Teuchi emerged from the kitchen holding a tray, his voice carrying warmth. He approached the counter and set two steaming bowls of beef ramen in front of Iruka and Naruto.
"Please enjoy!" Teuchi said sincerely before turning back to his work.
"Wow, look at all this beef!"
Naruto's exaggerated excitement was genuine. He grabbed his chopsticks, speared a thick slice of beef, and shoved it in his mouth. "Iruka-sensei, eat up before it gets cold!"
Watching Naruto devour his ramen, Iruka couldn't help but shake his head fondly. "You're impossible."
He picked up his own chopsticks and began eating.
Slurp, slurp, slurp.
For a while, the only sound at Ichiraku Ramen was the music of noodles being enthusiastically consumed.
"Ahh!" Naruto finished his bowl in record time, draining even the broth. He set the bowl down on the counter with a satisfied thunk and threw his head back. "Yeah! That was amazing!"
Iruka finished his own bowl and glanced at Naruto. "Only one bowl today?"
He remembered Naruto eating ten bowls last time.
"Well, Iruka-sensei..." Naruto turned his head, eyes narrowing seriously. "I'm paying for it myself this time."
"Idiot." Iruka's face darkened. So the kid only went wild when someone else was footing the bill.
Taking a breath, Iruka remembered the actual purpose of tracking Naruto down today. This kid had nearly made him forget. "Naruto, why aren't you attending class? You told me before that you have dreams. How can you achieve them if you don't show up to school?"
"I haven't forgotten about my dreams at all, Iruka-sensei." Naruto nodded seriously. He straightened his posture, clasped his hands together, and puffed out his chest. "Here, feel my pecs."
"What?! I'm trying to talk to you about skipping class!" Iruka's face flushed red as he sputtered. "What do your chest muscles have to do with anything?"
"Don't you think they're impressive, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto looked genuinely puzzled. He flexed slightly, and his shirt made an ominous ripping sound as his well-defined pectoral muscles bulged against the fabric.
This kid might not be the sharpest kunai in the pouch.
A mental image of crows flying overhead appeared in Iruka's mind. He pressed his fingers to his forehead, feeling a headache forming. "Naruto, if you keep skipping classes, you won't be able to graduate..."
"Iruka-sensei, can't you see?" Naruto flexed his muscles again and winked.
That made Iruka pause. He suddenly remembered there were jonin who specialized in pure taijutsu. Could Naruto be training secretly under someone?
"Naruto, what the Academy tests at graduation isn't just taijutsu. There's the Substitution Jutsu, Clone Jutsu, Transformation Jutsu, kunai throwing, basic ninja history... You need to learn all of it. No matter what, please remember to come to school."
Iruka reached out and ruffled Naruto's hair gently.
Naruto could feel the genuine concern in his teacher's touch. Not wanting to disappoint someone who actually cared about him, he decided to give school another try. Besides, his current training regimen didn't require him to practice non-stop all day. He had to stop whenever his body reached its limits anyway.
He could train after school.
With that thought, Naruto nodded.
Iruka finally showed a relieved smile.
Baaaa.
A goat bleated and lowered its head to graze, completely unaware that someone was watching it with predatory intent.
Mountain Embrace no longer needed practice against stationary targets like trees. Naruto had chosen goats as his live training opponents. But for moving targets, the focus was on reaction speed and timing, not raw strength.
To avoid accidentally crushing a goat to death and wasting farm resources, Naruto had to carefully control his power output.
After selecting his target, Naruto crouched low and crept closer.
Mountain Embrace!
He roared internally and lunged forward, arms reaching to encircle the goat.
A pair of hooves kicked backward viciously, smashing directly into Naruto's face.
THWACK.
Naruto went down hard. Thanks to his Iron Body conditioning, he wasn't actually injured, not even a scrape, but what annoyed him was the goat's reaction. It looked back at him with what could only be described as contempt before returning to its leisurely grazing.
Undeterred, Naruto stood up, brushed grass and dirt off his clothes, and attacked again.
"Mountain Embrace..."
"Mountain Embrace..."
"Mountain Embrace..."
Half an hour later, Naruto lay sprawled on the ground, breathing hard. It was embarrassing. The goat kept kicking him in the face specifically. After so many attempts, even his Iron Body-enhanced face was starting to show bruises and swelling.
"I refuse to accept this. I will catch you."
Stubborn determination burned in his chest. Naruto was committed now. He would succeed today no matter what.
"Mountain Embrace..."
"Mountain Embrace..."
"Mountain Embrace..."
Another hour passed. The goat looked down at the human lying in the dirt with obvious disdain, radiating smug superiority.
Naruto stared up at the sky, his expression utterly defeated.
Nearby, the Nine-Tails flipped through a cookbook with intense concentration. Regarding the ongoing battle between Naruto and the goat, the fox never even glanced up.
"Nine-Tails, which section are you reading now?" Naruto asked weakly.
"The section on lamb dishes. It's fascinating. The recipes involving sheep are truly remarkable..." The Nine-Tails kept his eyes glued to the pages, but his voice carried genuine excitement.
"No matter how many books you read, it's all just theory. Practice is the only way to prove the truth." Naruto glanced at the goat grazing peacefully nearby and spoke with deliberate casualness.
The moment Naruto finished speaking, the goat suddenly felt a chill run through its body. It turned to look at the human with the bruised and swollen face it had been kicking, then returned to eating grass.
"Oh?" The Nine-Tails' eyes lit up. He finally raised his head from the cookbook and nodded. "You make an excellent point."
"That goat suffered internal injuries from all the impact. It probably won't live much longer. I'll leave it in your capable hands." Naruto pointed at the animal.
The Nine-Tails followed Naruto's finger and studied the goat. It looked perfectly healthy, showing no signs of injury whatsoever. "It appears quite vigorous. Are you certain it has internal damage?"
"That's why they're called internal injuries. You can't see them from the outside." Naruto's tone was absolutely deadpan.
"Ah, of course. How foolish of me." The Nine-Tails set down the cookbook and produced a knife and large spoon seemingly from nowhere, regarding the goat with a pleasant smile. "Now then, allow me to practice my craft."
The goat finally sensed the malicious intent. It panicked and bolted.
"BAAAA! BAAAA! BAAAA!"
The terrified bleating echoed across the pasture.
Naruto watched as the Nine-Tails grabbed the goat's back legs with both forepaws and hauled it toward the kitchen area, the fox practically skipping with excitement. The goat's four legs flailed wildly in the air as it let out increasingly distressed cries.
Seeing this scene, a satisfied smile crossed Naruto's face.