Except for the slight tension from the explanation about the restaurant, the talks between Tempest and the dwarven nation proceeded as he remembered. The dwarven nation started easily. Showering praise for Tempest's resilience as well as brilliance in building their city. The architecture was mentioned next. Coming from a dwarven nation, they must be really impressed by it.
Then came the culture and the education. The Dwarven King called what they did revolutionary. And Ludwig couldn't help but agree with his sentiment. After all, the Tempest he knew right now requires all of their denizens to go to school and look for things they want to do. For a city in a world that seemed medieval, that was simply unthinkable.
Only after all of that was out of the way did King Gazel—as Ludwig came to know—go straight to the crux of the matter. First, he talked about the monster's threat level. The lowest was 'Hazard' while the highest was 'Calamity.'
Of course, that talk led to Rimuru asking about the threat level of Demon Lords. Which Dwarven King answered as the highest threat level. Why? Because if a Demon Lord went on a rampage, they were almost the same as Mother Earth itself getting angry. No one could stop it; the best thing they could do was to let it be and steer clear of the trajectory of the rampage.
That topic went on for quite a long time before they went on quite a dive into it. Which Ludwig couldn't help but laugh at. How can't he? Back in the Manga, a few Demon Kings were also having a meeting about Rimuru. And by the end of the meeting, Milim Nava would leave and go straight to Tempest.
Now, he looked at it happening in front of him, he realized once again that the world where Rimuru lived was indeed written by someone. After the introduction about Demon Lords in maybe the Orc Disaster arc, the mystery about them was now being peeled layer by layer to set up for the arrival of Milim.
A tension. Yeah, that's the word.
Well, that tension would only last until Milim came and got conquered by food.
The thought of Canon changing didn't even occur to him. The Arc about Milim in his opinion, was just a setup Arc for the wider world while also showcasing the power of Tempest as a whole. If Rimuru suddenly transformed Tempest into a city that didn't know delicacy and art, he might be worried. But with him here, or at least Akane, he wouldn't be afraid of her.
They had experienced another dragon with a sweet tooth, hadn't they?
While Ludwig was moving busily in the kitchen, the dinner rush came. Customers from lunch rush could no longer be seen. Now the place was filled with new but still familiar faces. The corner table was now filled by Cale and all the animals that called Checkpoint their regular place. Raon, the cats, Arcanine, Gastly, Kira, and even the Dratini were hanging out on that particular table.
Of course, when they walked to that table, the guards of the Dwarven King stiffened, especially when Raon and Arcanine went past them. But thanks to the Tempest crowd explanation, they did nothing that would cost them their head.
Lee Han, Kashi, and Ryouma were sitting together, like they had found a new axis for the customers to orbit on. What they talked about was… combat style to Ludwig's shock. If it's only the Daeben and the Giant-like guy, he could make sense of it. But Ryouma, too? That was like lightning in broad daylight.
But from the bits and pieces he heard when focusing on them, it seemed like their discussion was fruitful. With Kashi and Ryouma telling Lee Han they would try his method.
However, the face he was happiest to see the most was…
"Here's your food, Kushina." Ludwig lowered two bowls of Oxtail Soup he carried in front of her.
Kushina spun on the chair and looked at him. "Thanks, Lud. You promise this will be delicious, right?"
Ludwig scoffed before crossing his arms. "Who do you think I am? I don't know about anything else, but my culinary skills are not something people can easily look down on."
"I know that." Kushina laughed. "I'm just worried because it's not ramen, you know?"
"You should eat other food too. A lot of things is on par with good ramen." Ludwig said as he watched one of the bowls disappear into thin air. "Ah, don't forget to return the bowl."
"Don't worry!" Kushina waved her hands before digging into her food.
Ludwig returned to the kitchen after that. No matter how much he wanted to talk to her more since it had been maybe a week since her last visit, he still needed to attend to his duty.
As more and more dishes went out and the pile in the washing bin grew bigger, four more familiar faces walked into the restaurant. And when the bigger one of the four saw Kushina on the bar seat, she quickly walked over to her and embraced her.
"It's been a while, Kushina. Have you been well?"
Kushina beamed at her before nodding. "I've been well. How are you, Claire?"
Claire loosened her hug on Kushina before sitting beside her. Cless and Hedwig had bolted to the corner table in the meantime. "I've been good. It's really nice to see you again. Have you been busy?"
