Reconstruction had been underway in Konoha for some time. The village was no longer a desolate wasteland; unfinished wooden houses stood scattered about, giving it the beginnings of its old shape.
Ichiraku Ramen [temporary] had opened for business, and a steady stream of customers came and went.
In an inconspicuous corner, an unremarkable boy gazed at the large bowl of tonkotsu ramen before him, practically drooling. With his left hand wrapped in bandages, he held his chopsticks between his palms and declared with solemn ceremony, "Itadakimasu [time to eat]~~"
Slurp~! Slurp~!
He snapped his chopsticks apart and dug in with gusto.
Yes, this ninja disguised as a boy was none other than Naruto.
In the past, he had always rewarded himself with a bowl of Ichiraku ramen after finishing his daily training. That had not changed even after he became Hokage.
That flavor was etched into his soul. It had become part of his life.
Without ramen, Naruto just wasn't Naruto!
So even though he was now a Missing-nin from the village, he still could not resist that flavor's allure. He had even used the Transformation Technique to sneak back into the village, all for another taste of that familiar delight!
Slurp~~~~! Slurp~~~~!
At that moment, Naruto forgot the grudges of nations and families, forgot the hardships awaiting him. He returned to his simplest self: a customer lost in delicious food!
He finished the bowl in just three minutes, drinking every last drop of broth!
"Ahh~ Ahh~ [so full, so full~]"
He leaned back in his chair, rubbed his belly, and basked in satisfaction. Then he casually turned his head-and spotted a familiar figure in the next seat!
Iruka-sensei... Naruto nearly called out on instinct!
For some reason, Iruka looked deeply troubled. The ramen before him had stopped steaming, yet he had not even touched his chopsticks.
"..." Naruto's eyes dimmed, and he slowly withdrew his outstretched hand.
The student in whom he had placed such high hopes had become a Missing-nin condemned by everyone. That must have been a devastating blow to Iruka.
Unable to bear looking at Iruka's dejected face any longer, Naruto got up to leave.
Just then, Teuchi, Ichiraku's owner, looked up from rolling noodles to wipe away his sweat. The departing figure suddenly caught his eye.
"Father, what's wrong?" his daughter Ayame asked when she noticed.
That back looks like Naruto's. I must be imagining things. How could it possibly be him...?
"Nothing."
Teuchi shook his head and went back to rolling noodles.
Naruto walked along the streets in the evening. People bustled past, with no shortage of familiar faces among them, but he simply walked in silence, immersed in his thoughts.
Before he knew it, he had reached the place he knew best.
The sight of the ruins snapped him out of his reverie.
"Right... it's gone now. Konoha was destroyed in Pain's attack. How could my home have survived? I really wasn't thinking."
Naruto shook his head at his own foolishness and was about to turn away when he suddenly noticed blood-red words scrawled across the rubble!
Demon fox, Missing-nin, filthy beast, devil...
Those twisted letters overflowed with malice and hatred!
"..." Naruto's face remained expressionless. He had long since experienced both human warmth and cruelty. At this point, people's misunderstandings and malice could not shake his heart in the slightest!
He stepped onto the rubble to take a closer look. The words before him had only just been written, and elsewhere he could see signs of earlier writing having been scrubbed away. "What's going on here?"
While he puzzled over it, Konohamaru approached with a bandage on his face, carrying a bucket and brush. Moegi and Udon accompanied him.
Seeing the fresh blood-red words and the unfamiliar boy standing atop the rubble, Konohamaru snapped, "You're the one who wrote these words today, aren't you?!"
"..."
Before Naruto could answer, Konohamaru shouted, "Listen up! Naruto is nothing like what you think! He's the strongest ninja there is, and he's going to become Hokage someday!!!!"
Despite his young age, Konohamaru's eyes already held a glimmer of fierce resolve!
"Konohamaru, don't do anything rash..." Moegi tugged nervously at the hem of his clothes.
"Yeah, I know. As a ninja, I wouldn't start a fight over something like this!"
The bandage on his face seemed to betray that claim. Ignoring Naruto entirely, Konohamaru splashed paint straight over the words.
Naruto smiled faintly, jumped down from the rubble, and walked back the way he had come with his hands in his pockets.
A profound light shone in his eyes. You really don't need to do this, Konohamaru. Once you've weathered the tides of a changing world, a few grains of sand won't cloud your vision...
