Teuchi, standing nearby, also agreed with Iruka's words and chimed in.
"That's right, it's good to cry it out; emotions need to be released!"
"Just like our Ayame, I don't even dare to raise my voice at her, afraid she'll burst into tears at the slightest disagreement, saying her mother left early and her father doesn't care..."
"Dad!" Teuchi hadn't finished speaking.
He was interrupted by Ayame, whose face was flushed red, as she poked her head out from behind the curtain.
"Don't talk nonsense, I don't do that!"
"And today, Naruto is the main character, don't change the subject to me!"
Teuchi just laughed heartily, not caring at all.
"Hahaha, I won't say anymore, I won't say anymore, or my daughter will cry again~"
"Ugh, I'm never talking to you again!"
Seeing that Teuchi still dared to speak, Ayame turned her head away with a sour expression.
She planned to light an incense stick for her mother and complain to her after they closed up shop and went home tonight!
At the same time, she quickly walked in front of Naruto and stared at him unblinkingly.
"The resemblance, it's too striking, his eyebrows and eyes are exactly like Kushina-neechan's; I can't believe I didn't notice before!"
"No wonder when I saw Naruto, I felt an extraordinary sense of familiarity and closeness!"
When Ayame was little, she had a very good relationship with the street-smart Kushina.
Every time Kushina came out to stroll the streets, she would run out of the ramen shop to listen to Kushina tell stories.
When Kushina was pregnant with Naruto, she even held Kushina's belly and listened to Naruto's movements inside!
Thinking about it now, she and her father's treatment of Naruto was different.
Most likely, it was because they saw Kushina's shadow in Naruto.
"So, my mother's name was Kushina?"
Hearing Ayame's words, Naruto, who was no longer crying, paused.
Then, he unconsciously rubbed his face against the scarf wrapped around his neck.
Ayame nodded excitedly: "That's right, and she was a super beautiful redhead!"
"Standing with the handsome Fourth Hokage, they were a perfect match, truly a match made in heaven!"
"And Naruto, you've inherited their good looks; you've already become a handsome young man!"
Ayame vaguely remembered Naruto three months ago, right after he got his forehead protector.
His face was sallow from malnutrition, his hair was messy, his clothes were old-fashioned, and he wore a huge pair of goggles.
He couldn't be called ugly, but he certainly wasn't handsome either.
Now, Naruto's skin was fair with a rosy glow, his hair was neatly combed, and his clothes were well-coordinated, no longer entirely drab yellow.
While he wasn't so handsome as to make people stop in their tracks, he was considered a well-known handsome young man in the surrounding villages!
Hearing Ayame's words, Naruto's nose stung again, but he stopped himself from crying.
Today was a happy day; it wasn't good to keep crying.
But emotions still needed to be released, so Naruto, imitating Hashirama, slammed his head onto the counter.
"Iruka-sensei, Teuchi-ossan, Ayame-nee, thank you!"
At the same time, Naruto also inwardly screamed thanks to Feng Xu.
After all, all these positive changes only happened after Feng Xu appeared.
Feng Xu didn't respond to Naruto's thanks; instead, he glanced at the progress bar.
Good, it was still stuck at 79%, completely motionless.
After expressing his thanks, Naruto, whose emotions had calmed down considerably, lifted his slightly reddened forehead.
Then, he reached out and pulled out his bulging frog wallet, slamming it onto the counter.
"You don't have to treat me, Iruka-sensei! I have money now, lots of money! I want to treat you all to ramen!"
"Teuchi-ossan, give everyone the most, most, most luxurious ramen!"
Chapter 159: Tsunade's Shock
"So much money!"
Iruka and Ayame both exclaimed.
They had clearly seen that the bulging frog wallet was full of stacks of large-denomination bills!
There were no small coins like pennies taking up space!
A rough estimate put it at no less than tens of thousands of ryo!
"Is all of this from that 'Boy A... novel'?"
Ayame, slightly blushing, didn't say the full title of the novel.
Because having read the entire thing, she knew how blush-inducing and heart-pounding it was.
It was just a shame the protagonist of the novel was male; her sense of immersion wasn't great. If it were female, then... Ayame, halfway through her thought, quickly stopped her daydreaming.
"Probably, I guess. I saw that the village bookstores were selling it quite well; it even sold out shortly after it was released."
Iruka's face was also a bit awkward and red.
But more than that, there was envy, and satisfaction with Naruto's abilities.
Because Naruto wrote this novel, Iruka, to show his support, bought and read all of it.
Regarding the plot, he could only say that Naruto was indeed the developer of the Sexy Technique.
