Chapter 103 - 3

Chapter 3: Ichiraku Ramen, The Red-eyed Bully Trio"Hello! Welcome!"Uncle Teuchi looked up, his enthusiastic voice pausing slightly when he saw Naruto. "Oh, it's you, Naruto. It's been a while. What can I get for you today?"His tone was familiar, as if Naruto were just an ordinary regular.Almost simultaneously, several lines of text quietly appeared on Naruto's retina:[Special interaction object detected][Name: Ōtsutsuki Teuchi][Current Favorability: 50]Naruto was startled for a moment, then a faint smile appeared on his face as he whispered, "Long time no see, Uncle Teuchi!"Naruto's gaze quickly swept through the shop.Aside from Uncle Teuchi, there were only two or three scattered customers sitting in the corner, heads down as they ate their noodles. However, the moment he stepped into the shop and Uncle Teuchi greeted him, those customers stopped their movements almost simultaneously.The atmosphere suddenly froze in a subtle way.The original slurping sounds and the light clinking of bowls and chopsticks vanished.In their place was deliberately suppressed breathing and several undisguised, cold, and disgusted gazes that pricked Naruto like physical needles.They exchanged glances, their bodies unconsciously leaning back as if Naruto were carrying some deadly pathogen.Naruto gripped his few remaining bills, his fingers tightening slightly.He went silent for a moment, ignored those gazes, and walked straight to an empty high stool at the cooking counter, the one closest to the door."Please give me three orders of Tonkotsu Ramen to go."His voice wasn't loud, but it stood out exceptionally well in the suddenly quiet shop.After speaking, he sat down directly, his back held straight, his gaze falling on the large, steaming pot behind the counter, seemingly oblivious to the sudden change in atmosphere."Uh... alright, three Tonkotsu Ramens for takeout. Please wait a moment."The smile on Uncle Teuchi's face faded slightly, and his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.He shot a quick glance at the customers in the corner, then looked at Naruto's straight back. His hands didn't stop moving as he turned his head and whispered something to his daughter, Ayame, who was carefully arranging the Chashu and toppings beside him.Ayame was a girl with a neat ponytail and bright eyes. Upon hearing him, she immediately nodded, her movements becoming even faster.She lined up three extra-large food containers, not only filling them with plenty of noodles and rich broth but also adding several extra thick slices of Chashu, Soft-boiled eggs, a small handful of crisp Bamboo shoots, and Narutomaki, finally drizzling a spoonful of glistening secret aromatic oil over them...The dead silence in the shop continued.Those few customers had long lost their appetite for noodles; they simply stared silently at Naruto's back with eyes filled with a mixture of disgust, vigilance, and a hint of... schadenfreude? Occasionally, they would exchange glances.The only sounds remaining in the air were the bubbling of the soup pot and the rhythmic thumping of Uncle Teuchi chopping toppings.Naruto sat upright, seemingly in a daze, but in reality, his consciousness had sunk into his body as he attempted to mobilize his Chakra.Following the most basic method taught in class—sensing, refining, and guiding... the Chakra that had always been sluggish and difficult to control now felt slightly... smoother as it flowed, even though it was still massive and chaotic. Was this an effect of the change in his physique?Just as he was silently planning his next moves, a crisp, pleasant voice full of vitality interrupted his thoughts."Customer, thank you for waiting! Your takeout noodles are ready!"Along with the voice, three extra-large food containers, piled so high that the steam almost pushed the lids open, were somewhat laboriously lifted by Ayame with both hands. She walked around the counter and placed them steadily on the surface in front of Naruto.The containers were hot; after putting them down, she immediately pinched her earlobes and gave Naruto a big, clear smile, her eyes curving into crescents. "Today's broth is especially rich! Eat it while it's hot!"[Interaction object detected][Name: Ōtsutsuki Ayame][Current Favorability: 55]Naruto looked at the girl with the sincere smile before him, and the three servings of ramen that were clearly over-"loaded" to the point of nearly overflowing."Thank you."He said solemnly, his voice a bit softer than before. He reached out to take the containers, the heavy warmth transferring through the boxes to his palms.When it came time to pay, Uncle Teuchi only charged him for the regular portions, giving Narutoa subtle wink.Naruto picked up the containers, nodded to the owner and Ayame once more, turned around, lifted the Noren, and stepped out of the shop.The afterglow of the setting sun stretched his departing shadow long, merging it into the deepening twilight.Shortly after Naruto's figure disappeared around the street corner, the Noren of Ichiraku Ramen was lifted again.Three teenagers wearing dark blue short-sleeved outfits, with the red and white fan-shaped clan crest resembling a ping-pong paddle on their backs, walked out expressionlessly.Uchiha Shingen, the leader, looked in the direction Naruto had left, then glanced back into the steaming ramen shop, letting out a barely audible snort."Follow him."He uttered two words briefly.The two younger clan members behind him—Uchiha Hiko and Uchiha Kaoru—exchanged looks, their faces showing a mixture of eagerness and disdain as they quickly followed Shingen's lead.The three figures were like ghosts blending into the twilight, quietly trailing behind.The Noren fell back into place. Uncle Teuchi wiped his hands and walked out from behind the counter. Looking at the empty doorway and the quiet street in the distance, his brow furrowed deeply, a trace of worry flashing in his eyes.Naruto didn't go straight home; he deliberately chose a relatively secluded and circuitous path.The path led to the edge of an abandoned training ground, flanked by some dilapidated low houses and overgrown bushes. The last golden rays of the setting sun filtered through the sparse leaves, casting mottled and broken shadows on the ground.The surroundings were very quiet, with only the sound of his own footsteps and the rustling of the evening wind through the leaves.He walked to the middle of a relatively open alley with mottled brick walls on both sides and stopped.His senses, enhanced by the Heavenly Restriction, allowed him to feel it—that gaze like thorns on his back, a mixture of malice and scrutiny that had been trailing him ever since he left Ichiraku Ramen.He gently placed the food containers on a relatively clean stone by the wall, ensuring they were stable.Then, he slowly turned around to face the entrance of the alley.The setting sun dyed half of his body gold, while the other half was immersed in deep shadow.Naruto's voice echoed clearly in the empty alley, carrying a coldness and calm that didn't match his age:"Come out. What do you want, following me?"The light and shadow at the alley entrance flickered."Tch, you actually noticed? You dead-last, when did your sensory abilities improve?"Uchiha Kaoru was the first to lose his patience, jumping out from the corner with his arms crossed and a look of undisguised mockery on his face.Immediately after, Uchiha Hiko also stepped out, standing beside Kaoru without saying a word. He looked Naruto up and down with cold eyes, as if evaluating an object. His stance was more casual, yet he subtly blocked the exit on the other side of the alley.Finally, Uchiha Shingen walked out slowly.He stood a step behind the others, as if disdainful of facing Naruto directly. He simply crossed his arms and watched coldly, his gaze sweeping over Naruto and lingering on his unusually calm eyes, his brow twitching almost imperceptibly.