Naruto: I'm in Konoha, my name is Uzumaki Menma

Chapter 40 Menma and Naruto

The noren curtain was gently lifted from the outside, and Menma led Naruto into Ichiraku Ramen.

"Welcome—oh, it's Menma." The middle-aged man looked up from the counter, his smile familiar.

There was still some time before dinner time, and there weren't many customers in the restaurant, only two ordinary genin.

"Uncle, give me a bowl of tonkotsu chashu ramen, no..."

"Don't use the 'naruto roll,' add more dried bamboo shoots, I know that." Tate interrupted him with a laugh, her hands still moving.

It seems like someone else said something similar in my memory, but I can't recall that blurry figure at all.

Naruto followed Menma, his steps hesitant.

When the two genin eating ramen saw Naruto at the door, they gave him disgusted looks, which made Naruto instinctively shrink back.

Just as Naruto instinctively tried to run away, Menma grabbed his shoulder: "What are you spacing out for? Look at the menu and order."

"By the way, I still don't know your name." Menma had already sat down on the high stool, his eyebrows slightly raised, asking a question he already knew the answer to.

"My name is Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto climbed onto the high stool next to Menma and peeked at the wooden menu on the ground.

Unfortunately, Naruto couldn't read yet, so he could only imitate Menma and say, "I...I also want a bowl of tonkotsu chashu ramen."

"Alright, please wait a moment, both of you." The hand-tying uncle got busy.

"Boss, the money is here." The two genin finished their ramen and left some banknotes behind.

As they left, the two were still discussing quietly.

'Was that the guy from just now?'

'Yes, it was the cause of the Fourth Hokage's death...'

'This is so disappointing, I almost threw up...'

Naruto had his back to the ramen shop door, but he still heard these whispers, and his mood became a little down.

He couldn't understand what the Fourth Generation was, nor could he understand what the Fox Spirit was, but he could sense the other person's disgust and rejection towards him.

"Changpu, go tidy up." Shouda's shout broke the stagnant air.

"Coming! Coming!" An eight- or nine-year-old girl with a white headscarf rushed out of the kitchen like a whirlwind, her blue apron fluttering with her movements.

She deftly cleared away the dishes, the dishcloth tracing a smooth arc on the countertop.

"Young Master Mianma, you've brought friends again." Changpu teased with a wink, without neglecting her work at all.

"Stop calling me 'Young Master' all the time, Sister Ayame~" Menma retorted sharply, deliberately dragging out her words.

The word "elder sister" made Changpu, who was cleaning, freeze for a moment as she held the rag.

"Hey!" The little girl puffed out her cheeks angrily, "You should call girls 'older sister'!"

Even though she was just an eight or nine-year-old girl, she still grinned a little when called "big sister" by children younger than herself.

'So his name is Menma.' Naruto watched the two bickering with a hint of envy.

"By the way, what's this little brother's name?" After cleaning up, Ayame didn't rush back to the kitchen, but instead approached Naruto.

"Y-you...hello...my name is Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto was a little flustered, his cheeks burning from being treated so kindly for the first time.

Moreover, Naruto could sense that neither Menma nor Ayame harbored the same malice towards him as the other villagers.

"Hello, my name is Hand-Struck Iris. Welcome to my ramen shop anytime!" Iris patted her chest.

"Well then, welcome new customer. I'll make you some tempura." With that, Ayame folded up the dishcloth and ran to the kitchen. A moment later, two bowls of ramen and a bowl of tempura were served to Menma and Naruto.

"Please enjoy your meal!" Uncle Hand-Struck and his daughter, Ayame, stood at the kitchen counter, smiling and bowing slightly.

"Then I'll start eating!" Mianma picked up his chopsticks and put his hands together in prayer position.

Just as she was about to pick up her chopsticks, she saw Naruto staring at the rising steam, and tears suddenly fell onto the wooden table.

"Hey kid, why are you crying! Didn't anyone teach you what to say before a meal?!" Mianma hates it when kids cry.

“No…no one taught me…” Naruto wiped away his tears.

From the time he could remember, the people around Naruto were full of malice towards him, and no one taught him anything about life. He could only explore this malicious world all by himself.

"Then you learn from me, I'm going to start eating!" Menma frowned, picked up a pair of chopsticks and handed them to Naruto.

Naruto took the chopsticks and looked at the boy next to him who was grumbling but whose actions were very heartwarming. A strange emotion welled up in his heart.

"I...I'm going to start eating!" Naruto imitated Menma's movements, put his hands together, muttered something, and then broke the chopsticks apart.

Suck, suck, suck——

The sounds of the two eating ramen echoed in the shop. Although he didn't know what had happened, he knew it must be something heartwarming, so he turned around and got busy.

Ayame looked at Menma with some surprise, then at Naruto.

I don't know why, but I always felt that the two of them were like brothers.

Perhaps because Naruto was so hungry and had never eaten a decent hot meal before, this bowl of ramen was like a delicacy to him. He devoured it with gusto, even drinking the broth clean.

Menma had only eaten half of his meal when he saw Naruto put down his bowl and stare longingly at the plate of tempura between them, drooling.

"You look so hungry, here you go." Menma casually pushed the tempura over.

“But…” Naruto instinctively wanted to refute.

Mianma raised his chopsticks: "First, when you receive help or kindness from others, you should say thank you; second, you should not let others down."

Seeing that Naruto wanted to say something more, Menma added, "I've eaten enough today, unlike you, who's starving."

With this reason, Naruto happily picked up a tempura with his chopsticks, a smile spreading across his face: "Thank you! Menma!"

"Uncle Teuchi, this kid is paying for today's meal." Menma had almost finished eating, and after putting down his chopsticks, he pointed to Naruto, who was enjoying tempura next to him.

Shou Da raised his head from the steam and said with a smile, "Alright, since you're new customers, I'll give you a 10% discount. Thank you, it'll be ninety taels of silver."

When Naruto, who was eating tempura, heard the price, he was stunned for a moment and quickly picked up his wallet to count the money.

He receives a monthly allowance, though it's not much. His housing is arranged by Konoha, and he doesn't have to pay for utilities or rent. So, Naruto's living expenses are just average each month, enough to afford a bowl of ramen.

However, Naruto eats instant noodles every day and ends up with very little pocket money, so it's hard to understand where all the money goes.

Ninety taels was still a painful sum for Naruto.

Naruto took out a hundred-yen bill and reluctantly handed it to the old man.

Ayame took the money, took out a wallet, and gave Naruto ten yen coins: "Thank you! Here's your change."

The two walked out of the ramen shop one after the other. Menma patted his belly with satisfaction, while Naruto held the ten ryo coins he had received as change, looking rather gloomy.

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(End of this chapter)