Chapter 8: Naruto Wants Ramen? No, Give Me Your Wife in Exchange!
"Next time you dare to bully people, dare to give people nicknames, I'll beat you guys again, got it?" Qianye hadn't struck hard, just enough to make their noses bleed. After a while, when they had cried enough, he finally spoke with a mischievous smile.
As the saying goes, a mischievous child needs another mischievous child to control him.
If an older person had intervened, they would only be scared for a while, and in a few days, they would scoff at it.
Only a child more mischievous than them would make them remember.
"Got it, wah!"
Hearing Qianye's words, the three of them looked up and saw his fair face, revealing a playful smile even more mischievous than theirs. They suddenly shivered and replied in unison, their voices filled with tears.
Not until Qianye stopped looking at them.
Then they ran away in a panic, crying loudly, as if their parents had given them extra legs.
At this moment, Hyuga Hinata's eyes were still tearful as she looked at this boy who had appeared like a hero, saving her.
A familiar feeling inexplicably surged in her heart.
It seemed she had seen him somewhere before.
Then she mustered her courage, walked up to Qianye, her small face flushed, and bowed gracefully, "Um... thank you."
"No need to thank me." Qianye formed a hand seal with his right hand, and with a 'bang,' the smoke dispersed, and he returned to his original form.
Hinata looked at the suddenly larger Qianye, and that inexplicable sense of familiarity surged into her heart again. She couldn't help but ask, "Um, have we met somewhere before?"
"It seems you still remember, huh? Two years ago, that winter day, you got lost in the snow. How about it? Do you still remember?" Qianye half-squatted down and asked with a light smile.
"You're the big brother who took me home!" Hinata exclaimed excitedly when she heard this, as familiar images instantly flooded her mind.
Qianye nodded, lightly stroking the little girl's head.
Immediately, Hinata shyly lowered her head.
Qianye turned his head and glanced at the male Ninja at the end of the road who also possessed a pair of pure white eyes.
He then looked at the yellow-haired little boy hiding behind a tree not far away.
He softly said to Hinata: "Little girl, you are a child of the Hyuga clan and possess the Byakugan. You should have received formal Ninja training since childhood.
Why couldn't you deal with those mischievous children?
Remember, next time you encounter such a situation, do not back down, and do not cry. You must learn to fight back.
Others' help is only temporary; no one can protect you for a lifetime.
Constant tolerance and weakness will not solve any problems.
If you want to protect what you cherish, then you must learn to take the initiative.
Alright, I have something else to do. See you next time."
After speaking, Qianye turned around and slowly disappeared from Hinata's sight without looking back.
After a while, the Hyuga Chunin ran over and said nervously, "Young Mistress, why did you sneak out again? What if you encountered a bad person? Thankfully, that person just now didn't do anything... Also, you didn't get close to that yellow-haired kid, did you? The Clan Head has instructed that we cannot..."
Facing her escort's nagging, Hinata paid no attention, only staring at the place where Qianye disappeared. Behind him, a yellow-haired little boy was still stealthily following. She whispered in her heart, "See you next time, Big Brother."
After this day, Hinata changed her timid and shy personality.
Her interest in Gentle Fist training suddenly surged. Besides completing the training assignments her father set every day, she would also practice extra privately.
If she encountered something she didn't understand, she would ask her father immediately.
This made Hyuga Hiashi, who was responsible for teaching Hinata Gentle Fist, both surprised and relieved.
During a test, after discovering Hinata had made significant progress, he, who was usually strict, uncharacteristically praised his daughter, whom he had previously found displeasing.
And receiving her father's praise, Hinata was overjoyed and trained even harder.
Eventually, she gradually caught up to Hyuga Neji, who was hailed as a genius.
Of course, that's a story for later.
On the other side, Qianye had already returned the way he came, arriving at Ichiraku Ramen.
[Ding, congratulations Host for completing the mission. Reward: Earth Release Chakra Nature Transformation.]
"It was worth my effort after all." Listening to the system prompt in his ear, Qianye's lips curved slightly upwards.
He then glanced behind him.
There, a yellow-haired brat was using the most clumsy hiding technique, hiding behind a telephone pole, occasionally peeking out to observe.
Seeing Qianye look back, the yellow-haired little boy immediately shrank back nervously.
"Come out, you've been following me all this way, aren't you tired?" Qianye sighed, full of helplessness.
"Ni-san, do you still remember me? I'm Naruto... Uzumaki Naruto!" Hearing this, Naruto walked out from behind the telephone pole with an embarrassed smile.
"Of course, I remember," Qianye said.
Speaking of which, their acquaintance dated back to two years ago when Qianye took Hinata home.
Originally, it should have been Naruto, who was wandering around the streets because he had no family, who took Hinata home.
But because of Qianye's intrusion, the two did not meet.
The same goes for this time.
If Qianye hadn't intervened, Naruto would have stepped forward to save Hinata, as in the original story, and then been beaten severely.
On the way back, Qianye met Naruto and, seeing him pitiful, treated him to a bowl of ramen.
He didn't expect the other party to still remember it to this day.
Hearing this, Naruto's light blue eyes immediately showed excitement and joy, his happiness overflowing on his face.
Because Qianye was the first person, besides the Third Hokage, who had not looked at him with strange eyes in his entire life.
The owner of Ichiraku Ramen was the second.
Just then, Naruto's stomach rumbled.
"You must not have eaten properly again," Qianye said, looking at Naruto.
Naruto's small face flushed slightly. He awkwardly rubbed his stomach, then turned his head to look at the brightly lit Ichiraku Ramen shop beside Qianye, his throat bobbing as he swallowed hard.
"I knew it. Come in, I'll treat you to ramen." Qianye subtly glanced at the Anbu Ninja hidden in the shadows, monitoring Naruto, and then walked into Ichiraku Ramen first.
Naruto was stunned for a moment, then his face immediately showed excitement and gratitude as he quickly followed inside.
In the shadows, one of the Anbu responsible for monitoring Naruto said, "Someone is in contact with the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki. Should we report to Hokage-sama?"
Another Anbu replied, "No need. That kid probably just felt sorry for the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki and treated him to a meal. Let's observe for now."
"Oh, it's Qianye-kun! Why didn't you come with your little girlfriend today? What would you like to eat?" Ichiraku greeted him with a smile.
"Give him a bowl of Tonkotsu Ramen," Qianye said, pointing to Naruto who had followed him. He took out the few remaining coins he had and placed them on the table. "Ichiraku-san, from now on, give him a bowl of ramen every day. This money should be enough for him until after the New Year."
"Naruto?" Ichiraku's usually squinted eyes rarely opened, and he looked at Naruto with a complex expression. Recalling the scene two years ago when Qianye had brought Naruto to eat ramen, and then thinking of Qianye's background, he couldn't help but sigh, "Qianye-kun, you really are a good person."
Qianye smiled faintly, about to leave, when Naruto's childish and expectant voice sounded in his ear, "Qianye Ni-san, aren't you eating?"
"No, I have an appointment," Qianye shook his head. Izumi was still waiting for him to have New Year's Eve dinner. He then left without looking back.
Only Naruto remained, standing in a daze, but soon, his thoughts were captivated by the fragrant Ichiraku Ramen.
Today was destined to be a wonderful day for Naruto.
Although he lost the chance to meet his future wife, he gained a year's worth of ramen.
P.S.: Second update, please give recommendation tickets, please give monthly tickets.