At Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto was having his first meal there since transmigrating into this world.
In his previous life, Yiming hadn’t been particularly fond of ramen.
Compared to noodles, he much preferred barbecue.
Unfortunately, his pockets had always been rather empty, so even ramen wasn’t something he could afford very often.
“Uncle Teuchi, give me a bowl of ramen. Hmm… just add some chāshū.”
He had originally wanted to order a bowl loaded with toppings, but after looking at Ichiraku’s prices and then at the money in his pocket, he decided to stick with the most basic option.
“Coming right up!”
“One bowl of chāshū ramen!”
Before long, a bowl piled high with chāshū was placed in front of Naruto.
“This… Does chāshū ramen normally come with this much meat?” Naruto asked in surprise.
He felt like the price he’d paid for the ramen wouldn’t even cover the chāshū in his bowl.
“Today’s a special promotion! Order chāshū ramen and get an extra-large serving of chāshū for free!” Teuchi said with a smile.
Naruto stirred the noodles around a few times and discovered there was even seafood hidden underneath.
A faint warmth rose in his heart.
No wonder Naruto had always loved the ramen here.
It wasn’t because the ramen was so delicious that he could never get tired of it.
It was because this place held his memories—the rare moments of warmth he had experienced during his lonely childhood.
Personal memories really could make food taste better!
Of course, that only worked if the food was delicious to begin with.
“Thanks, Uncle Teuchi.”
After thanking him, Naruto quickly finished the bowl.
Truthfully, whether in terms of flavor or portion size, this was the best bowl of noodles Naruto had ever eaten.
After returning to his small apartment, he found it cluttered but not particularly dirty, nor was there any unpleasant smell.
Naruto lay down on his bed.
As memories from before his transmigration drifted through his mind, he gradually fell asleep.
Early the next morning, Naruto arrived at the academy just in time for class.
The classroom was as lively as ever, with everyone fooling around and the girls competing for Sasuke’s attention.
It seemed they wouldn’t settle down until the teacher arrived.
Naruto yawned and walked toward his seat, looking as though he still hadn’t fully woken up.
His seat was directly in front of Sasuke’s, while the students around him were all basically background characters.
The boys he’d beaten up yesterday sat near the middle of the classroom.
Every one of them was bruised and swollen, and whenever they looked at Uzumaki Naruto, their eyes were filled with wariness.
Before long, Iruka arrived.
The classroom immediately quieted down.
“Another perfect day for a nap,” Naruto thought.
Just as he was about to put his head down and temporarily depart from the mortal world, Iruka suddenly called his name.
“Uzumaki Naruto, Nobi Ichi… all of you, come to the front.”
Iruka called out several names in a row.
Aside from Naruto, every one of them belonged to the students he’d beaten yesterday.
The rest of the class watched them walk to the front, unsure of what was happening.
Still, most of them were eager to see some drama.
After all, none of the students being called up were particularly well liked.
Naruto was someone the adults had repeatedly warned them not to associate with, while the other boys had a habit of bullying their classmates.
No matter who got scolded, the rest of the class wouldn’t care.
Shikamaru Nara thought, “Looks like Naruto has completely offended those guys this time.”
He assumed Naruto had been the one to report them.
Chōji secretly munched on some chips.
“I’m more curious about who beat them up like that.”
Hinata watched Naruto with worry in her eyes.
She wondered whether she should ask one of her family’s guards to teach the people bullying Naruto a lesson.
But she didn’t dare.
If her father found out that she had helped Uzumaki Naruto, she would definitely be reprimanded.
“I’ve learned that Nobi and the others have been repeatedly bullying Uzumaki Naruto,” Iruka announced.
“I will absolutely not tolerate that kind of behavior in my class!”
“Nobi and the others will each receive a formal warning. If this happens again, you will be expelled from the academy!”
The students were shocked.
Those guys were finally being punished.
But who had reported them?
Weren’t they afraid Nobi and his friends would retaliate?
“Now, Nobi and the others will apologize to Uzumaki Naruto,” Iruka said.
The boys turned toward Naruto, bowed, and said together,
“We’re sorry!”
Naruto gave them a listless glance.
He did not accept their apology.
He had no right to forgive them on behalf of the old Naruto.
Although, knowing the old Naruto, he probably would have forgiven them.
Seeing that Naruto didn’t respond, Iruka suddenly found the atmosphere rather awkward.
“Naruto!”
Iruka tugged lightly on Naruto’s sleeve, hoping he would accept their apology.
Unfortunately, this Naruto clearly had no intention of playing along just to save Iruka’s face.
“I’ve heard your apology, but I won’t forgive you.”
With that, Naruto ignored everyone’s stares and casually walked back to his seat.
Iruka felt even more awkward.
He had originally planned to have Naruto forgive Nobi and the others, then have Naruto apologize in return for injuring them.
But Naruto had refused to cooperate completely.
Now Iruka couldn’t bring himself to ask Naruto to apologize either.
Nobi and the others were equally humiliated.
Having to apologize to Naruto in front of the entire class was already embarrassing enough.
And now he had actually refused to accept it!
If this had been before, they definitely would have cornered Uzumaki Naruto afterward and beaten him beyond recognition.
But now, all they could do was swallow their anger.
Uzumaki Naruto might look like the dead last on the surface, but he clearly wasn’t ordinary.
They couldn’t afford to provoke him anymore.
“All right. Since that’s settled, we’ll leave the matter here for now.”
“Let’s begin class. Today, we’ll be covering the Substitution Jutsu!”