On the street of Konoha, the Ichiraku Ramen pavilion with its warm curtains hung seems a bit quiet on the slightly empty street.
"Ichiraku Ramen" is written in simple fonts on the warm curtain. It has a small appearance, but it carries the taste bud memories of many Konoha people.
Many Ninja who have finished their missions like to come here to eat.
Ichiraku Ramen is already considered the store with high quality and low price in Konoha.
Naruto Left Hand held Hinata and Sakura with his right hand. With a relaxed smile on his face, he opened the somewhat faded warm curtain.
A golden-haired puppy also waggled its tail happily, followed it in nimbly, found a place out of Corner's way and lay down with familiarity, sticking out its tongue, and its bright black eyes were full of expectation.
As expected, there were only a few customers in the store. Only two or three Ninja, who seemed to have just completed their mission, were eating noodles silently. When they heard the door curtain ringing, they just raised their heads and glanced, then lowered their heads and continued to enjoy.
Uncle Teuchi, who was wiping the countertop behind the counter, subconsciously raised his head when he heard the voice, with a professional and enthusiastic smile on his face, and habitually shouted, "Welcome light..."
Halfway through his words, his voice stopped abruptly.
When he saw the face of the visitor clearly, the round face that was always smiling suddenly revealed a surprise that was far more sincere than a professional smile.
"Yes... it's Master Sixth, you are back!"
Teuchi's voice was filled with excitement, and he even put down the rag in his hand and wiped his hands on his apron.
"Well, Uncle Teuchi, long time no see."
Naruto greeted him with a smile and a gentle expression, without any Hokage airs.
"It's been a long time since I came to your place to eat ramen. When I was outside, I really missed your cooking skills."
Hearing this, the smile on Teuchi's face became even brighter, his wrinkles relaxed, and he looked particularly happy.
He watched Naruto grow step by step from a lonely child who was ostracized by the villagers to the upright Sixth Hokage he is today.
Seeing Naruto looking so high-spirited, calm and reliable now, he felt happy and proud from the bottom of his heart.
"I'll do it right away, I'll be ready right away."
Teuchi immediately turned around energetically and prepared the ingredients and soup base with quick movements.
"To celebrate your triumphant return, I'll treat you to this meal. By the way, it's still the same, Tonkotsu Ramen, with more Narutomaki and dried bamboo shoots?"
He remembered Naruto's favorite combination.
Naruto smiled gently at Teuchi and shook his head, "Uncle Teuchi, I accept your kindness. But as Hokage, I cannot eat without paying."
"By the way, please give me Big Yellow two complete Narutomaki."
"Uncle, I won't be polite to you, but today's ramen will be filled with enough ingredients for you!"
He turned to look at Hinata and Sakura, and asked with a smile, "So, what do the two guests want to eat?"
Sakura said readily, "I want Chashu Ramen, thank you, uncle Teuchi."
Hinata blushed slightly and said in a soft voice, "My words are the same as Naruto-kun, Tonkotsu Ramen, but you need less dried bamboo shoots."
"Okay! Two bowls of Tonkotsu Ramen, one bowl with extra Narutomaki dried bamboo shoots, one bowl with less dried bamboo shoots, one bowl of Chashu Ramen, two Narutomaki!"
Teuchi jotted it down neatly, repeated it again, and then started cooking with concentration.
On the other side, Teuchi's daughter Ayame also came out with a smile.
She took out a small polished stainless steel basin, squatted in front of Big Yellow, touched Big Yellow's head lovingly, and then put two complete and delicious Narutomakis rolled into Uzumaki shapes.
This is Naruto who saved a sum of "food expenses" in Ichiraku a few months ago, specifically to buy Big Yellow's favorite barbecued pork slices and Narutomaki.
Although Teuchi and his daughter wanted to refund the money or waive the bill several times, Naruto always insisted, saying that this was Big Yellow's "private account" and could not be touched.
Karin, who stays at home, occasionally cooks, but she is also very busy.
Big Yellow let out a happy "woof" and immediately immersed himself in enjoying its delicious snacks, wagging its tail like Windmill.
Soon, the rich aroma of bone broth filled the entire shop.
Three steaming bowls of ramen with plenty of ingredients were served.
The tonkotsu soup base shows an attractive milky white color, the barbecued pork slices are thick, Narutomaki red and white, the dried bamboo shoots are white and white, the soft-boiled eggs are just right, and sprinkled with chopped green onion and seaweed, which will make you appetite.
"I'm starting!"
Naruto put his hands together and picked up the chopsticks impatiently.
He really missed this bite.
Over at Kumogakure, although the food had its own characteristics, such as barbecue and dairy products, he still missed the familiar taste after eating it for several days.
Hinata ate in small bites, occasionally quietly raising his eyes to look at Naruto who was eating deliciously, with a satisfied smile on his face.
Sakura also eats very well, and chats with Naruto from time to time about anecdotes about the village or trivial matters in the hospital.
Pure Land
The earth is a barren gray-white color, and occasionally you can see strange and jagged rocks.
The air was stagnant, filled with an ancient, silent atmosphere that also contained countless subtle soul whispers.
In this vast and dead land, a golden figure Yellow Eyes was running at an alarming speed, breaking the tranquility of Eternity.
It was an extremely large dog, and its hair was pure and dazzling gold Yellow Eyes. It seemed to be glowing under the Pure Land dim light.
It is over three meters tall at the shoulders and even more astonishingly long. It runs like a flowing golden lightning and its limbs are strong and powerful.
On the back of this Giant Hound, which is as wide as a platform, sits a Young Naruto steadily.
Young Naruto has a slender figure, wearing a suit that is easy to move around, and a cloak with Hood on it. Hood is pulled down very low, covering most of his face, only revealing his clear-cut jaw.
He gently placed one hand on the thick mane of Giant Hound's neck.
The wind whistled in my ears, mixed with Giant Hound's heavy but steady breathing.
Young Naruto lowered his head slightly and leaned closer to Giant Hound's ear, which was like a cattail leaf fan. His voice was clear but with a hint of unnoticeable tension:
"Uncle Huang, do you remember the road to Shinobi World? Let's see if we can go directly to Shinobi World."
Big Yellow kept running at high speed while responding. "I was just a puppy at that time. I didn't even learn how to refine Chakra. I never came to Pure Land with your father to participate in that war.
I don't know much more about this place than you, a little brat.
I just remember your dad mentioned it, and it seems to be called Iwaya Slope? But where exactly it is and what it looks like, I don't know!"
"I saw how Uncle Katō was in pain in the river before. I was busy rescuing him and forgot to ask him. I heard that he ran out of Pure Land on his own."
Young Naruto is a little annoyed. If Sage of Six Paths hadn't insisted on fighting him after seeing his Rinnegan, he might have returned to Shinobi World.
Fortunately, I also have Rinnegan, otherwise I really wouldn't be able to escape from the old man's hands.
While he was talking, a figure suddenly staggered out of Hui in front of him.
The figure was wearing a Sunagakure-style broken Ninja suit. His eyes were empty, but his body exuded strong Chakra fluctuations.
"You are not even qualified to serve as a speed bump for Mr. Huang!"
Big Yellow didn't even slow down, but just raised its front paw casually, like swatting a fly, and with a "snap", the Sunagakure flew backwards and was directly embedded in a jagged rock in the distance.
"Yūji, then we just keep running around like headless chickens?"
Big Yellow continued to ask, scanning the hazy surroundings vigilantly.
"How long will it take for your Rinnegan to recover?"