Naruto had taken Kakashi down all by himself, leaving Sakura feeling rather awkward. They had agreed to attack together, so why had he focused entirely on his own attacks without sparing her a thought?
"Naruto, when did you get so strong?" Sakura looked at Naruto before her and felt as though he had become a stranger. Was this really the same silly, clueless Naruto she remembered?
But Naruto ignored her and walked away, leaving Sakura baffled. Seriously, had I gotten uglier? Why wouldn't Naruto even look at me?
After greeting Tsunade and Jiraiya, Naruto left and returned home. He washed up quickly, then headed to Ichiraku for some ramen.
"Oh? Naruto! You've grown quite a bit." Teuchi was delighted to see him. It had been a long time, after all. Though Naruto's appearance had changed, that head of golden hair was still unmistakable.
"Teuchi, one bowl of tonkotsu ramen, please."
"Coming right up. Just a moment!"
Teuchi deftly prepared the broth, and before long, a steaming bowl of ramen was ready.
"Here you go. Eat it while it's hot."
"Thank you."
Naruto began eating. The familiar taste inevitably brought back memories of all the little moments he had shared with Meihui.
He did not even realize that his tears had fallen into the bowl. Still, Naruto kept eating, struggling to calm himself down.
By the time he finished his ramen, Naruto had finally managed to regain his composure. He paid, went to a clearing in the hills behind the village, and lay down.
Naruto did not know what was wrong with him. It just felt strange.
"Big brother, after you left, I became like you..."
In truth, after Meihui had been "killed" by Ōtsutsuki Zero, someone had carried his body away, intending to revive him. Unexpectedly, however, Meihui's system had