On his second day in Konoha, a shinobi assigned him a house on a street corner.
The place was incredibly bare, lacking even basic furniture, making him wonder if Hashirama had whipped it up with Wood Release as an afterthought.
Using money acquired from the black market, he made minor modifications, turning the structure into a storefront for a ramen shop.
As everyone knew, ramen shops were the safest places in the ninja world, especially Ichiraku Ramen in the future.
No such shop existed in Konoha yet.
Kakuzu anticipated living in the village for the next two to three years.
Being a jobless drifter would invite suspicion.
He committed fully to the disguise, adopting the alias Teuchi.
Coming from world filled with various cuisines, even if he had never cooked the dish himself, he had seen it done plenty of times.
After dozens of failed attempts, he finally created a mouthwatering broth.
The soup was the key to a good bowl of ramen.
In these chaotic times, eating a steaming bowl and enjoying a moment of peace was a true pleasure.
Moreover, it was cheap.
Within a few days, word of mouth spread news of Kakuzu’s shop among the civilians, and soon even shinobi dropped in regularly.
Everything progressed smoothly, Kakuzu seemingly became a member of Konoha.
What Kakuzu never expected was that his pure intention of finding a cover identity would attract the village leaders.
“Is there only ramen here?” Madara asked.
“Currently, there is only ramen,” Kakuzu replied.
Madara said nothing more.
He finished his bowl, silently paid, and left.
‘He was probably just hungry…
right?’ Already hiding his true motives, Kakuzu cast a discreet glance at Madara’s retreating back, feeling restless.
The next day, another prominent figure arrived.
“So this is the ramen shop Madara visited!
(╯▽╰) It smells so good, ” Hashirama boisterously led a red-haired woman into the shop.
She was his wife, Mito Uzumaki.
Kakuzu: ○_○
He had not expected the shop to be this attractive.
In under ten days, it had drawn in both Madara and Hashirama.
“Welcome, Lord Hokage,” Kakuzu said, feigning enthusiasm.
Having been a shinobi for twenty years, he had long since mastered the art of keeping his emotions hidden.
But as he spoke, he noticed a gaze fixed on his face.
He turned and saw Mito staring at him.
Kakuzu considered himself plain-looking, far from the type to attract a married woman.
‘Mito Uzumaki.
Uzumaki…
Have I been exposed?
Impossible.
I haven’t used chakra since entering Konoha!
Besides, if they had truly discovered me, they would have attacked.’
Kakuzu comforted himself with these thoughts, only breathing a sigh of relief after watching the Hokage couple finish their ramen and leave satisfied.
After leaving the shop, Mito whispered, “Hashirama, that shop owner has chakra.”
In truth, everyone on this continent possessed some chakra.
But when shinobi said someone ‘had chakra,’ they almost exclusively meant a fellow combatant.
Hashirama nodded.
“But I believe that someone who can bring happiness to Konohagakure is not a bad person.”
According to statistics compiled by his younger brother, Tobirama Senju, ever since this ramen shop appeared, the work efficiency of the Konoha shinobi had improved, and the happiness of the citizens had risen considerably.
If someone wanted to harm the village, they would not need to go to such elaborate lengths.
“Even if he is not a bad person, his purpose for being here is open to question,” Mito said.
“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Hashirama said.
Ever since, the Hokage frequented Kakuzu’s ramen shop.
His celebrity drew crowds, and business thrived.
‘The seventh time.’
After a month in Konoha and a month running the shop, Kakuzu glanced toward the private room.
Inside, Hashirama ate barbecue with his best friend, Madara.
Hashirama had dropped by every few days this past month, but bringing Madara was new.
The private room catered to esteemed guests, its only advantage over regular seating was the quiet.
High prices kept ordinary patrons away, but clan heads like Hashirama and Madara lacked no funds, so they always occupied the room during their visits.
‘This beats killing people.’ Reviewing the month’s revenue, Kakuzu decided living like this forever wouldn’t be so bad.
Murder required hunting targets, fighting them, draining his energy, and risking his life.
Here, pulling noodles and boiling broth brought in money hand over fist every single day.
By comparison, it took almost no effort.
The slacker notion vanished.
