It's Honest Work

(A/n: Second chapter! Here we go.)

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Abel quickly jotted down the orders of everyone sat on the stools. He got a job in the Ramen stand, which was to be a server for the customers. Yelling out different types of ramen like: "Two Miso, one Tonkotsu!" 24/7, also writing it on paper to add to the pending order list.

Teuchi greatly appreciated the help, as it allowed him to flex his unparralelled cooking skills to his daughter, Ayame and get out more dishes to customers, faster. Two pairs of hands working was always going to be better than one.

The day ended with the final customer being an old folk, taking his time to order. He was a regular in the stand, Kosuke Maruboshi. Abel didn't know him particularly well - his meta-knowledge not even being able to help since he was a Manga only reader. As such, he didn't know his reputation as the 'Eternal Genin'.

Abel took a breath and sat in one of the stools. Teuchi was correct as always, these days they were really busy. Going back to the job, Teuchi was kind enough to offer Abel a good and clean refuge and decent pay, which was unheard of. Abel thanked Kishimoto, Jashin and whatever other god he could think of for giving him the stroke of luck needed to live this good. The Village was obviously still in need of drastic repairs, but Abel was selfish, all that mattered was working good, eating ramen, and sleeping.

Unlike Naruto, however, he didn't develop an addiction. He frequently ate other foods as well, such as Egg Fried Rice, fish, and other japanese cuisine. Sometimes, he would even attend Teuchi telling a story to Ayame or a customer, about how his recipes were passed down from his family, who presumably found it, and I quote, "somewhere in the West."

Notheless, Abel would consider his living conditions 'good'. Better than the streets for sure. The old man finally took his order, requesting a simple Shoyu Ramen. Abel wrote him up, and passed the recipt to the kitchen. He sat down alongside Kosuke for some time, in a comfortable silence.

"Ahh, seeing youngin's like you working so hard takes me back...see I was just a wee lad once, and I was working in a fish market..." Maruboshi started telling a story about himself, Abel listening along. He had nothing else to do, and stories were a great way to pass the time.

"So then I slapped him with a fish!" The story had some fun moments.

"I almost lost everything in an accident.. " Some sad moments.

"So I would just wake up, work, eat, sleep, repeat." And the obligatory monotony. All in all, a great story that Abel found intruiguing. He always thought of the Naruto universe as the 'Murder-Death-Kill' universe, yet with his job with Teuchi and Maruboshi's story, this world had minute amounts of redeeming qualities.

"Ahh, but an ol' shinobi like me shouldn't be babblin' to the young folks. Instead, I should be eating some good ramen..." Maruboshi finally started eating his ramen, which miraculously had stayed hot the entire time. Abel thought it was some sort of chakra technique.

The Eternal Genin liked eating his ramen nice and slow, enjoying the flavors in his mouth. Eventually, the bowl was empty, as Maruboshi let out a satisfied sigh. Teuchi never fails to disappoint, Abel has this entire conspiracy that stated that casuality is formed in such a way to make Teuchi never miss. Ever.

"Hey, old man." Abel said to The Eternal Genin before he left. "Can you give me some tips on how to unlock my chakra? I've been trying these past few days but..." It was true, Abel was attempting to use his chakra. Strength was needed to survive in this world, without a doubt.

"That brings back memories..." Maruboshi said in a neutral tone. "Well, I suppose I can give ya' a boost. Now, see here, in your stomach. Now, I want you to feel the area where the stomach resides, and imagine that there is no stomach. You must pull from that empty void, and the energy in that empty void is your chakra."

Abel did as he instructed, but was still having issues. How could you imagine that something isn't there while it's an integral part of you...? Maruboshi chuckled. "Heh, proved you're not one of those talents eh? I always appreciated hard working ninja...but here, this is what my teacher did to help me unlock it."

Maruboshi pointed a finger at Abel. Suddenly, Abel was lying on the ground, panting, sweating. There was a hole straight through his gut area, and it was spilling blood. There was no stomach, thus, he pulled. A deep purple energy surrounded him, invisible to the naked eye, but Maruboshi isn't a shinobi for no reason. He cancelled the Genjutsu.

Abel found himself sitting on the stool as he originally was. He looked around in a panic before landing his eyes on Maruboshi. "Genjutsu?!" He said with a shocked tone. The man in question nodded. "Oldest trick in the book..."

Abel now had chakra. He could feel it, and see it everywhere. He saw Maruboshi's chakra, Teuchi's chakra, Ayame's chakra...he saw them all. He even saw his own, which was colored a deep purple. Maruboshi's eyelids expanded a bit, showcasing surprise. "You're a sensor, eh? Quite the luck you have there, kid. Well, I'll be off..."

"Wait!" Abel interjected. "Sorry...could you...could you train me?" Clearly the old man had some skill behind that innocent and frail façade. He casted Genjutsu on him just by pointing his finger! That was untold levels of skill!

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Maruboshi was having a good day. Well, if you count taking 4 C-ranks in a row a 'good day'. After a day's work, he decided to go to his friend's ramen stand. Maruboshi believed in a good and healthy diet and lifestyle, which probably contributed to him being able to live to his age. He could cook for himself, and very well in fact, but he wanted to support his friend's business.

He had heard in the Genin Corps that Teuchi kept his prices the same after the Kyuubi attack, giving hearty meals to many hungry Genins at a fair price. They were treating Teuchi as if god himself sent him to do his magic.

Now, leaving the small bar, he had a choice to make. Choices, he never liked them. Simply put, that one of the choices he made in life led to the death of his teammates, his dear friends. Now, he had to make another.

Tilting his head, he could see the young lad from the corner of his eye. Brimming with hope and ambition. He could practically tell what the ambition was, however. 'Strong enough to protect myself' was written all over their eyes. A good goal, despite it being commonplace.

The child was apparently a sensor as well, so if he decided to work his old bones and train him, he could nuture him to become a great shinobi. However, becoming a shinobi was the lad's choice. "It will be tough..." he started, using a grave tone. "In some days you will want to quit. Don't, because if you do, this deal is off." The child seemed to have more determination than before. "...If you don't give your best 24/7, then don't even bother. If you accept these conditions, meet me tomorrow after your shift in training ground 14, tell the guards that Maruboshi sent you..."

With that, he left, not seeing the child's reaction. Honestly, he himself didn't know why he made the offer to the young lad. Was it for old times sake? Was it because of the fabled 'Will of Fire'? Maruboshi didn't know. He just did. He made a decision.

Now he prays for the decision to be the correct one.

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(A/n: And that's all folks! Please tell me if there are any spelling errors or if something doesn't make sense.)