The next day, close to noon.
Ramen Ichiraku – Land of Whirlpools branch.
A sharp bang-bang-bang! pounded at the door, dragging Akio out of a half-asleep haze.
They'd ended up playing cards all night. When he noticed the two kids were barely able to keep their eyes open, Akio rearranged the tables in the dining area, used Wood Release to whip up two small beds, and let Kimimaro and Haku crash right there.
Sara had gone upstairs to her room. Akio thought about going home himself, but laziness won; there was still open space in the shop, so he created another wooden bed and knocked out right there.
He hadn't slept more than a couple hours before the knocking ruined it.
"Master? Is it morning already?" Kimimaro's sleepy voice drifted over.
Akio didn't even bother lifting his head. "It was morning before we fell asleep. Try asking if it's gone dark yet."
"…Master, has it gone dark yet?"
Haku, far more awake, spoke from the other side: "Elder, someone's knocking, right? Should I get it?"
Akio cracked his chakra senses open lazily, paused then sighed. "It's Konan. Go ahead."
The knocking stopped outside.
He heard Konan muttering, "Nobody home? Where'd they go…?" right as Haku finally slid the door open.
Konan brightened instantly. "Sensei, finally! You can't keep sleeping, this is urgent!"
Akio still didn't sit up. "What could possibly be urgent at this hour?"
Konan hesitated before blurting out, "Nagato, Nagato is holding a concert!"
"Oh?" Akio grunted, unimpressed. "Let him sing. The boy's obsessed with rap; I've given up trying to fix it."
"But the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki is here too!"
Akio shot upright, sleep gone. "Him again? Don't tell me he snuck out another time."
Nagato deciding to rap didn't bother him. The kid's yo-yo-yo routine was annoying, sure, but at least it didn't kill anyone.
Killer B, however,… that man's vocal cords were a war crime.
Konan quickly shook her head. "No, he's here officially. As a representative of the Hidden Cloud. They came to discuss reparations. You know… those years the Cloud skipped out on their payments when you were gone."
"Oh. That." Akio exhaled.
During the last Great War, after the Cloud's defeat, Akio had forced them into a wildly unfair agreement, Cloud had to hand over seventy percent of their yearly revenue to the Land of Whirlpools.
But when Akio vanished into seclusion for five years, Cloud stopped paying by year three. Now the due date had come around again, and the Fourth Raikage had apparently sent Killer B to negotiate… probably hoping to play the "emotional appeal" card.
Or in B's case, the rap music card.
Akio rubbed his temples.
The Raikage sending B to negotiate was one thing. B deciding to hold a concert the moment he arrived… Akio could already imagine the Raikage beating him half to death when he returned.
"This country won't survive his freestyle," Akio muttered, finally sitting up and throwing on his outer robe.
"Kimimaro, Haku, you two keep resting. No training today. Just refine chakra later and listen to Sara if she needs help."
"Yes, Master/Elder."
Akio faced Konan. "Come on. Let's see what chaos he's causing now."
Outside the Clan Hall
Pacing at the door was Minato, normally all sunshine smiles, but right now so tense his eyebrows were practically touching.
Akio nearly burst out laughing. He could already imagine what Minato had endured with two chronic rappers in the same room.
"Elder," Minato said, relieved.
"Yeah, yeah. Good work. Pff" Akio snorted before coughing into his sleeve.
He waved Minato and Konan back. "You two stay outside. I'll handle this."
Neither of them looked eager to follow him in.
Akio pushed the door open
And froze.
Two men stood inside.
Both dramatically posing.
Both with their hands doing… whatever those gestures were supposed to be.
"Sing if you must, but why all the choreography? Enough." Akio slammed the door behind him.
Nagato instantly dropped his pose, scratching his head with an awkward grin. "Sensei…"
Killer B, however, jerked his hands downward, instinctively clutching his behind, eyes wide with fear.
Akio blinked. Right… that.
Last time B encountered Akio, he'd taken a devastating kick to the backside and spent over a month sleeping face-down.
Nagato quickly dragged a chair over with a flattering smile. "Sensei, please sit."
Akio sat down, arms crossed, and eyed B. "So. The Raikage sent you?"
B twitched, clearly struggling not to rhyme. "Y-yeah."
"Good. Sit."
B exhaled hard. Even the Eight-Tails inside him was trembling; Akio had once torn half its tentacles off during a fight with the previous host.
Akio continued, "Technically, I should thank you. If not for you, those three years I was gone, this country would've taken heavy losses."
B perked up instantly. "Don't mention it! Not at all!"
Akio almost choked. That man could ride a compliment faster than Genin chasing free ramen.
He glared. "You realize I was joking, right? If Cloud had actually tried invading two years ago, I'd have come out of seclusion early and erased your whole village myself."
"Y-yes sir…" B croaked, barely swallowing a rhyme.
Akio waved it off. "Anyway, the three missed years, I wasn't planning to demand repayment. I figured we'd restart from this year. But since you decided to hold a concert the moment you arrived, I've changed my mind. Not a single year gets waived."
B stiffened.
He tried one last attempt. "Sir… it's your student's concert. I only want to perform one song. Just one before the end."
Akio snorted. One song from B was already enough to trigger evacuations.
B glanced at Nagato, some silent plan passing between them. Nagato leaned in, cheeks red, whispering an explanation.
Akio's expression shifted.
"Oh? So that's the angle you're going for…" He stared at B. "This was your idea?"
B puffed out his chest. "Yo—"
"Use. Words."
"…Yes. If it works, Elder… could we ask for just one more year of extension? Cloud's economy is still hurting from the war."
Akio fell silent, fingers steepled.
After a moment, a small smirk tugged at his lips.
"If it works…"
He leaned back.
"…we'll discuss it."
---
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