A shinobi for a moment was a shinobi for a lifetime.
In this era, willing or not, he could never truly hide away in a corner like this forever.
“Teuchi, come here a moment.”
Hashirama poked his head through the crack of the private room door and called across the room.
Kakuzu walked over, confused.
“Lord Hokage, do you need anything else?”
“Come inside and speak,” Hashirama said with smile.
So how should he respond to Hashirama’s words?
Agree, or refuse?
A moment later, Kakuzu feigned helplessness.
“As expected of Lord Hokage, you still found out.
But I have no desire to be a tool anymore.”
‘A tool?’ Madara froze.
On second thought, it made perfect sense.
Shinobi were nothing but tools.
Before the emergence of shinobi villages, they served the clans, and the clans served the noble houses.
This hierarchy nested one layer inside another.
At its core, it all came down to one word: tool.
“You’re right shinobi are not tools.
And here they will never be!
Here we will have trusted friends!” Hashirama said with confidence.
As head of the Senju clan, he knew exactly how people treated shinobi in the past.
But he had founded Konoha precisely because he hoped shinobi would no longer be tools.
‘That’s naive!’ Kakuzu cursed him mentally.
In this era of endless war, a friend was highly likely to be the one stabbing you in the back.
He had learned that lesson thoroughly over his twenty years as a shinobi.
“Although there is still mutual suspicion among everyone right now, I believe it is only a matter of time before we all become a loving family,” Hashirama spoke earnestly.
“So I ask you, Teuchi, please help me!”
‘A utopia?’ Kakuzu gave Hashirama a hesitant look.
A man with both dreams and power was truly terrifying.
He sighed.
“I understand.
As long as it is within my abilities, I will help you as much as possible.”
“Thank you so much!” Hashirama bowed deeply to Kakuzu.
Kakuzu jumped at the sudden gesture.
Madara frowned.
A strong man bowing to a weak one was beneath his respect, but he said nothing.
“Let’s go.” Madara stood and walked toward the door of the private room.
As he brushed past Kakuzu, he cast a glance his way.
His eyes were completely blank.
Right now, only one thought occupied his mind: Seeking stability, one god was divided into yin and yang, these opposing two acting together obtain all things in creation.
Seeing this, Hashirama quickly bid farewell to Kakuzu as well.
‘This should count as…
passing the test,’ Kakuzu mused.
He called for someone to clear the tableware.
During the founding of Konoha, talent was in high demand.
That was why Hashirama accepted Kakuzu.
Had this been the reign of the Second or Third Hokage decades later, they would not rest until they uncovered which village your parents lived in, which house they stayed in, and even what water they drank.
Of course, there was another, more important reason: Hashirama himself.
Among the First, Second, and Third Hokage, only Hashirama possessed the magnanimity to accept outsiders so readily.
He did not fear betrayal because he was the strongest in the shinobi world.
Betrayal meant making an enemy of him, and those who dared cross the strongest shinobi could be counted on one hand.
If they dared to betray him, Giant Buddha would serve as a warning.
Madara would be the example in the future.
This was the benefit of absolute strength.
For the next half month, Kakuzu did not see Madara or Hashirama.
Madara no longer appearing on the streets was understandable, he was not welcomed in the village.
But Hashirama was different.
He was a universal idol in Konoha.
For him to stay off the streets for over half a month meant something strange was going on.
From that conversation in the private room, Kakuzu only knew that the two had left the village.
As for Hashirama’s talk of protecting Konoha, Kakuzu had no such inclination.
He had abandoned Takigakure, so how could he genuinely protect Konohagakure?
Besides, even without Hashirama and Madara, Konoha still had Tobirama Senju.
Although Tobirama was a tier below the other two in strength, he was more than capable of protecting the village.
That conversation, either way, was actually a declaration of stance, which could be translated like this:
“Will you harm Konohagakure?”
“No.”
Kakuzu would not harm the village.
He just needed the hearts of certain people.
As for Konoha, he was insignificant, causing no real harm.
Just as with Takigakure, he had merely killed autocratic officials.
The act had little impact on the village, it might even have been beneficial.
This was a word game, but aside from Kakuzu, no one could see through it.