"No problem," Mikoto's mother smiled warmly, glancing at Orochimaru before nodding. The Three Legendary Sannins were well-known in Konoha.
In terms of reputation within the village, the Sannins were far more famous than Xin. After all, they'd earned their status step by step, while Xin's rise had been sudden, and his recent lull hadn't helped either.
With the village's subtle promotion, the Sannin became role models for many shinobi, icons of hard work and dedication.
"Is this your place?"
Orochimaru had been away, moving around the Land of Rivers and hadn't heard about Konoha's latest popular spot-a hotpot restaurant.
As they walked in, several patrons greeted Xin enthusiastically, making it clear to Orochimaru that he had some kind of connection to the place.
Xin sat down, cracked open a bottle of chilled juice, and took a sip. "Ahh, it's good to be back in the village."
"The restaurant isn't mine. It's Kushina's, but I contributed the recipe, so I get a share of the profits."
"It's mainly to support the Uzumaki clan. They didn't want to accept jobs from the village, and having Kushina support them long-term wasn't a good solution. So, we opened this place, and now they run it. Every month, the Uzumaki clan gets a share of the profits."
"That's a solid plan," Orochimaru agreed. "It's definitely better than just letting them live off her. No matter how wealthy Kushina is, things would've gone bad eventually."
Soon, the food was served, and the broth started bubbling. Xin grabbed a slice of meat and dipped it into the spicy red broth.
"So, what's this mission about? Let's see if I'm interested," Xin said, chewing on the meat.
If it piqued his interest, he didn't mind going out for a while. He'd been cooped up in the village for quite some time, and maybe he could even take his team with him, and give them a taste of the real world.
If the opportunity arose, Xin wouldn't mind taking them on a trip to the Land of Rain, to show them how harsh reality could be.
Orochimaru glanced at the two kinds of broth but chose the clear one.
"You're aware of the recent internal investigation in the Anbu, right?"
"Yeah, of course! Whew, that's hot!" Xin responded between breaths, fanning his mouth after taking a bite of the hot broth.
"I was there, helping guard the interrogation department with some of the Shimura and Sarutobi clan ninjas. We were preventing anyone from escaping."