Just Another Multiverse Chat Group

"Papa!" Hinata cried out upon hearing her father's voice. 

"Hinata!"

Jin turned to face the newcomer. Just like Hinata, the man had pale pupiless eyes. In contrast, however, his long hair tied at the end behind his back looked a shade darker than his daughter's. The man currently donned his Konoha Jonin uniform and looked a little ragged as though he had not slept in several days.

When Hinata's father approached, Jin pulled Hinata away from his chest and handed her over. The little girl stretched out her arms to reach for the comfort of her father's arms, tears streaming from her eyes the whole time. 

While pulling Hinata close to his chest, Hinata's father met Jin's gaze and firmly said, "Thank you for saving my daughter."

Smiling at the relatively wholesome reunion, Jin said, "You're welcome."

Bowing his head slightly, the man said, "My name is Hiashi Hyuga. May I have the honor to ask the name of the man who saved my daughter's life?"

"Absolutely. The name is Hideyoshi Jin. I only happened to be in the right place at the right time, though."

"I see. If you ever need help with anything in the future, please let me know," Hiashi stated, which drew surprised expressions from the four elders in the room.

"Thank you. I'll keep that in mind."

With that, Hiashi Hyuga nodded before turning to face the Third Hokage and requested, "Sorry to have barged in so rudely, Lord Hokage."

"It is fine. Forgetting some decorum in your situation during the last few days is more than understandable."

"Thank you for your understanding. If you don't mind, I would like to excuse myself to bring my daughter home and settle some of the aftermath of this ordeal."

"Of course. You are excused."

"Thank you."

Giving one more final nod of thanks to Jin, Hiashi turned around and left without paying much attention to the three elders still seated at the table behind Hiruzen. 

"Bye-bye bwudda," Hinata quietly said, one of her small hands waving goodbye bye opening and closing.

After returning a nod to Hiashi, Jin smiled and waved goodbye to the little girl. When he turned back, he noticed that the three middle-aged elders looked somewhat offended by Hiashi's dismissive attitude toward them just now. However, he paid it no mind. 

"Ahem, sorry for the interruption, Jin, if you don't mind me calling you that," Hiruzen stated to bring the conversation back on track.

"Jin is fine."

"Good. Now, here," Hiruzen paused and handed over a small metal case before continuing, "There is 100,000 Ryo here as compensation for the service you have done for Konoha by saving the heir of the Hyuga clan. Part of this was set as a reward by Hiashi Hyuga himself."

Hesitantly accepting the small case, Jin cleared his throat and asked, "If it isn't too much to ask, would it be possible to exchange some of this reward for the basic Jutsus that Shinobi learn in academies, namely the basic body flicker, substitution, and clone Jutsus? I understand that might be a tall ask for an outsider, but we don't really have access to such a thing in my hometown."

'Although I could ask Konan, I'm already here, so might as well. If this doesn't work, I guess I'll ask her instead. Can't imagine she would do a great job tracking with how quiet she is, though.'

In the background, Danzo angrily grumbled, "So this is what you were after."

The other two elders also frowned.

Ignoring those three old fogies, Jin focused on Hiruzen's raised eyebrows. Although the man showed a surprised expression, he did not seem offended in the least.

"You don't already have access to basic Jutsu?" Hiruzen asked with a baffled expression on his face.

"No. I'm strong, but it is mainly due to my swordsmanship," Jin replied, not wanting to reveal much of his full capabilities to these people, especially Danzo.

"Mhm, I see. If it is just those three basic Jutsus that all Shinobi villages have, I suppose some arrangements could be made. However, it would likely only include the basic clone Jutsu and Substitution Jutsu."

"In that case, I will thank you in advance. Although I personally might not require them, it never hurts to have more methods of protecting yourself."

"Indeed."

Hiruzen briefly studied Jin's facial expressions. Then, he suggested, "If you are able to register as a citizen of Konoha, it will probably be easier for me to convince the relevant authorities to grant you those three Jutsu without you having to return your monetary reward."

'Heh. How sly. Win-win for me, though, since I'm not from this world anyway and won't have to worry about Danzo's machinations.'

Thinking along those lines, Jin responded, "I would not mind registering as a resident, but I'll probably be traveling outside most of the time. If it's okay to be a citizen in name only to make it easier on you all, that's fine with me."

"Perfect," Hiruzen said while sporting a grandfatherly smile. He then walked over to his desk, grabbed some papers, and handed them over to Jin. "Fill these out, and we can process the rest of your reward."

