An Encounter at Ichiraku Ramen

Feeling the power within his body, Naruto sensed that the nutrients he had previously lacked were slowly being replenished.

Moreover, the complete Uzumaki Clan Physique was continuously strengthening his body.

Things were getting better. Slowly, everything would get better.

But it was already late at night. He was still growing, so he needed to go to bed early for his body to keep getting stronger!

"I'll sleep after one more can!" Naruto couldn't be blamed for that. He had suffered for so long—what was wrong with enjoying himself a little?

Canned food was so delicious and nutritious. It was only human nature!

After finishing the can, Naruto happily fell asleep.

Inside the consciousness space he could not see.

The Nine-Tails gradually calmed down. It could not figure out where exactly things had gone wrong.

It had watched Naruto grow up, so logically speaking, it should have known everything he had experienced.

Yet recently, Naruto seemed somewhat off. Whenever it observed him, it sometimes felt as though its line of sight had been cut off.

Some special power was preventing it.

And Naruto's body seemed to have grown stronger again?

As the Tailed Beast within Naruto, it could naturally sense clearly that something seemed to be changing in Naruto's body.

After all these years, the red pillars of the seal had already loosened somewhat. That was why it had previously been able to leak out a trace of Nine-Tails Chakra whenever Naruto's emotions fluctuated greatly.

Silently prying at the seal.

Yet tonight, the seal had suddenly been reinforced again. It could sense that Naruto's aura had become stronger.

It reminded it of the previous Jinchuriki, someone it had neither gotten along well nor badly with.

Naruto's mother, Uzumaki Kushina.

After thinking it over for so long, it still could not figure out the problem.

The Nine-Tails could only lie silently in the sewer. Thinking back on it now, it felt that this Naruto carried a faint aura that made it feel close to him. Was that an illusion?

Heh. I am the mighty Nine-Tails, the strongest of all Tailed Beasts. How could I feel close to a human?

Next time Naruto came in, it would reluctantly have a proper chat with him.

But as it looked at the seal that had been reinforced once more before its eyes.

The Nine-Tails let out a faint sigh like an empty-nester. "If I'd known, I wouldn't have driven him away. This is so boring!"

Its nine tails swished anxiously back and forth. What a tsundere Nine-Tails!

Naturally, Naruto knew nothing about any of this.

Sleeping soundly, Naruto slept straight through until after eleven.

It had been an incredibly comfortable sleep. Even in his dreams, his body had felt warm, as though it were still constantly adapting to the complete Uzumaki Clan Physique.

It really was nice.

"I'm a little hungry. Time to eat. I'll go to Ichiraku Ramen—Uncle Teuchi must miss me!"

Naruto got dressed and headed out.

The villagers pointing and whispering by the roadside no longer had any effect on him.

When he had first arrived, he might have cared a little.

But now that he had some strength, and could easily kill these villagers with just a little Chakra even without systematic training in taijutsu.

Naruto felt there was no need to care. An elephant would never care about an ant's provocation.

Naruto suddenly sensed something flying toward him. Turning his head, he saw that it was another small stone!

This time, even though it had come from behind, Naruto could sense it clearly. Even without using Mind's Eye of the Kagura, his passive senses alone were already incredibly sharp.

He merely glared at the group of children.

The children felt as though some terrifying beast had fixed its eyes on them. It felt as if their heads would be separated from their bodies the very next moment!

Frightened, they ran into their homes and clung to their parents as they cried.

Naruto was speechless. You were the ones who threw things at me, and now you're acting wronged?

After easily dodging the stone, Naruto quickened his pace. They posed no threat, but those ignorant villagers were still annoying.

He arrived at Uncle Teuchi's Ichiraku Ramen.

"Uncle Teuchi, give me a bowl of ramen! Add one serving of every topping—make it the super-duper deluxe kind!"

Putting on a carefree act, Naruto plopped down onto a chair and called out to Uncle Teuchi.

Seeing that it was Naruto, Uncle Teuchi did not show any unusual expression.

"So it's little Naruto. Have a seat. Uncle will make it for you right away, just wait!"

Uncle Teuchi began skillfully preparing the ramen.

When the diners nearby saw Uzumaki Naruto, they showed looks of disgust and shouted at Uncle Teuchi, "Hey, boss, why are you still serving the Demon Fox here? Hurry up and throw him out! If you don't kick him out, we'll never come here again!"

"That's right, that's right! Throw out the Demon Fox! We don't want to eat noodles with the Demon Fox!"

Seeing the other customers begin to make a fuss, Naruto did not care much himself, but Uncle Teuchi had always treated him well. He could not let Uncle Teuchi's business suffer because of him.

"Then, Uncle, I'll leave for now. I'll come again next time!" Naruto politely greeted Uncle Teuchi and prepared to get up and leave.

"Wait, Naruto! Don't go yet!" Uncle Teuchi was somewhat angry after hearing the diners' words. In his eyes, Naruto was such a good child. A child who never wasted food and drank every last drop of soup—how could he possibly be the Demon Fox they described?

