Ichiraku Ramen.
Glancing at Naruto, who was wolfing down his food, Sasuke, who had only just picked up his chopsticks, looked at Itachi and muttered, "Older Brother, even if you're treating us, did we really have to come to Ichiraku Ramen?"
Itachi remained expressionless, his eyes fixed on Naruto.
After training with natural energy, his senses had become considerably sharper. Even without activating his Sharingan, he could sense the unusual aura leaking from Naruto.
That aura was extremely similar to the Nine-Tails' presence during the Night of the Nine-Tails. Naruto was very likely a jinchūriki.
This was more than mere speculation. Senior Zou's and Oto's attitudes toward Naruto offered clues as well.
He simply did not understand why the village would leave its jinchūriki unattended, allowing him to live alone. Was it merely to conceal his identity as a jinchūriki and keep him from being attacked?
Both the Hokage and his father said he thought like an adult, and could even consider things from a Hokage's perspective.
Yet he still could not understand. Neither the Hokage nor his father had given him a clear answer, so he could only search for a suitable answer himself.
As his thoughts spread like weeds, Sasuke and Naruto beside him finished their ramen.
Aside from the stack of empty bowls, everything seemed perfectly normal.
"The bill, please." Itachi raised a hand and called to Teuchi, who was busy inside.
"Coming right up! But you don't need to pay for Naruto's portion. Someone..." When Teuchi lifted the curtain, all he saw was a stack of empty bowls and neatly arranged banknotes.
After taking the money, Teuchi shook his head helplessly and said, "Another hundred bowls of ramen, and I still couldn't give them away? The number just keeps growing instead."
He remembered that a young