I am very excited today. Very early in the morning, I held a flyer in my hand as I walk towards the market.
Today is the Grand Opening Ceremony of the Ichiraku Ramen and I want to be the first Customer to eat the Ramen. It is 4 a.m. now as I walk toward the Ramen Stand.
There is no Naruto fan out there who won't like to eat a bowl of Ichiraku Ramen. I got the opportunity to be the first person to try this heavenly Ramen and I won't miss it.
A week ago, Teuchi was distributing flyers across the streets and I immediately snatched one. I look at the flyers which say 50% off for the first 100 customers and my saliva began to drip as I imagined the taste of Ramen.
I reach near the stall which was still closed but some lights could be seen from the house.
'I assume Teuchi is busy preparing ingredients for the ramen.'
I sat in front of the Ramen stall as I close my eyes and start to meditate. More and more people start to join the queue behind me as I patiently waited for the Ramen.
'It is all about patience. The more patient I am the better the taste of Ramen will be.'
These were my thoughts but my stomach was in disagreement with them as it continued to growl.
'Damnit! How long do I have to wait?'
After a wait of four hours, Teuchi opens the shop and is surprised to see me first in the queue. He smiles at me and asks,
"What is your order, Customer?"
"An extra-large bowl of Miso Ramen with seaweed and also prepare another two bowls of Tonkotsu ramen with Char Siu as a takeaway."
"Aye! Coming right up."
I excitedly rub my hand as Teuchi start to prepare my Ramen. Until now a long line has already been formed as many people queued together either with their kids or grandkids.
"Here right up! Your extra-large bowl of miso ramen with seaweed and another two bowls of Tonkotsu ramen with Char Siu toppings."
The artistic quality of Ramen almost blinds me as I activate my Sharingan just to record this scene. I collect my ramen as I began to slurp the silky noodles which slip down my throat as the rich soup soothes my tongue and a feeling of enlightenment and bliss engulfs me.
I walk out of the queue as I start to eat the delicious ramen. I pay the money for ramen as I indulge in the delicacy again.
I notice Minato anxiously searching for someone.
"Oh! Minato-san, Are you also here for Ramen?"
"Oh! Izuna. I am searching for Kakashi for a mission."
Our conversation is interrupted as a man taps on Minato's shoulder.
The man had waist-length, spiky white hair tied in a ponytail with two shoulder-length bangs framing his face. There were red lines under his eyes which extended further down his face. He wore a green short shirt kimono and matching pants, under which he wore a mesh armor visible at his wrists and ankles. He also wore handguards, a black belt, traditional wooden sandals, and a red haori with two yellow circles on each side.
I immediately recognized him as Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannins.
"Hey there Minato."
"Jiraiya Sensei" Minato greets him
"Come with me for a moment. Will you?"
Jiraiya pulls Minato away. I just follow them. Jiraiya takes us to a nearby alley as he laughs and speaks,
"Now watch carefully and be amazed."
Jiraiya clutches his right hand with his left hand and forms a Rasengan.
"What do you think? This is the hidden jutsu that took you one and a half years to perfect and I have mastered this already. Isn't this incredible?"
Hmph...
I scoff at him as I place my ramen bowl on the nearby wall.
"Kid! You aren't impressed by me."
Jiraiya makes a long face as he questions me. I smirk at him as I stretch my hand out.
Chakra began to gather in my palm as I form a Rasengan twice as big as him. Minato and Jiraiya went wide-eyed as they look at Rasengan which is almost the size of a basketball.
"This…This is amazing." Both of them exclaims in unison.
"Keep watching."
The Rasengan stops growing bigger as some sparks of lightning start to flicker around it. The Rasengan is covered in lightning as I aim it and throws it towards a tree. The Rasengan travels for a while before it vanishes.
"Hah! Big words kids. Your Rasengan dissipated already, but still, your Rasengan is bigger than mine." Jiraiya laughs at me but sulks at the size.
I snort at him as I reply,
"Have some patience, you geezer."
