When the shadow behind the village finally steps into the light, even the calmest tea begins to ripple.
Ayato had long since stopped worrying about how Itachi and Izumi's "meeting-the-parents" operation would turn out.
After all, he wasn't the one facing Fugaku across the dinner table.
Besides, he'd already shared most of his past-life experience and relationship strategies with Izumi. Whether she could actually apply them depended entirely on her own composure and adaptability.
Judging from recent developments, things seemed to be progressing smoothly.
Itachi and Izumi were going out more frequently.
And the usually reserved Itachi had even gone out of his way to buy some quality tea and bring it to Ayato as a small gift.
That alone spoke volumes.
Still, what truly occupied Ayato's mind wasn't teenage romance—
It was his Zhongli synchronization.
He had already been in the Naruto world for more than two months, yet his progress was still far from ideal.
True, the temporary Mihawk card gave him a solid safety net.
But borrowed power was never a substitute for one's own.
If he wanted real security in a world filled with monsters, he needed to accelerate his growth.
Which meant—
Completing his remaining tasks as soon as possible.
Only six more transactions remained before he could finally unlock the system's mysterious point rewards.
And Ayato was very curious what those points could actually buy.
Over the next few days, Ayato continued operating the Odd Jobs Shop while maintaining his leisurely Zhongli-inspired lifestyle—listening to famous performances, strolling through the village with his songbird, savoring refined tea and quiet moments.
The contrast between his peaceful routine and Konoha's growing tension was striking.
By December, snow had blanketed the entire village, coating rooftops, streets, and tree branches in a clean white veil.
News of the Nine-Tails disaster had already spread throughout the shinobi world. The other great villages openly expressed thinly veiled satisfaction over the death of the Yellow Flash.
For a time, among the Four Great Nations—aside from the increasingly isolated Kirigakure—the remaining three villages sharply intensified their intelligence-gathering efforts toward Konoha.
It was an unspoken agreement.
Scouts, spies, and reconnaissance teams moved both openly and covertly closer to the Land of Fire.
Even though the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had officially returned to power, the other villages wanted to test how much strength Konoha truly retained.
As a result, the village entered a state of high alert.
Ninja of all ranks were dispatched to border regions to guard against potential provocations from Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Sunagakure.
From time to time, even while sitting inside the Odd Jobs Shop, Ayato could sense chakra signatures rushing past outside.
But today, none of that mattered.
Because after more than two months in this world—
His task progress had finally reached a critical threshold.
A customer placed their payment into the donation box.
[Ding.]
[Congratulations, Host. One transaction completed.]
[Function 5 Progress: 9 / 10 — 100 points awarded at 10.]
Nine.
Only one more transaction remained.
"Find somewhere warm to take shelter from the snow," Ayato said gently as he saw the customer out. "I'll be fine, but you might catch a cold."
The man nodded gratefully and hurried off into the drifting snow.
Ayato didn't recognize him—probably just a minor background character who would never appear in canon. The questions asked had been trivial matters.
But Ayato welcomed those just the same.
Every transaction mattered.
Then—
[Ding.]
[Spoke a Zhongli signature line. Synchronization increased by 0.1%.]
[Current Synchronization: 9.9%.]
Ayato narrowed his eyes slightly.
Both counters were sitting at the brink.
One more transaction.
One more Zhongli-consistent action.
Either one would push him past a major threshold.
He didn't yet know what reward awaited him.
But instinct told him—
It wouldn't be small.
Ring—ring—ring.
Just as Ayato finished rinsing the teacup left behind by the previous guest, the shop's door swung open.
"Welcome—"
His voice stopped mid-sentence.
The man who entered was none other than—
Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The Third Hokage was dressed in plain civilian clothes rather than his formal robes. His familiar smoking pipe rested in his hand as his sharp eyes calmly surveyed the interior of the Odd Jobs Shop.
"So this is the place," Hiruzen said mildly. "The shop that claims it can answer any question."
"Naturally," Ayato replied evenly. "You may ask anything, Lord Third."
Though respectful in tone, there was no trace of nervousness on his face. He continued boiling water and preparing tea as if hosting an ordinary guest.
"Oh?" Hiruzen didn't immediately ask anything. Instead, he quietly observed Ayato's movements.
This tea…
The fragrance stirred something familiar in his memory.
Soon, Ayato placed a steaming cup in front of him.
"I have a question, Shopkeeper Ayato," Hiruzen said after taking a sip.
"I'm surprised you already know my name, Lord Third," Ayato replied lightly. Inwardly, he already knew this visit was anything but coincidental.
"Of course," Hiruzen said calmly. "I know what happens in Konoha."
He glanced at Ayato briefly, then lowered his gaze to the teacup again.
"Is that so? Then what would you like to ask?" Ayato asked.
"This tea…" Hiruzen said slowly. "It tastes like mine."
Ayato smiled faintly.
"That's hard to say."
He had intentionally kept some of the tea Tsunade had given him. He hadn't expected it to become useful so soon.
"Then let me rephrase," Hiruzen said, eyes narrowing slightly. "Who gave you this tea?"
"Customer confidentiality," Ayato replied calmly, taking a sip of his own cup.
Hiruzen nearly choked internally.
You're serving me my own tea, refusing to tell me who gave it to you, and expecting me to just accept it?
"…Was it Tsunade?" Hiruzen tried again after a brief pause.
"That's still hard to say," Ayato replied smoothly, giving him no opening whatsoever.
"Hmph…"
Hiruzen continued sipping his tea, studying Ayato with increasing interest.
He hadn't come here without reason.
While conducting his… surveillance—no, while protecting Konoha—he had discovered a location that even his Telescope Technique could not peer into.
That location was this very shop.
After ordering ANBU to investigate Ayato's background, Hiruzen had ultimately decided to visit personally.
What truly caught his attention was the intelligence report:
Hatake Kakashi.
Uchiha Itachi.
Uchiha Shisui.
All three had entered this shop.
That alone made this place impossible to ignore.
Hiruzen's eyes sharpened slightly as he set his teacup down.
The quiet shop suddenly felt far less ordinary.
And far more dangerous.
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