"Ha ha."
The stern look on Uchiha Fugaku's face softened, and he gave the Third Hokage a slight smile.
His gaze swept over the three Uchiha boys and Satoru.
There was puzzlement in his eyes, mixed with something complicated he couldn't quite put into words.
What on earth were these boys up to today?
That brat Uchiha Satoru must have led them all astray.
But Uchiha Satoru, the cause of all that gossip, wasn't even onstage anymore.
He had slipped off long ago and gone around back to find Teuchi.
"Hey, mister! Is this the limited-edition grand prize voucher? The only one in the whole world, good for one free bowl every day?"
Uchiha Satoru's eyes lit up. He snatched the voucher from Teuchi's hand and turned it over and over to inspect it.
Teuchi chuckled. "That's right. With that, you can come by every day for a free bowl of my noodles."
"Satoru, those friends of yours are really something!" Teuchi gave Uchiha Satoru a thumbs-up.
"Hahahaha, they're all right. I taught them everything they know."
"Ah, no, I mean, we were just doing our part."
Uchiha Satoru narrowed his eyes into slits and beamed, looking every bit the well-behaved boy.
"Oh, right, there's something else. Almost forgot to give it to you." Teuchi rummaged in his pocket for a while and pulled out a pink card.
Hmm?
A pink card?
Could this be...
The blindfold completely hid the shock in Uchiha Satoru's wide, round eyes.
"This is a half-price voucher for the South Street pastry shop. Anything you buy there is half off for thirty days."
"And there's no limit on how many times you use it during those thirty days."
"The competition went so smoothly thanks to your help."
"I don't have anything fancy to give you, just this. I don't know if you..." Teuchi continued with a genial smile.
A half-price voucher for the South Street pastry shop!
In a flash, Uchiha Satoru banished the stray, dubious thought he'd just had.
"Thanks, mister!" His hand darted out like lightning and snatched the discount card.
This was the best news he'd had all day.
"I'll collect this ramen voucher for him." Uchiha Satoru waved the free-meal voucher in his hand, his face blooming with a smile.
"Sure, sure." Teuchi nodded, all smiles.
"Mister, let me ask you something." Just as Uchiha Satoru was about to leave, something occurred to him.
"Mister, what's your name?"
"My name?"
"It's been years since anyone asked me that."
Teuchi's gaze suddenly grew distant and somber.
"My name is..."
Uchiha Satoru put away his flippant grin and sighed before speaking.
"I never thought you..."
I never thought he was actually...
He said goodbye to Teuchi and went back out front.
As expected, nobody had left. They were all waiting for him.
The moment Uchiha Satoru appeared, dagger-like stares shot at him from every direction.
"Hey! Why are you all still here?" he greeted them with a cheeky grin.
Well, I get why those three Uchiha haven't left.
Dad staying makes sense too.
But you two, Hokage and Kakashi-what are you hanging around for? Why are you still standing here?
Shouldn't Kakashi have already found out everything he wanted to know?
As for the Third Hokage, aside from me sweet-talking him into coming earlier, we haven't really had anything else to do with each other!
We're not that close, are we?
The Akimichi Clan Head, though-if the Hokage stays, he stays. That's easy enough to understand.
I can more or less sympathize with someone working for another person.
Uchiha Satoru's gaze paused, as though he had found his answer, before finally settling on Naruto's broadly grinning face.
That made sense too. After all, a Jinchūriki getting involved with members of the Uchiha Clan was a decidedly risky combination.
Even with so many eyes watching right now, it was reasonable for them to have doubts and fears.
"Big brother! We're all waiting for you!" Naruto waved enthusiastically at Uchiha Satoru.
That shout immediately drew a sour look from Sasuke.
He's my brother. What are you so happy about?
He turned his head aside and pressed his lips into a straight line.
"That's right. We've been waiting here for you the whole time."
Shisui spoke unhurriedly, wearing a mild smile that nevertheless sent a chill down one's spine.
"Huh?" Uchiha Satoru blinked, managing only that single sound.
I don't think I... did anything, did I?
Under everyone's resentful stares, Uchiha Satoru tilted his head, finally beginning to catch on a beat too late.
Weren't we all getting along just fine a moment ago?
Besides, today's ramen tasted pretty good. It was right up their alley.
I even brought Dad in specially to cheer them on!
Father and sons taking part in an event together-what a wonderful scene!
It deserved to be recorded so we could look back on it later!
To make it happen, I even went out of my way to ask Lord Hokage. It took a ton of effort to persuade him to help.
Thinking of all the great footage he had saved, Uchiha Satoru puffed out his chest.
I've done so much for this family!
Before you continue