"Hey, Naruto," Choji said with a mouth full of noodles, pausing mid-slurp, "why aren't you eating?"
Shikamaru, who had been lazily stirring his bowl, glanced sideways.
Naruto's bowl sat untouched in front of him, steam still rising from the broth.
"Strange…" Shikamaru muttered. "Knowing Naruto, that bowl should've been empty before it even touched the table."
Indeed, something was very wrong.
Naruto sat there stiffly, eyes wide behind his mask. A few twitching black lines crept down his temple in exasperation.
'How can I be this stupid…' he thought.
(Θ︹Θ)ს
He had completely forgotten why he wore the mask today.
Right. To hide his face.
His newly revealed, disturbingly soft and feminine face.
There was no way he could take it off in front of everyone—especially not with Sasuke, Sakura, and Ino sitting nearby.
One glimpse, and they'd laugh at him. Worse, he'd never live it down.
What would Sasuke say?
Naruto could already hear the mockery in his mind.
He bit his lip. No. As the future Hokage, he had to maintain a cool image. A leader. A symbol of strength!
Not some… blushing ramen girl.
Cough, cough.
He forced out an awkward cough and turned to Choji. "Uh… I'll be back in a sec," he muttered, voice muffled through the mask. "Gotta… take care of something."
Before anyone could respond, he grabbed his entire bowl of ramen, stood up, and dashed out the door like a thief escaping the scene of a crime.
Choji blinked. "Huh."
Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. "He even took the ramen…"
Something weird was definitely going on.
Outside the Shop
Naruto skidded to a stop and glanced around.
The outer seats were all empty—perfect.
Ichiraku had a few outdoor tables, mostly untouched except during festival days or when the shop was too full. But today, they were his salvation.
He plopped down on one of the wooden stools, set the bowl down carefully, glanced around one more time… and peeled off the mask with a sigh of relief.
"Ahhh…"
Freedom. Sweet, noodle-scented freedom.
He picked up his chopsticks with reverence and slurped the first mouthful.
"Mmmm—soooooo goooood," he groaned, smacking his lips, cheeks puffed out in pure joy. "I missed you, ramen."
For a moment, all was well. The world was peaceful.
But fate had other plans.
Sasuke was not having a good time.
Between Ino's squealing and Sakura's clingy attempts at conversation, the Uchiha prodigy was seconds away from detonating.
His eyebrow twitched. His patience, already worn thin, snapped like a dry twig.
"Tch. Annoying."
He stood up abruptly, not even bothering to excuse himself, and made a beeline for the door. Behind him, a verbal explosion erupted.
"See?! You made Sasuke-kun leave!" Sakura yelled at ino.
"No, you did, Broadhead!" Ino snapped back. "You kept breathing all over him like a psycho!"
As the two continued their war, Sasuke stepped into the cool afternoon air—and immediately stopped.
There, sitting at one of the outside tables, was someone unmistakable.
Bright orange jacket.
Spiky blond hair.
Shoveling ramen like his life depended on it.
"…Naruto?"
He blinked. That couldn't be right.
The person eating… didn't look like Naruto. Not quite.
Their face was… different. Smoother. Smaller. Softer.
A moment passed.
Then realization hit Sasuke like a thrown kunai.
(ʘᗩʘ')
That was Naruto.
And he had the face of a idol from a magazine cover.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes and walked over.
Naruto, meanwhile, was in absolute ramen heaven, completely unaware of the dark cloud approaching.
Thud.
Sasuke's hand slammed on the table.
Naruto jolted, noodle hanging from his mouth like a guilty dog with a sausage.
"…You," Sasuke said, his tone low but sharp. "What happened to your face?"
Naruto stiffened.
For a split second, his chopsticks hovered midair, the last noodle still dangling.
The noise around him—clinking bowls, murmuring voices—faded. Even the breeze seemed to pause.
This was the moment he had feared more than any enemy or exam.
Slowly, he slurped the noodle into his mouth, swallowed hard, and wiped his lips with the back of his hand—stalling for time, hoping maybe Sasuke would drop it.
He didn't.
Naruto forced a shaky laugh. "Hah… you noticed, huh?"
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Hard not to."
Naruto looked down at the empty bowl in front of him. "It's… complicated."
"Um…"
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Did you… get surgery?"
Naruto almost choked.
"NO!" he shouted, flailing his arms. "Listen! It's not what it looks like! I swear, A Few days ago I just woke up and my whiskers were gone and my face looked like this and—and—this isn't on purpose!"
He ranted in a single breath, half-panicked, half-defensive.
Sasuke blinked again, then leaned back.
"…Huh."
To Naruto's shock, the Uchiha didn't laugh. Didn't mock. Didn't smirk.
He just nodded.
"…Weird," Sasuke muttered. "But I've seen stranger."
That… was it?
Naruto stared at him, stunned.
Sasuke just shrugged. "It's not like your face made you any stronger or weaker anyway."
And with that, he sat down across from Naruto, completely unfazed.
Naruto blinked. For the first time in his life, he was… respected by Sasuke?
His heart fluttered. No, wait, not like that!
Still, Naruto's respect meter for Sasuke shot up a few points.
Inside the shop
Choji was already full—twenty bowls of ramen today, a personal record.
He was glowing with happiness. Life these days felt almost perfect: go on missions with his friends, eat to his heart's content afterward, then head home and relax. What more could he want?
Wiping his mouth with satisfaction, he stood up and gave a respectful nod.
"Thank you for the meal, Asuma-sensei!" he said cheerfully.
Asuma, who was deep in conversation with Kakashi, gave him a wave. "Don't mention it, Choji. Glad you enjoyed it."
Choji and Shikamaru stepped out of the ramen shop, the warm sunlight brushing their faces.
Shikamaru was deep in thought, hands in his pockets, muttering something about Naruto acting weirder than usual.
Meanwhile, Choji scanned the area casually.
Just as he turned his head—
Thump! Thump!
His heart skipped a beat.
There, sitting outside the shop… was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.