The World of a Foodie

"At this rate, Gai's in danger."

Kaede remembered that Gai had once been expelled from the academy. His father had begged the Third Hokage, and only his exceptional taijutsu talent got him readmitted on special terms.

The Leaf's system in this era was far from as refined as it would be in Naruto's time.

The ninja academy at this point was just a war machine for churning out shinobi. Students without talent were treated ruthlessly—kicked out without hesitation. There was no comforting talk about dreams, and the Hokage certainly didn't have time for such trivial matters.

The model of assigning medical ninja to squads, which Tsunade would later push hard for, hadn't been fully implemented yet.

Konoha Hospital was still a skeleton crew of two or three. Medical ninjutsu had no systematic curriculum. Everything was in its infancy. The woman who would one day transform the Leaf was still drowning in grief over her brother's death and clinging to her lover's comfort, struggling to improve the village's medical system.

What she didn't know was that her lover didn't have long to live.

The Leaf's system began with the First Hokage, was codified by the Second, refined by the Third, glossed over by the Fourth, and flourished under the Fifth. In this era, the village's main tone was still preparing for war. The Will of Fire burned bright, but it lacked human warmth.

When life hung by a thread every day, no one had time to care about such things.

Gai was lucky. He had Dai, a father who supported him.

Kaede had a sudden realization. Soon, many people might never be seen again.

Leaving the academy, Kaede wandered aimlessly through the Leaf's streets. Tonight, his mother was off socializing with the other Uchiha wives, so he had to buy his own dinner.

He'd never really looked at the sprawling Leaf Village before. Tonight was the first time.

The evening Leaf was lively. On this commercial street, people came and went in a bustling scene. Compared to his past life, it fell short, but in the shinobi world, only the Five Great Ninja Villages could boast such prosperity.

"Oh? This shop looks really popular!"

Kaede didn't have any particular favorite food in the Leaf. It wasn't that he was picky—it was that coming from a great foodie nation, he couldn't stomach the strange local cuisine. His principle was simple: eat enough to survive, anything would do.

But now, he'd followed the scent here. He saw a long line outside a shop, made up of civilians and green-vested ninja alike.

"Mmm~"

He took a deep breath. The aroma was wonderful, rich and fragrant. He joined the end of the line. The moon was already bright, its pale light drifting down, mingling with the scent wafting from the small workshop.

Like a dream.

As the line moved forward and the people ahead thinned out, he could finally see the shop's name through the gaps—Ichiraku Ramen.

"Ha! I should've guessed."

He sized up the tiny noodle shop. Uncle was sweating as he kneaded dough, with a little girl helping him on the side.

"So this is the legendary Otsutsuki Ichiraku? He looks pretty young! And that cute little girl must be Ayame. Hardworking even as a kid—no wonder she never got married. Heh heh..."

This familiar scene lit up his inner snark soul. The gossip fire burned in his heart—until the squinty-eyed Ichiraku uncle said to him, "Little one, what'll it be?"

"A large bowl of tonkotsu ramen, please."

He pulled out a small stool from under the counter and sat down. He had to admit, being a kid was a pain. Never mind the rest—the height was a real problem. He could barely reach the table to eat. How embarrassing.

And forget about his "tools" ever being ready for action anytime soon. All that potential, and he couldn't even be a playboy. Life was too hard!

"Hey, little sis, you're amazing."

Once seated, Kaede couldn't help teasing Ayame, who was busy stirring the soup stock.

Startled by the sudden interruption, Ayame nearly dropped the long ladle into the bucket. She turned to see Kaede looking at her with curious, adorable eyes—a cute little boy. The anger that rose in her instantly vanished.

No one could blame such a cute little brother.

She flashed a sweet smile, nodded at Kaede, and went back to stirring.

"Hmph! Annoying Uchiha brat. Already hitting on girls at your age."

An irritating mutter came from behind him. Kaede's smiling face slowly stiffened.

What's wrong with me hitting on a little girl? Did I eat your rice? Did I play with your daughter?

He turned around with a glare. Today, he'd be an Uchiha mad dog and bite her. Woof... woof...

"Whoa!"

The fierce look on Kaede's face instantly shifted to wide-eyed surprise.

Behind him in line stood a beautiful woman with long red hair. A hairpin was clipped to the left side of her head, a wrist guard on her left wrist, and a Leaf forehead protector on her brow. She had an unhappy expression.

Right now, her right hand was on her stomach as she stood on tiptoes, staring at the large bowl of tonkotsu ramen Teuchi had set in front of Kaede. She kept swallowing saliva, her lips glistening with moisture.

She must be starving, struggling hard against the assault of the aroma. Her long red hair rippled in the breeze behind her.

When she saw Kaede glare at her fiercely, she clenched her right fist and waved it. "What are you looking at? Hurry up and eat, then get out of the way."

"Got it!"

Kaede turned around and dug in, all in one smooth motion.

He knew the reputation of the Red Hot Chili Pepper.

That woman was definitely someone who would beat him up and walk away without a scratch. As the Leaf's strategic weapon—the Nine-Tails jinchuriki—

She could not only beat up an Uchiha kid, she could flip the Third Hokage's desk and get away with it.

She was someone he couldn't afford to mess with.

"Gur... gur..."

A rather ungraceful rumble came from behind Kaede. He knew it was the declaration of hunger from a certain woman.

"Haha!"

The uncle eating noodles beside him let out a laugh, causing Uzumaki Kushina's face to flush red—a rare sight.

The tiny Ichiraku Ramen shop could only fit two people eating at the same time.

"I'm done. Little miss, come sit here!"

"Thank you very much!"

Kushina bowed gratefully, and the uncle paid with a smile before leaving.

"I'll have two large bowls of miso ramen."

The moment she sat down, she called out loudly to Teuchi.

Eating that much? Aren't you afraid of bursting? he silently grumbled in his mind, then turned his head for a glance.

"What are you looking at, kid? You asking for a beating? I'm not scared of the Uchiha Clan."

"Big sister, your red hair is really pretty—just like our Uchiha clan fan."

"Hmph! Even if you say that, I won't forget how you glared at me just now."

Clearly delighted, yet still putting on a tsundere act, Kushina lifted her chin, crossed her arms on the stool, and waited for Teuchi's ramen. She didn't dare turn her head to look at the kid beside her—if she looked at him, she'd see the ramen, and if she saw the ramen, she'd feel even hungrier.

"Two large bowls of miso ramen!"

"Thanks! I'll dig in!"

And then Kaede witnessed what a foodie's world looked like. Those two giant bowls of noodles were practically cleared in an instant, down to the last scrap of topping at the bottom, which she licked clean without a drop left.

Still unsatisfied, she flipped open her wallet, hesitated a bit, and finally steeled herself to say, "One more bowl."

As a jinchuriki, she probably can't leave the village for missions—just plays ninja inside the village. She shouldn't have much money on her. And Minato Namikaze isn't with her, which means he's likely out on a mission outside the village, so she's here eating alone.

In that instant, it all clicked in his mind.