He completely knew what men wanted to see!
With this ability, even if he didn't become a Ninja in the future, he could still be a wealthy great author!
"Hehehe, you guessed right!"
"But this is just a very small part; in short, I'm very rich now, dattebayo!"
Naruto, shaking off his previous gloom, put his hands on his hips and burst into triumphant laughter.
If he were to activate Tailed Beast Chakra Mode at this moment, one would surely see his tail wagging to the heavens!
"Indeed, very rich. That publishing fee is almost half of what I've earned from all my hard work on missions over the years!"
Kakashi's figure suddenly appeared in the seat next to Naruto, along with his sour remark.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto's face lit up with surprise as he turned to see Kakashi.
"I'm here to celebrate too. Treat me to a bowl of ramen as well."
Kakashi, not at all embarrassed, pulled out his chopsticks, looking ready for the meal to begin.
He had just reported information about Sasuke's departure to Jiraiya.
Passing by here, he happened to hear Naruto say he had money and was treating everyone.
"Yes, everyone! I can afford to treat however many people come today!"
Naruto thumped his chest, making a loud sound, then boldly shouted to Teuchi.
"Teuchi-ossan, fill every bowl with the most expensive ingredients! Today, we're not eating good food, we're eating the most expensive!"
Hearing Naruto's shouts, Teuchi also replied with a chuckle.
"No problem, today I'll make a 1000-ryo bowl of ramen!"
"As long as you don't mind the cost, Naruto, hahaha..."
Although Teuchi said this, what he was really thinking was that he wouldn't charge him later.
"Naruto is a rich man; 1000 ryo is nothing to him!"
"I know that Naruto's next book is about to be published!"
"And the angle is novel, the protagonist is female, and compared to the simple and crude previous one, this one has many delicate emotional changes..."
Of course, these were all Kakashi's excuses.
The main thing was that the angle was novel, and there were a lot of steamy scenes; in short, it was good and a waste of paper!
"W-wait! Kakashi-sensei, don't say anymore!"
Naruto quickly stopped Kakashi's words, not wanting him to expose the new book.
Because the female lead in this 'little pervy novel' wasn't as willing as the last one; she was pitiful enough to make one's heart ache.
So, after getting Feng Xu's permission, he changed his pen name.
The purpose was to prevent people from knowing he wrote it!
But now Kakashi had directly exposed him!
If Ayame bought it and read it, she would definitely hate him!
"Alright, alright, I won't say anymore."
Kakashi also stopped there, taking the ramen Teuchi had prepared.
Although Ayame wanted to ask, a girl's modesty ultimately kept her from speaking out.
And Iruka made a mental note, planning to go to the bookstore later to find books that fit those descriptions.
He also planned to stock up on tissues at the store; his consumption had been quite fast lately.
Just as everyone was slurping their noodles, a conversation drifted from the street behind them.
Especially one of the voices; it sounded like someone with very large breasts!
"Lady Tsunade, it's been so long since you've been back, Konoha hasn't changed at all."
"Tch, it's good that it hasn't changed. If I hadn't won the big prize after hearing news about my grandfather, I really wouldn't have wanted to come back..."
"Lady Tsunade?!" Kakashi, hearing Tsunade's name.
He no longer bothered to cover his face with one hand to prevent Naruto from peeking.
He directly picked up his bowl and slurped, downing all the soup and noodles, then turned and chased after them.
And Naruto, who had been staring at Kakashi, finally saw Kakashi's true face.
Although it was only a side profile, it still made Naruto exclaim in surprise.
"So handsome! The face under the mask is as handsome as Dad's!"
"Haha, I'll definitely brag to Sasuke and Sakura about this later!"
Naruto remembered how they, the three of them, had gone to great lengths to see Kakashi's true face before, but never succeeded!
"Gulp—Teuchi-ossan, I left the ramen money under the bowl!"
Seeing Kakashi rush off, a curious Naruto also quickly finished his noodles with two gulps, then shouted and chased after him.
"Naruto, this time it counts... This kid, still so impetuous."
Watching Naruto run off, Teuchi helplessly accepted the money.
Iruka continued to eat his noodles while craning his neck to watch Kakashi and Naruto's retreating figures.
"I didn't expect Lady Tsunade to return as well. It seems our Konoha is going to get better and better..."
..."Lady Tsunade, long time no see."
Tsunade, hearing Kakashi's voice, turned her head.
"It's you, Kakashi."
Tsunade basically returned to Konoha every few years.
Of course, it wasn't to inquire about Konoha's situation, but simply to pay respects to her ancestors and visit the graves of her brother and lover.