Staring at the thick stack of papers, Jin inwardly rolled his eyes. Barely maintaining a pleasant demeanor, he asked, "Is there an inn I could stay in nearby tonight? I'll just bring these back tomorrow."

"That would be perfect. There is a large inn along the main road leading directly here from the front gate. You can't miss it."

"Wonderful. In that case, I will take my leave so long as there is nothing else you need from me?"

"You are free to go. And, thanks again for your timely assistance in this matter."

"No problem. See you tomorrow."

"Indeed."

With that, Jin happily left the stifling atmosphere of the Hokage's office. While passing by Danzo, they briefly met gazes. Jin smiled politely, but inwardly, he planned out the trolling he always wanted to pull off back when reading about this old coward. 

The moment the office doors closed behind Jin, his polite smile vanished. He left the Hokage's office without speaking to anyone along the way. Once he stepped outside, he breathed in the fresh air. A natural smile finally appeared on his face.

'Dealing with political people is way too annoying. Makes me want to see Konan again.'

The moment he thought that, he pulled out his phone to use the chat feature.

Jin: [@OrigamiMaster, Do you want to train with me tomorrow night?]

Railgun: [Whoa. At least buy her dinner first, you pervert.]

OrigamiMaster: [Okay.]

Wizard-san: [Railgun, I don't think Jin had such intentions.]

Z0r0: [Training? Where?]

Jin: [I'm in OrigamiMaster's world right now, so you probably can't train with me for now. Looks like you changed your name, though? Was using the zeroes on purpose?]

Eventually, Zoro finally replied.

Z0r0: [They are zeroes? Where are the characters for my name, then?]

Jin: [I can help you find it later. Or maybe ask Railgun. She'd probably know.]

Railgun: [Lazy bum. Fine, I'll help him since I've got nothing else to do right now.]

Jin: [Cool. Thanks for doing that. I've gotta head out for a bit. Don't want to stand in front of this old pervert's office for too long.]

Railgun: [Pervert?]

OrigamiMaster: [Third Hokage. Agree. Pervert like my teacher.]

Railgun: [Excuse me?! Are you okay OrigamiMaster? You weren't taken advantage of, right? Jin, go get the police there!]

Jin: [Jiraiya didn't actually do anything inappropriate to you right?]

OrigamiMaster: [You know about it? He did not do anything to me. He only peeped on the women in the villages nearby when they were bathing. He always said his teacher was worse.]

Wizard-san: [-_-]

Jin: [Well, I don't think the old man ever committed an actual crime, but he's certainly a bit on the creepy side at times.]

Railgun: [...That's really not okay. I think that's the most you've ever said in the chat, too.]

"Hm. Well, it is what it is," Jin mumbled while putting his phone back in his pocket. "I'll chat more later. No point standing around here with people watching me like this."

Glancing toward a nearby tree, Jin sighed and shook his head. Then, he started walking down the road. Although he felt two presences following at a distance, he didn't particularly care at the moment. 

'Not as bad as the surveillance net from my old world.'

While walking and trying to ignore the life signatures following him out of sight, a delicious salty and spicy smell assaulted his senses. The moment he smelled it, his stomach grumbled. He vaguely noticed it earlier, too, but now that he had money, he decided to follow his nose. After inquiring about the smell from a passerby, he obtained directions to a food stall set up on the side of a house only one road away from the main street.

'Huh.' 

Upon seeing the name of the shop on the cloth banners hanging in front of the seating area, Jin blinked a few times. Then, he smiled. 

Slightly expectant, Jin approached, moved aside the banner that said 'Ichiraku Ramen' on it, and stepped into the small shopfront. 

"Welcome! Take a seat! I'll be right with you!" A man called out from behind the counter. The man somehow worked flawlessly even with his eyes closed. A few wrinkles on his face indicated that he might be in his thirties or forties at most. 

Nodding, Jin sat down in the seat furthest to the left. He glanced over to see one other customer who seemed to be waiting on the restaurant owner to finish cooking. As though feeling Jin's gaze, the woman turned to look at him. Her long black hair had a blueish tint to it, and her deep black eyes looked like a shadowy abyss laden with stress if the barely visible bags under her eyes veiled by a thin layer of makeup were anything to go by. On the back of her blue robes, there was a red and white fan symbol, indicating her lineage.

Ever so briefly, Jin's heart pulsed a little more quickly due to how beautiful the woman was. However, he calmed himself immediately, smiled, and nodded in greeting.

"Hello."

"...Hello,"