Teuchi stood behind the counter, watching Obito's face verge on tears, and couldn't help laughing.
"You don't have to pay."
Obito's hand froze in the middle of counting coins.
"What?"
"This meal is free." Teuchi wiped his hands. "I said it a long time ago. Shin-chan was my first customer, so his meals are on the house."
Shin-chan raised his head from his ramen bowl, a noodle still hanging from the corner of his mouth.
"You actually remember that?"
"Of course I do." Teuchi leaned against the counter. "That night, you ate a bowl of ramen and said, 'Delicious.' I'll never forget the expression on your face."
"What expression?" Guy leaned over curiously.
"It was like..." Teuchi thought for a moment, then pulled the corners of his mouth apart with his fingers. "Like 'the God of Ramen has descended into the mortal world.'"
"Oh, that one!" Guy suddenly understood. "Shin-chan always makes that face when he eats something really good."
"That was when I decided that one day, I'd open my own shop and make ramen good enough to put that expression on people's faces."
Shin-chan swallowed the noodles in his mouth.
"You're definitely going to become the greatest ramen chef in the ninja world."
"Why?"
"Because after eating your ramen, you feel really satisfied."
Teuchi froze for a moment.
"Uh... I'll go get you some extra noodles."
Obito silently put his wallet away, his expression flickering between I saved money and someone stole my moment.
"In that case, I want another bowl!" In the end, he chose the joy of saving money.
"Me too!" Guy raised his hand. "Another extra-large tonkotsu ramen!"
"Are you trying to eat this place into bankruptcy?" Rin sighed helplessly.
Kakashi put down his chopsticks. The bowl in front of him was already empty, though no one had noticed when he finished.
"Thanks for the meal."
He stood up.
"I'm going outside for some air."
"Kakashi, you always do this!" Obito pointed at his back. "You always run away right after eating! Are you trying to avoid paying?"
"I've already treated you."
"When?"
"Last time."
"What last time?"
Kakashi had already walked out of the shop, leaving only a gust of wind behind.
Obito angrily slapped his chopsticks onto the counter.
"That bastard!"
"Obito, put your chopsticks down gently," Rin reminded him softly.
"Oh, right. Sorry."
Obito immediately arranged them neatly.
Guy watched the scene thoughtfully, then spoke in the tone of someone who had just comprehended the ultimate truth of youth.
"Obito, you're especially gentle with Rin."
Obito's face instantly turned bright red.
"Wh-What are you talking about?! I treat everyone the same! I'm gentle with you too!"
Shin-chan watched them bicker as he finished the last mouthful of soup and let out a satisfied burp.
"I'm alive again." He patted his stomach. "I still don't have chocolate sticks, but with ramen and friends, I guess it doesn't feel quite so miserable anymore."
"You're really not sad anymore?" Guy stared at him.
"Mm. I think I've gone from 'I want to dig a hole in the ground and bury myself' to 'I can lie on the roof and read manga.'"
"Then you're sixty percent recovered!" Guy clenched his fist. "Let me fill the remaining forty percent with youth! We'll go to the training ground right now and do two-person handstand push-ups!"
"No."
"Then three-person handstand frog jumps?"
"No."
"Then—"
"Guy." Rin interrupted him with a smile. "Sometimes comforting someone doesn't mean you have to drag them off to exercise."
"Then what should you do?"
"Just stay with them." Rin looked at Shin-chan. "Right?"
Shin-chan nodded.
"Rin's right. Just sitting beside me and eating ramen is already enough."
Guy sat back down, grabbed a huge mouthful of noodles with his chopsticks, and stuffed it into his mouth.
"Then I'll eat another bowl."
"You're already on your third," Obito muttered.
"The appetite of youth has no limits!"
Teuchi came out from the kitchen carrying another steaming bowl of ramen and placed it in front of Guy.
Then he turned to Shin-chan.
"Oh, right, Shin-chan. I have something for you."
"What?"
Teuchi took a small paper bag from his apron pocket and placed it on the counter.
Shin-chan opened it.
Inside were several chocolate sticks.
"These are..." Shin-chan's eyes widened instantly.
"I made them myself." Teuchi scratched his head. "They're not allowed to supply you with chocolate sticks, right? But if they're handmade by a friend, that shouldn't break the rules."
Shin-chan stared down at the chocolate sticks in the bag, his voice suddenly becoming extremely solemn.
"You're definitely going to become the God of Ramen someday."
"What's the God of Ramen?"
"A god." Shin-chan spoke with complete seriousness. "The god of ramen, the god of chocolate sticks, the god of dango—the god of everything delicious."
"That title is way too exaggerated." Teuchi laughed until his eyes narrowed into slits.
"It isn't exaggerated."
Shin-chan carefully placed the paper bag into his ninja tool pouch.
"When I become Hokage, the first thing I'm doing is opening an Ichiraku Ramen branch right beside the Hokage's office."
"You can't open a shop beside the Hokage's office, can you?"
"Then I'll change the rules." Shin-chan raised one finger. "Hokage Regulation Number One: There must be a ramen shop beside the Hokage's office."
"What about the original Regulation Number One?"
"What was the original one?"
"Something like, 'The Hokage must devote himself to protecting the village'..."
"Then that becomes Number Two." Shin-chan answered without hesitation. "Ramen is more important."
Everyone burst out laughing.
Even Kakashi, who had walked to the entrance for some fresh air, showed the faintest movement at the corner of his mouth.
Sunlight streamed through the windows of Ichiraku Ramen, shining across several steaming bowls of noodles and the noisy group of young ninja gathered around them.
Shin-chan felt the chocolate sticks inside his ninja tool pouch, then patted his round stomach.
Three months without an official chocolate-stick supply suddenly didn't seem quite so terrifying.
After all, he had a ramen shop where he could eat for free.
He had a ramen chef willing to learn how to make chocolate sticks just for him.
He had a thick-browed best friend willing to write an entire "Chocolate Stick Replacement Plan."
He had a medical-ninja friend who would make chocolate sticks by hand.
He had a silver-haired jōnin who refused to admit anything but always quietly stayed beside them.
And he had Uchiha Obito, who kept saying, "Like I'd ever prepare anything for that guy," while actually being willing to empty his entire wallet to treat everyone.
Shin-chan leaned back against his chair, and the corners of his mouth slowly curved upward.
"I'm coming back tomorrow."
"Sure."
"And the day after tomorrow."
"Sure."
"And the day after that..."
"You can come every day if you want." Teuchi smiled. "You'll always be my first customer."
Shin-chan nodded, wearing a thoroughly satisfied smile.
Then he let out a loud burp.
He rubbed his stomach.
"That's the greatest sign of respect for a ramen chef."
"Exactly!" Guy immediately followed with an even louder burp. "This is youth's response to delicious food!"
Obito was just about to open his mouth when Rin happened to look at him.
He forcibly swallowed the burp back down.
"Obito, why aren't you burping?"
"I... I'm full."
Obito covered his mouth, his face turning bright red.
~~~
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