"It's alright, boss."
Boruto sat down at the counter, trying to make his tone sound like ordinary curiosity.
"But from what you're saying, that person named 'Naruto' looks a lot like me?"
"Yeah, Naruto... Oh, I've gotten so used to calling him that."
Uncle Teuchi responded with a smile while skillfully preparing the ingredients.
"I should call him Lord Naruto now."
"That's right, you really do look a bit like him around the eyes and brows, especially the hair and eye color."
"Hmm, though he should be a bit taller than you, and his frame looks a bit sturdier."
He gestured with his hands, "And his hairstyle is different from yours. For a while, he didn't really take care of his hair. Around the age of nine, he slowly grew it out quite long. Later he cut it a bit, but it was still medium-length."
Teuchi enthusiastically pointed to the wooden plaques on the wall filled with dish names: "Order whatever you like, guest! Our ingredients here are very fresh!"
Boruto ordered a classic Tonkotsu Ramen and a bottle of the Glass-bottled soda common in this era.
Seeing him order so decisively, Uncle Teuchi seemed even happier and became more talkative. While boiling the noodles, he seemed to open up and naturally started chatting about Naruto again.
"Actually, I knew a long time ago that Naruto was the orphan of the Fourth Hokage-sama."
Teuchi's voice lowered slightly, carrying the sentiment of recounting the past.
"Back then, the Fourth Hokage-sama, Minato Namikaze, and his wife Uzumaki Kushina frequently visited my small shop."
"They really liked the taste here, and sometimes they'd come with Lord Jiraiya."
His gaze became distant, as if returning to that time.
"I remember once, they were sitting right where you are now, eating noodles while laughing and discussing what would be a good name for their child... The name Naruto was decided back then."
"Lord Jiraiya even joked that the name was chosen from the protagonist of his novel, and that he would surely become a great person in the future."
Teuchi ladled the cooked ramen into a bowl and poured the rich broth over it with fluid movements: "So, from the first time Naruto came to my shop alone, I recognized him."
"Those eyes were too similar to Lord Minato's, and that dazzling blond hair... I knew at a glance that he was the Fourth Hokage's son."
Boruto listened quietly, his heart surging with emotions.
This was the first time he had heard such a direct account of his grandparents' and father's past from a bystander.
He took the opportunity to ask one of the biggest questions on his mind: "Boss, hearing you say that... did no one else in the Village know he was the Fourth Hokage's son before?"
Teuchi placed the steaming ramen in front of Boruto and handed him the soda, not finding Boruto's question strange.
"You're from another Village, aren't you? It's normal not to know these things."
He sighed, wiped his hands with a towel, leaned against the counter, and his tone became complex.
"Yeah... for a long time, the vast majority of people in the Village didn't know Naruto's true identity. Even..."
He paused for a moment, seemingly weighing his words.
"Even some unfavorable rumors were circulating about him."
"I don't know where they came from, but they said he was the 'Incarnation of the Demon Fox' that brought disaster and such."
Teuchi's brow furrowed, clearly disapproving of this. "Because of those baseless rumors, that child Naruto... had a hard time growing up, suffering a lot of isolation and exclusion."
"The way many adults in the Village looked at him wasn't right, and children were warned by their parents not to go near him."
Boruto's hand holding the chopsticks tightened.
This was the first time he had heard about his father's past in detail. Although Mr. Sasuke had told him some things, hearing it from Teuchi felt very different from Sasuke's brief version.
It was an emotion mixed with heartache and anger.
"But!"
Teuchi's tone became light again, filled with heartfelt relief.
"That kid Naruto is truly an amazing person!"
"He was never defeated by that malice; instead, he was always so positive."
On the street outside, three children ran past noisily.
When Boruto turned around, he could only barely see two with black hair and one with orange hair.
The moment Teuchi saw those three children, he mentioned another person.
"Lord Sandaime was also very good to Naruto. Don't look at how thin and small Lord Sandaime is; he has a big heart and a high Realm."
"He debunked the rumors just a couple of days after they started spreading, and he took great care of Naruto."
A smile appeared on his face, but Boruto felt it wasn't a truly sincere smile.
"Since joining the Ninja Academy, under Sandaime's guidance, Naruto seemed to find his direction all at once and became much more cheerful."
"He quickly made friends at school and often brought them here to eat!"
"I noticed that quite a few young girls in the Village seemed to like him quite a bit."
"Several times, I saw girls secretly following him or pretending to run into him by chance!"
Eh?
The noodles Boruto had picked up almost fell back into the bowl.
He blinked, unable to believe his ears.
So... his idiot dad's bragging wasn't all just talk?
In his impression, his father was a workaholic, a ramen addict, and sometimes an unreliable, flaky dad.
As for his dad's own bragging about how impressive he was in his youth, he had always thought it was just a middle-aged man's bored exaggerations.
But now, it was being said in such a natural tone by Teuchi, an elder who had witnessed his father's growth.
Combined with what his mom said about her being the one who pursued his dad, the credibility of this information suddenly soared.
To be able to make people who once hated and isolated him because of rumors gradually change their views and even develop feelings for him... his dad really seemed to have had a way with things when he was young!
Boruto's perception of his father was slightly refreshed, with a touch of novelty and a subtle sense of pride.
His curiosity was piqued, and Boruto couldn't help but lower his voice, asking with the excitement of someone digging for Gossip: "So, boss, those young girls who liked him... who were they? I'm just asking casually, out of curiosity."
Hearing this, an "I understand" smile appeared on Teuchi's face.
He first habitually looked left and right.
Although Boruto was the only customer in the shop at the moment, when talking about Gossip, one had to be careful to get the right atmosphere.
Then, he cautiously leaned closer to Boruto and whispered with his hand half-covering his mouth:
"There were quite a lot, guest! I'm only telling you because you look friendly; I definitely wouldn't tell anyone else."
"Although it was all just the innocent feelings of children, I've been running this shop for so many years, I have a bit of an eye for people."
He counted on his fingers, listing them off one by one:
"There were quite a few. First, of course, was the Young Miss of the Hyuga Clan, Hinata."
"That child was exceptionally shy. Every time she spoke to Naruto, her face would turn red all the way to her neck. Sometimes, seeing Naruto from afar, she'd get so flustered she couldn't even walk."
"Her feelings for Naruto could be seen by anyone who paid even a little attention."
Boruto nodded; he naturally knew this, as that was his mother.
He had also once asked his mother why she married his father, and the answer he got was that she had been the one to actively pursue him.
Corroborating each other, it made perfect sense.