socalfunplaces Chapter 27 Ramen
Chapter 27 Ramen
The Hokage's office.
"Knock knock knock~!"
"Please come in."
"Third Hokage, it's been a long time."
"Ah! Mr. Chiba."
Upon seeing Chiba enter the office, Hiruzen Sarutobi gave him a friendly smile.
“Sassi-buli-gana”.
After exchanging greetings, Hiruzen Sarutobi extinguished the cigarette in his pipe and put it down.
"It's been half a year! How was your field trip to the Land of Fire?"
Tetsuya smiled and shook his head.
"To be honest, Third Generation, this field visit left me quite disappointed."
"Oh, if it's convenient, could you tell me what happened?"
"Well, nothing really happened. It's just that the world outside the village is a bit different from what I imagined."
Seeing the curious expression on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face, Tetsuya began to tell Hiruzen about what he had seen and heard over the past six months.
"In short, after this trip, my feeling is that Konoha is so much better than the outside world."
Outside of the village, apart from a few large cities, I truly don't think any other place can be called a town.
After listening to Tetsuya's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi was quite moved.
"Sigh, Mr. Chiba, what you've actually seen is the true face of this ninja world."
"The Third Hokage is right. However, this expedition was still fruitful; I confirmed a few feasible locations."
"Haha, really? That's good, that's good. I wish Mr. Chiba all the best in his business in advance."
"Lend your auspicious words."
Tetsuya smiled and took his wallet out of his pocket.
"Let's not talk about that now, Third Hokage. Let me settle the reward for this mission first."
Upon seeing this, Hiruzen Sakura narrowed his eyes and smiled.
"Haha, no problem, no problem."
After paying his fee, Tetsuya left the Hokage Building.
Tetsuya, who originally planned to go straight home and get a good night's sleep, decided to go in and take a look at the Chiba Ramen Shop when he passed by.
Welcome!
He bowed deeply to welcome the customers into the store, but when he looked up, his eyes widened and he excitedly took off his hat.
"Ah, it's the boss! Boss, you're back!"
"I'm back. Thank you for typing this out by hand these past six months. It must have been hard work."
Tetsuya smiled slightly and patted Shouda's shoulder.
His clones disappeared eleven days after he left Konoha, so it can be said that he has been running the shop by hand for the past six months.
"It's not hard work. The boss taught me the skills, and I was able to hone my skills while helping the boss run the shop. This is my blessing."
Tetsuya smiled and said, "That's well said. Typing by hand is simply the chosen way to be a working person."
"By the way, boss, please wait a moment."
He quickly ran into the counter, then ran out with a ledger in his hand.
"Boss, these are the accounts for the past six months. Please take a look."
Looking at the ledger he was holding, which was almost full, Tetsuya shook his head and pushed it back.
"No need to look anymore, I believe you."
Seeing that Tetsuya believed in him so much, Tetsuya bowed deeply to Tetsuya again.
"Thank you for your trust, boss."
Tetsuya smiled.
"I still prefer you calling me teacher when you were studying with me."
"Okay, teacher."
Tetsuya glanced at the shop, thought for a moment, and then said.
"How about I leave this shop to you from now on?"
"Teacher? What are you doing here...?"
Don't misunderstand.
Tetsuya sat down beside him and said.
"I plan to open a branch in the capital of the Land of Fire. Once the branch opens, I can't possibly travel back and forth between the two places, right?"
"The teacher is right, the capital is indeed too far away from Konoha."
"Therefore, I plan to make you the manager of this store in Konoha."
"Me?! Can I do a good job as the store manager?!"
"Haven't you been doing quite well these past six months?"
"Really!"
"Haha, alright, don't get too excited yet. It will still take some time before the branch opens."
"Boss, give me a bowl of their signature ramen."
A familiar figure appeared; the carefree Jiraiya walked into the store.
"Oh—! Mr. Chiba!"
Jiraiya's mouth dropped open when he saw Chiba.
“Yo, Sashiburi Gana, here I come.”
Tetsuya smiled and waved.
"You've grown taller in the past six months."
"Mr. Chiba, it's been a long time! I heard you've been traveling around the Land of Fire for the past six months. Did you enjoy it?"
Jiraiya looked at Tetsuya with wide, curious eyes.
Tetsuya thought for a moment and smiled.
"Jiraiya, everyone sees the world from a different perspective. What I find fun, you might not find fun. So, whether the outside world is fun or not, you'll have to go and see for yourself before you decide."
"What? I just wanted to ask you what's going on outside. Why is Mr. Chiba saying all this?"
Listening to Tetsuya's long string of platitudes, Jiraiya curled his lip.
Looking at Jiraiya in his current state, Tetsuya shook his head, thinking of the future Jiraiya who would be searching the world for the chosen one.
"Fine, you want a bowl of their signature ramen, right? I'll make it for you myself."
With that, Tetsuya headed towards the kitchen.
"Teacher, let me do it."
Tetsuya wanted to make ramen for Tetsuya, but Tetsuya stopped him.
"What, you want to take over my job before I've even opened a branch?"
No, no, no, that's not what I meant.
"Haha, you sit down. I haven't made ramen properly in a long time. Let me do it."
Seeing this, he had no choice but to sit down.
Soon, the aroma of ramen wafted from the kitchen.
Soon Tetsuya came out carrying two bowls of ramen, handing one to Jiraiya and the other to Tetsuya.
"Teacher, I..."
"I haven't made ramen in so long, I didn't control the amount properly, so I made a bowl for you too. Try it and see if my skills have deteriorated."
He nodded and picked up his chopsticks.
"I'm starting to eat."
While he was busy shoveling food into his mouth, Jiraiya had already taken several bites.
"Mmm, as expected of Mr. Chiba, the taste is still as amazing as ever."
Tetsuya sat to the side, smiling as he watched the two eat noodles.
Jiraiya made a big fuss, it looked like he hadn't eaten anything proper in a long time.
I reckon this kid has been staying at Mount Myōboku for a long time, eating insect dishes every day.
The hand-beating motions became much slower and more meticulous, as if one were carefully savoring the taste of the ramen.
"I'm finished eating!"
Jiraiya put down his chopsticks, licked his lips contentedly, and patted his stomach.
"I've finished eating, thank you for the treat."
Shouda put down his chopsticks and said with some emotion.
"Sure enough, my skills are still no match for my teacher's. Even though we use the same ingredients, I don't know why, but the ramen my teacher makes is more delicate and has a richer flavor than mine."
Perhaps that's what makes a teacher a teacher.
Tetsuya smiled and patted Shouda's shoulder.
"What are you talking about? Alright, now that you're full, let's all go home and get some rest."
"I should go home now, Mr. Chiba, Mr. Teuchi, goodbye."
Jiraiya waved and left the ramen shop.
Zhe also handed over the closing and shutting-down work to Shouda and left first.