Naruto: Snow Cold

One traumatizing trip later, I was back on the outside world.

"Industrial workers are scary."

Walking beside me, was an idiot who very clearly didn't believe me, despite how much I've been telling him that there were characters straight out of a crime drama, one that looked like fucking Heisenberg, at that.

"Can you stop overreacting? There's no way that they were more than just factory workers, and even if they were, we'd see crazier stuff in the future when we finally get plunged into actual danger."

I deadpanned at him.

"Sora... My dude. You're telling me, that a bald man with glasses, a goatee, who practically looks like the carbon copy of Heisenberg, is just some normal factory worker? Who even dresses like that in this world?!"

"I mean, yeah. Some people who work in medicine are like that."

With each word he mutters, I feel like my frustration just keeps growing more and more.

"Am I the only one here with working eyes?"

"Perhaps, or a broken brain. Next thing you're gonna tell me, is that Teuchi-san is actually the Sage of Six Paths, or rather, the Sage of the Six Bowls."

Wait. That's actually plausible.

Maybe he secretly possesses mastery over the five elements, and has a perfect balance of Yin-Yang in his system, allowing him to use Truth Seeking Spheres that basically make him a literal god.

But, he chooses to hold back and instead lives as a mortal, blessing us with his divine culinary skills while leading a humble lifestyle.

"...Please stop thinking about it. You're scaring me."

I scoffed, "Fine."

So, supposedly. These pills should be way stronger than the fruit, and are much more compact. Goraku Fruits have a decently high water content, so once they were dried and concentrated, they were just that powerful. There was also other additives, such as caffeine, herbs like the Dawnshade Leaf, the Vermillion sprout, Moonveil petal, etc.

Basically, just herbs you'd find anywhere in the wild, each with different effects on the body—whether it be strengthening muscle fibers temporarily, suppressing hunger, or increasing cellular activity (even though I already naturally have that). Yeah, plenty of weird stuff.

The good thing is that we managed to get around three samples each. In total, about 93 low-grade pills were given out, I think? How much would that be in the ninja market?

I've heard the lowest ones go for around 100 ryo a pill, which is about 25% more expensive than a bowl of ramen.

But since this is a trusted, government-run facility, they probably sell for more. Maybe 150 Ryo per pill?

Taking that into account, they just dumped, uh... 13,950 Ryo on us. For a single trip!

What they warned us about, though, was that we really needed to eat before taking these pills. The extra chakra that was forced out of the cells didn't come from nowhere, and you also needed it for when the effects wore off, so that you wouldn't crash like a college student after a sleepless night full of coffee, then sleep for eighteen hours straight.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Nothing."

Naturally, this was an excuse for me to indulge in ramen. Soldier pills made your body burn through carbohydrates, lipids and glycogen faster than usual, depending on how potent the effect is supposed to be, or the quality grade of the pill itself.

Like Kenjiro-sensei said, a low-grade one wouldn't do jackshit for a Jonin, whose reserves were likely leagues ahead of the average ninja. There's five grades, but I think there might be custom-made pills for people like the Hokage, made by Tsunade herself, instead of the usual facilities or hospitals.

Hiruzen isn't the Third Hokage for nothing. His reserves must be massive, even when compared to an Elite Jonin.

Ramen. I wanna eat ramen.

Fine, this is really just an excuse for me to gorge on noodles!

Sora looked at me, and sighed. "You know, we could just use the Body Flicker to head there faster."

"But I like it this way. It's peaceful, and I like just walking on these streets. Can't you just enjoy the moment and forget about efficiency for a second?"

He paused for a moment, "I guess you're right. I've been too focused on that lately."

No shit. You try to compete with me on every single thing, don't think that I don't notice!

Aaaaand, we are here.

It's strangely empty today... why is that?

It's still the afternoon, and there should be at least some people eating at Ichiraku. No chatter, no slurping noises, not even some random Genin arguing over the last dumpling—yes, they served dumplings here as a side. They are extremely good.

"That's weird. There's no one around." Sora furrowed his brows, glancing around the place.

I couldn't help but agree, "Yeah. Think something happened to the shop?"

"Nah, no way," He shrugged, "A restaurant like this wouldn't die down that easily."

As we got closer, I heard an energetic voice that sounded like it belonged to a child.

"Old man Teuchi, one more bowl, please!"

"Comin' up!"

Oh. Oh my god. This better not be who I think it is.

It couldn't be, right? There's absolutely no chance that we'd be meeting the Child of Prophecy this early in the game.

Hesitatingly, I looked at Sora, and he nodded at me, a nervous look on his face.

With slightly less hesitation, I pushed the curtains aside, and I peeked, half-expecting my worst fears to be confirmed. If it was, I'd really have to be careful with my moves and body language. It's unconceivable that this little guy doesn't have the ANBU watching over him.

But then again, if they were, they suck at their job. How can you let the village's nuke be mistreated like that?

Seriously, if I was the leader of this village, I'd have the kid guarded 24/7. Instead, they let him run around unsupervised, with no chance of knowing when the shunning might get to him and cause him to go berserk, and—

Danzo. Yup, it's always Danzo. Who else to blame other than the king of the pot? He probably was involved in Naruto's mistreatment in some way.

