"Hmph. Anyone who interacts with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki must be detained to prevent spies from other villages from manipulating him," Danzo coldly snorted, his lone exposed eye radiating killing intent.
"Enough, Danzo. I will handle this matter myself. There's no need for you to interfere with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."
The Third had no intention of letting Danzo take action against Naruto according to his own wishes, especially after recalling how Naruto's smile was extremely similar to Minato Namikaze's.
"Hiruzen, you're being too indecisive. The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is a weapon of war that must be controlled," Danzo argued from within the shadows.
"I am the Hokage!"
The Third directly interrupted Danzo. "Danzo, stick to your duties and don't ask about things beyond them!"
"You..." Danzo let out an indignant snort but ultimately could only leave in frustration, though the killing intent in his eyes revealed his true thoughts.
"Minato, Kushina, rest assured. I will personally make sure Naruto is well protected."
Standing by the window, the Third looked at Minato Namikaze's carving on the Hokage Rock, his presence almost like that of the 'Ninja Legend' from his youth again.
Chapter 6: Cloud Village Kidnapping Incident [Part 1]
"Seriously, why do I have to do something like this? This weather is perfect for lying around in the sun and dozing off, right?!"
Inside the expanded Ichiraku Ramen Shop, a boy with a pineapple-shaped hairstyle wore a completely dejected expression as he spoke listlessly.
"Recently, business has been booming here at Ichiraku Ramen. There are simply too many customers. While Mr. Ichiraku has taken on several apprentices, they've just begun learning, so the main cooking responsibilities still fall on Mr. Ichiraku himself. With so many customers, even with Ayame-nee-san and Sakura pitching in, it's still not quite enough. Since you two happen to have nothing better to do, you might as well help out with small tasks that you can handle. And if you're not afraid of getting scolded by Yoshino, you could always sneak off for a little sunshine!" Ino said with a mischievous grin. Though Shikamaru was lazy, he'd eventually comply once Yoshino got involved.
"This is such a pain," four-year-old Shikamaru already showed signs of his future unmotivated personality. Thinking about the consequences of refusing to cooperate with Ino, though unwilling inside, he could only reluctantly continue working as a waiter.
"Don't complain so much. Mr. Ichiraku pays us quite generously for helping out, plus we get to taste various delicious dishes created by Sakura. What else could you possibly want?"
Ino playfully poked her finger at Shikamaru, slightly annoyed by his lazy attitude.
"Yeah, Shikamaru, Mr. Ichiraku really does pay well. Most importantly, there's delicious food!" Choji Akimichi's eyes lit up dreamily as he stared longingly.
"A while back, the Ichiraku Ramen Shop rolled out a series of brand-new ramen flavors along with a variety of delicious new dishes. This kicked off an enormous craze across Konoha, with crowds lining up weeks in advance just for a chance to try them. All we have to do now is help out a bit as servers, and we get to eat for free! That's totally the kind of thing that would make tons of people super jealous!"
"Yeah, it's not just us who love these new dishes from Mr. Ichiraku. Even the Ninja Hounds Ninken absolutely love them. Ever since Lady Inuzuka brought Blackmaru here for a meal, he hasn't stopped talking about it these past few days!"
Kiba Inuzuka and the usually quiet Shino Aburame were walking side by side, both balancing trays. Thankfully, kids in the shinobi world developed physically at a very young age—four-year-olds possessed physical strength many times greater than what Sakura remembered from her previous life. Kids from traditional clans especially had even stronger builds.
"By the way, Mr. Ichiraku, aren't you basically exploiting child labor here?"
Sakura soared high above on a floating longsword. Simple levitation using her feet no longer satisfied her, so she used the Reality Stone to create a sword and playfully practiced flying gracefully atop the blade like a swordsman from ancient legends. The sword resembled the demonic weapon from the classic show *Xian Jian Qi Xia Zhuan III* (also known as *Chinese Paladin 3*), downsized to fit her current size.
"Well, weren't they all personally recommended by you through Ino?" Mr. Ichiraku said with an innocent smile.
"As I thought—people with squinty eyes are always trouble! Even the seemingly kind-hearted Mr. Ichiraku knows how to dodge responsibility—and he does it way too smoothly!"
Sakura silently grumbled inwardly. Since discussing future development plans with Mr. Ichiraku a month ago, both sides had entered a busy phase. Mr. Ichiraku handled convincing her parents, then her father and mother took charge of expanding the Ichiraku Ramen Shop's scale, while Sakura became a mentor teaching Mr. Ichiraku how to recreate famous dishes from her past life.
Practical results proved that great food was always popular no matter where it appeared. After reopening, the Ichiraku Ramen Shop became a daily hotspot, with customers booking seats weeks ahead just for a chance to dine there. Because of this, Mr. Ichiraku had already started preparing to open branch stores, training several new apprentices specifically for those locations.
As for Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame, they were dragged here by Ino to gain work experience and earn a little extra cash on the side. Except for perpetually lazy Shikamaru, the other kids were really excited about working at Ichiraku Ramen Shop. For children coming from prestigious clans, how much they earned wasn't important—the real joy came from getting first dibs on all the latest delicious creations before any other customer. That was what truly made them happiest.
Meanwhile, due to his special circumstances, Naruto couldn't exactly work as a waiter out front, so he stayed in the kitchen, lending a hand alongside Sakura instead.
After a full day of hard work, when closing time finally arrived, all the kids felt completely exhausted. Yet after sharing a satisfying meal together, they quickly bounced back to their energetic selves.
Everyone had gone home except Sakura, who stayed behind to discuss the branch store plan with Mr. Ichiraku and the others, making her the last one to leave. Her father, Kizashi Haruno, and mother, Mebuki Haruno, went home a bit earlier to get the bath ready so Sakura could relax the moment she got back.
"It looks like we really need to start training some chefs ASAP."
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~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** on the weekend!