Naruto

Naruto's poverty truly shocked Hidezawa.

In his memory, Naruto seemed to have always received a pension, hadn't he?

How had it ended up being so little?

"Huh?"

Hearing the voice behind him, Naruto jerked in surprise. He first turned around somewhat dazedly to glance at Hidezawa and Yugao, then seemed to remember something and instinctively took two steps back.

"W-Who are you people?"

"We were heading to Ichiraku for ramen and happened to see you."

Hidezawa shrugged indifferently and stroked his chin as he looked at the purse in Naruto's hand.

"I was thinking of getting acquainted, then seeing if I could get you to treat us, but..."

Naruto's eye twitched. Looking at the shriveled Frog Purse in his hand, even if it killed him, he could not afford that, could he?

But Naruto did not dare say that. He had already suffered who knew how many Konoha Residents' "heavy punches," so he immediately lowered his head obediently and aggrievedly.

"Sorry. I bought some other things, so I don't have any money left."

Seeing Naruto like this, Yugao did not know what to do for a moment.

She had always trained in the Anbu. Although she went home regularly, she had barely interacted with Naruto and had only heard some rumors.

Indeed, even if she had run into him, she would not have approached him. Her heart was filled with hatred for the Nine-Tails as well, but this kid before her did not seem quite like the rumors?

"I see."

Hidezawa was not surprised by Naruto's current state. Though he always wondered whether Naruto had been hit with Kotoamatsukami, he had to admit that Naruto truly was the sun of the Shinobi World.

"You're ridiculously poor. What could a brat like you possibly have bought that cost so much?"

Naruto remained silent. He did not know why everyone in the village seemed to hate him. Under those circumstances, being able to buy things at all was already pretty good, wasn't it?

So whenever he bought something, he bought a whole pile of it, and ended up running out of money.

But he did not dare say anything. He was worried he would get hit with a "heavy punch."

To his utter surprise, the older brother before him suddenly spoke.

"Forget it. Since you're an orphan too, I'll treat you today. But remember to pay me back."

"Uh... huh?"

Naruto looked at Hidezawa in disbelief. He had never expected to hear something like that.

"You're treating me?"

"Yeah. Are you coming or not?"

Hidezawa shrugged. Not bothering with Naruto any further, he turned and headed straight for the ramen stand.

"If you don't want to, that's fine. It'll save me some money."

"I'm coming! I'm coming!"

Before Hidezawa could finish, Naruto immediately shouted and hurried after him.

He was overjoyed. It seemed he had met someone who did not hate him and was even willing to treat him to food. That was not something one saw often in Konohagakure!

Seated at Ichiraku Ramen, the three of them had already ordered. Teuchi was very welcoming, while his daughter Ayame curiously sized up Hidezawa and the others.

For one thing, Hidezawa and the others were indeed unfamiliar faces. For another, she was curious why someone, like her father, would treat Naruto to food.

"Big brother, big sister, are you both ninja?"

While waiting for the ramen, Naruto curiously started a conversation.

"Us?"

Hearing that, Hidezawa looked at himself, then turned to glance at the somewhat silent Yugao. Seeing that neither of them wore Forehead Protectors, he decisively shook his head.

"No, we're not ninja."

Yugao nearly choked on those words. As Anbu ninja, they generally wore masks rather than Forehead Protectors.

Besides, they had just left the Hokage Office, so naturally they were not wearing them. How did that make them not ninja?

"Not ninja? That's too bad."

Little Blondie Naruto did not doubt him. Pumping his tiny fist hard, he smiled.

"I'll definitely become a ninja, and I'll become Hokage too!"

"But forget Hokage. To become a ninja, don't you at least need money to eat first?"

Looking at the passionate Little Blondie, Hidezawa chose that moment to pour cold water over him.

"Not to mention anything else, ninja training costs money for ninja tools, and you need money for food to replenish your nutrition. Right now, even this ramen is on me. You..."

"Damn it."

Little Blondie Naruto was somewhat unconvinced and stubbornly said,

"I'll definitely have enough money! In the future, I'll treat you to ramen every day!"

"Figure out how to pay us back for one meal first before talking about anything else."

Hidezawa smiled as he shattered Little Blondie's spirits again. Seeing Naruto's dejected look, Yugao could not stand it any longer.

"All right, stop teasing him. Things will be fine once he enters the academy."

As she spoke, Yugao looked at Naruto again. After thinking for a moment, she asked curiously,

"Why do you want to become a ninja, and why do you so boldly claim that you want to become Hokage?"

"I'm not being bold for no reason."

Naruto pouted and shook his head. Though his stomach was growling, he rubbed it as he spoke seriously.

"I don't know why, but it seems like a lot of people in the village don't like me. I don't want that. I want everyone to like me, notice me, and acknowledge me.

I heard Old Man say that becoming Hokage would earn everyone's acknowledgment, so I'll definitely become Hokage!"

Naruto's words stunned Yugao. She had never expected to receive such an answer.

"He wants... to be acknowledged by everyone?"

At that moment, Yugao truly wondered whether everyone had misunderstood this kid.

Hidezawa, on the other hand, pursed his lips. So why, after entering the academy, had he followed those little brats and learned from them by going around pulling pranks?

He did get attention that way, but was that really how one earned acknowledgment?

"Hm?"

As he pondered, Hidezawa suddenly sensed something and looked up. Yugao beside him did the same.

Turning his head, he saw a white-haired man in a mask walking over, while someone else was hiding in a corner not far away.

"Kakashi-senpai?"

Yugao immediately recognized him. This White Hair was clearly Kakashi.

Kakashi discreetly glanced at Naruto beside them, then shrugged and spoke.

"So you're here. I hope I'm not interrupting. This may be a little abrupt, but I thought you should meet your New Teammate."

"New Teammate?"

Yugao curiously leaned over to look and naturally spotted the figure hidden in the corner.

"Let's go over, senpai."

Hidezawa simply stood up. Naruto beside him wore a stunned expression.

"Teammates? Wait, you're ninja? Didn't you say you weren't?"

"Kid, this is a lesson for you today."

Hidezawa shrugged nonchalantly and smiled.

"Ninja aren't playing house. Learn to observe, and sometimes, don't trust other people's words so easily."

"But..."

Naruto still wanted to argue, but Hidezawa cut him off directly.

"No buts, kid. If you didn't notice, then you lost. As punishment, you can eat all three bowls of ramen by yourself."

"Huh..."

Naruto stared at Hidezawa in astonishment. He even suspected this big brother had misspoken.

How was that punishment? It was obviously a reward!

But he quickly realized that this big brother was doing it on purpose.

In that instant, he seemed to truly feel what it was like to be acknowledged. It made his eyes sting.

"Oh no! I forgot to ask their names!"

Kakashi quietly watched the scene, then turned and left as well.

He did not want Naruto stopping him to ask question after question, especially since his feelings toward Naruto were somewhat complicated. Yet inwardly, he thought,

"That kid isn't bad."

But just after he left, Teuchi, who had already served Naruto his ramen, suddenly chased after him.

"Please wait, Mr. Kakashi."

"What is it, Mr. Teuchi?"

"That will be three bowls of Extra Large Ramen, for a total of..."

Kakashi's visible eye rolled into a dead-fish stare. He felt he might have judged Hidezawa too soon.