A figure moved like lightning past the shop entrance, vanishing into the night. All that remained was a quivering kunai embedded in the floor.
"Clack."
Yuuta set his chopsticks down on the table, face expressionless.
But inside?
He was seething.
Because for a true foodie, interrupting a meal is the gravest sin imaginable.
He didn't care if you were the Daimyō of the Land of Fire himself, if you disturbed him while he was eating, you'd still get a face full of wrath.
Yuuta rose to his feet, pulled the kunai from the floor, and took the attached note.
He slowly unfolded the paper. Three short lines were written on it:
"Tonight at 8.
Konoha Forest.
Don't be late."
Yuuta crumpled the note with annoyance.
"What kind of idiot pulls this crap?"
First of all, it clearly wasn't a prank.
The kunai was real, razor-sharp. Whoever threw it had to be at least Genin-level.
And considering even he couldn't get a clear look at the thrower, it meant one thing: the sender was a veteran. Someone experienced.
Which naturally made Yuuta very, very suspicious.
"Could it be... Konoha's ANBU?"
It wasn't impossible.
After all, in this life, Yuuta's parents hadn't been natives of the Land of Fire. They had immigrated to Konoha during the Third Great Ninja War.
Though they passed away early, and everything about them seemed completely normal to Yuuta…
Who was to say, really?
What if his parents were actually spies from another village, masquerading as civilians?
"But… that's not really ANBU's style."
Yuuta frowned, still fiddling with the note.
Neither ANBU nor the shady ROOT division operated in such vague, roundabout ways. If either of them had discovered something about his parents, they would've already invited him in for "tea" at the Hokage Tower.
"So who the hell is it?"
Yuuta scoured his memory.
As a struggling commoner living at the bottom rung of Konoha society, he could confidently say, he hadn't wronged any ninja.
After all, ninja and civilians basically lived in two different worlds.
Like low-income workers and elite tycoons in his previous life, they might breathe the same air, but their paths rarely crossed.
Wait a second...
If we're just counting the ninja he's met, there were a few.
Like those two eternal background characters: Izumo and Kotetsu, the gatekeepers of Konoha.
Now those guys deserved a medal for survival.
Orochimaru's invasion, Pain's destruction of the village, countless major crises, and they lived through all of it untouched.
Meanwhile, legends like Itachi, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru kept dropping like flies.
Well, okay. Orochimaru kept coming back to life, but still.
There was even a running joke online that said:
"They're under Ichiraku's protection. No one dares touch them."
Fair enough.
Yuuta shook his head.
Izumo and Kotetsu? Not likely.
When he first rented the shop, he had to file paperwork at the Hokage Tower. He passed dozens of ninja during the process. But those were quick, formal encounters, he didn't have a chance to offend anyone.
"Could this be some Naruto-world version of extortion?"
Didn't seem likely either.
Ninjas earned decent salaries. Who'd be petty enough to shake down a ramen shop owner?
"Which means the only possible suspects… are the two people I saw today: Naruto and Mizuki."
Naruto was easy to rule out. The kid had just left. No way he pulled this.
Which left only one possibility.
Yuuta's gaze sharpened.
"Mizuki, huh?"
Thinking back to their earlier interaction, the overly kind smile, the way he paid for Naruto's food, his soft tone, it had all felt... off.
Why was that?
Then it clicked.
At the ninja academy, there was only one person who treated Naruto with genuine kindness, despite his reputation.
And that person was definitely not Mizuki.
It was Iruka-sensei.
Yuuta smirked.
"So that's what was bothering me."
He no longer remembered all the manga details, it had been too long since his reincarnation, but he was certain of one thing:
Something was up with Mizuki.
Still, Yuuta wasn't too worried.
He glanced at the pudgy puppet standing silently in the shop. With a Chūnin-level automaton watching his back, he felt at least somewhat secure.
He'd be fine, for now.
Meanwhile…
Naruto was walking home to his little apartment, hands on his round, full belly, a look of bliss on his face.
He never imagined there could be ramen in the world that tasted better than Ichiraku's.
He had always believed Teuchi-ojisan's ramen was the greatest.
But after eating Yuuta's beef ramen?
He realized just how wrong he'd been.
That chewy, lively texture… the way the noodles bounced in his mouth, releasing waves of umami…
Just thinking about it made his mouth water again.
And then there was the meat.
Meat that could replenish chakra.
He never even dreamed such a thing existed.
All Naruto could think about now was retaking the exam tomorrow, showing the proctors his perfect Clone Jutsu, and watching their jaws hit the floor.
He couldn't help but chuckle at the thought.
I've waited so long for this...
Naruto had spent his whole life yearning for acknowledgment.
He wanted to surpass every previous Hokage.
But reality had been cruel. Adults looked at him with fear and loathing. Kids his age mocked him openly.
Still, even with the label of "dead-last" stuck to his name, he never gave up. His determination was unwavering. His spirit unbreakable.
And now, at last, he was just one step away from becoming a real ninja.
"Watch me. I'll become the greatest Hokage who ever lived!"
He raised his fist high, eyes blazing with passion for the future.
"Hah! What a joke. You? Hokage? Should I call you ignorant or just plain stupid?"
A sharp, mocking voice cut through the air behind him.
Naruto spun around.
His pupils shrank.
"M-Mizuki-sensei?!"
"Tch."
Mizuki stood with arms crossed, sneering at him in disgust.
"Don't get all familiar with me, Nine-Tails brat."
<><>---------------------------------------
200 P.S = 1 Extra Chapters
Add to Collection!