Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Ichiraku Ramen
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The warm noren curtain was gently lifted from outside as Menma led Naruto into Ichiraku Ramen.
"Welcome—oh, it's Menma." Teuchi looked up from behind the counter, his smile warm and familiar.
It was still some time before the dinner rush, so the shop wasn't crowded—just two ordinary genin.
"Teuchi, hit me with a tonkotsu chashu ramen, no..."
"No narutomaki, extra bamboo shoots. Got it." Teuchi chuckled, cutting him off without missing a beat in his prep work.
It felt like someone else from his memories had ordered the same way once, but that hazy figure just wouldn't come into focus...
Naruto trailed behind Menma, his footsteps hesitant.
When the two genin eating ramen spotted Naruto in the doorway, they shot him looks of disgust. Naruto flinched, instinctively shrinking back.
As Naruto's instincts kicked in to bolt, Menma clamped a hand on his shoulder.
"What're you spacing out for? Pick something from the menu yourself."
"By the way," Menma said, already settled on a bar stool with a playful eyebrow quirk, asking what he already knew, "I don't even know your name."
"I'm Naruto! Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto clambered onto the stool next to him, sneaking a glance at the wooden menu board on the floor.
Too bad he couldn't read yet. He just parroted Menma.
"I-I want a tonkotsu chashu ramen too!"
"Righto! Won't be long, you two." Teuchi got to work.
"Boss, money's on the counter." The genin finished up and left some bills behind.
As they headed out, they muttered under their breath.
"That guy earlier—he's that one, right?"
"Yeah... the one who got the Fourth killed..."
"Total buzzkill. Nearly made me hurl..."
Naruto sat with his back to the door, but the whispers reached him anyway. His mood sank.
He had no clue what "Fourth" meant, or "demon fox," but the disgust and rejection in their voices? Crystal clear.
"Ayame! Table cleanup!" Teuchi's call shattered the heavy air.
"Comin'! Comin'!" An eight- or nine-year-old girl in a white headband burst from the kitchen like a whirlwind, her blue apron flapping wildly.
She whisked away the bowls and chopsticks with practiced ease, her dishcloth tracing smooth arcs across the counter.
"Young Master Menma, back with a friend, huh?" Ayame teased, batting her eyes without slowing down.
"Quit with the 'young master' already, Ayame big sis~" Menma fired back, stretching the last words with mock sweetness.
That "big sis" made Ayame's dishcloth freeze mid-swipe.
"Hey!" She puffed out her cheeks in outrage. "You call girls 'sister,' got it?!"
Even at eight or nine, getting "big sis'd" by a kid younger than her got her hackles up.
So that's his name—Menma. Naruto watched their bickering with quiet envy.
"Oh yeah—this little guy's name?" Ayame finished up and leaned toward Naruto instead of ducking back into the kitchen.
"H-Hi... I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto stammered, flustered. His cheeks burned—this was the first time anyone had treated him kindly.
And he could tell: neither Menma nor Ayame carried that malice the other villagers did. Not even a hint.