Ichiraku Ramen

It is year 47 of Konoha. This is the late Third Shinobi World War, and shortly after winning the Battle of Kikyo Pass, Konoha seems to have welcomed back an era of peaceful development.

By forcing Sunagakure to sign a humiliating treaty and defeating the Iwagakure invasion of Konoha with inferior numbers, Konoha stands once again at the pinnacle of the Shinobi World, and no nation temporarily possesses the ability to contend with Konoha.

However, Ruri, who knows the plot of Naruto, knows that next year the main characters of the new generation of Konoha freshmen, such as Naruto and Sasuke, will be born, and the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha incident will follow closely behind.

The premature death of Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze, the massive losses caused by the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha, and the successive departures of the legendary Sannin plunge Konoha into an unprecedented combat-power crisis.

This will deplete almost all of the strategic anxiety Konoha accumulated after winning the Third Shinobi World War, which also gives certain nations waiting for an opportunity the chance to invade Konoha; soon the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning will resume war, and this brief peace will soon be replaced by war once again.

Walking down the street, Ruri thinks of how, some time ago, people in the village vaguely talked about the Yellow Flash Minato Namikaze leading a team to execute a surprise raid at Kannabi Bridge that cut off the grain supply of the Land of Flame, repelled the Iwagakure invasion, and secured victory in this war, all of them filled with envy.

At the same time, Obito Uchiha of the Uchiha Clan died in action, and Kakashi Hatake, the village's most renowned genius ninja in recent years, obtained the Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan-though this faces protests from the Uchiha Clan, who declare that they must reclaim the Sharingan.

However, this matter is quickly intercepted by the upper echelons of the Hokage. Starting from here, it ushers in the legendary career of the Copy Ninja that follows.

Yet all these things happening right now have nothing to do with Ruri for the time being; no matter what happens outside and how the flames of war rage, at least inside the village it is still a scene of peace and harmony for now.

Ruri knows that the only thing he needs to do right now is to elevate his own strength and make himself stronger, so that he will have the capital to survive in the plot events that will happen next.

Ruri stops in his tracks and looks at the storefront not far ahead on the street, where the four characters "Ichiraku Ramen" appear exceptionally eye-catching.

"Good evening, little buddy. What would you like to eat?" As soon as Ruri walks into the shop and before he even sits down, an uncle with a very ordinary appearance greets Ruri very warmly.

"Um, get me a bowl of Tonkotsu Chashu Ramen, please." Ruri climbs onto the high stool and looks around at the unremarkable face in front of him.

Could this uncle be the legendary Otsutsuki Ichiraku? Ruri thinks to himself. Is this shop the one that even the Super Shinra Tensei of the Six Paths of Pain couldn't destroy?

"Whoa, what a cute little brother! Is this your first time coming to our place to eat ramen?"

Before the uncle inside-Teuchi-can speak, a young girl who looks a few years older than Ruri pokes her head out from behind the uncle, her large eyes looking at Ruri with curiosity.

"Don't be rude to the guest, Ayame!" Seeing his mischievous daughter, Teuchi gives a soft reprimand, then puts a smile back on his face and says to Ruri, "Please don't mind her. This is my daughter Ayame. Please wait a moment; I'll go make the ramen right now."

Ruri nods. The reprimanded young girl Ayame sticks her tongue out at Ruri, then goes inside to help Teuchi.

So this is Ayame, the uncle's daughter? I seem to remember that in the anime, she was the only one who ever saw what was beneath Kakashi's mask! Sitting on the high stool, Ruri rests his chin in his hand and thinks.

About four or five minutes later, a steaming bowl of Tonkotsu Ramen is served. Ruri snaps out of his thoughts, looks at the ramen in front of him, and then begins to wipe out the ramen in the bowl.

The chashu in this ramen is fatty yet not greasy, the pork bone broth is rich and delicious, and the handmade ramen has plenty of bounce and chew-no wonder it is so famous in Naruto!

Ruri eats with great relish. The flavor is indeed exceptionally good, which is no wonder why the protagonist of this anime, Naruto Uzumaki, has always been so devoted to this family's ramen.

In less than ten minutes, that large bowl of ramen is completely wiped out by Ruri. After hastily settling the bill and paying, Ruri leaves the ramen shop.

Stepping out of Ichiraku Ramen, it is not early anymore, and the moonlight gradually begins to grow clear and bright. However, after leaving the shop, Ruri does not head straight back to his quarters; since the time is not yet too late, Ruri chooses to continue wandering the streets.

Ruri pats his belly with his hand, stretches his back, and walks along the street toward the outer perimeter of the village, treating it as an after-dinner stroll.

Looking up at the gradually rising moon in the sky, Ruri's thoughts begin to wander once again, and his mood grows heavy.

Beneath such a bright, white, full moon, who could ever imagine that this is a vessel created by the Sage of Six Paths using Chibaku Tensei to seal the Ten-Tails? He truly has no idea whether the Otsutsuki Clan actually lives on the moon.

Relating this further to decades later, when the descendant of the Otsutsuki Clan, Toneri Otsutsuki, uses the Tenseigan to split the entire moon in half with a single strike-that kind of world-destroying, supreme power-Ruri cannot help but shudder.