Chapter 25

"Uncle Teuchi, I want a big bowl of pork chashu ramen!"

"Alright, Naruto!"

Upon seeing Naruto, Teuchi couldn't help but reveal a warm smile, then swiftly turned around to prepare the ramen for Naruto.

Meanwhile, Naruto carefully walked to the seat at the far end, then hopped lightly and sat down.

He loved this noodle shop. Since the first time he came here, he'd always remembered this place.

The taste of this noodle shop was excellent, something Naruto had never experienced before. And Uncle Teuchi, the shop's owner, was different from everyone else.

He'd never scolded Naruto, nor had he ever despised him, he never treated Naruto as a nuisance or a disaster.

Sometimes Naruto himself didn't know whether he loved the taste here or Uncle Teuchi's warm demeanor.

Of course, he thought it probably was more about the taste. Ichiraku Ramen was definitely the most delicious food he'd ever had.

Therefore, as soon as he received his monthly living allowance from the Third Hokage, he would come here right away. Or when there was something worth celebrating, he would choose to come here too.

"Here, Naruto, your big bowl of pork chashu ramen."

In no time, Teuchi had the ramen ready, still smiling as he served it to Naruto.

By this time, the other customers in the noodle shop had left one after another, leaving a young man and woman sitting in a corner. With open seats, there were naturally many passersby who initially planned to come in.

However, when they saw Naruto inside the noodle shop, they all couldn't help but reveal a look of disgust, and then they each left one by one.

Evidently, Naruto's presence displeased them, and this also hindered Teuchi's business.

But Teuchi didn't care about this at all, on the contrary, he happily handed over the tidying up to Ayame, while he leaned on the counter and began chatting leisurely with Naruto.

"Naruto, any good news? I remember you just came at the beginning of the month, why are you back again today?"

"That's because I have something to celebrate!"

Naruto, holding his chopsticks, drooled over the ramen in front of him. He skillfully separated the chopsticks and, unable to wait any longer, began to eat.

"Let's eat! Mmm... so delicious!"

"Slow down, don't burn yourself."

Teuchi, watching Naruto, couldn't help but shake his head. He thought for a moment, then simply stood up and started making more noodles, asking as he worked,

"You haven't said what's worth celebrating."

"Well, I have a lot of real friends now!"

Naruto, wolfing down his meal, spoke with his mouth full, but he still looked particularly proud.

"Today, I went out to play during class with Shikamaru and Choji. At first, Choji was scared, but I pulled him along. And Choji even shared his potato chips with me.

Even though we were punished later, I'm still very happy. I finally have real good friends!"

"Hey, hey, hey, you're talking about skipping school, you know!"

Ayame, listening on the side, couldn't help but pout. Whether it was hearing about the Ninja Academy or Naruto's arrival affecting the business, she didn't look too pleased.

The young man and woman sitting nearby were taken aback as they looked at Naruto; they hadn't expected to hear such news.

"And if you keep going like this, whether you can graduate and become a ninja is another matter."

"Alright, that's a matter for the future."

Ayame's words made Naruto a bit anxious. But before Naruto could retort, Teuchi, Uncle Teuchi, laughed and spoke, preemptively breaking up the squabble between Naruto and his daughter.

Then, he scooped up the freshly cooked ramen and some sliced meat into Naruto's bowl. Amid Naruto's confusion, he said with a smile,

"But for now, congratulations Naruto, you're one step closer to your dream. Keep going!"

"Mm, thank you, Uncle Teuchi! I will definitely have more friends, I will definitely become the Hokage, and I will definitely be recognized by everyone!"

Naruto, looking at the ramen in his bowl, couldn't help but feel happier. But for some reason, his eyes felt rather sore.

"Hey, kiddo, I've got a question for you." But just then, a voice suddenly came from the side.

The voice didn't contain any unusual emotions. Although it wasn't as gentle as Teuchi's, it was enough to surprise Naruto.

"Huh?" Naruto turned his head and saw a handsome man wearing a Konoha headband looking at him: "What question, Big Brother?"

"You just said you wanted to become the Hokage, right?" This handsome man with black hair revealed a friendly smile.

This kindliness made Naruto's heart unconsciously skip a beat, but he still nodded seriously: "Mm!"

"So, you're saying that a person who becomes Hokage can gain everyone's approval?" The smile on the handsome man with black hair became even brighter: "Or is it that a person who gains everyone's approval can become Hokage?"

"I say, are you sick or something?" As soon as the handsome man with black hair finished speaking, the pretty woman sitting next to him suddenly interjected: "He's so young, can he understand these things? Just enjoy your ramen!"

"Oh." The handsome man with black hair pouted a bit, but in the end, he nodded at Naruto with a smile, then bowed his head and started eating quickly.

However, Naruto was a bit stunned. The question that the handsome big brother just asked seemed simple, and they appeared to be the same at first glance.

But Naruto always felt that there was a tremendous difference between the two. Even though he couldn't quite understand it now, he did make sure to remember those words.

Bowing his head, Naruto started eating the ramen quickly. By the time he finished his delicious ramen, he found that the big brother and sister sitting next to him had already left.

Moreover, the entire ramen shop was left with only him. Others who originally wanted to come in after seeing him, eventually chose to leave.

However, Naruto was already used to such situations. He stood up and then took out money to give to Teuchi.

"No need, Naruto." To Naruto's surprise, Teuchi actually shook his head.

"Uncle, this won't do." Naruto had no intention of taking advantage, he firmly shook his head and said.

"Alright, do you think I'm the type to lose out?" Teuchi returned Naruto's money with a smile, and then pointed to the empty seats where the young man and woman had been sitting: "The one who was talking to you just now has already paid for you. You can rest easy."

"The big brother just now?" Naruto looked at the empty seat and muttered to himself.

In that big brother, Naruto felt a treatment towards him that was different from others.

He simply treated Naruto as a normal person, but this in itself moved Naruto deeply.

For some reason, Naruto felt a little sourness in the corner of his eyes, but he still held back this feeling and looked up at Teuchi.

"Uncle, what is the name of that big brother?"

"Him? If I'm not mistaken, I believe his name is Uchiha Kaito..."

//

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