I'm Happy

Uchiha Gen saw this and thought, Hmm, that does seem a bit stingy, so he sighed and said, "If there's anything you like, just order a bowl. Consider it my treat. If you happen to run into Dosu Kinata during the matches, I'd appreciate it if you could go a little easy on him."

I can just buy more later anyway.

"Heh! So you think I'm strong too, right? Right! But... who is Dosu Kinata? Don't worry, when I see him, I'll definitely go easy on him." Seeing someone acknowledge his strength, Naruto was so happy he nearly jumped onto his stool, though he was quickly pulled back by Jiraiya.

"Dosu Kinata..."

Jiraiya rested his chin on his hand, eyeing Uchiha Gen and noticing the forehead protector on his arm: "Are you from Otogakure?"

Hearing this, Uchiha Gen paused as if just realizing something, then said, "My apologies, how rude of me. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Jiya, and I am the lead Jonin for the Otogakure team in this year's Chunin Exams."

Hearing this, Naruto's smile faded. His slow brain finally caught up—Otogakure, Dosu Kinata... so it was those three guys. The memories weren't exactly pleasant. Naruto muttered to himself, Even if this guy is a bit stingy, he's actually quite polite. How could he be the lead Jonin for those three?

Jiraiya nodded, then turned to lecture Naruto: "Naruto, a good kid shouldn't just take things from strangers."

At the same time, he thought to himself, A Jonin this young... even if it's a small village, their foundation seems surprisingly decent. I don't know if he has malicious intent, but it never hurts to be cautious about eating his food.

As if sensing what Jiraiya was thinking, Jiya watched the ramen being served and nodded toward Teuchi, gesturing at Naruto.

Seeing the ramen arrive, Naruto's eyes lit up, and he looked at Jiraiya with pleading eyes.

Jiraiya sighed helplessly and nodded. Naruto was instantly overjoyed, slurping up the noodles and mumbling to Jiya, "Thanks, old man!"

Even though he had already eaten six bowls just moments ago.

"???"

Uchiha Gen's expression stiffened. Old man? He couldn't help but say to Naruto, "I'm not even twenty-one yet. If you're going to call me anything, it should be 'big brother'."

"Sure thing, old man."

"..." Uchiha Gen watched Naruto eating with gusto. So, he wasn't listening at all, was he?

Jiraiya pondered for a long time, then suddenly seemed to realize something. His expression shifted to one of sudden enlightenment, his eyes fixed on Uchiha Gen as if he had seen through everything.

Just as Uchiha Gen was left bewildered by the stare.

Jiraiya put on a serious face and said with great confidence: "Since you've figured out my identity, what is your goal in trying to curry favor with me?"

Uchiha Gen blinked at him, "Your identity...? Could it be that you are Naruto's grandfather?"

"..."

At this moment, Jiraiya experienced the same feeling Jiya had just felt—a sense of cardiac arrest. While they were roughly the same generation, that wasn't the point at all!

Jiraiya's expression slumped, and he said nonchalantly, "I am not his grandfather. Since you don't recognize me, why do you want to treat Naruto to ramen?"

Jiya's tone was sincere, his face neither flushing nor skipping a beat (though he lacked those functions anyway): "Because I want to make a friend, and I'm just in a good mood today~"

Jiraiya choked. Fine, that was a perfectly valid and powerful reason. Even if he was from another village, one couldn't exactly forbid someone from being in a good mood and wanting to treat others.

"By the way, old timer, since you aren't Naruto's grandfather, what did you mean by your identity earlier?" Uchiha Gen didn't give Jiraiya time to think and countered, hoping to avoid further interrogation—the more one says, the more mistakes one makes.

Hearing this, Jiraiya temporarily set aside his doubts: "Ahem~"

Jiraiya cleared his throat, ready to show off.

However, Naruto, who had developed some goodwill toward Jiya while eating, slurped his noodles and muttered with a look of utter despair: "He said he's the Toad Sage, but I think he's just a perv—"

Before Naruto could finish, Jiraiya clamped his hand over Naruto's mouth. Naruto protested with muffled, "Mmph, mmph!" sounds.

"That's right, haha, the legendary Toad Sage is none other than myself!" Feeling the soup stains on his hand, Jiraiya's brow twitched. This brat—even if I did pull a small prank on him, he shouldn't be bought off by a single bowl of noodles! His carefully prepared opening line had just gone down the drain.

The expected gasp of awe did not come.

Uchiha Gen blinked, "What is a Toad Sage? Are you a toad in disguise?"

Jiraiya's expression grew awkward: "..."

He began to wonder if he was getting too old for the times. Did young people these days really not know who he was?

Naruto pried Jiraiya's hand away and muttered, "See? You said you were so strong, but nobody even knows you!"

