Chapter 24 The Encounter of Destiny
Uchiha Shin held Uzumaki Naruto's hand tightly as they ran toward Ichiraku Ramen.
There was nothing wrong, he thought, with showing a little strength if it could help him achieve his goals.
Even as he ran, Shin could feel the weight of a few eyes following him and Naruto from the shadows.
At first, Uchiha Shin had chosen to approach Naruto purely with the intent of drawing closer to the Nine-Tails sealed inside him. Yet when he saw the pitiful food Naruto had been trying to eat, his initial hypocrisy wavered and turned into something strangely genuine.
Naruto Uzumaki had been born on the very night of the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha, which meant he should be five years old now by the count of time.
Uchiha Shin wondered what kind of heart a child that age would need to live utterly alone—without parents, without friends, facing only the scornful eyes and whispered hatred of the villagers each day.
When Shin first laid eyes on Naruto, the boy's clothes were stained and ragged, clearly unwashed for days, and the food he gathered from the forest was nothing more than half-poisonous mushrooms.
Every child grows in stages, but Naruto—at five—looked even smaller than Shin's cousin Sasuke, who was of the same age. His shortness was not due to bloodline, but almost certainly from malnutrition.
The flicker of surprise in Naruto's eyes when Shin first reached out to him—and the buried anger under his innocent smile—were things that could not be faked.
That was why Shin decided to take him to Ichiraku Ramen.
He lifted the noren curtain of the familiar stall and led Naruto inside.
"Teuchi-ossan, two bowls of pork bone soup ramen!" Shin called out, guiding Naruto to a seat.
"Alright, coming right up…" Teuchi looked up from the counter—and froze.
"Naruto?" he asked in surprise.
"Heh-heh…" Naruto laughed awkwardly as soon as he sat down.
Teuchi shook his head with a soft sigh before turning back to his work.
But whispers began around them.
"Look, it's that demon fox."
"Eat quickly, hurry up—let's leave before he causes trouble."
"Can you believe it? Someone actually brought that demon brat here… and it's an Uchiha of all people. The clan must be the same as him."
The words hit Naruto's ears without mercy. His grin froze, and his expression stiffened.
"…Maybe I shouldn't eat ramen after all," Naruto muttered quietly. But his stomach betrayed him with a loud growl before he could finish.
Uchiha Shin felt a pang of pity for the boy's forced maturity. "Forget them. Just wait until the ramen is ready—you'll eat, and let them say what they want."
With a quiet breath, Shin's eyes flickered red—the tomoe of the Sharingan spiraling open.
The few villagers who had been watching suddenly stiffened in terror, as if seeing some invisible nightmare.
"Ah! No—don't come closer!"
"Stay away!"
They scrambled up, bowls clattering, and bolted out of Ichiraku without finishing their noodles.
"Teuchi-ossan," Shin said calmly, "if any of those fools haven't paid, I'll cover their bills." He slipped his wallet onto the counter with casual grace.
Those ignorant enough to taunt deserved a lesson—so with a genjutsu nudge, Shin had shown them their fears reflected back. His lips curved in a faint smile.
"Here you go," Teuchi said at last, placing two steaming bowls before them. "Naruto, yours has extra pork this time."
Naruto lowered his head, wiping his sleeve quickly across his eyes before leaning down and slurping noisily—shusu-shusu-shusu.
"Eat, eat," Shin said with a glance at him, lowering his head to his own bowl.
Meanwhile, out on the street—
"What the heck's going on? Why are people running like maniacs? They almost bumped into me…"
Sasuke, walking calmly through the crowd, frowned as several disheveled villagers rushed past him, clearly panicked.
"Tch. Just wait—when the police force hears about this, they'll catch those idiots. Random collisions on the street are forbidden."
But then Sasuke blinked, noticing a familiar silhouette at Ichiraku's entrance.
"Eh? Isn't that… Uchiha Shin?"
