Ōtsutsuki? Ichiraku

Hatake Ziyan laughed. "Only a kid like you would believe that! Forget it, let's stop talking about him. Since I've run into his student, I'll treat you to a meal! Consider it looking after his student for him!"

Seeing how well this man knew his teacher, and how he could walk around Konoha without any trouble, Minato Namikaze figured he must be his teacher's friend. He felt the money he had left for this month's living expenses, then nodded and accepted.

"Is ramen all right?" Hatake Ziyan asked as he walked ahead.

"Yes! That sounds good!" Minato Namikaze said, following behind him.

The two soon arrived at Ichiraku Ramen and sat down at the counter.

"Two bowls of tonkotsu ramen, please!" Hatake Ziyan said.

Without taking a close look at his customers, Ichiraku answered casually, "Coming right up! Just a moment!"

Watching Ichiraku head into the kitchen, Hatake Ziyan remembered the stupid thing he had done on his first visit to Ichiraku Ramen.

In his previous life, people online had always speculated that, since Ichiraku Ramen remained unscathed no matter what disasters struck Konoha, its owner, Ichiraku, might well belong to the Ōtsutsuki Clan. Netizens jokingly called him Ichiraku Ōtsutsuki, the Shinobi World's uncle.

In Konoha's early days, Hatake Ziyan had specifically searched for Ichiraku Ramen, but he hadn't found it. A few years after Konoha's founding, however, he spotted Ichiraku's newly opened shop while wandering the streets. Looking at the young Ichiraku, he remembered those online rumors. Now that he had seen him in person, he wanted to test whether Ichiraku really belonged to the Ōtsutsuki Clan.

What followed gave Hashirama and Madara something to mock him about for years.

Hatake Ziyan walked into the shop and shouted at Ichiraku, "Ichiraku Ōtsutsuki! Fight me!"

Seeing Hatake Ziyan come through the door spouting nonsense, the young Ichiraku silently brought out a bowl of noodles. With an expression that said, Poor kid, already out of his mind at such a young age, he told Hatake Ziyan, "Here, have some noodles. On the house!"

Hatake Ziyan was utterly exasperated. Thinking Ichiraku was hiding his strength, he wasted no words and punched him straight in the eye.

The punch sent Ichiraku flying into the wall behind him.

Clutching his eye, Ichiraku slowly got to his feet. Holding back the pain, he asked Hatake Ziyan, "My friend, have I done something to offend you?"

Seeing that Ichiraku was still all right after taking his punch, Hatake Ziyan assumed he was still concealing his abilities. Before Ichiraku could react, he punched him in the other eye, putting even more force into this blow.

Ichiraku was sent flying again. This time, the wall didn't stop him-he crashed straight through it.

Hatake Ziyan hurried after him. Looking at Ichiraku lying unconscious on the ground with two black eyes, he finally realized that this whole Ichiraku Ōtsutsuki thing was utter nonsense. He was just an ordinary man.

Just as Hatake Ziyan reached Ichiraku, Madara and Hashirama came rushing over after receiving word from the police force. They found Ichiraku sprawled on the ground and Hatake Ziyan standing beside him with blood on his hands.

"Ziyan, what are you doing? Why would you beat up an ordinary civilian?" Hashirama asked.

"Uh, if I said I received information that he might be a spy, and attacked him to see whether it was true, would you believe me?" Hatake Ziyan asked awkwardly.

"Huh?" Hashirama looked utterly baffled. But with Ichiraku twitching on the ground, he couldn't worry about that now and hurried to treat him.

In the end, it was only thanks to Hashirama's special chakra that they barely managed to save Ichiraku.

Hashirama and Madara both insisted on finding out why Ziyan had attacked him. With no other choice, Hatake Ziyan told them he had received information that Ichiraku was an expert fighter and wanted to fight him. Thinking he was hiding his strength, he had attacked first to test him.

That incident alone kept the two of them laughing at him for years! If not for Hashirama's special chakra and Medical Ninjutsu, Ichiraku would have long since gone to the Netherworld Paradise. Who would have thought that the mighty Sword God could misjudge someone-and even beat up a civilian?

Of course, it remained a little secret among them and was never spread any further.

Recalling what had happened, Hatake Ziyan shook his head with a rueful smile.

Watching him, Minato Namikaze quickly shifted a little farther away. He felt there was something wrong with this middle-aged man.

Just then, Ichiraku came out carrying two bowls of noodles.

"Here's your ramen!" Ichiraku set a bowl in front of each of them.

Only then did Ichiraku get a good look at his customers. Recognizing Hatake Ziyan, he first shuddered, then took several steps back and asked, "When did you get back?"

Hatake Ziyan didn't mind Ichiraku's attitude. After all, he had left him with quite a traumatic memory.

Hatake Ziyan lifted some noodles with his chopsticks and said, "Oh! I've been back a few days. I've really missed your ramen. How have things been all these years?"

Ichiraku relaxed a little and sat down across from him. "Pretty good. Aside from you, nothing bad has happened to me!"

Hearing that, Hatake Ziyan awkwardly took a loud slurp of noodles before saying, "Didn't I explain everything afterward? I paid you quite a bit in compensation, too!"

Ichiraku nodded, then said, "If you hadn't explained it, do you think I'd dare let you eat here?"

Hatake Ziyan rubbed his head. After beating up Ichiraku back then, he had brought Hashirama along to apologize in person and paid Ichiraku a considerable sum. Still, they could be said to have become friends through a fight. (Ichiraku: Let me punch you twice and see how you like it! (−＿−;))

Afterward, Hatake Ziyan often came to Ichiraku's shop for noodles and discussed things that troubled him.

"All right! Enough about that. What have you come back to do this time? You wouldn't show up here for no reason!" Ichiraku said, narrowing his eyes.

"Mito asked me to look after two people for her. I'll probably be staying in Konoha for a while!" Hatake Ziyan replied between bites of noodles.

"Has she passed away too?" Ichiraku sighed. "Konoha isn't as pure as it used to be. Aren't you going to clean things up?"

"What does Konoha have to do with me? I'm not even from this village!" Hatake Ziyan said after swallowing his noodles.

Ichiraku smiled, his eyes narrowing to slits. He pointed at his chest and said, "You know in your own heart whether you care!"