A chance encounter at Ichiraku Ramen Shop

Jin Uchiha's mouth twitched twice.

He had no words for being stuck with a slacker system like this.

Well, fine.

At least he had received his beginner's gift pack. From now on, he wouldn't even have to do missions; he could collect rewards just by lying around doing nothing.

When he put it that way, maybe it wasn't such a bad thing?

Like hell it wasn't.

In a screwed-up place like the Shinobi World, shinobi were nothing but weapons in their village's hands.

If war broke out and he wanted to slack off, even if Shadow Hokage Danzo couldn't be bothered to deal with him, the village wouldn't let him off.

Even in peacetime, he would still have to go on missions.

What a headache.

While he was stewing over that, Sarutobi Daio finally finished his rousing speech at the front of the classroom.

"Ahem, one last thing."

"Get some good rest over the next few days. Team assignments will be announced in three days."

"All right, class dismissed."

With that, Sarutobi Daio walked straight out of the classroom.

Inside the classroom.

The moment Teacher left, the students from civilian backgrounds erupted into a chorus of loud shouts.

"I'm finally a shinobi! Now I can fight for the village!"

"I'm definitely going to surpass Kakashi and the Konoha Sannin and become an incredible shinobi!"

"I'm gonna be Hokage!"

"..."

These civilian shinobi were each louder than the last.

Every one of them was fired up, their eyes shining as though they could already see themselves sweeping all opposition aside and standing at the very pinnacle of the village.

By contrast, the shinobi from established lineages frowned, their eyes flickering with uncertainty.

They had better connections and knew more about what was really going on in the village.

Still, none of them tried to set the civilians straight.

They quietly slipped out of the classroom in twos and threes.

Jin Uchiha narrowed his eyes.

His face betrayed nothing, but his gaze grew complicated when he looked at the civilians, even carrying a hint of pity.

He had no intention of speaking up either. He quietly rose, left the classroom, and headed straight home.

The reason was obvious.

These people had been thoroughly brainwashed. If he dared say anything out of line, not only would they refuse to appreciate it, they might turn around and report him to the Hokage.

Then he would gain nothing and land himself in trouble instead.

And with the Uchiha name attached to him, if things really blew up, Konoha's Shadow Hokage Danzo would probably be waiting for him.

People bustled along the street.

Looking perfectly relaxed, Jin Uchiha glanced up at the clear blue sky and yawned. Before long, he had wandered up to the entrance of Ichiraku Ramen Shop.

"Uncle Teuchi, one seafood ramen with all the toppings."

He sat down and casually called out his order.

He was already a regular here and had visited often ever since the day he transmigrated.

First, he couldn't cook.

He couldn't shake the habits of his previous life. Ordering takeout every day had turned him into a hopeless shut-in, and he had long since forgotten how to use a spatula.

Second, although his parents were gone, he wasn't short on money.

More importantly, he wanted to build a solid relationship with Teuchi, the owner.

When trouble hit Konoha in the future, he hoped he could hide out here until it blew over.

That was the idea.

The shop was pitifully small, with just one row of seats at the entrance and room for five people at most.

But according to the internet crowd in his previous life, the owner was practically Ichiraku Otsutsuki.

That might have been an exaggeration, but neither the Nine-Tails' Attack in the past nor the Six Paths of Pain later on had managed to put Ichiraku Ramen Shop out of business.

That was an undeniable fact.

Even by the time of Boruto, this little shop was still standing, and it had even expanded.

"Oh, Jin! You're here!"

"Today's your big graduation day. We'd better treat you properly!"

"I'll throw in an extra serving of chashu and some tempura today!"

Teuchi Ichiraku's eyes narrowed to slits as he smiled like a Buddha.

Ayame, who was busy by the stove, poked her head out when she heard him and smilingly struck up a conversation with Jin Uchiha.

Jin Uchiha smiled too.

As he waited for his noodles, he chatted idly with the father and daughter.

Just then, a masked shinobi stepped inside.

"A large tonkotsu ramen."

Everything about the newcomer radiated coldness.

He had a head of white hair and a black mask over his face, and his whole bearing warned strangers to keep away.

Indeed, the newcomer was Kakashi Hatake.

Technically speaking, he was Jin Uchiha's classmate.

After ordering, he sat down right beside Jin Uchiha and gave him a discreet glance.

There was a trace of puzzlement in his gaze.

Kakashi genuinely didn't recognize this old classmate.

But everyone in Konoha, if not the entire ninja world, recognized the Flame Fan on the backs of the Uchiha.

What puzzled Kakashi was that most Uchiha walked around with their noses in the air, looking down on everyone else.

The Uchiha in front of him was certainly an odd one.

He hadn't expected the Uchiha to produce someone like this, aside from Obito, who followed him around every day, yelling his head off.

Meanwhile, as Kakashi studied Jin Uchiha, Jin Uchiha was quietly sizing him up as well.

He hadn't expected to run into Kakashi here.

But on second thought, there was nothing strange about it.

Most of the notable characters in the original story liked coming to Ichiraku Ramen Shop.

Still, he had no intention of engaging Kakashi. He simply kept chatting with Ayame while holding his bowl and wolfing down his dinner.

Ultimately, the two of them barely knew each other.

Jin Uchiha only wanted to keep his head down and survive, and the system he had awakened today was all about lounging around and slacking off.

Under these circumstances, he was even less inclined to get involved with characters from the plot.

Because getting involved with them meant getting involved in trouble.

"Uncle Teuchi, Ayame, thanks."

"I'm heading out."

After finishing his meal, he called out with a smile, stood up, stretched, and walked out of the ramen shop.

Meanwhile, Kakashi was still turning over the matter of Jin Uchiha in his head as he ate.

"Hey, Kakashi, why aren't you eating?"

"Is today's ramen not to your taste?"

Ayame walked over and folded her arms across her chest, staring straight at Kakashi with a displeased look.

From her stance, she looked ready to turn nasty if Kakashi didn't give her a proper answer.

Under her stare, Kakashi immediately plastered on a fake smile, hurriedly stuffed a big mouthful of noodles into his mouth, and apologized before cautiously asking about Jin Uchiha.

Ayame made no attempt to hide anything.

"Oh, you're asking about Jin!"

"He really is different from the other Uchiha. He started eating here seven or eight years ago, so he's an old regular at our little shop."

"Jin is friendly and polite. He's a really nice person."

"..."

Hearing that, Kakashi relaxed.

Truthfully, the moment he first saw Jin Uchiha, he had instinctively assumed the guy was deliberately trying to get close to him.

The reason was his Teacher, Minato Namikaze.

Ordinary people might not know, but he knew perfectly well that his Teacher was currently the strongest candidate for Fourth Hokage.

Kakashi wasn't ignorant of the Uchiha's messy affairs either.

So when he saw Jin Uchiha, his first thought was naturally that this kid might be trying to use him to get close to his Teacher.

Fortunately, Ayame's explanation dispelled his suspicions.

The guy had been coming here for seven or eight years. He really was a longtime customer.

At that thought, he shook his head.

What a strange Uchiha.