The First Date

"A date?!"

Pfft!!

Upon hearing Anko Mitarashi's words, Yugao Uzuki's cheeks flushed crimson, while Yu nearly choked on his own saliva.

Admittedly, the nine-year-old Yugao Uzuki was incredibly pure and beautiful, and she had shown more than enough affection toward him.

However, as a transmigrator with the soul of an adult, he couldn't help but feel a shred of guilt regarding the idea of dating an underage girl from a two-dimensional world.

In particular, Yu's current body was only six years old, which remained an insurmountable wall in his mind.

Dating... at least wait until I've grown up a bit, for heaven's sake!

"Cough, cough... well..."

After two awkward coughs, Yu turned his gaze toward the blushing Yugao Uzuki. "Yugao-senpai... are you?"

"Don't call me senpai..."

Before Yu could finish, he was interrupted by the shy Yugao Uzuki. "You should just call me Yugao!"

"Yu... Yugao, is it..."

Fine. The corner of Yu's mouth twitched slightly. It seemed it would be impossible to dispel this girl's thoughts of puppy love anytime soon.

"But then again... you really are a monster, kid!"

At this moment, Anko Mitarashi's voice drifted over. She was eating a skewer of dango while eyeing Yu with an incredibly strange expression.

"To actually graduate from the Ninja Academy in your first year... and you even defeated a genius like Uchiha Shisui."

"It was just luck..." Yu had barely started to offer a humble reply before Anko Mitarashi cut him off again.

"Looks like I need to step it up, too!"

"I can't let a junior brat like you get too far ahead of me."

Anko Mitarashi swallowed the last dango in one gulp, her dark eyes brimming with motivation.

"You two go on with your date; I won't disturb you! Bye!"

Without waiting for a reaction from Yu or Yugao Uzuki, she waved her hand and vanished from their sight in a flash.

She really is like a female version of Naruto Uzumaki...

Watching the carefree Anko Mitarashi disappear, Yu's amber eyes flickered.

But... she should be meeting Orochimaru soon, right?

A year had passed, and Anko Mitarashi was now ten; this was the year she would graduate from the Ninja Academy.

If the plot followed its original course, she would soon become a disciple of Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, and begin carrying out missions with him.

"That's just how Red Bean is."

"About the date... I hope you don't mind, Yu-kun."

Seeing Yu remain silent after Anko Mitarashi left, Yugao Uzuki, walking on his left, looked at him with a hint of anxiety.

"Mind? Of course not... If anything, I should be the one thanking you for your kindness, Yugao."

Collecting his thoughts, Yu noticed the girl's dejected expression and offered a reassuring smile. "Since I'm calling you Yugao directly, you should just call me Yu."

"Okay! Then I'll call you Yu!"

At these words, the bright girl beamed, seemingly regaining her vitality.

"Let's go. You treated me to dango, so I'll treat you to ramen."

As they strolled through the bustling streets of Konoha, the sign for Ichiraku Ramen caught Yu's eye, and he decided on their lunch.

"Good afternoon, what can I get for you two?"

Before they had even sat down, a plain-looking man greeted Yu and Yugao Uzuki with enthusiasm.

"Two bowls of pork chashu ramen, please."

Sitting on the high stools next to Yugao, Yu studied the owner's unremarkable face and wondered, Is this what the owner of Ichiraku Ramen looked like in his youth?

Looking at the shop—a place that, in the original story, couldn't even be destroyed by Pain's Super: Shinra Tensei—Yu sighed inwardly. He truly lived up to the legend of 'Otsutsuki Ichiraku'.

"Please wait a moment, I'll get right on it!"

Though he found the white-haired boy's strange gaze a bit odd, the future Uncle Ichiraku laughed heartily and went to prepare the ramen.

"Do you come here often?"

Sitting beside him, Yugao Uzuki stared at him with curiosity.

"No, this is my first time."

Feeling her gaze, Yu smiled slightly. In his past life, he had visited this shop many times in his dreams.

Five minutes later, two steaming bowls of ramen were placed on the table.

Yu snapped back to reality and began to dig in alongside Yugao.

The chashu was fatty but not greasy, the pork bone broth was rich and fragrant, and the handmade noodles were perfectly chewy.

Yu and Yugao ate with great relish; the flavor was truly authentic, and it was no wonder that the protagonist Naruto had been so devoted to this ramen shop in the original story.

Less than ten minutes passed before both bowls of ramen were polished off by Yu and Yugao.

After settling the bill, Yu pulled Yugao directly out of Ichiraku Ramen.

"So full!"

"By the way, now that we've become genin, do you have any plans, Yu?"

After stepping out of Ichiraku Ramen, Yugao patted her slightly rounded stomach and turned to look at Yu.

Generally speaking, genin who had just graduated from the Ninja Academy would be assigned to a ninja squad led by a jonin to carry out missions.

Moreover, in the current special period of the Great Ninja War, with Konoha facing a severe shortage of frontline combat power, even genin might be arranged to support the front lines or perform auxiliary tasks.

"I'm not sure yet..."

"I think it's possible I might be assigned to the Anbu or something similar."

Hearing Yugao's words, Yu leisurely rested his hands behind his head.

Recalling that the Third Hokage had summoned him and Shisui to the Hokage's office earlier today, Yu pondered how the Third would arrange their upcoming missions.

"The Anbu?"

Upon hearing what Yu said, Yugao was stunned for a moment, then let out a sigh of relief.

"That would be for the best; that way, Yu won't have to be sent to the frontline battlefield."

Anbu—the official name being the 'Assassination Tactics Special Force'—was similar to a special operations department for ninjas.

Members of the Anbu were elite ninjas selected from the village, primarily tasked with protecting the Hokage and preventing foreign enemies from infiltrating Konoha. Sometimes, they were also responsible for reconnaissance and assassination missions.

When acting, Anbu members wore white masks modeled after animals, and the nature of their missions and all other information remained classified. The Anbu was under the direct command of the Hokage, with the unit divided into multiple squads, each led by a squad leader who relayed orders and oversaw the execution of missions.

Although the Anbu carried out dangerous, combat-oriented work, Yugao preferred for Yu to stay and work in the Anbu guarding Konoha rather than being sent to the brutal frontline battlefield.