Naruto Uzumaki stood rooted to the spot, taking a long time to come back to his senses before wandering aimlessly through the streets of Rōran.
How he wished Jiraiya had only been joking with him—that Jiraiya had not actually left, but was merely hiding nearby with Ninjutsu.
"Why did it have to be this way? Wouldn't it have been better to just honestly know the future?" Naruto Uzumaki muttered blankly.
Naruto Uzumaki felt that changing Jiraiya's future would be easy, because he knew clearly both the circumstances and timing of Jiraiya's death.
"He just had to not go gather intelligence..."
"Want some ramen?" Mu Yue suddenly appeared beside the despondent Naruto and asked.
"Yes." Naruto Uzumaki looked at Mu Yue and answered instinctively.
Mu Yue quickly brought Naruto Uzumaki back to the rented house.
The moment Naruto Uzumaki entered, he smelled a rich aroma. Looking toward the dining table, he saw two large steaming bowls of ramen already waiting there.
Drawn in by the scent, Naruto Uzumaki walked over to the table and found that it was his favorite—pork miso chashu ramen.
"I wasn't sure whether the ramen here in Rōran tasted the same as Konoha's, so I made it myself," Mu Yue explained as he sat beside Naruto Uzumaki.
Seeing the gentle smile on Mu Yue's face, Naruto Uzumaki felt warmth spread through his heart. Though he was indoors, it felt as if he were basking in sunlight.
After thanking Mu Yue and saying, "I'm digging in," Naruto Uzumaki picked up his chopsticks and began tasting the irresistibly tempting ramen.
As the incomparably delicious ramen entered his mouth, Naruto Uzumaki vaguely felt as though he were sunbathing on a wonderfully fresh beach, warmth filling his entire body.
After taking several bites, Naruto Uzumaki drank a mouthful of soup, and