The meat was tender and fell apart, the sauce rich and sweet, mixing with chewy noodles and warm broth. It was good, so good he could not describe it. It was better than anything he had ever eaten before, by far.
"Naruto Uzumaki," Yunchuan Hyuga suddenly said, "this is not your fault."
Naruto Uzumaki froze and lowered his head. The satisfaction from the food mixed with long buried loneliness and the pain of being alone, along with the shock of being acknowledged. The emotions piled up until they finally broke through the dam he had held for so long.
pata… pata…
Large tears spilled out uncontrollably, falling into the golden broth and sending ripples across the surface. He buried his face in the rising steam and did not stop eating. With tears streaming down, he ate mouthful after mouthful with near Greed intensity.
Teuchi and Ayame exchanged a glance and quietly stepped away. Yunchuan Hyuga sat beside him and continued eating, saying nothing more and not looking at him. The shop grew quiet, filled only with the sound of slurping noodles.
Warm light from outside slanted in, casting a soft golden edge over the curtain marked Ichiraku Ramen and over the tall and small figures inside. In the end, Naruto Uzumaki finished every bite of the ramen and even drank the last drop of soup.
His belly was round and full, warmth spreading through his limbs and chasing away the cold and hunger. Yunchuan Hyuga turned to him and smiled. "Full?"
"Yes. Super full. Thank you, Yunchuan big brother." Naruto Uzumaki nodded hard, his voice louder and full of energy.
He even copied the drawn out tone from earlier, stretching the word when he said "super big bowl of Char Siu Rib Ramen," his smile bright and unhidden. Yunchuan Hyuga placed the money on the counter and led him out of Ichiraku Ramen, with the voices of Teuchi and Ayame calling for them to come again.
Naruto Uzumaki walked with lighter steps, the gloom gone from his blue eyes as he chatted nonstop. He praised Teuchi and Ayame, asked if Yunchuan was a Ninja and if he was as strong as the Hokage, and excitedly talked about how amazing he had been earlier. His questions jumped from one to another, full of a child's curiosity.
Yunchuan Hyuga listened patiently, answering when needed and explaining things in simple terms. Compared to the timid boy from before, and the heavy, extreme person he would become in the future, this was how Naruto Uzumaki originally was. Yunchuan Hyuga knew that later, as rumors spread, Hiruzen Sarutobi had done something, but it only turned hatred into cold indifference.
Growing up in that environment twisted Naruto Uzumaki more deeply than even Sasuke Uchiha of the Uchiha Clan. From childhood, just to be seen and known, he would become a clown and play pranks across the village. At least for now, he had not yet turned into that person.
Right now, he was still a blank page, able to be changed. Yunchuan Hyuga's kindness was not pure, but it did carry affection for a protagonist he once liked. Otherwise, the system would have judged his actions as lies. At least now, he could give Naruto Uzumaki one more possible path for the future.
The happy time was short. When the familiar apartment came into view, Naruto Uzumaki's smile slowly faded, like a candle going out in the wind, and his steps slowed. Yunchuan Hyuga stopped and looked down at him with a knowing smile.
"Go on. If there's a chance, we'll meet again."
"Then I'm going up. Goodbye, Yunchuan big brother." Naruto Uzumaki said softly as he went to the second floor, unlocked the door, and looked back down.
"Get some good rest," Yunchuan Hyuga said.
"Okay." Naruto Uzumaki waved hard, then reluctantly closed the door.
The door shut off the outside world, and shut off that figure as well. "I'm back," Naruto Uzumaki said quietly. There was no warm light, no smell of food, and no one answered.
Only deep, suffocating emptiness remained. He walked to his bed and threw himself onto it, drained of all strength. Lying on his back, he stared blankly at the ceiling, his blue eyes unfocused as he stared at the vague shapes above.
The room was terrifyingly quiet. He could clearly hear his own breathing and the beating of his heart. Why was he the only one alone, while others had parents, hot meals, and laughter?
As he raised his hand, wanting to feel that remaining warmth, he noticed a black diamond shaped mark on his palm. "When did this get here?" he murmured. When his other hand touched it, his vision suddenly went dark.
His consciousness seemed to be pulled away, and after an unknown time, he opened his eyes again. The cold room was gone, replaced by a damp, sewer like space with water around his ankles. In front of him stood a massive cage with bars that stretched beyond sight.
What kind of place was this?
Light streamed through the window, washing the office in the Hokage Building with a layer of golden red. The air carried a faint smell of tobacco mixed with ink and paper, and stacks of documents crowded most of the desk, adding a sense of pressure. A figure wearing an ANBU mask knelt on one knee before the desk, his face hidden, but the silver-white hair and those lifeless dead-fish eyes made his identity clear.
It was Kakashi Hatake. His report continued in a flat, official tone, as if reading a file unrelated to himself. Naruto Uzumaki showed no abnormal contact or special behavior, remained active in remote streets and at his residence, but his mood stayed low due to recent rumors, and his nutrition was below standard despite no clear health issues.
Seated behind the desk, Hiruzen Sarutobi listened in silence, his fingers slowly turning the pipe as embers flickered on and off. His brows drew together slightly as he spoke in a low voice. He asked if the rumors were about the Nine-Tails Fox.
The source of the rumors was unclear, and it was unknown whether someone spread them on purpose. Still, Hiruzen Sarutobi instinctively thought of Danzo Shimura. Yet Danzo Shimura was currently focused on the Uchiha Clan, and it was unlikely he would do something that he knew would anger him.
Was it simply the villagers acting on their own, Hiruzen Sarutobi wondered. At that moment, Kakashi Hatake paused, as if choosing his words carefully. He lifted his head slightly, his exposed eye looking toward Hiruzen Sarutobi, calm as ever but with a faint shift in tone.
That morning, Naruto Uzumaki collided by accident on the main road with a member of the Hyuga Branch Family, Yunchuan Hyuga. Hiruzen Sarutobi's fingers on the pipe paused for an instant, and a bit of ash fell soundlessly. Afterward, Yunchuan Hyuga took the initiative to speak with Naruto Uzumaki, discussing the villagers' rejection caused by Naruto Uzumaki's identity.
In a steady voice, Kakashi Hatake continued that Yunchuan Hyuga publicly refuted the rumors and brought Naruto Uzumaki to Ichiraku Ramen for a meal. They ate for about thirty minutes, and when finished, Yunchuan Hyuga personally escorted Naruto Uzumaki back to his residence. When the report ended, the office fell into brief silence, broken only by the soft hiss of burning tobacco.
After a moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly raised his eyes, meeting the single eye behind the mask through the drifting smoke. His voice was low and even, but it carried weight as he asked if Yunchuan Hyuga had contacted Naruto Uzumaki intentionally. Kakashi Hatake answered at once that it was not so.