On the bustling shopping street, Hatake Sakumo, Hattori Hanzō, and Tsunade accompanied Akemi and Asuna, while Satomi, as their guardian, followed behind them, smiling as she watched her daughters enjoy themselves with her husband's students.
Although the shopping street in Konoha Ninja Village was usually lively, the Chunin Exams, jointly hosted by the five great nations, had clearly given it an extra boost.
Akemi and Asuna were completely captivated, and even Hatake Sakumo and the others were amazed by the recent prosperity of the shopping street.
Besides restaurants, the most successful businesses on the shopping street were those selling entertainment games.
These items were sold by Fumori Masaki in collaboration with various merchants.
For the ninja world, which severely lacked entertainment, Fumori Masaki's ordinary games were enough to generate substantial profits.
For Akemi and Asuna, these were things they had played since childhood, so while they didn't hold the same immense appeal, playing them with others was still quite enjoyable.
As they walked, Hatake Sakumo and the others felt hungry, so Tsunade asked Satomi if she wanted to go to a restaurant to eat something.
Satomi nodded in agreement, and the group immediately began to look for a suitable establishment.
Soon, they settled on a target—a ramen shop.
It wasn't because the ramen shop was particularly popular, or because the aroma emanating from it was especially fragrant, but rather its intriguing sign, which read, "The Ramen Shop You'll Never Forget."
The name was straightforward and made people curious about what the ramen tasted like.
Pushing aside the fabric curtain and entering, a middle-aged man behind the long counter enthusiastically said, "Welcome! Please find a seat anywhere."
The group looked around the shop; it wasn't overly crowded, nor was it empty, just average.
This seemed somewhat inconsistent with the grand statement on the sign, but judging by the customers' expressions, they didn't seem to be disappointed.
Since they were already inside, they sat down at a table.
"Welcome, customers! What kind of ramen would you like?" The middle-aged man wiped his brow and asked with a smile.
"We don't know much about ramen, so please bring us one serving each of your specialty ramen," Satomi said.
"Oh, and for these two children, please give them a smaller portion; they can't eat that much."
The middle-aged man glanced at Akemi and Asuna and chuckled, "Girls, indeed, should get smaller portions. Our ramen servings are quite generous."
"We can tell," Hatake Sakumo said, looking at the nearby customers; the size of the bowls alone indicated how much ramen was inside.
While waiting for their ramen, the group chatted idly.
After a while, they heard a voice at the entrance: "Oh, unfamiliar food! Let's eat here."
Immediately, the fabric curtain was pulled open, and three people entered: two men and one woman.
One boy and one girl had fair skin, while the remaining boy had brown skin.
This skin tone was clearly not from the Land of Fire; people with such complexions were often seen in the Land of Lightning.
In fact, there was no need to judge by skin color; the headbands on their foreheads already proved they were all ninjas from the Hidden Cloud Village.
These three Hidden Cloud ninjas were slightly startled when they saw Hatake Sakumo and the others, but their expressions quickly returned to normal.
After all, they were in Konoha Ninja Village, so seeing Konoha ninjas was nothing surprising.
They also seemed to have no interest in striking up a conversation with Hatake Sakumo and the others.
They sat down at three seats on the other side and then ordered from the shop owner.
The owner, while taking their orders, continued his work with broad, sweeping movements, conveying a sense of power that made the brown-skinned boy among the Hidden Cloud ninjas feel an urge to applaud.
"Thank you for waiting!" The shop owner's voice was loud, followed by the sound of bowls being placed on the table.
The heavy sound conveyed the weight of the portions; just as the owner had said, their ramen servings were very generous.
"Akemi, Asuna, if you can't finish it, don't force yourselves.
Eating too much isn't good for your health," Satomi said, looking at the ramen given to her daughters.
Even though it was nearly half the regular size, she still felt it was a bit much.
"Okay," Akemi and Asuna obediently replied.
Then, the group began to taste the ramen.
After one bite, they couldn't help but frown slightly.
It wasn't that it wasn't delicious; the taste was indeed good, the ingredients and the soup were excellent, and the noodles were firm.
However, it didn't make them feel like it was "the ramen you'll never forget," creating a slight psychological discrepancy.
"Boss, is this the ramen you'll never forget?" Tsunade lightly tapped her bowl with her chopsticks and asked.
"Yes," the shop owner seemed to understand their thoughts and gave a hearty laugh.
"It might not be what you imagined, I know that.
The ramen now hasn't reached that level yet.
However, I've always been working towards that goal, hoping to truly create ramen that people will never forget."
"I see," Tsunade nodded in sudden understanding.
"When I can truly make that kind of ramen, I won't use such a common name anymore.
I've already thought of what name to use," the middle-aged man said with great ambition, "The name will be Ichiraku!"
"Then I wish the owner good luck in making ramen that people will never forget soon," Hatake Sakumo smiled gently, then lowered his head and began to eat his noodles.
The Hidden Cloud ninjas on the other side heard their conversation and couldn't help but whisper among themselves.
Ramen, a food not found in the Land of Lightning, made them curious about its taste.
They didn't have to wait long before the shop owner served their ramen.
"Delicious!" The brown-skinned boy took a bite, his eyes instantly lighting up.
"If something this delicious isn't considered unforgettable, I can't imagine what that taste would be like."
"It must be an unimaginable delicacy," the Hidden Cloud girl said.
"I really look forward to that day, owner.
When will you be able to make that kind of ramen?" the brown-skinned boy asked.
"That's hard to say.
Ramen is a craft that requires a lot of dedication.
From choosing ingredients, to figuring out how to make a delicious broth, and selecting the right noodles..." The shop owner spoke effusively, showing that he was truly passionate about ramen, otherwise he wouldn't be so engrossed.
Curious about ramen, a food not found in the Land of Lightning, the Hidden Cloud ninjas listened attentively to the shop owner's explanation.
Hatake Sakumo and the others, seeing this, felt that the Hidden Cloud ninjas were more ordinary than they had imagined.
So, their attention shifted away from the Hidden Cloud ninjas and turned to their own matters.
"Teacher Fumori Masaki is really busy now; I can't see him all day," Tsunade said while picking up ramen with her chopsticks.
"He's a supervisor, after all.
For Teacher Fumori Masaki, this is also a good thing," Hatake Sakumo had heard from his father what this represented, so he was very happy for Fumori Masaki.
The brown-skinned boy, who was listening to the shop owner describe the hardships of ramen research, suddenly heard the Konoha ninjas mention a familiar name, calling him "Teacher Fumori Masaki."
The name Fumori Masaki was not common in ninja families, and they had just recently heard of someone named Fumori Masaki.
"The Teacher Fumori Masaki you're talking about, you wouldn't happen to mean Fumori Masaki, would you?" The brown-skinned boy turned sideways and asked.
"Yes.
Why do you know Teacher Fumori Masaki?" Hatake Sakumo couldn't help but ask curiously.
The brown-skinned boy's next words made Hatake Sakumo's scalp tingle.
He said, "I just know a little.
Your teacher seems to have some close ties with our teacher."