Uchiha's personal opinion

Ashura raised an eyebrow, casually echoed the comment, then picked up the large bowl and drank the last bit of noodle soup clean.

Are you satisfied?

Restaurant owners are most pleased to see customers finish their meals completely, as this not only avoids waste but also demonstrates that their food is indeed of high quality.

"Very satisfied!"

Ashura put down the large bowl. "Another one, please!"

"Okay!"

The noodle shop owner immediately began demonstrating how to make noodles on the spot. "By the way, would you like anything else to eat? Our shop serves authentic local snacks passed down from Konoha!"

What kinds of things are there?

Ashura also became interested.

"Grilled eel, dorayaki, matcha dumplings, cream daifuku..."

The noodle shop owner immediately read out the most profitable dish.

"Then one of each, please!"

Ashura said grandly.

"Okay!"

The noodle shop owner was overjoyed.

However, what he didn't expect was that this seemingly rich and easy-going guy could eat so much!

……

"It's already dark..."

On a rooftop a few hundred meters away from the noodle shop, four Konoha intelligence ninjas were observing Ashura, who was still enjoying his meal, through binoculars.

"Tsk... The noodle shop owner's face turned pale!"

"It's an intelligence ninja," one of them joked.

"Try pulling noodles continuously for a hundred bowls, and see if your face gets any whiter!"

"That's what another intelligence ninja said."

"So there must be something wrong with this guy."

"Even if there are no problems, it still has research value."

"More importantly, no chakra fluctuations can be detected on him."

An intelligence ninja wearing a Jonin vest walked to the binoculars, looked at the screen a few more times, and said to his subordinates.

"...For ninjas, concealing their presence is not a difficult task."

The intelligence ninja under his command said casually.

"It's different. When I disguised myself as a customer and went in to eat ramen, I sensed this strange person up close..."

The Jonin shook his head. "He not only doesn't have the slightest fluctuation of chakra, but he doesn't even have the aura of an ordinary person."

"I heard about this technique when I was studying at the police training school. It was a popular method of shielding one's aura in the early Warring States period."

The Jonin explained, "However, with the development of ninja techniques, this outdated breath-holding method has been abandoned, because you only need to sense that the target's location is an empty space to detect the anomaly."

"I see……"

The other three intelligence ninjas looked as if they had just realized something, which pleased the Jonin who loved to teach.

"So this guy is most likely a lucky one who has inherited the secret techniques of the ancient Ninja Clan, but he just doesn't understand the rules of the ninja."

"This……"

The subordinates looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Don't think that the present is inferior to the past!"

"Although ancient secret techniques may have some advantages in combat power, they actually have great drawbacks, and in terms of skill level, they are far inferior to modern ninjutsu."

"However, you should be careful, as it is said that many ancient ninja sects used techniques that involved sacrificing oneself in battle. If you engage in combat later, you'll have to be cautious!"

"That's why I told you to wait here for the combat troops, and not to act rashly for the sake of merit!"

The intelligence department ninja continued to instruct, "We cannot risk our lives for some credit; that would be extremely irresponsible to the village and to ourselves!"

Chapter 391 Do you have to pay for a meal?

"Only one squadron came?"

On the outskirts of a town in the Land of Rice Fields, a Jonin from the Intelligence Department said with some surprise, "Didn't the intelligence I sent back to the Anti-Terrorist Force Command Center request a detachment to come over?"

"Could it be that you, Captain Jōsuke, are receiving a salary without working?"

"Seriously, even if someone is greedy, they can't just falsify the accounts for such a small amount of operational expenses!"

"What did you say?!"

"You exaggerate the enemy's strength every time we operate, wasting manpower and resources so many times. The command center doesn't believe you anymore!" said Josuke Uchiha, the anti-terrorism unit commander.

"There's no exaggeration!"

The intelligence department ninja blushed and repeatedly defended himself, saying, "I was just trying to reduce unnecessary casualties, and besides, I've never exceeded the limit!"

"To put it bluntly, it's because your authority only allows you to request support at the brigade level!"

