“Seriously, why do I have to do this?
On a day like this, wouldn’t it be much better to lie around in the sun and take a nap?!” Inside the expanded Ichiraku Ramen shop, a little boy with pineapple-shaped hair wore an utterly listless expression as he spoke in a weak, dispirited voice.
“Business at the ramen shop has been booming lately.
There are simply too many customers, but the apprentices Uncle Teuchi took on have only just started learning.
For now, Uncle Teuchi still has to handle the cooking himself.
There are just too many customers, though.
Even with Big Sis Ayame, Naruto, and Sakura helping out, we can barely keep up.
Since you don’t have anything else to do, we figured you could come over and help with whatever you can.
Besides, if you don’t mind getting lectured by Aunt Yoshino, you can always sneak off to lie in the sun!” Ino giggled to herself.
Shikamaru might have been incredibly lazy, but whenever Yoshino Nara gave him an order, no matter how unwilling he was, he would still obey.
“What a drag…” Four-year-old Shikamaru Nara was already displaying the same lack of motivation that would define him in the future.
Thinking about what would happen if he refused to cooperate with Ino, he might have been reluctant deep down, but he could only resignedly continue working as a waiter.
“You shouldn’t complain so much.
Uncle Teuchi is paying us very generously.
And we even get to try all kinds of delicious food that Sakura has come up with.
What more could you ask for?” Ino poked Shikamaru with her finger, thoroughly exasperated by his perpetually listless personality.
“Exactly, Shikamaru.
Uncle Teuchi really is paying us well.
But most importantly, we get to eat all this delicious food…” The chubby little Akimichi boy’s eyes practically turned into hearts as he spoke, his face full of longing.
“Recently, Ichiraku Ramen introduced a whole new selection of ramen and other dishes, and the entire village went crazy for them.
A lot of people have to make reservations well in advance just to get a chance to try them.
We only have to work as servers, and we get to eat for free.
If word got out, there’d be plenty of people who’d be jealous!” “Exactly.
It’s not just us who love the food Uncle Teuchi serves.
Even the ninken love it!
Ever since Mother brought Kuro-maru here for the first time, he’s been talking about it nonstop these past few days!” Kiba Inuzuka was carrying a tray alongside the almost comically inconspicuous Shino Aburame.
Fortunately, children in the shinobi world developed much faster than ordinary children from Sakura’s previous life.
Even at four years old, their physical abilities were several times greater than those of children her age in her former world.
Those from shinobi clans with inherited abilities were especially robust.
“By the way, Uncle Teuchi, doesn’t this count as employing child labor?” Sakura was flying through the air with one foot planted on a long sword.
Simply floating with both feet off the ground had never felt quite right to her, so she had used the Reality Stone to create a sword instead and turned it into a makeshift version of sword-flying.
The sword was modeled after the Demon Sword from the television series a legendary blade in her previous life.
She had also scaled it down specifically to suit her current body.
“Well, weren’t they all brought here because you asked Ino to find them?” Uncle Teuchi wore an innocent smile.
“Sure enough, all squinty-eyed people are monsters.
Who would’ve thought Uncle Teuchi, who looks so honest and harmless, would be this good at shifting the blame?
And he does it so naturally!” Sakura silently complained to herself.
Ever since she and Uncle Teuchi had discussed the ramen shop’s future development a month ago, both sides had entered a busy period.
Uncle Teuchi had persuaded his parents, after which Sakura’s father and mother took responsibility for expanding the Ichiraku Ramen shop.
Sakura, meanwhile, had taken on the role of a teacher, instructing Uncle Teuchi in how to prepare the famous dishes from her previous life.
As it turned out, good food was popular no matter where you went.
Since reopening, Ichiraku Ramen had been packed with customers every day.
Many people had to reserve tables well in advance just to get a meal.
Because of this, Uncle Teuchi had already begun preparing to open a second branch.
His newly recruited apprentices were being trained specifically for that purpose.
As for Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame, Ino had brought them over to gain some practical experience while earning a little pocket money on the side.
Apart from Shikamaru, who was listless practically all day long, the other children were extremely happy to work at Ichiraku Ramen.
For children from prominent clans, the amount of money they earned wasn’t particularly important.
What mattered was that, as servers, they could sample all kinds of new dishes before the customers.
That was what made them happiest.
Because of Naruto’s special status, however, he obviously couldn’t work as a server outside the shop.
He could only stay in the kitchen and help Sakura with the cooking.
After a busy day, everyone was exhausted by the time the shop closed.
Still, after enjoying a delicious meal, their energy quickly returned.
Everyone eventually headed home.
Sakura was the last to leave because she had stayed behind to discuss the plans for the new branch with Uncle Teuchi and the others.
Her father, Kizashi Haruno, and her mother, Mebuki Haruno, had gone home ahead of her to prepare hot water so that Sakura could take a bath and rest as soon as she returned.
“Looks like training chefs is becoming an absolute necessity…” Sitting cross-legged atop the Demon Sword, Sakura rubbed her sore shoulders.
She had no intention of spending her entire life working as a chef.
Becoming a behind-the-scenes capitalist and living comfortably was the proper path forward.
Just then, a malicious soul fluctuation appeared within her perception.
“That direction… Isn’t that the Hyūga clan’s territory?!” Sakura’s brows furrowed.
She felt as though she had forgotten something, but the malicious soul fluctuations made her hesitate over whether she should go and investigate.
“The Hyūga clan… What could possibly happen at a time like this?” As she thought, Sakura controlled the Demon Sword and flew in that direction.
She couldn’t help it.
Her curiosity was simply too strong.
It wasn’t until several of those malicious soul fluctuations suddenly began moving that something finally clicked in Sakura’s mind.
“The Hyūga clan… Kumogakure… The incident where Hinata was kidnapped…” Remembering that an envoy from Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning had recently arrived to negotiate a peace treaty, Sakura immediately understood.
In the original story, when Hinata Hyūga was still a child, she had once been kidnapped.
The culprit had been members of Kumogakure’s diplomatic delegation.
After the kidnapping was discovered, Kumogakure had actually turned the situation around and threatened Konoha with war, forcing the Third Hokage to give in.
In the end, Hiashi Hyūga’s twin brother, Hizashi Hyūga, chose to sacrifice himself in order to protect his brother.
“Kumogakure, huh?
This time, I’m not going to let you get away with it!” After living in Konoha for four years, Sakura had naturally grown attached to the village.
Moreover, this incident could be said to be the root of Neji Hyūga’s tragedy.
If Hizashi Hyūga didn’t die, Neji probably wouldn’t have grown into the person who constantly spoke about fate.
Within Sakura’s perception, those malicious soul fluctuations were rapidly fleeing toward the outskirts of Konoha.
Mixed among those malicious souls was another, much smaller soul that had fallen into a deep sleep.
The presence of that innocent soul was so unmistakably benevolent that Sakura almost instantly became certain that her guess was correct.