"Kid you!... Don't test my patience. I will beat you up…"
Boom…bang
Jiraiya's words are interrupted by a large explosion as one of the trees is blown into pieces as its bits and pieces fall on the ground. A large crater is formed at its place as lightning flickers through the crater.
"Damn boy! That's too powerful. It is equal to an S-Rank jutsu in power." Jiraiya complains.
"Izuna-kun! You are one step ahead of me after all." Minato sighs after seeing the destruction caused by Rasengan.
"What do you mean, Minato?" Jiraiya questions.
"Hah, Sensei! It is Izuna-kun who helped me in the development of Rasengan. Without his help, I might have taken much longer to create the Rasengan. He even went as far as adding Nature Transformation to the Rasengan, a feat which I am still trying to figure out."
"Don't worry Minato-san I will teach you my vanishing Rasengan later."
"So that's the name you come up with."
"Yeah! After adding the Lightning Release Chakra the Rasengan vanishes when I try to throw it. So, I named it so."
I pick up my ramen as I return back to the Ichiraku Ramen.
"What a monster? This Uchiha kid is such a monster."
Jiraiya murmurs to himself. Minato follows me as I continue to eat my Ramen.
"Hey, Izuna! You are quite early to eat ramen, so fast."
I am interrupted from my bliss by these words as I recognize the voice.
Guy, Shizune, and Asuma are queued in the line as Guy speaks to me. I greet him as I reply,
"I can't miss this heavenly ramen. Can I? I queued early at 4 am and became the first person to eat this ramen. Aah! So good."
I slurp down another strand of noodle as I look at them.
"Oh boy! I just can't wait to eat some of that awesome ramen." Shizune jumps in excitement.
"Mister Teuchi's gutsy noodle and soup for the soul. I will enjoy every drop of that with every fiber of my being." Guy speaks eagerly.
"Hm! To create delicious flavors that's also the real fire."
Asuma speaks in elation.
"Hmph! All this excitement just for some Ramen noodles. It's absolutely ridiculous." Kakashi interrupts as he speaks rudely.
"You are one to talk, Kakashi-senpai when you are also queued up in the line."
I rebuke him by pointing this out.
"Minato-sensei! Is it a mission?"
Kakashi ignores us as he runs toward Minato.
"That's right. We are assembling now."
Minato replies to Kakashi as he starts to move towards the Hokage's office.
"You won't mind if I join you Minato-san."
I immediately gulp down the remaining soup as I pick up my remaining bowls and put them in a storage scroll.
"Well…I have no problem with your presence. But you have to ask Hokage-sama about it?" Minato replies to me.
"Ok! Then it is decided, then I will follow you guys. I am pretty bored these days after all."
All of us assemble at Hokage's office as Hiruzen is stunned to see me there. He points at me and asks,
"What are you doing here, Izuna?"
"I am pretty bored these days, Grandpa Hokage. I want to do some missions and Minato-san's mission seemed interesting. So, I thought of tagging along. You don't have a problem right."
Hiruzen contemplates for a while before he replies,
"Ok! You can follow them. There is no problem with your inclusion in the mission."
Hiruzen starts to explain the details of the mission for a while as he spoke,
"…..and that is the overview of your assignment. Minato Namikaze, Choza Akimichi, Shibi Aburame, and Izuna Uchiha depart for Roran right away."
"Understood!" all of us answer in unison.
"But Lord Third Hokage, I would like to get your permission to include this shinobi Kakashi Hatake in the mission." Minato presents the details of Kakashi to Hiruzen.
"You have something in mind for this young man?" he questions as he skims through the details of Kakashi.
"I do. He may still be young but he is extremely talented like Izuna here."
Minato points towards me. Hiruzen contemplates for a while as he speaks,
"Kakashi is a rare genius who graduated early from the academy and Izuna is a genius too. Too bad, we can't seem to find a suitable team for Izuna to pair with. Very well, both Izuna and Kakashi can participate in this mission."
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