But just as Kushina opened her mouth, she stopped. When Ludwig followed where her eyes landed, a sigh escaped through his mouth.
After all, what she was currently looking at was the yellow little Pokemon who was sitting cross-legged on the chair beside Claire.
"C-Claire, what is that?"
Claire looked at where Kushina was pointing, then her eyes went wide ever so slightly. Then she shifted her gaze towards Ludwig. A silent understanding passed between them, and Ludwig just nodded.
Claire looked back at Kushina and opened her mouth. "This is Abra, my new companion. I met him at…"
She proceeded to explain everything. From the moment Professor Oak walked into the restaurant, bringing Looker the very next day, the deal was struck between Looker and them, as well as their trip to Pokemon World. She even added why they couldn't invite Kushina to come. A wise move to prevent her from feeling she was excluded too much.
Throughout the explanation, Ludwig poured all of his attention on Kushina, ready to jump in if she protested. But to his surprise, she just took it all in. Which was strange in itself. However, even after Claire finished, she didn't explode as she should have. Rather, she just looked far like she was thinking about something.
From the expression Claire wore on her face, it seemed like Ludwig was not alone. She was also looking at Kushina with worry written all over her face. But both of them couldn't say anything due to how serious Kushina looked.
After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, Kushina finally opened her mouth. "Say Claire, you told me about the deal you signed with… Agent Looker, was it? Do you think going to their world and getting a few Pokemon is enough to put your life on the line in front of a disaster?"
All kinds of alarms blared inside Ludwig's mind the moment he heard those words from Kushina's mouth.
That wasn't what she would normally do. She would explode, complain, and then sulk because she became the only one of them four who hadn't visited. That was the essence of Kushina they knew.
Because of that, Ludwig quickly thought about what might've happened in the week she hadn't visit. The first thought that surfaced was Genjutsu. In Shinobi World, Genjustu was widely used, so it was not a far-fetched idea to think Kushina had been put under a strong Genjutsu.
Then a follow-up thought came up.
Could it even work on her?
He recalled what little he knew about Naruto Canon. A jinchuriki was not alone. There was always another presence inside them with a will of their own. Which meant simple illusions should not hold easily on them, as the Tailed Beast could break through it easily.
And knowing the current state of Kurama, the fox should be content living inside Kushina due to him feeding it whenever it came to the restaurant.
So, it shouldn't be Genjutsu.
However, rather than being relieved, it only made him more worried. After all, he knew something that could even affect Kurama.
Ludwig's fingers stilled slightly where they rested against the counter as the name of that technique appeared in his mind.
Kotoamatsukami.
A technique that did not impose control, but rewrote intent itself. He had only read about it in passing, but the description alone was enough to make it stand apart from everything else. If it was that… Then the current Kushina that sat in front of him was not her being restrained. It was her changing into something she never thought about before.
Ludwig exhaled slowly, the air leaving him in a controlled breath as he forced himself to calm down.
After he woke up from his sudden panic and started thinking carefully again, he realized. The timing did not line up. Shisui should only be 2 or 3 years older than Itachi. He hadn't seen the latter yet or come to any information about him after meeting Mikoto that one time, but what he knew was this: In the third Shinobi Great War, where Rin died, Itachi was merely 3 or 4 years old. Meaning, Shisui should be around 6 or 7 years old.
If a kid as young as him awakened Mangekyou Sharigan, it would only mean two things. Either he was someone who got taken over by a protagonist with a broken system from Earth, or he's a main character of a Shisui regression fanfic.
In other words, it was simply impossible in the Canon.
Nope, he wouldn't think about whether the world was really Canon or not. That was a can of worms he's not ready to open.
So, it shouldn't be that too…
Then, just what on earth happened?
Just as Ludwig tapped the counter with her fingers, Kushina's voice entered his ears.
"You guys… Why are you looking at me like that?"
He quickly looked at her, Claire also did the same.
Then, Kushina laughed. Her face became the usual face they saw whenever they joked around in the restaurant.
"I am fine, okay? A lot of things happened, and I will tell you, guys, about it. But can you please answer my question first?"
Ludwig moved his gaze from Kushina to Claire. And then, their eyes met. Through it, he could feel what Claire was thinking. It was the same as him.
Then, he nodded.
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