Suddenly, Uchiha Gen seemed to remember something and had a flash of realization: "Are you the legendary Legendary Sannin of Konoha, Jiraiya?!"

Naruto: "Huh? Legendary Sannin of Konoha?"

Jiraiya's awkward expression vanished instantly, replaced by a serious look: "That is indeed me."

It seems the title of Legendary Sannin of Konoha still carries more weight. I should switch to that name next time.

As he thought this, Jiraiya lowered his gaze and saw Jiya holding out a pen and paper: "?"

He saw Jiya's expression was solemn and serious, even carrying a hint of the anticipation one feels when meeting an idol: "I have heard the legends of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha for a long time. Could I please have an autograph, Lord Jiraiya?"

Jiraiya was stunned, then burst into laughter. His vanity was immensely satisfied, and he felt he had finally regained some face in front of Naruto. However, he decided to play it cool: "As for the autograph, let's save that for later. If fate allows us to meet again, I'll sign it for you then."

Uchiha Gen didn't press the issue, nodding with a look of extreme sincerity. In his heart, he secretly decided to find a way to "run into" him again; perhaps he could even snag a trial card.

Seeing Jiya's expression, Jiraiya stroked his chin. No way, this kid actually took that offhand remark seriously? I have a feeling his motives aren't pure, but I can't quite put my finger on what's wrong...

Come to think of it, why do I always feel a cold, chilling aura coming from him? It reminds me of an old friend.

"What is the Legendary Sannin of Konoha?" Naruto asked curiously from the side. "Old man, is Jiraiya very strong?"

Jiya leaned in slightly and replied with a smile: "Of course. If you want to know exactly how strong—let me think—if Lord Jiraiya were willing, he could become the Hokage at any time!"

Hearing this, Naruto's expression slumped, and he turned his neck stiffly to look at Jiraiya: "What! He can actually become Hokage?"

Seeing this, Jiraiya was quite displeased and gave Naruto a sharp knock on the head: "Brat, what kind of look is that! Finish your food and get to training immediately!" After saying this, he strolled away.

Naruto clutched his head with a wronged expression, bid farewell to Uchiha Gen, and ran after Jiraiya.

Uchiha Gen ate his noodles slowly, and as Teuchi began to clear the bowls, he suddenly remembered that Naruto hadn't paid for the ramen he'd just eaten!

Seeing Teuchi's stiff expression, Uchiha Gen slurped up a mouthful of noodles and asked: "What's wrong?"

"Ah, it's nothing, I just forgot to collect the money earlier." Teuchi gave Uchiha Gen a helpless smile.

Uchiha Gen waved his hand: "Put those on my tab as well. The Chunin Exams are almost over, and I might not be able to eat your ramen again after this, so I can certainly afford the cost of a few bowls."

Teuchi smiled upon hearing this: "If there are no more conflicts between the nations in the future, perhaps I will open a branch at your place. I'll treat you to free ramen then."

"Hm? Dad, did you just say you wanted to open a branch?" Hearing this, Ayame walked out from the kitchen. The girl had black eyes and brown hair tied back with a headscarf, looking very energetic.

Teuchi shook his head slightly: "Just talking." Saying it was one thing, but in the current reality, such a thing would be hard to achieve.

Uchiha Gen's eyes lit up when he saw Ayame, and he asked Teuchi: "Who is this?"

Teuchi said proudly: "This is my daughter, Ayame."

"Nice to meet you, my name is Ayame." Ayame smiled politely.

Uchiha Gen smiled, returned the greeting, and complimented: "Nice to meet you, my name is Jiya. And might I add, Miss Ayame is very beautiful!"

"Eh?"

Ayame's expression went blank, her face flushed slightly, and she came back to her senses: "Thank you for the compliment~"

Seeing this, Teuchi felt both happy and secretly guarded, his eyes fixed squarely on Uchiha Gen. This kid was decent enough, but he was from another ninja village after all, and the branch store was still a pipe dream. If Ayame really fell for this kid, it would be troublesome.

Fortunately, Uchiha Gen didn't cause any further trouble afterward.

"I'm finished, thank you for the meal." After saying this, Uchiha Gen settled the bill and left, letting Teuchi breathe a sigh of relief.

Ayame looked on, feeling a bit puzzled: "What's wrong?"

Cough, cough. The things he was thinking about weren't easy to explain to Ayame, so Teuchi rubbed his forehead to cover it up: "I might just be a bit tired. Let's close up early today."

Ayame nodded obediently and went into the kitchen to start cleaning up.

Still, that kid had a good eye; their Ayame was indeed very beautiful. On that point, Teuchi gave Jiya a mental thumbs-up.