"Teuchi-ossan!"
"Hey, Naruto," Teuchi was wiping a spoon when he heard Naruto's voice and peeked out from the back of the kitchen.
Seeing the kids sitting next to Naruto, he smiled and said, "Brought some friends today, huh? What would you like? It's on me."
Naruto quickly waved his hand, "No way, I brought so many friends today, you'll go broke feeding us."
"Hahaha..." Teuchi laughed heartily, hands on his hips. "No worries, Naruto, consider it a gift to celebrate you starting school."
Naruto scratched the back of his head, confused, "How did you know I started school, Teuchi-ossan? I haven't even had a chance to tell you yet."
"Let's just say I'm all-knowing," Teuchi chuckled, setting the spoon down and walking over. "The menu's on the wall, go ahead and order."
"Alright then, I'll have a large miso ramen!" Naruto turned to Seiji and the others after ordering.
Seiji raised his hand, "Chashu ramen, extra chili, please."
"I'll take two bowls of tonkotsu ramen!"
...
Not long after, Naruto's miso ramen arrived.
He picked up his chopsticks, inhaling deeply the delicious aroma. "Itadakimasu!"
Just then, the kitchen curtain opened, and a sharp, spicy smell rushed out, nearly making Naruto spit out his noodles.
Teuchi placed a bowl of fiery red noodles in front of Seiji before turning back to the kitchen.
Seiji twirled his chopsticks into the noodles, lifting them out, each strand evenly coated with a bright, red hue.
Naruto, staring at the vibrant noodles, somehow found them appetizing, but the sharp spice in the air quickly squashed that thought.
This has to be lethal!
By the time Naruto had finished his whole bowl, Seiji was only halfway through his.
His lips were bright red, and sweat dotted his forehead and nose. Yet, even so, Seiji was deliberately slowing down, savoring every bite.
Naruto watched in shock, "Seiji, with that much chili, isn't your stomach going to hurt after?"
Seiji shook his head, "I didn't start eating this spicy from the beginning. Over time, I just ate spicier and spicier. By now, this amount of chili is nothing to me."
Even though Naruto was already full, the spicy aroma still made him gulp unconsciously.
But then, he quickly shook his head, "No way, I'd explode if I took even one bite!"
Trying to distract himself, Naruto turned to the others.
Choji had two empty bowls stacked beside him, working on his third bowl of ramen. Kiba was feeding his dog Akamaru after each bite he took. Shikamaru had an empty bowl next to him and was already napping on the table.
Naruto sighed, "Compared to them, I, the 'Demon Fox,' seem more like a normal person."
"Hahaha..." Teuchi chuckled, "Naruto, your friends are all pretty unique."
Naruto didn't respond immediately but instead turned to look outside the ramen shop at the people passing by.
"Sometimes... I wonder if I should try being more like a normal person. Maybe then they wouldn't call me the 'Demon Fox,' and they'd want to be my friends."
Teuchi finished drying a bowl, walked out from behind the counter, and gently ruffled Naruto's hair. "Naruto, don't you already have some great friends?"
"Thanks for the meal."
Seiji's voice came from beside them. He had wiped the chili oil off his mouth and was panting as he dashed out of the ramen shop.
A little while later, Seiji returned with a cup of milk, downed it in one gulp, and leaned against the counter, taking a deep breath.
"Hoo... hoo..."
Seeing this, Naruto exclaimed, "Hey! You clearly can't handle that level of spiciness!"
Seiji shook his finger, asking, "Naruto, if one day in the future you see someone who can't handle spicy food but insists on eating it anyway, who will you think of?"
"That's obvious! You, of course!"
"Just like how people think of you when they hear 'Demon Fox.' Being bad at something but still loving it is my thing, constantly snacking is Choji's thing, loving naps and hating trouble is Shikamaru's thing, and showing off is Sasuke's thing..."
Seiji laughed as he continued, "So, Naruto, when you think about it like that, doesn't being called the 'Demon Fox' hurt a little less?"
Naruto thought for a moment, "You know... you've got a point."
"You want to become Hokage, right?" Seiji asked again.
"Yeah, yeah!"
Seiji pointed to the Hokage Rock, "Do you know much about them?"
Naruto thought for a bit, then shook his head, "I just know they were great people."
"Hahaha..." Seiji laughed loudly before saying, "Yes, they were great. But aside from their greatness, they were also just people."
"For example, the First Hokage loved gambling, though he always lost. It's said that Lady Mito often had to drag him out of the gambling halls."
"And the Second Hokage? He loved researching jutsu. There's a saying in the shinobi world: 'If a forbidden jutsu you've never heard of suddenly appears, it must have been created by the Second Hokage.'"
"And then there's the Third Hokage, who everyone knows. Naruto, you'd never guess, but even the kind, serious Third Hokage used to sneak into the women's bathhouse with his students when he was younger!"
Naruto jumped up from his chair in shock, "How do you know that?"
Seiji tapped his head, "I read a lot, especially random books. It's often in these that you find the interesting stuff."
At that moment, Choji finished his meal and woke Shikamaru up, adding, "I've heard my clan elders mention that the Third Hokage did have a history of peeking into the women's bathhouse."
Naruto's interest was piqued as he eagerly asked, "What about the Fourth Hokage? Did he have any special quirks like that?"
Seiji only smiled and remained silent, instead turning to say goodbye to Teuchi behind the counter.
As they walked toward the school, Seiji gazed at the Hokage Rock and said, "Naruto, since you're so interested in the Fourth Hokage, why not try exploring it yourself?"
"You can read books or ask your teachers or the village elders. From someone's story, you can often learn a lot about who they really are."
Seiji turned around, looking seriously into Naruto's deep blue eyes.
"You want to be Hokage, right? If you don't understand the ones who came before you, how can you be a good Hokage?"
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