Ichiraku Ramen

"Let's start with the students in the front."

When Iruka finished speaking,

the little boy at the front immediately stood up.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Okada Takeshi. I like Ichiraku Ramen, and my dream is to become Hokage."

The little boy spoke with excitement.

No one laughed at his dream. Even Iruka offered a few words of encouragement.

Naruto's eyes flickered as he began to think.

Being Hokage was the politically correct answer here, so he'd stick to the standard template when his turn came.

"My name is Shikamaru Nara. I like nothing in particular, and I hate troublesome things. My dream is to be a couch potato."

Shikamaru said lazily.

Iruka's mouth twitched.

If he hadn't known what the Nara Clan was like, he would have had a thing or two to say.

Then Ino and Choji finished introducing themselves in turn.

It was Hinata's turn.

Hinata stood up with her head lowered, afraid to look at the others. Her voice was very soft.

"My name is Hyuga Hinata. I like flower arranging, and my dream is to become a powerful ninja."

Her voice grew so quiet that even Naruto, sitting beside her, couldn't hear the rest.

Iruka looked at these troublesome kids with a headache. As far as he was concerned, none of the ones coming up next would be easy to handle.

Looking at the shy little girl, he felt a headache coming on, too.

Everyone was speechless. They'd only heard her name.

But since she was a little girl, no one said anything.

Now it was Naruto's turn.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like good food, and my dream is to become a ninja as powerful as the Hokage."

Naruto finished his brief introduction and sat down.

"Very good. That's a fine dream."

Iruka praised him as he did the others.

But when he looked at Naruto, his feelings were complicated.

Naruto's parents had died in the Nine-Tails' attack, leaving Iruka an orphan.

That was why his feelings toward Naruto were complicated. Reason told him Naruto had nothing to do with it, but the Nine-Tails was inside Naruto. It was impossible to say he held no resentment at all.

Meanwhile, little Hinata was thinking that Naruto liked good food. She would make sure to learn how to cook once she got home.

Then class began.

It was a time of peace, so the Ninja Academy taught mostly theory.

They started with reading and history.

The history of ninjas was short, and the Academy didn't teach anything from before the Warring States period.

After listening for a while, Naruto furrowed his brow. The history had been completely distorted.

There was even some bragging mixed in.

For example, they claimed that the First and Madara Uchiha had founded Konoha together.

Madara Uchiha was only briefly mentioned, while the emphasis was on the First and Third Hokage.

They even called the Third Hokage the strongest Hokage.

Naruto was speechless.

He inwardly scoffed.

By comparison, the First had Wood Release, and the Second Hokage had created many forbidden techniques. The Third Hokage was merely said to have mastered the five basic nature transformations. The Fourth Hokage was the fastest in the Ninja World. Tsunade was a medic, and though Kakashi didn't seem that strong, he fought in battles at the highest level.

Compared to them, the Third Hokage seemed pretty unimpressive, and he didn't have much to show for himself.

How could he even bring himself to boast like that?

After all, Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't gone out to fight since becoming Hokage.

He had no achievements worth mentioning.

And he still had the nerve to call himself the strongest Hokage?

After listening for a while, Naruto started daydreaming. If it hadn't been the first day, he would have just put his head down and gone to sleep.

The other children from ninja clans felt much the same. They weren't very interested in this history.

With their eyes closed, time passed. Before long, the morning was over.

They didn't have to go home for lunch. Everyone brought a bento and ate at the Academy.

That was the custom here, but Naruto didn't know about it.

So when everyone took out their bentos, Naruto was taken aback.

But even if he had known, Naruto wouldn't have made one. He wasn't interested in bentos; more than anything, he didn't like eating cold food.

Hinata seemed to notice that Naruto didn't have a bento and wanted to invite him to eat with her.

But she hesitated for a long time and couldn't bring herself to speak.

Come on, Hinata. You can do it.

She encouraged herself, then looked up, only to find that Naruto had already disappeared.

After leaving the Academy, Naruto walked along the streets of Konoha.

It had been several years since he'd last taken a stroll like this.

He ignored the looks from the people around him.

As the most prosperous place in the Ninja World, Konoha was bustling beyond compare.

There were plenty of street snacks, too, and Naruto wasn't short on money anymore.

Whenever he saw something that caught his interest, he bought it and gave it a try.

But Naruto was disappointed. The food here was all rather simple.

It couldn't compare to the food in his old world.

"Is that you, Naruto?"

As Naruto wandered around, someone suddenly called out to him.

Naruto turned and saw a little shop.

Ichiraku Ramen

"Sure enough, it's you, Naruto! It's been a long time. Want some ramen? It's on the house today."

Uncle Ichiraku looked delighted to see Naruto. He hadn't seen the boy in a long time.

"Uncle Ichiraku."

With Naruto's memories, he naturally knew who this man was. In Konoha, he was probably the only one who had ever been kind to Naruto.

Once, when Naruto had been bullied and was hungry and exhausted, Uncle Ichiraku had seen him and offered him a bowl of ramen.

It was the first time Naruto had ever eaten a hot meal, and with Uncle Ichiraku's kindness, that bowl of ramen had tasted exceptionally good.

So in Naruto's memories, Ichiraku Ramen was the best.

But back then, Naruto didn't have much money. Even as a child, he knew it wasn't right to eat without paying.

So although Naruto loved it, he could only come by for a bowl once in a while.

After Naruto had come to this world, he'd also stopped by to try it.

Later, he'd barely visited because he was busy with his experiments.

"Uncle Ichiraku, it's been a long time."

Since they'd run into each other, Naruto didn't hesitate. He stepped forward and greeted him.

He also ordered a bowl of the shop's signature ramen.

"Have you started at the Ninja Academy, Naruto?"

Uncle Ichiraku looked at Naruto curiously.

Naruto didn't hide it.

The two chatted casually.

Though he kept talking, Ichiraku's hands never stopped moving.

Soon, a huge bowl of special ramen was ready.

Naruto looked at the heaping bowl of ramen and felt a little moved.

This man was a good person.

After eating his fill, Naruto paid and left. He wandered around for a while before returning to the Academy.

The afternoon was set aside for practice, and everyone gathered at the training field.

The students were all excited.

"Students, today I'm going to teach you how to mold chakra."

Iruka droned on at the front.

The students below were already getting impatient.

The children from ninja clans, on the other hand, weren't in any hurry.

Naruto wasn't in a hurry either.

Iruka explained many things they needed to keep in mind.

Only at the end did he teach them how to mold chakra.

The students immediately grew eager to try.

"All right, give it a try yourselves. If you have any questions, you can ask me."