Meeting

Ichiraku Ramen, a weapon of causality!

For a tiny shop to eventually grow into a large ramen restaurant famous throughout Konoha, Ichiraku Ramen's flavor really did live up to the hype. Chinatsu had never eaten ramen this delicious before.

"Oh, and mister, add some extra narutomaki."

"Huh? Oh... sure, of course!"

Teuchi froze for a moment, then quickly nodded once he recovered. He fetched a huge pile of narutomaki from the kitchen and added it to the next bowls of ramen.

Teuchi wasn't the only one who froze. Naruto, sitting beside Chinatsu, did too. His name was Naruto, and this ramen topping was called narutomaki. Because of that shared name, the topping was unpopular in Konoha, and hardly anyone ordered it anymore.

This lady... she's different from the other grown-ups!

Chinatsu's importance in Naruto's heart soared, but Chinatsu paid no attention to his gaze. She just wanted to focus on finishing her bowl of Ichiraku ramen.

Slurp~ slurp~ slurp~ Clunk!

Chinatsu lifted her bowl high and drained every last drop of broth, then set it back on the counter in satisfaction.

"Burp~ That was delicious. Teuchi, this shop of yours is definitely going to be a hit someday. I've got something to do, so I'll be heading out."

With that, Chinatsu braced both hands against the counter and rose from her seat, ready to leave.

Seeing Chinatsu about to leave just like that, Teuchi and Naruto both exclaimed, "Huh?!"

"Just one bowl? Then all this money..." Teuchi asked in confusion, looking at the stack of bills Chinatsu had handed him earlier.

"That? I told you, I'm treating you. If you can't finish it all today, eat more tomorrow. If you don't feel like having it tomorrow, just come back another day~"

Chinatsu smiled and waved at Naruto, then left Ichiraku Ramen and headed briskly toward her home at the Uchiha Residence.

After Chinatsu left, Naruto looked down at the bowl of Ichiraku ramen in his hands. After a second's thought, he ate faster than he ever had in his life, polishing off the bowl in no time.

"Mister! I'll be back tomorrow!"

Naruto hopped down from his seat and rushed out of Ichiraku Ramen without even wiping his mouth, leaving Teuchi staring blankly down at the several bowls of ramen he had already prepared.

"Can I finish all this myself... wait, my ramen is so delicious. How could I possibly not finish it?!"

Teuchi took a deep breath, then began eating those bowls of ramen with all the "love" he had for his own cooking. Unfortunately, he wasn't a competitive eater. He had only just finished the third bowl when his stomach swelled up like a ball.

At 6:30 a.m., less than an hour after opening, Ichiraku Ramen closed for the day.

Meanwhile, Chinatsu walked briskly down the street. There was no shortage of gossip along the way, of course, but it wasn't a problem. She simply let it go in one ear and out the other.

Several hundred meters behind her, Naruto kept sneaking from cover to cover, hiding as he followed.

Of course, Chinatsu had noticed Naruto. She hadn't expected him to follow her, but this turn of events wasn't bad, either.

Chinatsu slowed her pace to make it easier for Naruto to keep up.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Soon, Chinatsu arrived outside the Uchiha Residence. Sasuke stood at the entrance, anxiously looking left and right. The instant he spotted Chinatsu walking back toward him, he couldn't hold back any longer and ran straight to her.

"Sis!!!"

"Oh dear, so you noticed after all... Sasuke, I only went out for something to eat. Don't worry."

Chinatsu had thought she wouldn't be gone long enough for Sasuke to notice... she had still underestimated just how sensitive he was now.

It was no exaggeration to say that Sasuke had shifted from the extreme he reached in the original story to an entirely different one!

More than his own life, he wanted to protect his sister.

Not long after finishing his meal and returning to practice the Great Fireball Technique, Sasuke stopped because Chinatsu hadn't come over.

He turned and ran back to the living room. When he didn't find Chinatsu there, he checked her room. After searching the entire Uchiha Residence, he had even wanted to rush outside to look for her.

In the end, though, he hadn't made it past the entrance. Not because he was afraid, but because he understood his situation. Unlike his sister, who was already a ninja, he was weak and far more likely to get into trouble.

If Chinatsu was fine, but he got into trouble because he left the residence and wandered around outside, wouldn't he just be making more trouble for his sister?

He also knew there was nothing he could do right now...

In the end, he chose to wait at the entrance for Chinatsu to return. Honestly, though, he had almost reached his limit. Thankfully, Chinatsu came back just in time.

"Sorry. I should have told you before I went out, or at least left you a note."

Chinatsu did everything she could to soothe Sasuke, and she really was trying her best. After all, she hadn't had any younger siblings before transmigrating. Thankfully, at least Sasuke wasn't one of those "little terrors" everyone talked about online.

Before transmigrating, Chinatsu had been absolutely terrified of little terrors. After all, she was a homebody whose room was packed with expensive figurines.

Those infamous little terrors were the "bane of geeks." Wherever they went, not a single figurine survived.

Chinatsu breathed a silent sigh of relief, and Sasuke gradually calmed down. Just as he was about to take her hand and walk back into the residence with her, he noticed... something wrong!

Sasuke's gaze shifted slightly, looking behind Chinatsu.

More than a hundred meters behind her, a yellow figure appeared in his field of vision.

Sasuke frowned, and a blood-red crescent appeared in each of his eyes.

One-Tomoe Sharingan, activate!

Sasuke's ability to track movement improved dramatically. What had been a blurry yellow figure gradually sharpened until he could make it out clearly.

Sasuke thought, He looks familiar... but anyone who dares follow my sister can't be a good person!

Meanwhile, Naruto panicked a little as his eyes met Sasuke's. He raised his head slightly to look at the gates of the Uchiha Residence.

Of course he had heard of the Uchiha Clan. They had once been Konoha's largest clan, after all, and the recent Uchiha Clan Massacre had become a regular topic of conversation around mealtimes.

Lately, even when he walked past other people, they kept talking about the Uchiha instead of simply directing their hostility at him.

"The Uchiha... she's actually from the Uchiha Clan..."