Naruto Uzumaki

"Heh, little Ino was actually pretty cute back then!" Chen thought to himself as he walked down the street.

"Where should I go now? Right, Ichiraku Ramen!" Chen suddenly remembered the Ichiraku Ramen from the original story.

Ichiraku Ramen was an iconic restaurant in Naruto. Though the ramen it served was ordinary, it was the favorite food of the protagonist, Naruto Uzumaki.

It was just a humble little eatery, yet it ran through almost the entire plot of the anime.

Naruto's teacher at the Ninja Academy, Umino Iruka, loved the ramen from this shop and often treated Naruto to it. Influenced by Iruka, the ramen became Naruto's favorite food. Naruto frequently ate ramen with Iruka or Kakashi and others while discussing major events or life philosophies, and during those times, some hilarious mishaps occurred.

"Ah, this is a classic scene from the original. If I've time-traveled to Naruto and don't eat a bowl of ramen at Ichiraku, I 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 read countless rumors online about the owner of Ichiraku! Many people speculated that the owner of Ichiraku Ramen was the real mastermind behind everything.

Although it was later proven to be complete nonsense, Chen still wanted to go take a look and, while he was at it, taste the legendary Ichiraku Ramen.

"First, I'll ask someone where Ichiraku Ramen is." Chen didn't know the way to Ichiraku Ramen yet. But since Ichiraku Ramen was popular in Konoha, Chen just asked someone on the street and got directions.

"Hit him, hit him!" As Chen was walking toward Ichiraku Ramen, he suddenly heard shouts coming from a small alley.

"Huh? What's going on? What happened?" Chen walked over curiously.

Entering the alley, Chen saw three kids bullying a kid with blond hair. The bullied kid had already been beaten to the ground. Yet even so, the blond kid showed no sign of begging for mercy.

"Haha, trash, let's see if you still act tough now." One of the three kids taunted the kid on the ground. "Yeah, yeah, clearly a piece of trash, and you still want to go to school!" Another kid said contemptuously. "Haha, trash!"

"Bastards, I, Naruto Uzumaki, am not trash. I'm the future Hokage." The kid who had been beaten to the ground lifted his head and said stubbornly through gritted teeth to the three kids.

That blond kid being bullied right now was none other than Naruto Uzumaki!

Naruto Uzumaki was the protagonist of the entire Naruto anime, the son of the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, and the Second Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Kushina. During Kushina's due date, because the seal weakens when a female jinchuriki is pregnant, Obito used his Sharingan to control the Nine-Tails, breaking the seal and extracting the tailed beast. He then controlled the Nine-Tails to rampage through Konoha, causing heavy losses.

In the end, Minato made his choice: he decided to sacrifice his own life to seal the Nine-Tails, sealing half of the Nine-Tails' chakra along with the last remnants of his and Kushina's chakra into Naruto. This allowed the couple to stay with Naruto as he grew up, and he set the seal's program so they could help Naruto at the two most critical and dangerous moments. Finally, the Nine-Tails was sealed, and both Minato and Kushina died. Before her death, Kushina entrusted Naruto to the Third Hokage.

Although Minato and Kushina left a dying wish that the villagers of Konohagakure treat Naruto as a hero of the village, for the sake of secrecy, aside from Sarutobi Hiruzen and a few villagers who knew the truth, Naruto's background was never made public. Even Naruto himself didn't know. Most people in the village saw Naruto as the incarnation of the Nine-Tails and treated him coldly. As a result, Naruto grew up in loneliness, yet he always wanted to be acknowledged, so he would pull pranks around the village to get attention.

He told everyone who doubted his potential that one day he would rise to become Konoha's top ninja—the Hokage. He told Iruka (and arguably everyone) that he wanted to become Hokage because he wanted those around him to acknowledge him. Even after graduating, Naruto still craved people's recognition, which made him, in Hatake Kakashi's words, "the most unpredictable ninja."

Naruto was a humorous person, often facing the world with a grinning face, but sometimes he used smiles to hide his anxiety so others wouldn't worry about him. Though Naruto's ninja way was "to speak frankly," that didn't mean he "said everything." He always acted too strong in front of others, so strong that people sometimes overlooked that he was just putting up a front. To outsiders, he was a carefree person, but those who truly understood him could often see the worries buried in his heart.

