Shin-chan was arranged to stay in the Senju clan compound.
More precisely, he was staying in the Senju brothers' residence.
Tobirama's reason was that "a dangerous individual of unknown origin must be kept under strict supervision," but Hashirama secretly told Shin-chan that Tobirama was actually afraid he would run around the village, reveal information about the future, and cause a panic.
"You'll live here starting today." Tobirama slid open a paper door, revealing a clean and tidy Japanese-style room. "Without my permission, you are not allowed to touch anything in my study."
Shin-chan poked his head out and glanced toward the study. "Then what am I allowed to touch?"
"The bed, the table, and the chair."
"What about chocolate sticks?"
"There are no chocolate sticks."
Shin-chan's face immediately fell. "What kind of home doesn't even have chocolate sticks? This is just a fancy prison."
"You have food and a place to stay. What more do you want?" Tobirama said expressionlessly.
"I want ramen."
"There is no ramen."
During Shin-chan's first few days living at the Senju residence, the entire clan compound was filled with a strange silence.
At every mealtime, Tobirama would personally carry a tray inside, then bring the empty bowls back out.
Occasionally, the First Hokage would swagger inside, stay there for an hour or two, and come out looking thoroughly satisfied.
"Lord Tobirama's temper seems even worse these past few days," the clan members cleaning the corridor whispered among themselves.
"I heard he's Lord Tobirama's illegitimate son. His mother died, so he came here seeking shelter."
"Is that why Lord Tobirama's temper is worse?"
But none of these rumours ever dared reach Tobirama's ears.
The only person who dared speak without thinking in front of Tobirama was currently sitting cross-legged on the tatami in the guest room, delivering a lengthy critique of the plate of glutinous rice dumplings before him.
"There isn't enough filling in this dumpling. I had to take three bites before reaching the red bean paste." Shin-chan held up half a dumpling and waved it at Tobirama as he entered. "And the skin is too thick. Chewing it feels like eating rubber."
Tobirama placed the newly brought teapot on the table. "Leave it if you don't want to eat it."
"I never said I wasn't going to eat it." Shin-chan stuffed the remaining half into his mouth. "I'm only offering suggestions for improvement. In my era, the standard for dumplings is that you should see the filling after one bite. It's called 'Red in One Bite.'"
"Do people in your era have such high standards for dumplings?"
"High standards for food are a sign of civilised progress." Shin-chan swallowed the dumpling. "Grandpa Third said that."
Tobirama lifted his teacup and took a sip, too lazy to expose him.
After spending several days together, he had already discovered a pattern: more than half the sentences beginning with "Grandpa Third said" were things Shin-chan invented on the spot.
"Aren't you going to the Hokage Building today?" Shin-chan asked.
"I'll go this afternoon."
"That's perfect. I have a very important question for you."
Tobirama lowered his teacup and waited for him to speak.
After the past few days, he had already mentally prepared himself to hear something like, "When will the Senju clan open its first ramen shop?" or, "Can you change your forehead protector to red?"
Shin-chan sat cross-legged on the tatami. "Mister, do you think the Flying Thunder God Technique can be improved?"
Tobirama's hand paused slightly while holding the teacup.
That question was completely outside his expectations.
"Why are you asking?"
"Because my Flying Thunder God was disrupted by the Dragon Vein," Shin-chan said. "So I was thinking, if we added an 'anti-interference' function to the Flying Thunder God Technique, wouldn't that stop me from being randomly thrown more than thirty years into the past?"
Tobirama remained silent for a moment before setting down his teacup.
"The power of the Dragon Vein is essentially a special form of chakra. If its intensity is great enough, it could indeed disrupt the stability of spatial anchors."
Shin-chan nodded thoughtfully. "So it wasn't because I learned Flying Thunder God badly?"
"No." Tobirama glanced at him. "Your luck was simply terrible."
"Then I'm relieved." Shin-chan let out a long breath. "I thought my skills weren't good enough."
Tobirama lifted his teacup again.
In truth, he had never doubted the child's identity from the beginning.
The Flying Thunder God Technique and all the names he had mentioned—Hiruzen, Tsunade—everything matched.
What confused him was not whether this child truly came from the future.
It was why the future had sent back a child like this, of all people.
Just what sort of ninja would the future Konoha produce?
That afternoon, Hashirama appeared in the courtyard right on time.
When he slid open the paper door, Shin-chan was lying on the floor, drawing something on paper with a brush.
"Shin-chan, what are you drawing?"
"A future development plan for the village," Shin-chan said without raising his head. "I'm marking the best locations for future ramen shops, dango shops, and dessert shops. That way, as the village gradually develops, they can open in the most convenient places."
Hashirama crouched down and carefully examined the crooked "development plan."
"Why did you draw three circles here?"
"This one is a ramen shop, this one is a dango shop, and this one is a dessert shop. The three are connected in a line." Shin-chan drew an arc between the three circles with his brush. "This is called the 'Golden Triangle of Food.' In the future, whenever villagers want something delicious, they'll only need to follow this route."
"That makes sense." Hashirama rubbed his chin. "What about here? Why did you draw three crosses?"
"That's the training ground." Shin-chan's expression became serious. "People get very hungry after training, but you can't open delicious shops beside the training ground. Anyone who hasn't finished training will smell the food and lose focus."
Hashirama nodded in complete agreement.
And just like that, the earliest commercial district plan for Konoha Village was born on a piece of scrap paper in the Senju residence.
When Tobirama returned after finishing his official duties, bursts of laughter were coming from the courtyard.
The first thing Hashirama said when he saw him was, "Shin-chan and I have decided to build a food street through the centre of the village."
Tobirama froze halfway into the room.
"You decided to build what?"
"A food street." Hashirama's tone was serious. "It'll stretch from the village entrance all the way to the Hokage Building, with delicious shops lining both sides. That way, when ninja return from missions, they can eat a hot meal as soon as they enter the village."
"And what about the Hokage Building?" Tobirama asked calmly. "Will ninja carry bowls of ramen into the office while reporting their missions?"
Hashirama opened his mouth. "Well..."
"Those are two different things," Shin-chan interjected. "Eating noodles improves your mood. When people are in a good mood, they report their missions more enthusiastically. It creates a positive cycle."
Tobirama took a deep breath.
He had known that putting this child together with his elder brother would lead to nothing good.
"The area around the Hokage Building is an administrative district. According to regulations, only office buildings may be constructed there."
"Regulations are rigid, but people are flexible." Hashirama scratched his head. "We could build a few small shops first and see how business goes. If they do well, we can gradually expand."
"Where will the money come from?"
"I can use my salary."
Tobirama stared at him expressionlessly. "You lost your entire salary at the casino last month, and this month's wages haven't been issued yet."
~~~
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