For a moment, the bar fell into a silence so tight Ludwig swore he could hear the wood breathe. Minato didn't move. Didn't flinch. Only the faintest twitch at the corner of his eye betrayed the shock he was trying to conceal but failing.
Claire, for her part, stood with her arms crossed, posture relaxed, expression utterly neutral.
If Ludwig hadn't known she already knew the truth because Rimuru and he had spelled out the entire canon timeline to her, he would've believed her. But the slight tilt of her head, the calmness of her breathing, the way her fingers tapped once against her sleeve…
Yes.
She knew exactly what she was asking for.
And she was performing.
Minato finally exhaled before whispering in a stutter. "Claire-san… What you're asking for… I can't agree to that."
Claire blinked slowly. "Why not?"
Her tone was mild. Almost polite. Almost.
Thankfully, Minato didn't rise to the bait. "The Hokage cannot simply hand over one of his own shinobi on another nation's request. Even less so when the village is on the brink of a war." He shook his head once, firm but respectful. "I cannot allow an outsider to judge our internal affairs."
Ludwig snorted at his wordings. If he didn't know better, he would probably think of Hiruzen as a just and good ruler.
Unfortunately, he knew everything. About how manipulative he was, how his policy only benefited some clan, and how in the future, he would hand one of his supporters to Kirigakure to avoid war.
Claire's head tilted, fox-like in curiosity. "So you are saying the attack is allowed to happen because he—or she—is from Konoha?"
"No." Minato's jaw tightened. "I'm saying that even if a shinobi acted outside their orders… we have our own system of justice."
Ludwig resisted the urge to snort. Did they? Really?
Where's that justice system when Orochimaru defected? What about Danzo's transgression? Why did no one get punished when every single person in Konoha stoned the White Fang because he decided to save his comrade.
Kushina, who had been shrinking into her seat this entire conversation, finally lifted her head. "M-Minato… Ludwig got attacked because of me, didn't it? If they didn't know he was strong, they would've—"
"I know." Minato's voice softened instantly. The steel melted. Only the man remained. "And if I could take responsibility personally, I would."
Ludwig watched as Minato looked directly at Claire.
No hostility.
No defensiveness.
Just honesty.
"But I cannot hand over a member of my village." Minato continued, "Not without knowing exactly what happened, and not without the Hokage's judgment on the matter."
Claire blinked. Twice. A very small smile tugged at her lip, visible only to Ludwig, who had learned her tells. That was the smile of a hunter satisfied. It seemed like this was all she needed. Not the culprit. Not Danzo's head on a silver platter. Just confirmation Minato would now push the investigation upward.
"I see." Claire finally uncrossed her arms. "Then bring the matter to your Hokage. I want his decision."
Minato bowed his head, not in subservience, but respect. "I will."
Ludwig felt something loosen in his chest. Not relief. But the quiet settling of knowledge: the direction of events had shifted. Changed.
A stone had been thrown into the canon timeline river.
However, Claire wasn't done.
"And Minato." She added lightly, "I expect that person to be brought here before we depart for Tempest in the morning tomorrow."
"T-tomorrow? Isn't that a little too fast?" Kushina stuttered.
Claire's serene yet calculating expression broke, a genuine smirk now blooming on her face. "Too fast? I remember someone asking us to go to Tempest tonight throughout the day."
Kushina's mouth moved like a fish in water. A heartbeat passed, and she finally let her voice come out from her mouth. "Both are two different matters! I'm talking about the decision."
"Is that so?" Claire teased her. "Then, should we delay the plan until your Hokage makes his decision? Mind you, he can refuse."
Kushina's face became serious in an instant. A flicker of annoyance and understanding appeared and disappeared before anyone could notice. She then turned on her seat and looked at Minato. "Tommorow it is. With or without you, I'm going to tempest. No one could stop me and make me wait for a day longer."
Minato looked at his girlfriend with resigned eyes. He let out a sigh before looking past Kushina's shoulder. "I'll report to the Hokage as soon as I leave."
Claire nodded. "Good."
Ludwig's eyes drifted momentarily toward the ceiling beams. He could almost feel Claire's satisfaction radiating like heat. For someone pretending to be ignorant, she navigated Konoha's politics with frightening grace.
He had a feeling she was doing more than simply defending him.
She was testing Minato.
Testing Konoha.
Testing the boundaries of this alliance that was forming, slowly, quietly, precariously.
* * *
The broth hadn't finished yet. Not even the taste he wanted had slightly peeked from the hot water. Even the vegetables and the meat for the soup were still being prepared.
But in his mind, the restaurant had whispered to him. Someone was in front of the door. She was currently knocking with maybe half of her power after realizing pushing it like usual wasn't yielding the same result.
With a sigh, Ludwig let the door open. A fraction of seconds later, a bundle of red hair came rolling through the floor of the restaurant.