Additionally, Naruto's faith was very firm. He always believed that people could find light and justice, and he was also very rational, understanding that the path of righteousness "is not an easy road, and walking it will encounter countless hardships." He also valued friendship with his comrades deeply, keeping Kakashi's (Obito Uchiha's) motto in mind: "In the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum."

In his previous life, after Chen's parents died, he had once been negative and self-destructive. But after watching Naruto Uzumaki, the protagonist of Naruto, he was moved by Naruto's personality and slowly emerged from the shadow of his parents' death, no longer sinking into despair. So, Chen greatly admired and thanked Naruto Uzumaki.

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

"Haha, what did he say? Hokage? Haha!" After Naruto said those words, the three kids burst into laughter as if they'd heard the funniest joke in the world. "Hokage? Are you an idiot? Someone like you, a piece of trash, wants to be Hokage! Haha..." "You're the Hokage? Then I'm the Daimyo! Haha, that's hilarious."

"Bastards, stop laughing. I, Naruto Uzumaki, will definitely become Hokage someday!" Naruto retorted angrily.

"Hit him, hit him, let him be Hokage, let him act tough!" The three kids moved to attack Naruto again.

"Get lost, all of you!" Chen walked over and shouted at the three kids.

"Who's that? Looking for a beating too?" The three kids turned around to look at Chen.

"It's... it's Uchiha... Chen!" Seeing that it was Uchiha Chen, the three kids were terrified. They were students in Iruka's class and had all seen the strength Chen displayed at school today. He could even take down Taichi the Idiot in one shot, especially that last move that pierced through the floor. If that had hit them... thinking about it, the three suddenly 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.

"We... we'll leave right now... right now!" The three immediately scrambled away in panic. Are you kidding? Fight a monster like you?

After the three kids ran off, Chen came over to Naruto, helped him up, and said, "Are you okay? Do you need to go to the hospital?"

"Tch! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the future Hokage. I don't need any hospital. I'll be fine by tomorrow!" Naruto said with forced ease, though his face was bruised and swollen, looking quite ridiculous.

"Ah, right, this guy's a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki with amazing recovery. This little injury will probably heal in no time." Thinking this, Chen said to Naruto, "Then don't go. You're Naruto Uzumaki, right? Nice to meet you. I'm Uchiha Chen!"

"Uchiha Chen, I know. Alright, I'm going home. See you!" Naruto said to Chen and was about to leave.

"Hey! Naruto." Chen called out to Naruto, who was about to leave.

Naruto stopped, turned around, and asked Chen doubtfully, "Huh? Is there something else?"

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

"Wh... what? You... you want to be friends with me?" Naruto asked Chen excitedly.

Naruto had been alone since he was a child, with no friends, always being bullied, always lonely. No one had ever wanted to be friends with him. Today, Chen suddenly said he wanted to be friends, and it made Naruto feel flattered.

"Yeah, don't you want to?" Chen asked Naruto with a smile.

"No... it's not that... it's just..." Naruto was about to say something when his stomach suddenly let out an embarrassing sound. "Uh, th... this..."

"Heh, come on, Naruto, I'll treat you to some ramen. I was just looking for Ichiraku Ramen. Do you know the way?" Chen said to Naruto with a smile.

"Ichiraku Ramen? I know it, I know it! Their ramen is the best. I love going there to eat!" As soon as ramen was mentioned, Naruto immediately brightened 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—just an ordinary uncle, nothing special. Chen also got to eat the Ichiraku Ramen he had always longed for, and it was indeed quite good.

"Full, Naruto? Want another bowl?" Chen asked Naruto beside him after finishing his ramen. "Mm, no, I'm full. Thanks for the meal." Naruto drank the last sip of soup from his bowl, let out a burp, and said gratefully to Chen.

"Heh, don't mention it. We're friends!" Chen waved his hand at Naruto and said, "Alright, Naruto, I should go home. You head back too. See you tomorrow!"

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

"I'm off!" Chen said and walked back toward his home. Naruto stood there frozen. "A friend?" Naruto could hardly believe it. He actually had a friend. Suddenly, he jumped up in joy. "I have a friend! I have a friend! Hey, Uncle Ichiraku, I have a friend! Having a friend feels so good!" Naruto said excitedly to Uncle Ichiraku.

"Oh, really? That's great!" Uncle Ichiraku was also happy for Naruto.

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

"Today was so great. I really hope tomorrow comes soon."

At that moment, Naruto was eagerly looking forward to tomorrow!!