Teacher and Student

The moon gradually rose higher.

By this time, Hinata had long since left.

Yet someone was still training amid the quiet woods, sweat pouring down like rain.

"Sasuke, aren't you going home yet?"

At eight in the evening, Naruto stopped training on schedule. It was about time for him to head home, wash up, and sleep.

Before leaving, Naruto cast a curious look toward the boy seated at the other end of the training ground, endlessly making charcoal. He had no idea what had provoked Sasuke.

Normally, Sasuke would have already gone home to have dinner with his family by this hour.

Even if he had already eaten with Naruto, Sasuke would not miss the rare time he had with his family after dinner.

But today, he had voluntarily stayed behind to train until now.

"You go ahead. I'll train a little longer." Sasuke's hands did not stop as he continued making charcoal.

"Be careful not to exhaust your Chakra."

Training hard was a good thing, so Naruto had no reason to stop him. After offering that reminder, he got up and left the training ground.

By now, Naruto could skillfully use the power of the wind to accelerate himself even while moving.

Although the forest where he trained was quite a distance from his home, Naruto still did not take long to get close to it.

Not far from where he lived, Naruto stopped atop a rooftop.

At the street corner ahead, one shop still had its lights on.

The shop was small, merely a tiny one-story building. Its sign bore the words Ichiraku Ramen.

"It's still open. I'll have a late-night snack before going back." A faint smile appeared on Naruto's lips. He leaped down from the roof, landed before the little shop, lifted the curtain, and walked in.

"Ah, Naruto. The usual?"

There were no customers in Ichiraku Ramen at the moment. Teuchi, the owner, had been sitting behind the counter in a daze, but Naruto's arrival immediately caught his attention. He rose enthusiastically to greet him.

"Yes. A Large Bowl of Char Siu Ramen, no Bamboo Shoots. Thank you."

Naruto smiled back and politely stated his order.

"Got it!"

Teuchi answered, then happily got to work.

For a chef, nothing was more enjoyable than cooking for a customer.

Naruto found a seat and rested his chin on one hand as he watched the enthusiastic chef bustle about.

Gradually, Naruto's thoughts drifted back to around a year ago.

At that time, the Ninja Academy had already been in session for a while. Although Naruto had never attended class himself, sending only a Shadow Clone assigned an abundant amount of Chakra each time,

as time passed, he had gradually become familiar with his classmates and Iruka, their teacher.

He listened attentively in class, and whether it was Shuriken, Taijutsu, or knowledge-based trap techniques, Naruto could use them all flawlessly. He had become the undisputed top student of his year.

Even Sasuke, the younger master of the Uchiha, an Elite Clan, ranked below Naruto. Only in Shuriken class could Sasuke's performance rival his.

Naruto treated the school's teachers as politely as he could.

Respecting teachers and valuing their teachings was an ideal Naruto strongly believed in.

Even if they, like those adults he despised, treated him with displaced resentment, as long as they sincerely taught him knowledge and fulfilled the most basic duty of a teacher,

Naruto would not respond with harsh words. He maintained the manners expected of a student.

At most, he simply would not interact with them deeply.

Yet such behavior earned him no praise, nor did it improve his situation at school.

After hearing of it, those adults treated Naruto with even stronger disgust.

An incarnation of a monster was better than their own children, learning the knowledge needed to become a ninja. What if he became even worse in the future and used that knowledge to kill people?

Influenced by them, the children attending the Ninja Academy isolated Naruto even more.

Some parents even demanded that Naruto get out of the school, afraid that he would lose control, turn into a monster, and hurt their children.

But all these undercurrents were suppressed by Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage.

In such an environment, even many of the children in Naruto's class gradually began to distance themselves from him.

Only a very small number remained unaffected and continued getting along with Naruto as before.

As a teacher, Iruka encountered Naruto, the student called the Demon Fox, every day and saw the difficult circumstances he faced.

Kind by nature, Iruka finally managed to suppress the uncontrollable hatred in his heart and treat Naruto according to his own true feelings.

Although Naruto was a genius, countless times more capable than Iruka, who had been slow-witted since childhood, they were alike in one respect: both had lost their parents young and knew the loneliness of being alone.

For the first time, he tried to let go of his prejudice and reach out to the heart of this student named Naruto.

"If there's anything you don't understand in your studies, you can ask me. I can also explain things you haven't learned yet."

After school that day, Iruka stopped Naruto as he was about to leave. Smiling, he took the initiative to offer his goodwill.

Then Iruka discovered that Naruto had keenly sensed that goodwill.

After that, whenever Naruto encountered basic ninja knowledge he did not understand, he would take the initiative to ask Iruka for guidance.

And whenever Iruka carefully and earnestly answered Naruto's questions, Naruto would offer him his sincere thanks.

Occasionally, Naruto would even bring Iruka small snacks he had made himself as thanks.

The teacher and student gradually became familiar through such interactions.

About half a year ago, Naruto's Shadow Clone had stayed late with Iruka to organize teaching materials.

Then Iruka took the initiative and invited Naruto to dinner.

"Naruto, let your teacher treat you to ramen. Ichiraku Ramen is really good."

Naruto froze at the time.

For the first time, an adult had invited him to eat rather than looking at him with cold, murderous eyes.

Although he had grown familiar with Teacher Iruka over the past few months, Naruto still felt as though he were dreaming at that moment.

This world was not entirely darkness after all. It held warmth for Naruto too.

"Teacher doesn't mean anything else by it. You often bring me the little snacks you make, but I can't cook and don't have anything to give you in return, so I wanted to treat you to a meal to express my thanks."

Seeing Naruto freeze, Iruka panicked a little and hurriedly explained.

He too had lost his parents when he was young, and afterward developed a stubbornly self-reliant personality. He did not like casually accepting others' kindness. Such an abrupt invitation had probably hurt Naruto's pride.

At that moment, he could not help blaming himself for not considering this sooner.

"Teacher Iruka, I'm very happy. I'll see you at Ichiraku Ramen in a little while." Naruto understood what Iruka was thinking. Smiling, he interrupted Iruka's wild thoughts before dispelling the Shadow Clone Jutsu.

Only then did Iruka realize that his student had most likely never seriously attended class at all. It had all been Shadow Clones.

A vein bulged faintly on Iruka's forehead.

But the next moment, he smiled again. His student was so outstanding; as his teacher, he ought to be happy.

Afterward, Iruka left the school and headed to Ichiraku Ramen.

The moment he reached the entrance, he saw Naruto running over from the end of the street, drenched in sweat and covered in quite a bit of dust.

"Sorry, Teacher Iruka. I was training just now, so I'm a little messy." Naruto smiled sheepishly as soon as he arrived.

Iruka shook his head without saying much, then ushered Naruto into Ichiraku Ramen.

"Welcome, you two. What would you like?"

Teuchi, the owner, recognized Naruto as the child rumored throughout the village to be the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.

Yet his attitude did not change in the slightest. He still greeted them warmly.

After all, not everyone in this world took out their resentment on others.

From then on, Naruto came to love Ichiraku Ramen.