Wherever There Are People There Is Jianghu, the Title of Konoha's Number One Flavor Enhancer

Naruto originally thought that Sasuke had sidled over all puffed up with anger because she wanted to throw punches and beat him up.

Yet the next second, he only felt a wave of pleasant fragrance wash over his nasal cavity as the young girl's tender body actually took the initiative to hug him?

"Cough, cough... Sasuke, what are you doing?"

Naruto was extremely embarrassed, and there were many things he didn't even dare to think about.

"I'm sorry, Naruto. I apologize to you for my past behavior and attitude."

Just as Naruto wanted to seize the opportunity to give her a hug and really feel it, Sasuke spoke and directly stepped back one step.

"Uh... No, it's nothing. I'm already used to all this."

Hearing this, the look in Sasuke's eyes as she gazed at Naruto underwent a subtle change.

"I never imagined that your life has always been so difficult... I, I..."

Seeing that Sasuke still wanted to say something, Naruto waved his hand to cut her off. "No need to say it, I understand everything."

The atmosphere turned slightly awkward for a moment, and Sasuke was filled with remorse.

Yet Naruto had no wish to continue this kind of atmosphere, and also smiled as he said, "That's why I'm going to be Hokage, hahaha..."

Hearing this, Sasuke was also laughed out of her anger, giving Naruto a sideways glance with an expression that seemed to say: Go ahead and see if I believe you.

After all, both of them had lofty ambitions, and the two quickly adjusted their emotions and walked out of the woods once more.

Because Naruto was afraid Sasuke wouldn't be able to bear the villagers' malice toward him and would start a brawl right in the street-which might lead the Third and Danzo to step up their surveillance of him-strolling around the town this time meant he could only wear the mask in his hand.

With the mask shielding them, the two walked side by side without any accidents happening.

It was just that Naruto felt a little bit cheated; if people didn't know he was Naruto, he wouldn't be able to harvest Negative Points.

However, thinking of the business he was about to handle, he had no choice but to endure it.

Negative Points could be acquired at any time, but as for Shock Points, with the treasure of a girl that was Sasuke right by his side, wasn't that a matter of minutes?

Yet a massive amount of banknotes was what he needed most urgently right now.

"Naruto, don't tell me you're not full? Why have you come to Ichiraku Ramen?" Sasuke asked, looking at the small shack ahead.

"Hehe, of course I'm not here to eat ramen. I'm here to talk about a partnership."

"What partnership?" Sasuke pressed.

"Even if I told you, you wouldn't know. Just speak less in a moment, alright?"

With that, the two lifted a curtain and entered the Ichiraku noodle shop.

Yet the moment he stepped inside Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto found that the atmosphere seemed wrong.

Sitting outside were four middle-aged men who exuded an air of utter arrogance.

Judging by the greasiness on their faces, smelling the lingering odors emanating from their bodies, and observing their big-headed and pot-bellied appearances, Naruto deduced that these four men should also be culinary chefs.

After all, with a big head and a thick neck, if they weren't tycoons, wouldn't they be kitchen cooks?

Tycoons were out of the question; Ichiraku was only a small shop, and true tycoons wouldn't personally come here-they would instead send servants to pick up orders.

The most peculiar point was that the flavor-enhanced ramen in front of the four men had only been eaten in a single bite before they stopped touching it altogether.

Facing such a bizarre affair, a thought stirred in Naruto's heart, and he couldn't help but look at Aunt Ichiraku and Brother Ayame, whose faces were filled with anxiety.

Although Naruto was wearing an ANBU mask at the moment, given Aunt Ichiraku's familiarity with him, she knew at a glance that the newcomer was Naruto.

Yet because Naruto held a special status in the village, Aunt Ichiraku didn't say anything, only treating Naruto and his companion as ordinary customers and apologizing. "I'm sorry, customers. The little shop has encountered some matters today and needs to close early. I am truly sorry."

Ayame also bowed to apologize.

Naruto didn't know what had happened to the Ichiraku family, but just as he was about to say something-

At that moment, among the four people sitting in the shop, a bald middle-aged man said with absolute confidence, "Ichiraku, I think two little brats are just right to act as judges. Today, my Hongle Ramen will bring out the Ultimate Flavor Recipe to compete head-to-head with your flavor-enhanced noodles."

"Hmph... If you lose, then the title of Konoha's Number One Flavor-Enhanced Ramen Shop..."

As soon as the bald man finished speaking, the three uncles at his side also revealed confident smiles.

Hearing this, Aunt Ichiraku's expression changed slightly. She had long since heard that Hongle had traveled across mountains and rivers outside to visit renowned culinary chefs of various nations, and this return was indeed filled with ill intent.

