Naruto was stunned for a moment, then immediately revealed a delighted expression, his eyes shining as he looked at Kakashi.
“Really? That’s great!”
[Yahoo! Ramen! I’ve wanted to eat ramen for a long time, but it’s too expensive. I didn’t expect this kid Kakashi to understand me so well. My deadbeat old man’s efforts in educating me weren’t wasted after all.]
For the first time, Naruto’s outward expression matched his inner thoughts.
A faint smile flashed across Kakashi’s face as he pointed his thumb toward the front door of the house.
“Then shall we set off now? Let’s go eat at Ichiraku Ramen!”
Naruto’s eyes lit up even more, and he nodded his head like a chicken pecking at rice.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah! Let’s go now, let’s go now!”
The two left the house and headed straight for Ichiraku Ramen.
Along the way, people would occasionally cast unfriendly looks at Naruto, but Naruto didn’t care about any of that.
Right now, his mind was filled with anticipation for Ichiraku Ramen.
They soon arrived at Ichiraku Ramen.
The owner was one of the few villagers who did not discriminate against Naruto.
Seeing customers arrive, he immediately revealed a warm smile.
“What would you two like to eat?”
Before Kakashi could speak, Naruto took a seat and slammed his palm hard against the table in front of him.
“Give me the most expensive, biggest bowl of ramen you have!”
[It’s not every day I get the chance to fleece Kakashi. I have to make it worth it!]
Kakashi glanced at Naruto and shrugged helplessly before sitting beside him.
“I’ll just have a regular bowl of ramen.”
“Alright! Please wait a moment, it’ll be ready soon!”
Very quickly, two steaming bowls of ramen were brought out.
Naruto immediately began wolfing his down, not only because he was hungry, but also because he had been eating instant ramen for the past few days and really wanted a change of taste.
Soon, the huge bowl of ramen had been completely wiped clean.
Naruto rubbed his bloated stomach and couldn’t stop himself from burping.
“Burp! Ichiraku Ramen truly lives up to its reputation. It’s really delicious.”
The owner smiled happily after hearing Naruto’s heartfelt praise.
Kakashi had finished eating before Naruto and had wanted to talk to him for a while, but he couldn’t bear to interrupt Naruto while he was eating so eagerly, so he waited until Naruto was finished.
“Naruto, are you full? If you’re not, you can order more.”
“Ah~~ I’m full, I’m full. Thank you so much, Big Brother Kakashi.”
[Hehe, I’ll call him Big Brother first. When Kakashi becomes my teacher in the future, I can use this as an excuse not to change the way I address him. Wouldn’t that put me a generation above Second Pillar for nothing? Just thinking about it feels awesome.]
At first, Kakashi didn’t think there was anything wrong with Naruto calling him Big Brother.
After all, Naruto’s father had been his teacher, so according to seniority, they were of the same generation, and Naruto should call him Big Brother.
But after hearing Naruto’s inner thoughts, he was shocked.
‘What?
I’ll become Naruto’s teacher in the future?
Could Naruto foresee the future?
How was that possible?’
Whether it was when Obito died or when Rin died, Naruto had not even been born yet.
Although Naruto knowing about those things made Kakashi feel somewhat strange, he wasn’t particularly shocked.
Instead, he cared more about the truth of what had happened.
After all, those were things that had happened in the past.
Perhaps someone had told Naruto about them.
But now, Naruto was saying that he would become his teacher in the future.
That was predicting the future, something simply unheard of.
And if that were truly the case, then Naruto possessed the terrifying ability to look back into the past and foresee the future.
‘No, I have to test him!’
With that thought, Kakashi took a three-pronged kunai from his ninja tool pouch and handed it to Naruto.
“Naruto, I don’t really have anything good on me. I’ll give you this as a gift for our first meeting. I hope you like it.”
Naruto looked at the kunai, then at Kakashi in surprise.
He put on an expression as if he were so moved that he was about to cry, grabbed the kunai in his hand, and immediately began wiping his eyes.
He looked as though he were wiping away tears, but in reality, he simply couldn’t force any tears out.
He could only rub his eyes hard until they turned red, creating the illusion that he had been moved to tears.
“Big Brother Kakashi, you’re so kind. Not only were you willing to take the initiative to get to know me, but you also treated me to ramen, and now you’re even giving me a gift. From now on, you’re my big brother!”
[What medicine is Kakashi trying to sell in his gourd? Treating me to ramen is one thing, but now he’s even giving me my deadbeat old man’s special kunai. Is he trying to return it to its rightful owner? But wouldn’t that expose my identity? Would the Third Hokage allow that?]
Naruto was still rubbing his eyes at this moment, so he didn’t notice the shocked expression on Kakashi’s face.
Kakashi now felt that at least half of Naruto’s inner thoughts were true.
‘He actually really knows about it!
Naruto actually has such a secret.
Does that mean what he said in the beginning could also be true?
Obito isn’t dead?
Rin committed suicide using my hand?
What exactly happened?’
With these questions in mind, Kakashi gradually came back to his senses and smiled as he patted Naruto on the head.
“It’s good that you like it. I’m giving you this kunai in the hope that you’ll become an excellent ninja in the future.”
Naruto had also acted enough on his end.
He raised his head, looked solemnly at Kakashi with his eyes forcibly rubbed red, and nodded firmly.
“Mm! I’ll definitely become an excellent ninja! I want to become Hokage and make everyone acknowledge me! Big Brother Kakashi, I heard that children in Konoha can go to the Ninja Academy when they turn six. I’m six years old too. Can I go to school as well?”
Hearing that Naruto was so ambitious, not only determined to become an excellent ninja but also aiming to become Hokage, Kakashi felt greatly comforted and couldn’t stop a loving smile from appearing on his face.
“Hehe~~ I’m very happy that you have such aspirations. You can…”
[Ahh~~ I really want to go to school! At least if I go to school, I won’t have to worry about food anymore. I can sleep during class, and after class, I can go talk about life with my Hinata. Such a rich little lady, I’m definitely going to latch onto her! And no matter what, Iruka will occasionally treat me to ramen too. Just thinking about that kind of life feels amazing! Let school life come a little sooner!]
The moment Naruto thought about his wonderful life after going to school, he couldn’t help shouting in his heart, filled with nothing but anticipation.
Kakashi, who had only spoken half his sentence, immediately froze, and the smile on his face stiffened.
He had thought Naruto truly had ambition, but sleeping during class and talking about life with girls after class was simply the perfect example of being uneducated and willingly falling into depravity.
Naturally, Naruto had no idea what Kakashi was thinking.
And because Kakashi was still wearing his mask, Naruto couldn’t see his expression either.
He was only puzzled by Kakashi suddenly stopping halfway through his sentence.
“Big Brother Kakashi? What’s wrong? Why did you suddenly stop halfway through?”
“Ah? Oh! No, it’s nothing. There shouldn’t be a problem if you want to go to school. But you should know that not just anyone can attend the Ninja Academy, so after you enroll, you have to work hard. You must listen carefully during class, and it’s best not to fall in love too early and get distracted.”