He went to the ear of every diner who was making trouble, lowered his head, and whispered something. The previously noisy diners instantly fell silent. They looked at Naruto with faint surprise, their faces still carrying a trace of unwillingness, but ultimately said nothing more.

Naruto was also curious about what Uncle Teuchi had said. After his physique had been strengthened, his hearing had also become much sharper than before.

As he listened intently, he heard what Uncle Teuchi had said.

"Naruto has the Third Hokage's permission to eat here. If you object to him eating here, I'll go tell the Third Hokage!"

So he was borrowing the tiger's might. Naruto liked that, though.

He immediately realized why Uncle Teuchi had not said it loudly in front of Naruto.

At present, Hiruzen Sarutobi had not revealed his identity as the Third Hokage to Naruto, and Naruto had to pretend not to know about it.

Perhaps Naruto was the only person in the whole village pretending not to know that Hiruzen Sarutobi was the Hokage.

Under Hiruzen Sarutobi's arrangements, everyone who encountered Naruto and Hiruzen Sarutobi together would help conceal the matter from him.

Thinking about it, using the identity of an old grandpa was far more approachable than acting as the lofty ruler of the village.

Then one day in the future, when he suddenly revealed his identity, foolish Naruto would surely be moved to tears and become endlessly grateful to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Unfortunately, Naruto had known everything long ago. He was merely playing along.

After Uncle Teuchi settled the other diners, he returned to continue making the ramen.

This time, he brought over a steaming, fragrant bowl of ramen.

Every topping had been added once, filling Naruto's bowl to the brim. It looked incredibly nutritious at a glance.

"Thank you, Uncle Teuchi!" Naruto thanked him sincerely.

Then he began to feast.

Seeing Naruto's satisfied expression, Uncle Teuchi was delighted.

The other diners clearly did not want to stay and eat with Naruto. After quickly finishing their food, they hurried away. They could not afford to provoke the Third Hokage's orders, so they could only slip away.

"Hahaha! Little brother, you sure eat boldly. Interested in competing with my son and me to see who can eat more?"

At that moment, a father and son who looked alike walked in from outside.

"Oh, it's Choza! Did you bring your son out for ramen today?"

Uncle Teuchi warmly greeted them.

Naruto also turned to look at the newcomers.

From Uncle Teuchi's words, he understood that these two should be loyal followers of the Hokage's faction: the Butterfly of Ino-Shika-Cho, Akimichi Choza of the Akimichi Clan, and Akimichi Choji, who would one day become one of the Konoha 11.

Akimichi Choza was a middle-aged man with a burly build, well-developed muscles, short red hair, and a thick beard. His gaze was firm and sharp.

His son, Choji, had inherited his father's build. He was a slightly chubby young boy with a round face and similarly brown short hair. His eyes were gentle and friendly, often carrying a trace of innocence.

Both wore the clan's distinctive clothing—loose garments bearing the clan crest. Choji's clothes were often decorated with patterns of various snacks, reflecting his love for food.

"Little brother, you don't mind if we sit here, do you? We like making friends with people who eat heartily!" Akimichi Choza asked politely.

"Of course. Please sit, Uncle!" Naruto put on an innocent expression.

While eating ramen on the surface, he wondered what the Akimichi Clan was plotting.

After all, the Akimichi Clan supported the Hokage's faction. For them to approach Naruto, it had to be at Hiruzen Sarutobi's request.

They could not possibly approach someone with the sensitive identity of a Jinchuriki without the Hokage's approval.

Thinking of Hiruzen Sarutobi's earlier mention of sending him to the Ninja Academy, Naruto understood. They wanted to make themselves more familiar to Naruto, then have Akimichi Choji become his friend and give him bonds within the village.

Old Third Hokage, old Third Hokage. You really are something.

"Boss, start with five bowls of the same ramen!" As expected of the Akimichi Clan—he started with five bowls.

"Dad, is this ramen really that good? If it isn't tasty, I'm going to eat barbecue instead!"

The chubby Choji spoke to Choza.

"Don't worry. When have I ever lied to you about food?"

Once the ramen was served, Choza began eating rapidly.

Choji first took a tentative bite. Then his eyes lit up, and he began wolfing it down as well.

"Dad, you were right. This ramen really is delicious. I can eat four bowls!" Choji said to Choza while eating.

"Of course. Little brother, do you like ramen too? What's your name?"

"Uncle, my name is Naruto. I love ramen too. I can eat several bowls of ramen like this!"

Hearing that Naruto could also eat several bowls of ramen, Choji was instantly interested.

"Your name is Naruto, right? My name is Choji. Let's compete and see who can eat more! The loser treats, how about it?"

Choji's competitive spirit instantly flared up. Looking at Naruto's small frame, he felt Naruto could not possibly eat more than him!

"Choji! How can you compete like that? Eating is meant to be enjoyed. Don't mix competition into it and spoil something so sacred!" Choza earnestly advised Choji.

"Naruto, just eat normally. I'll cover today's bill!" Choza said to Naruto with a smile.

"It's fine. There's nothing wrong with competing. I love ramen too. Uncle, bring me four bowls first!"

"Uncle, I want five bowls!" Naruto and Choji immediately began competing to see who could eat more ramen.

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