The Uzumaki Naruto

"Hehe, Ino was pretty cute when she was little!" Chen thought as he walked down the street.

"Where should I go now? Oh, right—Ichiraku Ramen!" Chen suddenly remembered the ramen shop from the Original Story.

Ichiraku Ramen was an iconic restaurant in Naruto. The ramen it served was ordinary, but it was the favorite food of the Original Story's protagonist, Naruto Uzumaki.

It was just an ordinary little eatery, yet it appeared throughout almost the entire anime.

Umino Iruka, Naruto's teacher at the Ninja Academy, loved eating ramen at the shop and often treated Naruto to a bowl. Influenced by Iruka, the ramen there became Naruto's favorite food, too. Naruto often ate ramen with Iruka or Kakashi while discussing major events or the meaning of life, and they even got into some amusing situations along the way.

"Ah, this is a classic scene from the Original Story! If you've been transported into Naruto and don't eat a bowl of ramen at Ichiraku, then you might as well not have stayed in Konoha. Besides, I'm really curious about the owner of Ichiraku Ramen!"

Back in his previous life, Chen had seen plenty of rumors about Ichiraku's owner online. Lots of people speculated that the owner of Ichiraku Ramen was the real mastermind behind everything.

Although it was later proven to be nothing but a ridiculous rumor, Chen still wanted to take a look—and try the legendary Ichiraku Ramen while he was at it.

"I should ask someone where Ichiraku Ramen is first." Chen didn't know how to get there. But Ichiraku Ramen was popular in Konoha, so he only had to ask someone on the street for directions.

"Hit him! Hit him!" As Chen headed toward Ichiraku Ramen, he suddenly heard shouts coming from a nearby alley.

"Hm? What's going on? What happened?" Curious, Chen walked over.

When Chen entered the alley, he saw three children bullying a blond-haired boy. Their victim had been beaten down onto the ground, but even so, the blond boy showed no sign of giving in.

"Haha, you piece of trash! Let's see you act tough now," one of the three bullies sneered at the boy on the ground. "That's right! You're a piece of trash, and you still think you can go to school?" another child said scornfully. "Haha, trash!"

"Bastards, I, Naruto Uzumaki, am not trash! I'm going to be Hokage someday!" The boy on the ground lifted his head and gritted his teeth as he defied the three bullies.

The blond-haired boy being bullied was Naruto Uzumaki!

Naruto Uzumaki was the protagonist of the entire Naruto anime. He was the son of the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, and the Second Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Kushina. When Kushina's due date arrived, the seal weakened because the seal on a female Jinchuriki weakened during pregnancy. Obito used the Sharingan to control the Nine-Tails, break through the seal, and extract the Tailed Beast. He then controlled the Nine-Tails as it rampaged through Konoha, causing immense damage.

In the end, Minato made his choice: he decided to sacrifice his life to seal the Nine-Tails himself. He sealed half of the Nine-Tails' Chakra, along with the last of his and Kushina's Chakra, inside Naruto, allowing both parents to accompany their son as he grew up. He also set up the seal so that they could help Naruto at two of his most crucial and dangerous moments. In the end, the Nine-Tails was sealed, and Minato and Kushina both died. Before she passed away, Kushina entrusted Naruto to the Third Hokage.

Before their deaths, Minato and Kushina left a final wish: that the villagers of Konohagakure would treat Naruto as the village's hero. But for the sake of secrecy, Naruto's origins were kept hidden from the public, except from Sarutobi Hiruzen and a small number of villagers who knew the truth. Even Naruto himself didn't know. Most of the villagers saw him as the incarnation of the Nine-Tails and treated him coldly. As a result, Naruto grew up in loneliness. He longed for acceptance, so he often played pranks around the village to draw attention.

He told everyone who doubted his potential that one day he would become Konoha's greatest ninja—the Hokage. He told Iruka (and, in a way, everyone) that he wanted to become Hokage because he hoped the people around him would accept him. Even after graduating, Naruto continued to yearn for people's recognition, which made him, in Hatake Kakashi's words, "the ninja who was most full of surprises."

Naruto was a humorous person who often faced the world with a cheeky grin. Sometimes, though, he used that smile to hide his worries so that no one would be concerned about him. Although Naruto's ninja way was "to say what you mean," that didn't mean he said everything. He always acted too strong in front of others, so strong that people overlooked the times when he was only putting on a brave front. To outsiders, he seemed like someone without a care in the world, but those who truly knew him could often see the worries he kept hidden in his heart.

Naruto's faith was also unwavering. He always believed that people could find light and justice, while remaining clear-eyed about the fact that the path to justice "isn't an easy one. Those who walk it will encounter countless hardships and obstacles." He also treasured his friendships with his teammates, keeping Kakashi's (Obito Uchiha's) words in his heart: "In the world of ninja, those who can't complete their missions are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash."

