Old Man Ichiraku's Advice

[[[ Next day ]]]

[[[ Hokage office ]]]

A man wearing a Hokage hat with a cigar in his mouth was sitting in front of Kakashi. He had a wrinkled face and liver spots due to his old age. It was Hiruzen, the third Hokage.

Hiruzen was now listening to Kakashi's report on the performance of Team 7. However, after hearing what happened, he couldn't help but open his mouth agape in shock.

Which Hiruzen quickly concealed to maintain his image in front of Kakashi.

"Are you telling the truth? Naruto was really capable of that?" Hiruzen asked as he took a puff of smoke.

"Indeed third Hokage, Not only his speed and strength was on par close to some low end Jonin, he also had a very calculative mind throughout the whole battle."

"Hmm….. What do you think is the reason for his strength and speed?"

"I assume It was due to the chakra released by Nine Tails tempering his body. That's all I can think of now."

After pondering for a while, Kakashi said as he rubbed his face over the mask.

"Just go on like normal for now. Report me if anything unusual happens."

Hiruzen said that he gestured for Kakashi to leave. Seeing this, Kakashi walked out of Hakage office, leaving him alone.

'Minato, forgive me for not properly fulfilling the promise I made.'

'At least I'll make sure to protect him from Danzo.'

Hiruzen said to himself with a complicated look.

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[[[ 2 months later ]]]

"Stooooop."

"Stop you annoying cat."

As she ran over the buildings, Sakura yelled. The cat was so nimble that it would always get away after going through a narrow space, which seemed to appear out of nowhere every single time.

Sakura was running after it with flaring nostrils. She had never been irritated like this before.

Sasuke was not far off from that either. He gritted his teeth, recalling how the cat made a fool of himself every time. Naruto's teasing didn't help much, either.

"I'll block it from the side."

Sasuke said as he jumped over to the house roof on the right side.

"I'll take the left then."

Naruto shouted, switching to the left side.

Finally, after some effort, the trio caught the naughty cat, who looked at them innocently. However, they knew better than to be fooled by that innocent face.

The biggest problem with this mission was that they had to avoid damaging the houses and property. So they couldn't just jump and catch the cat. That fact was the thing that made the mission so irritating.

"Nope, you are going back to your owner," Sakura said as she quickly held the cat tighter, fearing it would run away again.

──────𖥔⋅⋅──❀──⋅⋅𖥔──────

After finishing all the D-rank missions that day, Sakura and Sasuke left with unmistakable relief on their faces at the mission being completed.

<Naruto's Pov>

'Haaah'

'Who knew catching a cat could be this irritating?'

'Well, at least we managed to catch it somehow.'

***

I walked towards the Ichiraku ramen shop while immersed in thoughts. It was time for my daily dose of ramen. By now, it was like a daily habit of mine, and I really enjoyed it.

As they say, a healthy mind, a healthy body.

Just as I stepped into the shop, I was greeted by old man Ichiraku.

"Good to see you, Naruto. Wanna try something new I tried making?"

"Good to see you too, old man... Sure, I'll give it a try."

I replied as I took my seat and waited expectantly.

A few minutes later, I was greeted by a mouthwatering aroma.

I saw old man Ichiraku coming with a big bowl of ramen and two chopsticks in his hand. The sight of the steaming ramen bowl almost made me lose control.

When I finally took it, I was greeted by a colorful combination of meat and vegetables. Without waiting a single second, I dug in.

"No one is going to take that from you." Ichiraku chuckled, seeing the speed I was eating.

However, I continued eating as if I was in my own world.

<Pov End>

***

*Buuurp*

Naruto closed his mouth, trying to suppress the burp, which earned a laugh from Ichiraku.

"Naruto, you feel troubled. Did something happen?" Asked Ichiraku, who observed a subtle hint of conflict on Naruto's face.

Hearing this, Naruto was surprised he was asked that question since he really was troubled over something. Naruto didn't know how he could resolve it.

"It's just a little problem."

"Wanna share? I might be able to help," Ichuraku said as he took a seat beside Naruto.

"Haaah… It's a girl problem…." He continued, "What would you do if you liked two girls and they also liked you back? Do I really need to choose one over the other?"

Naruto asked without fully exposing the details.

Hearing this, Ichiraku rubbed his eyes, checking to make sure the boy in front of him was really Naruto.

'He's already grown up. How the time flies.' Ichiraku had a nostalgic expression, recalling the day he offered a ramen bowl to a crying boy.

"There is no correct answer, Naruto; what you can do is be honest with them. No one likes being lied to or deceived. Trust is important in any relationship. If you lose that, it would never be the same again," Ichiraku said as he sighed.

Naruto fell into thought as he scrutinized his advice and, at last, decided to be honest with them, even if it meant risking losing both of them. Which is unlikely, but he chose to do it anyways.

Naruto was grateful that he shared his worries with old man Ichiraku, as he brought him out of his indecisiveness for a long time.

"Thank you, old man. I'll tell my friend what you told me."

"You friend, huh? Let him know I wish him the best of luck in sorting out his problems." Ichiraku said with an amused smile, seeing Naruto's tricks.

"Will do, old man."

Naruto shouted as he stepped out of the shop. He felt his heart lighter after finally finding the resolution to see things through.