Ichiraku Ramen

"Alright, that's all for today. Tomorrow, once you arrive at the classroom, the graduation exam will begin. Those who pass will receive their headbands and become ninjas. The subject for tomorrow's test is the Shadow Clone technique. Go home and prepare well. Dismissed." After the teacher finished speaking, he left the classroom.

Since graduation was tomorrow, the students in the classroom didn't leave right away. Instead, they became boisterous, everyone reminiscing, exchanging pleasantries, and talking about how they should look out for each other once they were out in the world.

"Yin Xiang, this is something I wrote. It's for you!" A girl ran up to Yin Xiang with a blushing face, just as he had stood up to leave the classroom.

"Oh my, it's a love letter, Yin Xiang," Tenten said from the side, resting her chin on her wrist.

"..." Yin Xiang didn't say anything; he simply accepted the letter from the girl, offered a faint smile, and left.

The envelope was thick; it seemed there was more than one person's letter inside. "Heh, I never expected I'd have a day where I'd receive love letters." Walking down the street, Yin Xiang looked at the letters in his hand, then leaped onto the rooftops and quickly returned home.

After opening the letters, it turned out there were indeed many; almost every girl in the class, except for Tenten, had a letter in there.

Yin Xiang smiled, gathered the letters, and casually placed them on a cabinet to the side.

Thump.

With a soft sound, the Shadow Clone on the Hokage Rock vanished; the cleaning of the Hokage Rock was already finished.

"Obito, oh Obito. Although it was the Nine-Tails that killed my parents, it was you who released it. If only I didn't have memories of my past life, I could take revenge on you without any psychological burden. But as it happens, you get redeemed later on, and now I'm quite conflicted." Yin Xiang brewed some tea on the veranda outside his house and spoke while sipping it.

"Thinking about this now is useless anyway. Even if I wanted to kill him, I don't have the strength." Yin Xiang shook his head in self-mockery.

By now it was evening. After sitting outside for a while, Yin Xiang ate a simple meal and went to sleep.

The next day, Yin Xiang passed the test with ease and successfully received his headband.

Yin Xiang tied the headband around his waist and walked to Ichiraku Ramen. It wasn't just Naruto who loved it; Yin Xiang loved it too. Uncle Ichiraku's ramen-making skills were truly impressive.

"Yo, Yin Xiang is here. The usual?" Uncle Ichiraku asked as soon as he saw him.

"Mm, the usual," Yin Xiang nodded with a smile.

"Coming right up!" Uncle Ichiraku replied and went to boil the noodles.

"Uncle Ichiraku! Today I want to eat Chashu Ramen!" Naruto's voice came from afar, and then he rushed into the shop in a flurry.

"Yo, Naruto is here. Come on in and sit." In this village of Konoha, besides Yin Xiang and a few others, Uncle Ichiraku was the only one willing to be kind to Naruto. As for why Uncle Ichiraku was so good to him—

It was because Kushina had also loved eating ramen and often brought Yin Xiang along. During their meals, Naruto's name would inevitably come up, so Uncle Ichiraku understood Naruto's true identity.

"Naruto, isn't it class time right now?" Yin Xiang was sitting right next to Naruto and spoke to him.

"Eh!? You... you you you!" Naruto was startled when he saw Yin Xiang; he jumped off his stool and pointed at him. "How are you here!"

"What's wrong? Am I not allowed to be here?" Yin Xiang looked at Naruto with a smile. "I lectured you just yesterday, have you already forgotten?"

"I... I know! I'm going back now!" Naruto said and turned to run, but as he turned, he was grabbed by the collar by Yin Xiang. This kid, Naruto, had actually put on the new clothes he'd given him; he looked much more spirited than he did in his old ones.

"What, what... let go of me!" Naruto struggled in Yin Xiang's grip.

"Sit down and eat. My treat. Once you're done, get back to class." Yin Xiang lifted Naruto up and made him sit back on the stool.

"Eh? You're treating me to a meal? I didn't think you were such a nice guy!" Hearing that Yin Xiang was treating him, Naruto immediately became happy again.

"What's wrong? Is it not allowed for me to treat you?"

"Of course it is, it's just that no one has ever treated me to a meal before," Naruto said. At that moment, Uncle Ichiraku placed two bowls of ramen in front of them. "Eat up, haha." Seeing the two of them sitting together, Uncle Ichiraku smiled. It was truly rare; it was rare to see a scene like this.

"Itadakimasu!" After putting his hands together, Naruto picked up his chopsticks and began to eat. Yin Xiang watched Naruto wolfing down his food, a smile touching the corners of his mouth. Although he was a transmigrator who had watched Naruto from a different perspective before, now, as Naruto's older brother, Yin Xiang felt a sense of doting affection for him.

"What's wrong? Aren't you eating? If you're not going to eat, I'll eat it!" Naruto felt uncomfortable being stared at.

"Fine, you can have it all." Yin Xiang smiled and pushed his bowl toward Naruto. "Uncle, one more bowl, please," Yin Xiang said to Uncle Ichiraku.

"Great!" Naruto didn't decline at all and immediately started eating from Yin Xiang's bowl, even though he hadn't finished his own yet. "Mm! This is so good! What flavor is this?"

"This is what Mom loved to eat, Miso Seafood Ramen, with a bit of extra salt. She loved salty things," Yin Xiang said, watching Naruto with a smile.

"So it's something your mom loved! I think this is delicious too! Uncle, I want to eat this next time!" Naruto shouted to Uncle Ichiraku.

"Coming right up! Miso Seafood Ramen!" Uncle Ichiraku quickly placed a new bowl of ramen in front of Yin Xiang.

"Itadakimasu," Yin Xiang said softly, then picked up his chopsticks and began to eat, his manners far better than Naruto's.

A short while later, Naruto had finished two bowls of ramen, leaving nothing behind. "Thanks for the meal," Naruto said with a grin. Yin Xiang was still eating, so he just nodded and swallowed the noodles in his mouth.

"Go back to class, Naruto. Don't skip school anymore," Yin Xiang said to Naruto in a sincere, earnest tone.

"..." Naruto didn't speak, just squinted at Yin Xiang.

"What's wrong?" Seeing Naruto like this, Yin Xiang put down his chopsticks and looked at him.

"Why are you so nice to me? Except for Uncle Ichiraku, everyone else hates me when they see me. You treat me to a meal and tell me to study hard... it feels just like... an older brother," Naruto said slowly, then quickly shook his head. "What am I saying? You're just a brat one year older than me, how could you be my brother!"

After saying this, Naruto ran out, but he didn't wander off aimlessly; instead, as if guided by some unseen force, he walked back toward the classroom.