Finally, I fully stepped inside with Sora, and there he was. His gaze was fixed on me the moment I passed.

Bright yellow hair, fox-like whiskers, blue eyes, a plain shirt with red whirlpool-like spheres adorning the front, and grey shorts, along with worn sandals that looked dirt-streaked—probably from running around too much.

"Hello!" He waved at us in that cheerful voice, with a smile that made him look as if he hadn't a care in the world. It looked slightly forced, though, as far as I know from kunoichi classes and body language, like he was holding something back.

"Uh... Hi." I awkwardly greeted him back.

Then, Teuchi came back with a bowl in hand, and took notice of us as he served the bowl to the boy.

"Ah, welcome! How did the academy treat you two today?"

I couldn't help but let a small smile out after hearing his voice. This man has a heart of gold.

"Good afternoon, Teuchi-san, It's been okay. We actually had a trip to an industrial plant and got our hands on some soldier pill samples." I replied, sitting down with Sora.

Reaching out into my pouch, I pulled out a paper wrap, unfolding it to reveal a few dark blue spheres, "See?"

The man leaned in slightly, eyeing the pills with curiosity. I do not get how he sees through his eyes while they're closed like that. "Sounds like you've had an interesting first day. Back then, they didn't make these like they do now. Tsunade has really come a long way, hasn't she?"

Huh? I blinked, "Wait, back then? Were you a ninja before?"

Teuchi chuckled, "Hahaha, don't underestimate the capabilities of an old man, young lady. In spite of my looks, I actually used to go to the academy."

Naruto, who had been silent until now while looking at the pills in amazement, finally talked, "Old man Teuchi, you never told me that you were a kick-ass ninja before. What was it like?"

"Kickass ninja, eh? No, nothing like that. I was just another kid in the academy, trying to figure out what to do."

"But you gotta have some cool stories! Like, did you ever fight bandits? Go on top secret missions? Save princesses? You need to tell me, believe it!"

And cue the dattebayo thing. It was starting to worry me that he didn't use it.

Teuchi let out another hearty laugh, shaking his head, "Hah! Sorry to disappoint, but my academy days weren't that exciting. No secret missions, no bandits, and certainly no princesses."

He then muttered to himself in a really low voice, which I'm pretty sure I was the only one to hear, "Although I'd be pretty concerned if they were already sending you on missions like that."

"Aww." The blond boy pouted, "I thought for sure you'd have some kind of crazy backstory or something, old man Teuchi. That's so lame!"

"It's okay, it's okay. I find making good food for my customers way more enjoyable, and cooler as well. Either way, you kids thinking of ordering something?"

Not even a moment later, I shot back at him with the most serious expression I could muster. "Extra large miso ramen with extra pork."

"Pffft," Sora snorted, "I'll have the same thing, please."

"Comin' up. Naruto, eat a little slower, you'll choke if you keep inhaling it like that."

Naruto barely even acknowledged his words, too busy slurping down noodles, "You say—slurp— something, old man?"

The man sighed in frustration, but shook it off and went to the back.

"So, your name is Naruto?" I asked, even though I already knew. Gotta keep up the act.

He paused mid-slurp and looked up at me, grinning, "Yup, that's me! Uzumaki Naruto, and you'd better remember it well, because in the future I'll become the greatest Hokage, believe it!"

Ah. Same old Naruto.

Never change.

"And why do you wanna do that?" Sora asked, resting his head on the table.

"Heh," The goofball grinned wider, looking even more determined. "So that people will stop disrespecting me, and start treating me like I'm somebody. Somebody important!"

Sora seemed to pause at that, as if he had struck some kind of chord inside of him.

"That said, are you both ninjas? Do you go to the academy?" Naruto asked, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

I wanna hug him. So bad.

Coughing slightly to compose myself, I answered, "Yeah, we do go to the academy. You learn all sorts of useful, cool stuff in there. My name is, uh..."

"Amai Hashimoto, but you can call me Amai for short. The idiot next to me is Sora."

"What a pretty way to show your appreciation for my presence."

"Snrrk, I was just kidding!" I quickly corrected while stifling a laugh. Love messing with others when there's no real consequences.

"Whoa." He gaped at me, eyes twinkling. Please tell me how the hell people do that? "Do you guys know any jutsu? Like ninja techniques."

"I do know a little. Wanna see a trick?"

Naruto lit up at the idea. "Yes! Show me, show me!" He leaned forward, probably about to bounce on his seat. Now that I looked closer, he seemed no older than five.

"Okay, here it goes. Watch closely," I said, before stretching out my palm and opening it. I aimed at his hair, and with the least force I could manage while still having some kind of effect, I used the Gale Palm.

I'd use Ice Release instead, but I'd rather not do it in public. It just doesn't feel right for some reason.

The slightly heavy air brushed against his hair, somewhat messing it up. The kid let out a laugh in surprise, trying to control his hair as it flopped around.

"That's... That's so cool! And you did it with no hand signs! Don't ninjas need hand seals to do that kind of stuff? Can you make it more powerful? I can handle it, believe it!"

He's such a dreamer. I can see why his most feared technique wasn't the Rasengan or any other big move, but the famous Talk-no-Jutsu.

Just talking to him for a few minutes made you want to... believe. To dream.

And honestly?

It made me want to dream, too.