Otsutsuki Ichiraku

Chapter 24: Otsutsuki Ichiraku

"Did you bring enough money?"

Itachi nervously squeezed his small wallet. He had brought out all the pocket money he had saved up, about five thousand ryo. He wasn't sure if it was enough.

This five thousand ryo was all he had managed to save by being frugal. Although he came from a prominent clan, there were many things he didn't need to pay for. However, his actual pocket money wasn't as much as others might imagine. The Uchiha upbringing was very strict, and he also needed to buy things like kunai regularly, which were the major expenses!

So, being a rich second-generation was completely out of the question for him. He wasn't from the Akimichi clan...

"Um, it should... be enough."

"Great, I feel relieved hearing that from you. I can eat a lot!"

Looking at Qingyu's sparkling eyes, Itachi suddenly felt like running away. What if they didn't have enough money and he was held back? That would be a huge embarrassment for the Uchiha, and being grounded would be the least of his worries!

However, he gritted his teeth and nodded, putting on a look of facing death.

Qingyu, who had been secretly observing everything, started chuckling. Who would have thought that the future's incredibly cool and powerful Itachi God was so adorable when he was young, even worrying about his wallet not being enough to pay the bill.

Qingyu could bet that if he recorded this moment, he could extort a large sum from Itachi in the future.

Of course, doing so would be walking a very narrow path, and he might lose his life!

It was the same dango shop as that day. As soon as they entered, the proprietress's eyes lit up when she saw the pair of young boys.

"What would you like to eat, my little guests?"

"Please remove the 'little' part, Auntie! And bring fifty skewers of three-color dango. He's paying!"

Qingyu held a grudge. He remembered the 'humiliation' he suffered here last time and kept it in mind. So, he didn't call her 'sister' anymore and directly called her 'auntie,' deliberately drawing out the sound.

As expected, the proprietress, who was called 'auntie,' had her smile freeze. She grunted unhappily and went to get busy, muttering, "Kids these days are not cute at all."

Hmph! I'm not going to stoop to the level of a money-grubbing auntie like you.

Coolly shaking his beautiful hair, the two found a small table in a corner and sat down.

At this point, Itachi seemed to still be calculating the price of fifty skewers of three-color dango. Fifty times eight, totaling four hundred ryo. Luckily, luckily.

Qingyu could see the obvious relief on Itachi's face, probably because he was glad he wouldn't be stuck here washing dishes.

Then, he immediately grinned mischievously and said casually, "Let's start with fifty skewers of dango to whet our appetite. How about we go eat ramen later? I heard there's a famous ramen place called Ichiraku. I've never been there before."

Those fifty skewers of three-color dango were just... an appetizer?

Itachi was clearly startled and started worrying about not having enough money to pay again.

It wasn't that he was worried about the money itself, but rather about the embarrassment of not having enough.

Qingyu saw through it but didn't say anything, chuckling inwardly. He wasn't so petty as to squeeze a fat sheep dry. He just found it genuinely amusing to tease the future Itachi God, as it would be hard to see Itachi make such an expression later on.

The fifty skewers of dango didn't make them wait long. They were served quickly, but compared to last time, they ordered fifty skewers this time and received no complimentary service.

Hmph, bad review!

I will definitely not patronize this shop again next time!

"Itadakimasu!"

Clasping his hands together and shouting, Qingyu immediately started eating with both hands, his mouth instantly stuffed with three-color dango.

He had expended too much energy, and he hadn't eaten breakfast. He was so hungry his back was practically touching his stomach. Naturally, he wouldn't be polite.

Itachi, startled by his even more exaggerated eating posture than last time, quickly joined the food-grabbing frenzy.

Five minutes later, all fifty skewers of dango were gone!

Itachi was starting to believe that it was just an appetizer...

"Boss, another fifty skewers!"

Itachi began to feel a little uneasy...

After the second batch of fifty skewers was also devoured, Itachi, who was already full, asked while clutching his wallet, "An... another fifty skewers?"

"Another! Like hell! Let's go, change places!"

After eating a total of one hundred skewers without any complimentary items, Qingyu decided he wouldn't give this shop any more of his money. Hmph!

When they paid the bill, it came to a total of eight hundred ryo, which was about half a month's living expenses for Qingyu. Such extravagance!

"Now... where to?"

"Ichiraku Ramen. I've been here for so long and I still haven't been. Oh, right, do you know where it is?"

Itachi nodded, a little dazed. "Are we really going? Aren't you full yet?"

"What are you talking about? If I don't eat at least three big bowls later, I'll do a handstand and poop! Let's go!"

And so, under Itachi's confused gaze, the two headed to Ichiraku Ramen.

Coincidentally, there was no one there at this time. The two of them had the place to themselves.

"Welcome! What would you like to eat?" As soon as they entered, the boss, Teuchi, greeted them with his signature squinting smile.

That's right, this is the place!

Qingyu looked up at the price list hanging on the wall.

Regular ramen 60 ryo, special ramen 70 ryo, vegetable ramen 65 ryo, pork cutlet ramen 60 ryo, special chashu ramen 75 ryo, extra egg ramen 65 ryo, soup ramen 90 ryo, rice 15 ryo, and so on.

Qingyu, knowing what he wanted, directly ordered, "I'll have a bowl of special ramen, a bowl of pork cutlet ramen, and a bowl of special chashu ramen with extra chashu. What about you?"

Startled, Itachi instinctively replied, "Are you ordering all of this for yourself?"

"Don't worry, if I order it, I'll definitely finish it. Wasting food is a disgrace, wouldn't you agree, Uncle?"

The owner, Teuchi, still had his usual smiling expression. After Qingyu finished speaking, he gave a thumbs-up, seemingly agreeing with his words.

Qingyu was a little disappointed that he didn't see the owner's daughter, as the young lady was quite pretty.

"Then... I'll have a bowl of vegetable ramen."

"Alright, that's 4 bowls of ramen in total. Please wait a moment!"

After they finished ordering, the owner, Teuchi, seemed to transform, exuding the aura of a grandmaster as he began preparing the noodles.

No wonder people in his past life always said the owner of Ichiraku Ramen was the final boss, and the meme about Otsutsuki Ichiraku was widely spread.

He just didn't know when the Great Ramen Eating Contest started.

Qingyu remembered that Hinata would later win with an astonishing 46 bowls, leaving behind the legend of the 'Queen of Competitive Eating'!

Defeated by Hinata and taking second and third place were Choji Akimichi and Choza Akimichi...

What a disgrace to the Akimichi clan!

From now on, if anyone said the Akimichi clan were the best eaters, Qingyu would slap them!

Therefore, in the world of Naruto, Qingyu's appetite was completely insignificant, just a beginner level.

PS: I checked the books published around the same time, and almost all of them update once a day. I'm foolishly updating twice a day while waiting for the editor to be at work, and I'm still being criticized for being short. I can't stand this. I don't know if my contract status can be changed today. If it is, please notify me with a small tip if you decide to tip. I also glanced at the new book list on the homepage, and after ten days of going solo, it's already in the top 30. The category new book list has also climbed to fourth. Not bad, not bad~ Can everyone give a little more effort and help Old Faceless climb the rankings? Please cast more recommendation votes. If you haven't collected or invested, remember to click. If you have any book lists, please add it. Just for the sake of Old Faceless always being a two-updates-a-day beast, I'm asking for your trouble~

Also, I made a small modification to the plot of the previous two chapters where I wrote a self-criticism. It doesn't have any impact, so you don't need to go back and reread it. Thank you to Mo Wen Bie Hou for the reminder.