On his way back, Luke bought a piece of Chakra Paper to determine his elemental affinity for future goals.
As he approached his home, Luke saw a cart parked in front of Ichiraku Ramen loaded with several bags of flour. Uncle Ichiraku was sweating as he grunted and strained to move them.
Ichiraku Ramen had good business with high customer traffic, requiring frequent ingredient deliveries almost every few days – a scene Luke often witnessed.
In the past, Luke might have ignored such trivial matters, but this time he paused and thought for a moment.
Besides using the Shadow Clone Technique to create a decoy for his family, choosing to live separately after marriage was also a feasible plan.
Although living with a wife would mean closer proximity, at least the number of people watching him would decrease from three to one. In civilian households where neither spouse was a Ninja, patriarchal authority typically prevailed.
Even if a wife discovered her husband’s secrets, she would likely keep them rather than expose them.
Thinking this, Luke smiled and walked over. “Uncle Ichiraku, let me help you.”
He didn’t necessarily need to use this method to create distance from his family – it was just about having more options. Normal romantic relationships would work perfectly fine too.
Previously, he hadn’t considered finding a partner because he knew about Konoha’s troubled future and lacked self-defense capabilities. But now, with shared power, his energetic body was shyly telling his brain:
Bro, your little brother wants to grow up.
The kind where we duo queue!
Uncle Ichiraku didn’t refuse either, nodding cheerfully. “Thank you, Chuan’s boy. The shop still has many customers waiting for their meals.”
Carrying one bag of flour in each hand, Luke followed Uncle Ichiraku’s directions to store them in the ingredient room.
Inside the shop, a tall, simply dressed yet strikingly beautiful girl was serving bowls of ramen to customers, offering each a sweet smile with every delivery.
The best seasoning at Ichiraku Ramen – Ayame.
During the moving process, Ayame’s gaze met Luke’s. Facing his unwavering stare, she froze momentarily, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks before she nodded in gratitude to Luke and hurried back to work.
Soon, Luke finished moving the flour. As it was nearly mealtime anyway, he found an empty seat and called out:
“Uncle Ichiraku, I’ll have a bowl of ramen too!”
“Order received!”
Within minutes, Ayame brought over a bowl of ramen piled high with ingredients – so much chashu and fish cakes they nearly overflowed, the crimson broth and white noodles emitting a rich aroma.
“This is on me, Luke. Thank you for helping Dad move the things.”
Ayame’s voice was gentle, like a soothing spring breeze. Her manner of addressing Ichiraku was more intimate and casual than typical father-daughter relationships.
Luke studied the girl’s elegant features and smiled. “Thank you, but you’re mistaken about one thing.”
“Huh?” Ayame looked puzzled.
“I wasn’t helping Uncle Ichiraku – I was helping you.”
Luke said this with complete seriousness, not waiting for her reaction before starting to eat his noodles.
Ayame stood in place, feeling her face grow warm.
Chuan’s family had moved next to Ichiraku Ramen six years ago. Though both businesses kept them busy, being neighbors meant frequent visits and exchanges. Naturally, she’d noticed Luke, a boy close to her age.
Especially since Luke, working as a blacksmith, often went shirtless. His well-built muscles paired with his handsome features—watching his face and chest glow red from the furnace heat, sweat trickling down his pecs and abs before soaking into his dark trousers…
Ayame: (ω)
How to put it? Well, girls can appreciate a man’s physique too.
Moreover, Chuan’s mother had once mentioned during a visit that Luke had specifically chosen this location for her sake, convinced the two would end up together someday.
But until now, Luke had always maintained a polite distance—neither cold nor particularly warm. As a girl, she felt she needed to preserve some modesty, so things between them never progressed.
Somehow, today Luke seemed exceptionally handsome, more relaxed than usual, and… more intimate with her. Ayame found it hard to maintain her composure.
Has Luke finally come around?
Before she could ponder further, Ichiraku noticed his daughter standing still and urged, “Ayame, what’s wrong? Hurry and take the order to the customer!”
“Ah, right.”
Snapping out of her reverie, Ayame quickly regained her professional demeanor and threw herself into work. Though for a while afterward, she avoided glancing toward Luke’s section.
The ramen at Ichiraku lived up to its reputation—chewy noodles in exceptionally flavorful broth. With each slurp, Luke felt his mood improving.
“Boss, one Ichiraku Ramen!”
A youthful, energetic voice momentarily chilled the lively atmosphere in the shop.
Luke turned to see a boy with bright golden hair and blue eyes, sporting what looked like cat—or fox—whiskers on his cheeks. He wore dirty, tattered clothes but wore a brilliantly clear smile.
“It’s Naruto! Find a seat, it’ll be ready soon,” Uncle Ichiraku’s casual tone broke the tension, though hushed whispers quickly followed:
“That’s the legendary kid…”
“Don’t say it, it’s bad luck.”
“Did you see the whiskers?”
“Unforgivable…”
“Why does the village let such a monster live?”
Suspicious, scornful, and hateful glances converged on Naruto. The boy kept smiling, but his small hands had clenched into fists.
Scanning the room, his eyes lit up when he spotted Luke. He trotted over and tentatively asked, “Can I sit here?”
“You’re a customer. Sit wherever you like,” Luke replied indifferently.
Whether it was a fool’s intuition or the Nine-Tails’ power within him, Naruto could vaguely sense people’s emotions toward him. Amid the sea of dark negativity, Luke stood out like a bright lamp in the night.
This wasn’t the first time Naruto had chosen to share his table, though he never dared speak much, afraid one wrong word might make Luke leave.
Luke truly found it difficult to harbor any ill will toward Naruto. As he grew older and gained more life experience, he had developed little fondness for the stubborn, hot-blooded fools mass-produced in shonen manga. Yet he still held great affection for Naruto Uzumaki.
After all, this was a child he had watched grow up from the very beginning.