Holding the motionless Kurama in his arms, Naruto obediently followed behind Rinjin, walking down the street.
"Mister, where are we going now?"
"To eat, and to introduce you to your future meal ticket."
Rinjin said without turning his head.
Little Naruto was like a tender young leek—the fertilizer had to be supplied abundantly!
Madara Uchiha was very arrogant, and Uncle Rinjin expressed his fear, throwing out a monster ball...
I choose you, Pika-Naruto!
Ignoring the ANBU following behind, Rinjin led the little guy to a ramen shop.
Lifting the cloth curtain, they walked into the fragrant ramen shop.
"Teuchi, two servings of triple char siu with egg, sausage, and crispy duck ramen!"
The familiar voice rang out, and Teuchi, who was vigorously kneading noodles, instantly lifted his head and exclaimed:
"Sensei, you're back again! I figured it was about time. Last time I even told Ayame that the three-year period was up—you should be coming out to wander around again!"
Hearing this, Rinjin chuckled and reached out to take the warm towel Teuchi handed over, casually wiping his hands.
"What a coincidence—every time something happens, it takes three years to resolve. Three years after three years, and in the blink of an eye, your daughter's almost ready to marry."
From the back kitchen, Ayame poked her head out from behind the door, rolled her eyes unsympathetically, and interjected:
"You really don't remember—I told you last time I was planning to inherit Dad's ramen shop! Even if I'm going to date someone, they'll have to marry into our family!"
"Hehe~" Rinjin laughed without any airs, scratching his head.
Beside him, little Naruto stared with round eyes at the three people chatting harmoniously, his face full of envy.
His childhood had just begun—he had no familiar friends at all. The only person he could exchange a few words with was that short-haired kid with strange eyes he had saved last time.
Smelling the fragrant meat aroma, Rinjin led the little guy to sit down.
Before long, two steaming bowls of ramen were served. Looking carefully, they were covered with various types of delicious-looking meat.
Too hungry to thank them, Naruto immediately picked up his chopsticks and shouted:
"Let's eat!"
With that, he hugged the bowl bigger than his face and started slurping.
The slightly sweet char siu was soaked in the savory, fragrant broth. With one bite, the meat juices mixed with scallion flavor flowed freely across his taste buds.
The crisply roasted duck skin suddenly burst into his mouth, its crispy texture dancing between his lips and teeth.
Every bite carried the full aroma of charred oil.
When it got a bit greasy, he took a sip of the broth floating with oil and scallions—fresh and fragrant, sliding from his mouth straight to his stomach.
After drinking the broth, he slurped up the soft yet chewy ramen.
Little Naruto's face was buried in the bowl, his childish features contorted, even forgetting to sniff when his nose started running.
This stuff was ten thousand times, a hundred million times better than instant cup noodles!
Watching the little brat eating voraciously, Rinjin smiled and shook his head, waving at Teuchi and speaking in a low voice:
"Put this kid's future meals here on my tab."
Hearing this, Teuchi's eyes filled with warmth as he nodded seriously.
Though the voice was quiet, Naruto, who had been focused on his ramen, suddenly lifted his head, tears in his eyes as he looked at Rinjin.
"Mister! You're planning to treat me to ramen every day from now on?!"
"Right!"
Rinjin smiled and nodded, then began counting on his fingers.
"Look, a bowl of noodles here averages about one hundred ryō. Even if you eat thirty bowls a day, that's only three thousand ryō a month. If you eat for a year, that's ninety thousand ryō. Eat for ten years, nine hundred thousand ryō. Even if you eat until you're twenty-three, that's only twenty years—a mere 1.8 million ryō~
Little guy, and I'm not bragging, but grandpa's money is enough for you to eat ramen for a hundred thousand years!"
Little Naruto was dumbfounded!
His first thought in his little brain wasn't whether he could eat thirty bowls of ramen every day, but whether he could actually live for a hundred thousand years!
On the other side, watching his wealthy master, Teuchi rolled his eyes irritably and angrily kneaded the dough in his hands flat and round.
He didn't doubt at all whether his teacher could earn that much money.
After all, in terms of combat power, his teacher might not be number one in the world, but when it came to making money, few people had more schemes than him.
Reaching into his coat, Rinjin casually pulled out a thick stack of fifty-thousand-ryō bills, waved them coolly, and walked out of Ichiraku Ramen, leaving the stunned Teuchi and Naruto behind.
Naruto sat on the round stool, staring dumbly at the strange mister's empty bowl and the money beside it, completely losing his ability to speak.
On the other side, Rinjin strolled leisurely along Tea Street and soon arrived at a quiet, elegant small courtyard.
He knocked on the courtyard gate.
Before long, a half-tall boy with tear troughs on his face opened the gate.
"Grandpa Rinjin."
"Mm~" Rinjin smiled kindly like a farmer celebrating a good harvest, reaching out to pat the half-tall boy's head:
"Itachi, is your father home?"
Hearing this, Itachi nodded and led Rinjin through the gate.
"Grandpa Rinjin, I passed the Chūnin Exams."
Hearing this, Rinjin was momentarily stunned.
This kid was that amazing? Passing the Chūnin Exams at ten years old?!
What a little genius! Much more impressive than I was at ten. When I was ten, I was...
Uh (⊙o⊙)... I think I was bullying cats in the Hidden Rain Village~
...
Thinking of this, the cat inside his body immediately started meowing fiercely.
She remembered too—back then, Rinjin had taken such a big stick and hit her head, giving her bumps all over!
The next second, the cat's sinister voice rang out:
"Rinjin, we still haven't settled that score~"
Hearing this, Rinjin shrank his head and smiled guiltily, muttering in his heart:
"That... this... this can't be counted as a score, dear We... that was the beginning of our relationship. How can you call it settling scores"
"Shut... shut up, you shameless... shameless old thief!"
Inside his body, the cat covered her blushing face with her hands, turned away, and refused to talk to this thick-skinned Rinjin anymore.
Who knew what embarrassing things this guy would say if she let him continue~
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