He went to Konoha's cemetery and watched from a distance.
Before the Memorial Stone in the sunset, Kakashi mourned Obito as he always did, though his expression carried more melancholy than usual.
After paying her respects to her lover and deceased elder sister, Uzuki Yugao approached him. "Kakashi, were you telling Obito about Naruto?"
Realizing she had seen through him, Kakashi said, "Yugao, sorry you had to see me like this..."
"What happened with Naruto has been hard on everyone," Uzuki Yugao said. "Now that Danzo holds the Hokage's authority, public opinion has turned even further against him. But I think Lady Tsunade will turn things around once she wakes up."
"I hope so..." Kakashi said.
Naruto was too far away to hear their conversation. As he gazed at the Memorial Stone, his thoughts turned to his mentor, Jiraiya.
Once, after concluding his negotiations with Nagato, Naruto had erected a cenotaph for Jiraiya on his way back to the village.
This time, however, he had not done so.
Because during his battles with Kara in the future, Naruto had already met another Jiraiya.
Kashin Koji.
A clone created from Jiraiya's cells by Amado, Kara's chief scientist...
Naruto murmured to himself, "Actually, if I was going to turn back time, this wasn't the ideal point to return to. If I'd gone back another month or so, the Pervy Sage might not have had to die..."
"But that doesn't matter now. As long as I find the Pervy Sage's body before Amado does..."
Tampering with space and time had always been considered taboo for ninja.
"I, Naruto Uzumaki, have already defied the flow of time. Defying it once more won't make much difference..."
Night had fallen. Naruto glanced at the new outline being carved beside Tsunade's face on Hokage Rock, then turned and headed deeper into the village.
"Up ahead is the area where Lord Hokage conducts official business. Unauthorized personnel are prohibited from entering!"
Two Root members in white robes and animal masks blocked his path.
Naruto wore an unreadable expression. "Oh? Lord Hokage..."
The man barked, "Lord Danzo, the Sixth Hokage!"
"I see. Sorry for the intrusion..."
After leaving, Naruto stepped into a deserted alley.
"Danzo's back in the village. Judging by the timing, that makes sense. Those heavy security measures fit someone who's been badly frightened, too. But after losing his power, would that Danzo really accept things as they are and stay in the village, waiting for Sasuke or me to come knocking? I doubt it. Let's check..."
Bzzz!
Naruto entered Sage Mode.
"Hm?" As his senses reached into the Hokage's tent, Naruto's expression shifted. Then an amused smile curled his lips. "Hmph. Just as I thought..."
He pressed his left hand against the utility pole beside a streetlight, leaving a Flying Thunder God Mark on it...
Whoosh!
He vanished in a flash, leaving no trace of his presence.
He had barely left when several ninja came walking side by side: Shikaku, Inoichi, and Choza, Konoha's older generation of Ino-Shika-Cho.
Choza was drunk, with Shikaku and Inoichi supporting him on either side.
As they passed beneath the streetlight, Shikaku suddenly stopped and stared at the utility pole.
"What's wrong, Shikaku?" Inoichi asked.
That mark... could it be...?
"Nothing." Shikaku made a mental note of it and looked away.
In the forest outside Konoha, Konan, Orochimaru, and Kisame stood before a pit.
Whoosh!
Naruto returned using Flying Thunder God and released his Transformation Technique. He swept his cloak aside and stepped forward. "How did it go?"
Before sneaking into Konoha, he had given them another task.
"My Samehada really isn't suited to digging," Kisame said. "That fellow was here, just as you said, but it seems he's already..."
Naruto walked up to the pit and looked down.
At the bottom lay a grimy gray head, its eyes shut, looking utterly lifeless.
It was Hidan!
Banshō Ten'in!
Whoosh!
The gravitational pull drew Hidan's head up from the bottom of the pit and into Naruto's hand.
Snap!
Hidan suddenly opened his eyes and glared fiercely at the person before him...
But without giving him a chance to say anything, Naruto stuffed him into a box.
Bang! Bang!
The box shook violently, but Naruto paid it no mind.
Orochimaru watched the box, an inscrutable smile curling his lips.
Konan stepped forward and asked, "What's the plan now?"
"Let's go," Naruto said. "Back to Amegakure..."
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