The two arrived at Ichiraku Ramen. Just as the previous Customers left, they took their seats.
"Boss, ten large bowls of miso char siu ramen to start!"
Neji's calm voice made the people around them glance over, causing Hinata to shyly lower her head.
She tugged at Neji's sleeve, and he chuckled inwardly, whispering,
"It's alright. A big appetite is a good thing. Only by eating a lot can one become stronger!"
Hinata softly hummed in agreement, feeling a bit more at ease, especially with Neji-nīchan (Neji, older brother) by her side.
"Ten bowls?"
Ichiraku-ojisan, who was quite young, looked at Neji and Hinata with surprise.
Neji smiled, "Yes, Boss!"
Ichiraku-ojisan nodded, then turned to start making the ramen. You see this ramen, it's so big and... *cough*!
Unintentional, unintentional!
The ramen was served quickly. In a moment, a bowl was placed in front of each of them.
"Start eating!"
"Mm!"
Their eyes lit up slightly after one bite, and they immediately began their feast.
Just ten large bowls of miso char siu ramen, five bowls each, were merely enough to line their stomachs.
However, considering their limited funds, they ultimately didn't eat too much, only twenty bowls in total, with Neji consuming the majority.
One could only say that it truly lived up to its reputation as a Konoha Internet celebrity spot; the taste was quite good. It's just that he wondered...
"Ichiraku-ojisan, one bowl of ramen!"
Just as he was wondering if he would encounter Naruto, Naruto, with the fox whiskers on his face, walked in.
"Yo! Hinata, you're here too."
Naruto greeted her, curiously looking at Neji, who wore an eye patch, as if he had heard of him somewhere.
"Naruto, are you here to eat ramen too?" Hinata looked at Naruto curiously.
Although she admired his carefree personality, she always felt that Naruto was too reckless, not as steady as Neji-nīchan (Neji, older brother).
"Yeah! I love Ichiraku-ojisan's ramen the most. There's no food in the world more delicious than his ramen."
Naruto praised Ichiraku Ramen without reservation, making Ichiraku-ojisan chuckle.
"It's not as exaggerated as you say, Naruto. Your ramen is ready."
A bowl of ramen, visibly larger in portion, was placed in front of Naruto, who happily began to eat, silently taking note of these things.
Neji's mouth curved upward. He didn't intend to interact much with Naruto, so he didn't greet him, as he needed to maintain his cool persona.
"Let's go! Boss, the bill."
Placing the money on the table, Neji pointed at Naruto, who was engrossed in eating his noodles, indicating that he would pay for his portion.
Ichiraku-ojisan smiled, said nothing, took the money, and silently prepared another serving.
He understood that Naruto had saved for a long time just to afford to eat here once.
Each time, he would leave without being full, but he was a small business owner and couldn't do much more than give him a slightly larger portion.
Neji stood up. As the Young Miss of the Hyuga Clan, Hinata's manners were essential.
"Goodbye, Naruto-kun!"
"Mmm! Mmm-hmm..."
Hinata greeted him, but he was too busy eating his noodles and only mumbled in response.
The two left Ichiraku Ramen. It was already dusk, and they headed towards the Hyuga Clan Estate.
"Is that Hinata's classmate?"
"Yes, his name is Uzumaki Naruto, a very boisterous fellow. He often skips class with Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji, which gives Iruka-sensei a lot of headaches."
Neji listened as Hinata talked about school matters. After all, he was only one year her senior and had some understanding.
"When the hot pot restaurant opens, Hinata can invite some friends over too."
"Okay, Neji-nīchan (Neji, older brother)!"
...Meanwhile, at Ichiraku Ramen, when Naruto finished and was about to pay, Ichiraku-ojisan pushed another bowl towards him.
Naruto was startled and quickly refused, "Ichiraku-ojisan, my money is only enough for one serving!"
Ichiraku-ojisan shook his head, "Eat it. This is from your classmate's older brother, who treated you."
"Treated... me...?"
Naruto's words stumbled a bit. Ichiraku-ojisan nodded very seriously and said with a smile,
"Don't waste his kindness!"
He forcefully pushed the noodles in front of Naruto, then turned to collect the bowls from the recently departed Customers, leaving Naruto staring at the bowl of noodles in front of him.
A tear welled up in Naruto's eye, and he immediately wiped it away with his hand, hugging the bowl of ramen in front of him and starting to eat.
He would never forget anyone who was willing to be kind to him, because truly, no one was ever willing to be kind to him.
As he ate, tears kept appearing in his eyes, making Naruto wipe them away with a smile.
"Today is really something. My eyes keep watering. It'll affect the taste of the noodles. Really!"
Ichiraku-ojisan silently tidied up, pretending not to hear, as this was a child's last stubbornness.
He couldn't possibly point it out.
After all, he had watched this child grow up, and to maintain his true self in such an environment was truly difficult.
And Naruto, silently eating his noodles, remembered this moment. Hinata's older brother?
He remembered him!
...Neji returned to the Hyuga Clan Estate, parted ways with Hinata, and went back to his own home.
Thinking of Naruto, this should be considered their second meeting, but Naruto probably had no memory of the first.
He sighed slightly. If he were Naruto, he would probably have resented Konoha deeply by now.
That Naruto could still maintain an optimistic attitude truly left him speechless.
"As the saying goes, the child who is loved is never cared for, while the child who is most disliked is always taken care of?"
Neji sighed softly, just like in his previous life, the children favored by parents wouldn't care for them when they grew old.
Instead, the children they disliked the most would be the ones to support them in their old age.
Human hearts!
They are ultimately the most difficult to fathom. Some people are kind to you because they covet something from you, or want to harm you.
Some people disdain you, speaking coldly and sarcastically, but are actually warning you for your own good. It's truly difficult to distinguish!
No longer considering these things, anyway, all the blame in this world belongs to the Hokage.
Danzo!
Bear the blame well, all the black pots are yours, no one can take them away.
Of course, without exaggeration or slander, Danzo was indeed not clean himself, so he couldn't blame others.
Sitting cross-legged, Neji began to Cultivate Chakra.
His current Chakra reserves were not small. Due to the characteristics of Life Return, it was quick to Cultivate and easy to control.
His ability to Cultivate Medical Ninjutsu was entirely due to Life Return, not the credit of Kenbunshoku Haki.
At the same time, another power combined with Chakra, Nen! also flowed within Neji's body.
Currently, he originally possessed fire, earth, and water attributes, while the DNF Qi Master profession brought him wind and lightning attributes.
Now, he could be said to possess all five attributes, plus the Yang-attribute Chakra mastered through Medical Ninjutsu.
Only Yin-attribute Chakra remained unmastered. He was considering extracting the Sharingan's dōjutsu, which also represented the Yin attribute.
However, he was unsure what the result would be if he extracted the Sharingan's dōjutsu to fuse with the Byakugan.
He tentatively planned to acquire some stock a year later, as the Uchiha Clan would be gone after a year, and he wouldn't be able to get any then.
Unless he found Snake Aunt, Danzo, or Obito, which was clearly impossible.
Kelly: Huh?! That young man who just passed by, he's quite handsome!