His brows furrowed. That guy had promised to be a 'friend,' but most of the time only tricked him—making Sasuke clean the training field or roughing him up in sparring without mercy.
"Just wait. I'll get stronger next year when I start at the Academy," Sasuke muttered to himself.
He thought of his older brother with pride. "You may have Brother Shisui to teach you… but I have my own brother. No matter how strong Shisui is, my Itachi-nii is stronger than anyone."
Still, Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he caught sight of Shin inside the stall. "Wait, who's that kid sitting with him? That short brat… I think I've seen him before…"
It wasn't the Hyūga girl with the pale eyes, nor the bushy-browed boy from training grounds.
"Who is he? Why does he feel so familiar?" Sasuke muttered, curiosity sparking as he began following them from a distance.
Back inside, Naruto glanced up nervously. "Um… why did you invite me to eat ramen?"
When they had finished, Shin led Naruto back toward the forest clearing where the mushrooms had been.
"Reason? No big reason," Shin replied casually. "I just thought you looked like someone worth treating to a meal."
"…That…"
"You're about to ask about the Nine-Tails, aren't you? I heard those villagers talking."
Naruto's face darkened immediately. In his memory, everyone who avoided him did so because of the demon fox sealed within him.
"I don't believe in that nonsense," Shin said flatly. "I only trust what I see. And what I saw was just a hungry kid who couldn't even eat enough to fill his stomach."
Then, with a thoughtful pause, he leaned in and continued probing Naruto's lonely life.
"Why don't you even have enough to eat, Naruto? Where are your parents?"
Uchiha Shin's voice was calm, but the weight behind it struck deeply.
Naruto lowered his head, his small fists clenched. "My parents also died during the Nine-Tails' attack on the village. But… nobody ever told me what kind of people they were."
Shin's expression softened. "I don't know who they were either. But I believe most parents in this world love their children more than anything. If yours were here, and they saw you like this—hungry, living alone, forced to eat mushrooms just to fill your stomach—they would be furious."
Somewhere else, in the quiet office of the Hokage Residence, the aged Third Hokage exhaled heavily, as though his heart carried the same weight.
"Even so," Shin continued, "you mustn't give up hope. Not for the village, but for yourself—and for the people you will one day come to care about. Speaking of which… I have never met my parents either." He said it lightly, almost like a passing thought.
Naruto blinked, startled. So he's the same as me? He's also like this?
The boy listened quietly, his blue eyes trembling at Shin's words.
"If you are alive but don't yet know the meaning of your existence," Shin went on, "then just keep walking forward. Eventually, you'll find your own goal. Maybe it'll be proving to your parents—wherever they are—that you're still alive. Or maybe it'll be finding people who become like family. Like today… meeting you."
Deep in the woods, Sasuke Uchiha followed behind them, his face twisted with displeasure.
Why are you coming here? Sneaking around in the forest like that…
The trees grew thinner, and from a distance Sasuke began to catch their voices. His eyes widened slightly when he heard it.
"Nine-Tailed Demon Fox…"
So it really is that orphan.
Shin hadn't expected anyone to be trailing him. If it had been a skilled ninja from ANBU—trained in concealment—he might not have noticed at all. But the chakra signature and the faint shuffle of feet gave it away clearly. Sasuke had followed them unknowingly.
I have to be more careful, Shin thought. I can't just focus on watching the Hokage's guards and ignore everything else.
"Sasuke," he called calmly, turning his head, "come out. I know it's you."
He was curious what kind of reaction these two children—the village's future—would have if they faced one another directly.
"Tch." Sasuke stepped from behind the tree, pretending indifference, his hands shoved into his pockets. "I was wondering what you were up to. So this is it? Spending time with the Nine-Tails' brat."
His tone was cold, but his eyes darted between Shin and Naruto with unspoken curiosity.
Shin narrowed his eyes slightly at Naruto Uzumaki.
Naruto's brows furrowed, his lips pressed together. He hated those words, hated that label that chained him to the night of the Nine-Tails' attack.