The busy sound that had been present inside the kitchen since a few minutes ago stilled into silence. Every head turned towards the hall, eyes landing on the same mess. A girl sprawled out on the floor, clothes, Kunais, Sealing Scrolls spilling out from the backpack, and things Ludwig didn't find useful in Tempest at all.
The corner of Ludwig's lips twitched. "Before I even asked why you are here so early, let me ask you this: why did you bring a tent with you?"
Still on the floor as if finding it comfortable, Kushina answered with her usual high-tension voice. "Of course because we might be needing it! Rimuru's city is located in Jura Forest, isn't it? Aren't you curious about what's around the city? If we went out of the city, how would we sleep in a forest?"
Ludwig found his head throbbing more compared to last night. When it came to politics, if nothing satisfactory was reached, at least a strong hand would be an enough answer. But how could he do that to Kushina? Aside from one of the pitiful characters in the Canon, she was also his friend and regular.
"Forget it." Ludwig sighed. "How about breakfast? Did you eat breakfast already?"
But before Kushina could even answer with her own mouth, her stomach answered it for her. Letting out a chuckle, he pointed to the empty chair for her. "Sit, I'll make something for you real quick."
Kushina nodded her head violently, body jumping back to his feet. As he watched her walking towards the seat, he let his mana to envelop the broth that was still boiling before moving towards the Stasis Cabinet.
If it's everyone else, he might think several times about what kind of breakfast he should make. But since it was Kushina, he could even cook it without thinking much.
A boil, a light fry, and some sizzle later, two servings of oil pasta appeared in front of Kushina.
Of course her eyes looked at him with questioning looks. "Two?"
Ludwig chuckled at her question. "Of course not. One is for the Nine Tails."
"Oh." Kushina went silent after letting out that sound. Her brows furrowed deep, eyes looking locking at nothing but air.
Then his hands moved, plate lifted before it disappeared.
Knowing she was giving it to the Nine-Tails, Ludwig smiled. "Tell the fox to not destroy the plates. I want it back, or I'll start charging it for food."
Kushina laughed loudly before she stopped and lift the chopstick. "It shall be done, it said."
Giving one last nod at Kushina, Ludwig returned to the stove. However, that period of time when she was eating the pasta was the only quiet time he could get this morning.
With a soft thud of chopstick hitting the bowl, Kushina opened her mouth again. "Thank you for the food, Lud! By the way, why is Claire not here yet? What a lazy girl!"
The kitchen broke out to a fit of laughter at her words. Typical Kushina. No one would be spared when something she wanted didn't come to her as quickly as she wanted.
After laughing, Ludwig gave Valerie a signal with his eyes. If he had to entertain her until Claire arrived, the prep wouldn't be finished until it was too late. He didn't want to hear Kushina complaining about how slow he was cooking if he delayed their departure time.
Time passed as Valerie chatted with Kushina. Just before the soup finished, a buzz shook Ludwig's mind again. With a relieved smile, he willed the restaurant to open its door.
From it, a pair of black-haired women and a blonde girl came in. Their attire was unlike Kushina. Claire donned her usual black shirt and leather jacket as well as leather pants while Cless was dressed in frilly clothes which were also designed with mobility and safety in mind.
"You are early, Kushina." Claire voiced her mind as soon as she looked at Kushina who was practically bouncing on her seat.
"You are the one who was late! I'm not early, just in time!"
Claire rolled her eyes while Cless ran to Kushina's embrace.
"Right, right?" Cless' childish voice graced the restaurant. "I told her to get ready quickly! But she refused to listen!"
Kushina giggled before patting the young girl's head. "Poor you. Grow up fast, and you can do it yourself!"
Cless huffed before she answered. "I am already grown up! Moreover, I also can use magic!"
The kitchen broke out in smiles as Cless' irritated voice echoed. At the same time, Valerie poured hot tea for both Claire and Cless.
"Thank you, Valerie." Claire said before taking her seat and looked at two girls who were obviously different in ages but looked the same when talking to each other. "You two are impossible. We promised to depart at 10 you know? It's not even 9:30 now."
Claire sipped the tea, quick and easy. Then, her eyes wandered to the sprawling items on the floor. "By the way Kushina, why did you bring a tent with you?"
Kushina visibly beamed at the question. She puffed her chest up and answered. "Because we might need it! Don't you think about visiting the forest around Tempest?"
Claire looked at Kushina as if she was a rare animal. She then sighed and wiped his face with her palms. "Gods help me!"
Ludwig muffled his laughter with his hand. Across the separator, Kushina was looking at Claire in confusion. "W-what? What's wrong with me?"
Claire let out a long sigh. A kind that would make people who heard think about what kind of disaster she just walked away from. "You know Ludwig can bring us back to Tempest easily right?"
"AH~" Kushina answered. "I forgot about that."
Leave a review, ratings, a comment, or gib me your powerstone please~
And to those who want to read 50 chapters ahead, be my Patron at https://www.p*treon.com/c/imjustaboy_/membership
Or just search Imjustaboy_ in the search bar. Thankiess!