Ichiraku Ramen

The three followed Shiri through countless crowded alleys.

It wasn't that Xiaogu City's roads were poorly planned.

Rather, collapsed buildings were everywhere in the city. Many roads Shiri remembered were either blocked or closed because nearby buildings and roads were under repair.

Shiri and Keisuke were already used to it, while Qiancao and Wuming could only follow behind them, holding hands.

Just as the sun was about to set, the four finally arrived at the place Shiri had mentioned.

The restaurant Shiri had been talking about was a small ramen shop. Local residents often came there at sunset to order a bowl of ramen, eat while chatting with the owner, and keep talking late into the night.

But when they arrived, the entire ramen shop had become a ruin. Only an old, battered sign that read "Ichiraku Ramen" stood at the edge of the rubble.

Qiancao wondered, Could this Ichiraku Ramen be the one in Konoha in the future? Or is Ichiraku Ramen in Naruto more like Lanzhou Ramen?

Shiri's heart sank when she saw the sign lying amid the rubble. The last time she had come here, she had thought the owner was a good man. She hadn't expected that after staying away for a while, the whole shop would be gone.

Unlike most Uchiha, Shiri still had some simple compassion in her heart. Otherwise, she wouldn't have helped Qiancao survive.

Keisuke, on the other hand, was quite excited. He turned to Qiancao and Wuming and said, "See? What did I tell you? Good people can't survive in this kind of world."

An inconspicuous beggar in the corner spoke up. "Are you four here to eat Ichiraku Ramen?"

Shiri walked over and asked, "Uncle, we are here for ramen. Could you tell us what happened here? How did it end up like this?"

"What else could've happened? Last month, the whole city was Takeda territory. When they couldn't hold the city gates anymore, those Takeda samurai hid in houses to deceive people and launch surprise attacks." The beggar sighed regretfully. "In the end, the few decent houses left in the whole city were torn down by those Imagawa people."

Shiri continued, "I came here once last year and thought the ramen was delicious. The owner was a kind man, too. I hope nothing happened to him?"

The beggar smacked his lips, as if savoring the memory of the ramen, then continued, "Their ramen really was good. If you're looking for him, walk a little way west and you'll find him."

After speaking, the beggar picked up the gourd beside him and took a drink. Who knew whether it held water or wine? He yawned, ignored them, and sank into a deep sleep.

The four composed themselves and headed west together. Sure enough, it wasn't long before they spotted a lamp glowing in the dimming dusk.

A man around fifty was busy in front of a large pot. More than a dozen tables behind him were full, and everyone was wolfing down the ramen in front of them.

When they finished their ramen, each person took their bowl to a nearby washbasin, cleaned it, and left the seat for the next person.

Another dozen or so people were waiting nearby. Most were ragged and emaciated, clearly refugees who often went hungry.

Seeing that the man was safe, Shiri breathed a sigh of relief. She led the others over and said, "Uncle, four bowls of ramen, please."

The man peered at Shiri and spoke in a hearty voice. "Young lady, you've been here before, haven't you?"

Shiri nodded happily. "That's right, boss. I ate here last year."

Uncle Teuchi gave a rueful laugh. "Ha ha, back then my shop hadn't been destroyed yet."

"I'm sorry, Uncle. I didn't mean to bring up something painful." It was hard to tell whether she truly felt sorry for Teuchi or was just putting on a ninja's act.

"It's all right, young lady." Uncle Teuchi didn't seem upset. "I'm an old man. What haven't I been through? No matter how hard things get, life goes on!"

Keisuke stepped forward and asked, "How much for four bowls of ramen?"

"Young man, these are troubled times. You don't need to pay." Uncle Teuchi said this solemnly.

The young helper working beside Uncle Teuchi added, "Ever since the war ended, we've been serving free food here. One bowl each. All you have to do is wash your bowl when you're done!"

"I really can't accept that for nothing," Keisuke said politely. Qiancao was sure he was acting.

Pretending to feel embarrassed, Keisuke thought for a moment, then pulled a dried Spanish mackerel from his bundle and handed it to Uncle Teuchi. "This is a specialty from our hometown. Since you won't take money, please accept it instead!"

Teuchi sincerely tried to refuse, but when Keisuke saw he wouldn't take it and moved to toss the fish straight into the pot, Teuchi had no choice but to accept it.

That one dried fish brought Teuchi and the others much closer, so Keisuke casually said, "Our parents died of illness a long time ago, leaving the four of us siblings to live by the seaside."

"Last month, the war reached our village. We had nowhere to go, so we could only come seek refuge with our uncle in Mount Hakkoda."

Uncle Teuchi kept working as he dropped noodles into the pot. "Mount Hakkoda? I've heard the terrain there is especially complicated. It should be a good place to hide from danger."

Keisuke continued, looking troubled. "But we only know that our uncle lives in the mountains. We don't know exactly where."

Hearing him say this, the diners nearby chimed in one after another. "Mount Hakkoda is huge. It'll be hard to find someone there."

"I heard a group of wandering ninja recently showed up around there. They're not to be trifled with!"

"Wandering ninja are nothing compared to those samurai!"

Uncle Teuchi thought for a moment, then asked, "Can you describe what your uncle looks like? Maybe I've seen him."

That was exactly what Keisuke had been waiting for. He pretended to think for a while, then said, "I only saw my uncle once, two years ago. I might not describe him very clearly."

He then described the wandering ninja who had sold supplies on the black market, and Teuchi and the diners around him all tried to help him remember.

"I've seen that man," a diner at the next table said. "I think it was five days ago, at the rice shop in the west of the city. He bought a lot of grain and asked the shopkeeper to deliver it for him!"

Keisuke and Shiri put on happy expressions and thanked him repeatedly, making the man a little embarrassed.

The four bowls of ramen were ready, too. Qiancao took a closer look. The ramen in this world was quite different from Lanzhou Ramen; it was more like ordinary noodles.

Supplies were scarce after the war, so each bowl had very few toppings. There were only two coin-sized slices of narutomaki floating in the broth.

Ever since crossing over, Qiancao had only eaten prison food from the Uchiha. This was her first taste of a proper meal, and she didn't even have time to savor it. Like Zhu Bajie eating the ginseng fruit, she finished it in three bites.

Seeing how much Qiancao liked the ramen, Wuming pushed her bowl over to Qiancao after taking only two bites. "I'm full. You can have this bowl, too!"