Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi and Tobirama Senju were researching the Personality Sealing Technique, inside Ichiraku Ramen, a beaming Naruto Uzumaki sat across from an equally excited Iruka Umino.
"Naruto, to celebrate clearing your name and getting rid of those nasty rumors about you being a calamity, eat whatever you want! It's all on me!" Iruka declared.
Although four days had passed since the truth about Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Konoha elders had been exposed, the village-wide announcement of Naruto's status as the Fourth Hokage's son had only just been made official today.
After all, this whole situation was a massive scandal that couldn't be dumped on the villagers all at once. Hiruzen had to carefully consider how to phrase it to minimize the negative impact on the Hokage's reputation.
If Tobirama and Hashirama were still alive, they would have just apologized directly to the person involved, offered some compensation, and quietly informed the clans and Elite Jōnin. Unfortunately, they were dead, and their strength couldn't compare to Naruto's current power. They couldn't suppress the news to protect the Hokage's image, so they had to come up with a plausible excuse and issue a formal notice.
"Hahaha, Iruka, you can't treat us today!" Teuchi boomed, holding up a massive soup ladle with a grin of pure relief and joy. "Because we're also celebrating Naruto's birthday! We're not charging anyone a single ryō!"
"Ayame and I saw that notice in the paper this morning. We never imagined you were the Fourth Hokage's son!" Teuchi continued. "No wonder you looked so familiar the moment I first saw you! The Fourth Hokage and Kushina used to eat here all the time, hahaha..."
Teuchi and Ayame were overjoyed. They'd watched Naruto grow up from a scrawny kid. They knew exactly how miserable his life had been back then. The villagers' malice was suffocating and terrifying. Despite feeling pity and heartache for him, there was nothing they could do to change anyone's mind. All they could offer was a bowl of ramen and a few words of comfort when he looked down.
"Hehehe..." Naruto chuckled sheepishly as he listened to these kind people. But as he laughed, his eyes welled up. He lowered his head, wiping his face with the back of his hand, trying to hold back the tears. But the more he wiped, the more they spilled, dripping down his cheeks and onto the counter.
"Naruto..." Seeing him suddenly burst into tears, Iruka froze for a moment. Then he quickly grabbed some napkins and helped wipe the boy's face. He understood perfectly how Naruto felt—a release of long-suppressed, bittersweet emotions.
Honestly, if it weren't for Hiruzen Sarutobi's order to look after Naruto, which forced him to get close to the boy, he might have misunderstood and kept his distance, just like everyone else. Still, thinking about Menma lurking inside Naruto, Iruka couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
"I'm fine, Iruka," Naruto said, taking the napkin to wipe the snot bubbling from his nose. "I'm just... really happy, believe it!"
Teuchi, standing beside Iruka, nodded in agreement. "That's right, just cry it out! Emotions gotta come out! Take Ayame, for example. I don't even dare raise my voice at her, afraid she'll burst into tears at the slightest thing, saying her mom died young and her dad doesn't love her—"
"Dad!" Ayame's sharp voice cut him off. She peeked out from behind the kitchen curtain, her face flushed red. "Don't talk nonsense! I never said that! And Naruto's the star today, so don't drag me into this!"
Teuchi laughed heartily, completely unfazed. "Hahaha, okay, okay! Or my daughter really will start crying again!"
"Ugh, I'm never talking to you again!" Seeing Teuchi keep going, Ayame turned away with a pout. She decided she'd burn some incense and complain to her mom about him after closing up shop tonight.
At the same time, she walked quickly over to Naruto, staring intently at his face.
"So alike! Your eyebrows and eyes are exactly like Kushina Uzumaki's! I never noticed before!" she exclaimed. "No wonder you looked so familiar and dear to me the first time you came in here!"
When Ayame was little, she was super close to the young Kushina. Every time Kushina went for walks, Ayame would run out of the shop just to listen to her stories. When Kushina was pregnant with Naruto, Ayame even pressed her ear to Kushina's belly to listen to him kicking!
Thinking back now, she and her dad always treated Naruto a little differently. It was probably because they saw Kushina's shadow in him.
"Mom's name... was Kushina Uzumaki?" Naruto asked softly, his tears finally slowing. He instinctively rubbed his face against the scarf around his neck.
"That's right!" Ayame nodded excitedly. "A super beautiful redhead! Standing next to the handsome Fourth Hokage, they were a perfect match! And you, Naruto, you've inherited their good looks too. You've grown into a handsome young man!"
Ayame vaguely remembered Naruto just three months ago, right after he got his genin headband. His face had been sallow and malnourished, his hair a mess, his clothes outdated, and he wore those huge goggles. He wasn't ugly, but he wasn't exactly handsome either.
Now, Naruto's skin was fair and rosy, his hair neatly combed, and his clothes were well-coordinated. He wasn't breathtakingly handsome, but he was definitely a good-looking young man everyone in the area knew.
Hearing Ayame's words, Naruto's nose tingled again, but he fought back the urge to cry. Today was a happy day; crying constantly wouldn't do. But he still needed to vent his emotions, so he slammed his head against the counter, imitating Hashirama's dramatic style.
"Iruka, Teuchi-san, Ayame-nee, thank you, believe it!" he shouted.
At the same time, Naruto mentally shouted his thanks to Menma. After all, everything that had improved only happened after Menma appeared.
Menma didn't respond to Naruto's thanks, instead glancing at the progress bar in the System Panel. Still stuck at 79%. Completely unmoved.
After thanking them and calming down considerably, Naruto raised his slightly flushed forehead. Then, he reached into his bulging frog-shaped wallet and slammed it onto the counter.
"No need for you to treat me, Iruka! I've got money now, lots of it! I'm treating everyone today, believe it!" Naruto declared. "Uncle Teuchi, give us the most, most, most luxurious ramen you've got!"
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