Shin-chan was still completely dejected.
He lay sprawled on the roof of his house with a blade of grass in his mouth, freshly pulled from the backyard.
It tasted horribly bitter.
"This isn't fit for humans to eat."
He spat the grass out.
"Today is only the first day. There are still eighty-nine days left. How many hours is eighty-nine days? How many minutes? How many meals without chocolate sticks?"
He couldn't calculate it.
But just thinking about it made him feel as though a piece of his stomach were missing.
Just then, hurried footsteps came from the entrance to the alley.
Teuchi came running over in a white chef's uniform, holding a red invitation above his head.
"F-Finally found you!" Teuchi bent over with his hands on his knees, panting for quite a while. "I asked so many people, and everyone said you were on the roof..."
Shin-chan poked his head over the edge.
"Why are you here?"
"I came to give you this." Teuchi held the invitation high. "My ramen shop opens tomorrow!"
Shin-chan's eyes lit up for an instant, then dimmed again.
"Congratulations. But I can't eat ramen right now."
"Huh? Why?"
"Because I got punished." Shin-chan jumped down from the roof. "No chocolate sticks for three months."
"But... ramen isn't a chocolate stick."
Shin-chan froze.
Then he suddenly sprang upright, the light returning to his eyes.
"That's right! Ramen isn't a chocolate stick! Grandpa Third only banned chocolate sticks. He never said anything about ramen!"
"So can you come tomorrow?"
"Yes! Of course I can!"
Shin-chan snatched the invitation and opened it.
Teuchi scratched his head, looking slightly embarrassed.
"If you hadn't said those things to me seven years ago, I probably would've given up on making ramen a long time ago."
"What did I say?" Shin-chan scratched his head.
He had long since forgotten what he had said seven years ago.
All he remembered was eating a really delicious bowl of ramen.
"You said that eating something delicious makes people happy." Teuchi smiled. "I always remembered that. Later, when I studied different ways to make ramen, I kept thinking about how I wanted to create ramen that could make people forget their troubles after eating it."
...
Early the next morning, the sign for Ichiraku Ramen had not even been properly hung up yet, but a group of people was already gathered outside.
Shin-chan, Guy, Obito, Rin, and Kakashi.
Teuchi stood at the entrance wearing a brand-new white apron.
"Welcome to Ichiraku Ramen!"
Shin-chan was the first to rush inside and claim the best seat at the counter.
Before long, a steaming bowl of tonkotsu ramen sat in front of him.
"Thanks for the food."
Shin-chan pressed his palms together, picked up a huge mouthful of noodles, and slurped them down together with the broth.
"I'm alive again!"
Shin-chan threw his head back and howled.
"I still don't have chocolate sticks, but as long as I have this, I'll survive!"
Standing behind the counter, Teuchi watched Shin-chan's expression, which looked as though his soul had finally returned to his body, and couldn't suppress his smile.
Guy sat beside Shin-chan, but for once, he did not immediately bury his face in his food.
"Shin-chan, I know you're suffering right now."
"Mm?" Shin-chan looked at him with his mouth full of noodles.
"Chocolate sticks are an important part of your youth. Losing them is like the Blue Beast losing his green jumpsuit."
"Wait. When did I become the Blue Beast?" Obito interrupted.
"I was talking about myself," Guy replied. "Anyway, as your best friend, I cannot stand by and watch you suffer."
He rose from his seat and struck a textbook pose of youth.
"Starting today, I will use the power of my youth to fill the chocolate-stick-shaped hole in your heart!"
"No."
Shin-chan rejected him instantly.
"Then let us dispel your sorrow with two-person handstand push-ups!"
"No."
"Then three-person handstand frog jumps?"
"Why does everything involve handstands?"
Guy clenched his fist, blazing flames burning in his eyes.
"Then I have no choice but to use the final plan."
He pulled out a scroll and dramatically unfurled it.
Written across the top in large characters was:
Nohara Shinnosuke Exclusive — Chocolate Stick Replacement Program — Youth Completion Plan
"When did you write this?" Obito leaned over to look.
"All night yesterday." Guy's tone was extremely serious. "I thought of many ways to substitute chocolate sticks with youthful energy. The first is waking up early every morning and doing five hundred push-ups..."
"Your very first plan is already wrong." Shin-chan pointed at the first line of the scroll. "How can push-ups replace chocolate sticks? Push-ups are bitter. Chocolate sticks are sweet."
"Youth does not require sweetness! Youth itself possesses the purest flavor of burning passion!"
"Can you eat it?"
Guy froze.
"You can't eat youth, right?" Shin-chan pushed his extra-large bowl of ramen toward Guy. "But you can eat ramen."
Guy lowered his head and stared at the bowl.
"This, too, is the flavor of youthful friendship!!!"
"That's the flavor of tonkotsu broth," Obito muttered quietly from the side.
Rin took out a small cloth pouch.
"Shin-chan, this is for you."
Shin-chan opened it.
Inside were three chocolate sticks.
"I made them myself." Rin smiled somewhat shyly. "They definitely won't taste as good as the ones from the sweets shop, but... I heard your chocolate sticks had been banned, so I wanted to do something."
"Rin..." Obito stared at her with wide eyes. "When did you learn how to make chocolate sticks?"
"Last night. It took me three tries before I got them right. The first two times, I couldn't control the chocolate's temperature properly."
Shin-chan lowered his head and looked at the three chocolate sticks in his hands.
Then he looked up.
"Rin, you're definitely going to become the greatest medical ninja someday."
"Why?"
"Because if you can even make chocolate sticks, what kind of injury could possibly be too difficult for you to heal?"
Rin froze for a moment, then burst out laughing.
"What kind of logic is that?"
"Nohara Style Logic."
Shin-chan carefully placed the chocolate sticks inside his ninja tool pouch.
"Grandpa Third banned chocolate sticks that are 'purchased or supplied.' He never said anything about chocolate sticks handmade by friends."
"Are you going to eat them now?"
"No." Shin-chan shook his head. "I'm saving them for when they really matter."
Obito had remained unusually quiet beside them, looking as though he was building up to something.
Suddenly, he shot to his feet and slammed one hand against the counter.
"I can't take this anymore!"
Everyone jumped at the sudden noise.
"Every single one of you prepared something! Guy made a whole plan, Rin made chocolate sticks, and I'm the only one who didn't prepare anything! Doesn't that make me look like a terrible friend?!"
"You really didn't prepare anything," Kakashi said flatly.
"Kakashi, stop making it worse!" Obito's face turned bright red. "Shin-chan, just wait! I'm going to give you something even better than chocolate sticks!"
"What?"
"Uchiha Obito's Exclusive First Treat After Graduation!"
Obito gritted his teeth and pulled out his wallet.
"Today's meal is on me!"
"Then I'll have another large tonkotsu ramen."
Obito looked down at his wallet.
Sweat immediately began forming on his forehead.