomach for over a month.
Now seeing Masahiko, he covered his butt as a conditioned reflex.
"Yo... ahem."
Killer B originally wanted to use rap to break the awkward atmosphere, but a glare from Masahiko instantly made him chicken out.
"Speak properly, and stop covering that big fat butt of yours."
Nagato pulled over a chair and smiled ingratiatingly. "Teacher, sit down and let's talk."
Masahiko glanced at him, sat down imposingly, and looked at Killer B. "The Fourth Raikage Ay sent you?"
Killer B's face twitched for a long time before he swallowed the words he was about to rap and squeezed out a single "Mm".
Masahiko chuckled, no longer teasing him. "Sit down and let's talk."
Killer B let out a long breath. Facing Masahiko, it wasn't just him who was nervous; the Eight-Tails inside him was even more nervous. When it was inside its previous jinchuriki and met Masahiko, it had lost several tentacles and almost its life.
Masahiko continued, "Logically speaking, I should also thank you. If it weren't for you previously, the Land of Whirlpools probably would have suffered heavy losses during my three years of seclusion..."
"You're too polite, you're too polite."
Masahiko's mouth twitched. This guy took the out way too easily; now he didn't even know how to continue.
After pondering for a long time, Masahiko glared at him. "You actually took that seriously? If the Cloud Village really dared to attack two years ago, do you believe I would have wiped you all out the moment I came out of seclusion?"
"Yo... ahem, I believe it." Killer B felt stifled, especially with a 'fellow enthusiast' nearby; he wanted to rap a few lines even more.
Masahiko smiled and shook his head. "Actually, I didn't plan on asking for the materials from those three years anyway. Resuming from this year is fine. But since you want to hold a concert again, I've changed my mind. Not a single year less!"
Killer B's expression stiffened, and he changed the subject. "Senior, it's your disciple's concert. I only need to sing one song before it ends, just one."
Masahiko curled his lip. One song from you is lethal; how many more do you want?
Killer B shot Nagato a look. The two seemed to have reached some sort of consensus. Nagato, his face slightly red, leaned close to Masahiko.
Masahiko glared at him, but as Nagato whispered an explanation, his expression slowly relaxed.
"Is that so?" Masahiko wore a peculiar expression and looked at Killer B. "Was this your idea?"
Killer B looked proud. "Yo..."
"Speak properly."
"Uh, Senior. If it succeeds, I hope you can grant us another year of leniency. Because of our defeat in the war, our economic situation is very poor."
Masahiko pondered for a moment, smiled, and shook his head.
"If it succeeds..."
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