Uchiha Josuke scoffed.

"But you only brought one company with you!"

The intelligence department's jonin was also getting anxious: "I've been here since the ANBU days, and I've gotten this far by being steady and reliable! Don't mess this up!"

"Enough, enough! It's just catching a backward, old-fashioned ninja~ I'm good at that!"

Josuke Uchiha said dismissively, "Besides, although I'm just a squad leader, I was one of Lord Tokumitsu's direct subordinates back in the day. Even within the clan, I was considered quite strong. Catching such a small fry is a piece of cake for me."

To show his confidence, Josuke Uchiha even made a "dragon claw" gesture.

"...Then let's get started!"

Even the Jonin of the Intelligence Department couldn't do anything about it. After all, Josuke Uchiha, as the branch captain supporting the Intelligence Department's operations, had his own considerations. Besides, his strength was indeed quite good, so there shouldn't be any problems.

After calming himself down, the intelligence department jonin immediately began assisting in formulating the capture plan.

Josuke Uchiha's squadron consisted of twelve subordinates, including himself, three of whom were Jonin, and the rest were Chunin. The three subordinates under the Jonin of the Intelligence Division were of average combat strength, considered relatively weak among Chunin, and were only elevated to Chunin level because of their expertise in reconnaissance.

Therefore, the main force to carry out the capture plan can only be the anti-terrorism ninjas.

"Then I will continue to observe from the outside. If the suspect shows any signs of escaping or runs out of the encirclement, I will then close in on him."

The intelligence department's ninja distanced himself from the capture operation.

"It's not a big problem."

After arranging the battle formation of his ninjas based on a simplified map, Josuke Uchiha replied without even looking up.

Although the intelligence department's Jonin was somewhat cowardly, the two had cooperated many times, so Josuke Uchiha was quite familiar with his personality. Considering the merits he had made by the intelligence he had provided in the past, Josuke Uchiha didn't hold it against him too much.

"Then let's take action!"

The intelligence department's ninja nodded, indicating his satisfaction.

……

"Sir, we've run out of flour, so..."

The ramen shop owner looked troubled and said to Ashura, who had just put down the 150th bowl of ramen.

"That's it?"

Ashura frowned. "Is there anything else to eat?"

"Everything's sold out, and you've eaten all the dorayaki!"

The ramen shop owner quickly said, "How about you take a look at the izakaya next door?"

"An izakaya..."

Ashura glanced back at the izakaya (Japanese pub) with a sign that read "sake" not far away, his gaze lingering for a moment on the scantily clad woman standing at the entrance, waving a fan.

"The yakitori at that izakaya is absolutely amazing! And their sake is made from premium rice from the Land of Water, it's really good!"

The ramen shop owner quickly spoke up for his competitor: "Plus, their sommelier is..."

Today was probably the most tiring day he'd had since starting in the restaurant business. He'd been pulling noodles all day, and he and the kitchen staff were exhausted. So it was probably better to get this guy to deliver the money next door as soon as possible.

After all, you can never earn enough money, but you only have one life!

However, upon seeing the diner's astonishing appetite, the ramen shop owner knew that he was no ordinary person, so he was very careful in his words.

"Alright then..."

Ashura felt a little unsatisfied, but seeing that the kitchen was empty and several cooks were lying on the ground with their tongues sticking out, he stopped worrying about it.

He then stacked the chopsticks and got up to leave.

"...My lord!"

The ramen shop owner quickly stepped forward and said, "Have you forgotten something?"

No~

Ashura was a little puzzled. "I have all my things with me, and they're all safe and sound."

After saying that, Ashura opened his chest pouch and showed it was full of kunai, explosive tags and other ninja tools.

The problem is, there's no money in my chest bag.

There were neither national banknotes nor the Shogunate's gold yen; there wasn't even anything of value!

This guy can't possibly be trying to freeload!

"You haven't paid yet..."

The ramen shop owner's smile froze, but for the sake of making a living, he still forced himself to say something.

"Pay the bill? Didn't you short sell everything? What food do you still have to sell?"