Back in his previous life, after Chen's parents died, he had fallen into despair and given up on himself for a time. But after watching Naruto Uzumaki, the protagonist of Naruto, he was moved by Naruto's character and slowly emerged from the shadow of his parents' deaths. He stopped wallowing in despair. That was why Chen admired Naruto so much and felt grateful to him.

Seeing Naruto being bullied like this, Chen walked over with a dark expression.

"Haha, what did he say? Hokage? Hahaha!" After Naruto said those words, the three children laughed as if they'd just heard the funniest joke in the world. "Hokage? Are you stupid? A piece of trash like you wants to be Hokage? Hahaha..." "You're going to be Hokage? Then I'm the Daimyo! Hahaha, that's hilarious!"

"Bastards, stop laughing! I, Naruto Uzumaki, am definitely going to become Hokage someday!" Naruto retorted furiously.

"Hit him! Hit him! Let's see him become Hokage now—he'll think twice before acting tough again!" The three children were about to attack Naruto again.

"Get lost!" Chen shouted at the three children as he walked over.

"Who are you? You want a beating too?" The three children turned toward Chen at the sound of his shout.

"It's... it's Uchiha... Chen!" When they saw that it was Uchiha Chen, the three children panicked. They were students in Iruka's class and had all seen Chen demonstrate his strength at school that day. He was the one who had instantly defeated Taichi the Idiot. That last strike had even pierced the floor. What if he hit one of them with it...? At the thought, they all felt a chill run down their spines.

"I told you to get lost! Didn't you hear me? Or do you want to fight me too?" Chen said to them.

"W-we'll leave right now... right now!" The three children immediately ran off in a panic. As if they'd pick a fight with a monster like him!

After the three children had run off, Chen went over to Naruto and helped him up. "Are you okay? Do you want me to take you to the hospital?"

"Tch! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the future Hokage. I don't need to go to some hospital. I'll be fine tomorrow!" Naruto said, trying to sound casual, though his face was bruised and swollen, making him look pretty comical.

"Uh! I forgot this guy's the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. His recovery is incredible. A little injury like this will probably heal in no time." Thinking this, Chen said to Naruto, "Then we won't go. You're Naruto Uzumaki, right? Nice to meet you. I'm Uchiha Chen!"

"Uchiha Chen, huh? I know you. Okay, I'm going home now. See you!" Naruto said to Chen, then started to leave.

"Hey, Naruto!" Chen called out to him as he was about to go.

Naruto stopped and turned around, looking at Chen in confusion. "Hm? What is it?"

"Let's be friends, Naruto!" Chen said with a smile.

"Wh-what? Y-you want to be friends with me?" Naruto asked excitedly.

Naruto had been alone ever since he was little. He had no friends and was always bullied, living in solitude. No one had ever asked to be his friend before. When Chen suddenly offered, Naruto felt almost overwhelmed.

"Of course. Don't you want to?" Chen asked Naruto with a smile.

"N-no... It's just..." Naruto was about to say something when his stomach suddenly let out an embarrassing growl. "Uh, um..."

"Hehe, come on, Naruto. I'll treat you to ramen. I was just looking for Ichiraku Ramen. Do you know how to get there?" Chen said with a smile.

"Ichiraku Ramen? I know, I know! They have the best ramen. I love eating there!" As soon as he heard the word "ramen," Naruto lit up and said to Chen, "I'll take you there." "Okay, let's go!"

Then Naruto led Chen to Ichiraku Ramen. Chen finally got to meet Uncle Ichiraku, an ordinary-looking man with nothing special about him. Chen also got to try the Ichiraku Ramen he'd been looking forward to for so long, and it really was pretty good.

"Are you full, Naruto? Want another bowl?" Chen asked Naruto after finishing his ramen. "Mhm, that's enough. I'm full. Thanks for the meal." Naruto finished the last sip of broth in his bowl, burped, and thanked Chen.

"Hehe, don't mention it. We're friends!" Chen waved a hand at Naruto and said, "All right, Naruto, I should head home. You should go home too. See you tomorrow!"

"Yeah! See you tomorrow!" Naruto waved back at Chen.

"I'm off!" Chen said, then headed home. Naruto stood frozen in place. "Friends?" He could hardly believe it. He actually had a friend. Suddenly, he jumped up excitedly. "I have a friend! I have a friend! Hey, Uncle Ichiraku, I have a friend now! It feels so good to have a friend!" Naruto exclaimed happily to Uncle Ichiraku.

"Oh, is that so? That's wonderful!" Uncle Ichiraku was happy for Naruto too.

"Uncle, I'm going home now. Thanks for the meal!" Naruto said cheerfully as he said goodbye to Uncle Ichiraku, then ran back to his home.

"I'm so happy today. I hope tomorrow comes soon."

Naruto was eagerly looking forward to tomorrow!