"Mother?" Hearing this, Ayame also looked anxiously at Aunt Ichiraku, knowing how much her mother had paid to secure the title of Konoha's Number One Flavor Enhancer.

"Hmph, if Ichiraku Ramen wants to continue existing in Konoha, you'd better accept my challenge right now. Otherwise, tomorrow I will summon all the culinary chefs in Konoha and publicly issue a challenge letter to you. If you dare to refuse-"

The bald man was full of confidence, employing both soft and hard tactics as if he were dead set on winning the title of Konoha's Number One Flavor Enhancer.

At first Naruto was also completely clueless, yet as the two sides conversed, he gradually understood what was happening.

It really was true that wherever there were people, there was jianghu.

Who could have imagined that even a tiny noodle shop would have such turbulent undercurrents beneath the surface? Then if this elevation were raised to the level of Konoha's political power?

"Damn it, going too far! Aunt Ichiraku, accept his challenge right now. I have absolute confidence in your flavor-enhanced ramen, Auntie!"

The tone and indignation of a mere child were exposed without a shred of doubt at that moment.

If she hadn't understood Naruto's personality beforehand, Sasuke might have sneered at this, but after interacting with him, Sasuke simply didn't believe that Naruto would utter such brainless words.

Her large eyes stared fixedly at Naruto, who stood there full of indignation with clenched fists, and she frowned slightly, feeling that she was finding this boy harder and harder to understand.

Sure enough, as soon as Naruto roared those words out, it instantly caused the four uncles to turn their heads and sneer.

The bald middle-aged man acting as their leader gave an even more derisive laugh as he looked at Ichiraku and said, "What? Are you getting old and even losing the final dignity belonging to a culinary chef?"

If Aunt Ichiraku had still harbored a trace of hesitation previously, upon hearing those words she also revealed a resolute expression and said, "Fine, I accept your challenge."

"Hahaha... Good!" The bald man laughed loudly as he stood up, waved a hand, and declared, "To ensure fairness, the preliminary round will not change venues. Each of us will bring an assistant to make the ramen, and as for the judges... it will be the four of them!"

The man flicked his finger, pointing at Naruto, Sasuke, and two other apprentices.

The ones represented by Naruto and Sasuke naturally belonged to the Ichiraku family, while the other two uncles represented the Hongle family. Only through such cross-tasting and comprehensive scoring could the results be the most credible.

"We have no problem with that!" Seeing this, Naruto immediately spoke up as well.

"We have no problem either." The other two uncles also nodded.

Seeing this, Aunt Ichiraku could only nod her head as well. However, she had no desire to easily surrender the title of Konoha's Number One Flavor Enhancer, so she looked at the bald man with firm resolve and said, "A premium broth and secret flavor enhancers-every single step requires a huge amount of preparation time. Today's match is far too rushed. In order not to bring shame upon the title of Konoha's Number One Flavor Enhancer, the winner of today's preliminary round can designate the theme and requirements for the finals, and the loser must unconditionally obey."

Hearing this, the man also broke into a smile, swept his arm out grandly, and said, "Hmph, I accept your proposal!"

The man continued, "Acting as the home team, you won't make me go first, will you?"

"Hmph, just wait to have your eyes opened."

Having accepted the challenge, Aunt Ichiraku also brought out her own pride, waving her hand as she and Ayame urgently began making the signature Ichiraku ramen.

Naturally, to ensure the fairness of the competition, during the time Aunt Ichiraku was making her ramen, the opposing side was not allowed to watch, as doing so would put whoever cooked first at a disadvantage.

Of course, to avoid any suspicion of bias, Naruto also pulled Sasuke along with him as they stepped outside Ichiraku Ramen.

The moment the two stepped out of the noodle shop, they heard the whispering of the four men, and one of the uncles even took a pitch-black stone out of the pack on his back and handed it to the bald man.

With Naruto's keen eyesight, he only needed to take a single glance to know the texture of this pitch-black stone.

"No wonder they were so confident. So that's how it is?"

"What is?" Sasuke asked softly upon hearing Naruto's low murmur.

"Nothing... I originally thought this would be an extremely smooth affair, but I never expected to run into a grudge from the culinary world. In that case, I'll have to get involved."

PS: Ichiraku Ramen is a career storyline. Only these first few chapters focus heavily on describing it, and afterwards, aside from collecting money, there'll hardly be any inkprint given to it. It's not a story focused on gourmet food and daily life, but rather a plot-driven narrative that diverges from the original storyline.

I hope the family members who read the next few chapters can hold on. Truly, once the foundation of the career storyline is laid, after that it'll just be dropping by once a month to collect cash while playing the role of a hands-off boss-trust White Dragon on this!