Naruto woke from his hammock to find the sky already darkening. He waved at the four fresh "green sprouts" he had just taken under his wing."Let's go, I'll treat you all to ramen."
"Yeah!"
A cheer rang out in unison. The four kids, faces brimming with excitement, followed him eagerly toward Ichiraku Ramen.
Pulling open the shop's curtain, Teuchi Ichiraku looked up. He froze for a moment, seeing Naruto walk in with four dirty little kids in tow, but quickly recovered and smiled warmly."What would you all like to eat?"
Naruto wasn't actually that fond of ramen—after a few bowls, he'd already grown tired of it. Still, he wasn't picky, and besides, he wanted to get closer to Teuchi.
Who knew? Maybe this ramen shop owner's real surname was Ōtsutsuki. After all, every shinobi who hadn't eaten Ichiraku Ramen eventually ended up dead.
For that reason, Naruto treated every bowl of ramen like a pilgrimage.
The four kids looked uneasy, standing silently behind Naruto, sneaking glances at the menu on the wall. Konoha orphans technically received subsidies, but the level varied. These four clearly didn't have it good—the kind of lives where they barely managed to eat.
Even Ichiraku Ramen was far beyond their reach.
"I'll have the pork bone ramen," Naruto said. "And bring the same for my four friends here."
"Alright, please wait a moment." Teuchi smiled and headed into the kitchen.
Under the warm lights, the four orphans sat stiffly, waiting. Naruto yawned and struck up a lazy conversation."Ever had pork bone ramen before?"
The four shook their heads in unison.
"Well, from now on, you can eat it every day. Stop only when you're sick of it." Naruto spoke casually, as if it were nothing at all.
He didn't even know their names, nor did they offer them.
"That's impossible…" one of the kids murmured.
But it really was possible. Naruto had more money than he could spend, and nothing he cared to waste it on. He wasn't one to splurge on himself, and he had no reason not to spend it this way.
"You'll see," Naruto said. "Anyway, meet me at the same place tomorrow. There'll be more ice pops and ramen waiting."
"Got it, Boss!" The four answered in unison, faces shining with joy.
It was sheer boredom that drove Naruto to this—such meaningless, silly-seeming things. Until he finished his twenty D-rank missions, he couldn't even qualify for the Chūnin Exams.
If that was the case, he'd just have to kill time through a dull August and September.
Watching them devour the ramen happily, Naruto yawned again, appetite absent. When will these boring days end? The sooner the Chūnin Exams arrive, the better.
Night fell, and Naruto parted ways with the four.
That moment happened to be witnessed by Ino, finishing her own training. She frowned slightly, puzzled at why Naruto was hanging out with a bunch of kids.
But as she saw them go their separate ways, she shook her head and turned toward the Yamanaka Flower Shop. She didn't know how to face Naruto right now, and she didn't want to complicate things. Best to cool off for a while.
She hadn't gone far when a tall, white-haired old man brushed past her. Fishnet undershirt, red outer coat, forehead protector emblazoned with the kanji for "oil."
Since when did the village have someone like that?
Ino turned to look at him several times but didn't follow. With the upcoming Chūnin Exams, plenty of outsiders were visiting Konoha. Thinking of it that way, it wasn't so strange.
Naruto, from a distance, also spotted Jiraiya—but he deliberately avoided him, walking straight home.
Getting entangled with Jiraiya would only mean trouble. He had no interest in inheriting the so-called "Child of Prophecy" title. Honestly, how could anyone believe something a toad said?
He was already the so-called "God of Shinobi." Even if it was just a puppet persona, with his broadcast ability he could spread jokes and disrupt order all over Konoha.
The only condition was that no one could ever discover he was the one behind the "God of Shinobi" messages.
That night, Naruto fell asleep as usual.
At exactly midnight, his biological clock jolted him awake. He pulled up his system panel and released a new broadcast.
[August 17th — The Will of Fire is Shinobi World Trash.]
With that sent, he flopped back down to sleep.
The next morning, Konoha responded with a massive "Will of Fire" propaganda campaign. Ninja handed out pamphlets on every street, slogans plastered across walls.
Even Kakashi told Naruto to attend a supplemental "Will of Fire" class at the Academy on behalf of Sasuke and Sakura."That way you can help them cover the lectures."
"No way, I still have D-rank missions," Naruto grumbled.
"Oh, right, I almost forgot." Kakashi scratched his head from the windowsill. "Tell you what—use your Transformation Jutsu to take their places in class, and I'll cancel your D-rank missions."
"Deal."
"Oh, one more thing." Kakashi paused at the window before leaving. "Tomorrow, you three need to hand in your Chūnin Exam applications at the Academy. I already submitted your names."
"Got it."
With that, Kakashi disappeared.
"Ugh." Naruto dragged himself up, washed, and suddenly remembered his promise to the four kids. So he skipped class.
At the convenience store, five figures squatted in a row on the steps—Naruto and the four orphans—synchronizing their ice pop licks under the blazing sun.
"So, Boss, you don't have to pick up trash today?" one boy asked, sounding disappointed.
"Not today. I've got other things to do." Naruto swallowed the last of his ice pop, tossed the stick aside, and stood.
"Wait here. Around noon, we'll go eat barbecue together."
"Um…" The lone girl among them finally raised her head, messy hair shadowing her eyes. She stared at Naruto."Why are you being so nice to us?"
"No reason." Naruto glanced at them. "If I don't hang out with you, I don't know what else to do. So…"
"Just stay put and wait for me."
With that, Naruto walked off without looking back.
As his figure disappeared into the distance, one of the boys—the skinnier one—suddenly spoke. His voice cracked into the rough pitch of adolescence."Hey, Tayuya… isn't this Nine-Tails jinchūriki way too easy to fool?"
The girl named Tayuya shot him a glare."Shut up. Say one more word, and I'll kill you."