Chapter 315: Ramen-Filled Dumplings
Konoha Year 54, January 1st, Afternoon.
Inside the Land of Whirlpools Ichiraku Ramen branch.
After a filling meal of dumplings, the three girls started chatting animatedly.
Masahiko originally wanted to go over, but he noticed that after Kushina said something, Konan's face flushed slightly red. It was clearly not suitable for him to join in, so he decided it was better to stay away.
As a result, on this New Year's Day, Sara had two best friends to chat with, while Masahiko was left with the three problem boys in front of him.
Activating 'Erudite Elder' mode, Masahiko gave the three children a thorough nagging.
"Naruto, smack! Did you remember? Smack! Haku is a boy, smack!"
Naruto looked completely devoid of the will to live. During this beating, Masahiko had pulled his pants halfway down.
"Great Ancestor, I know!"
"You're not allowed to use the Sexy Jutsu carelessly, understand? That's all stuff I played with and discarded... ahem, it's all outdated stuff, nothing to be smug about!" Masahiko almost let it slip.
"I know, Great Ancestor!"
Masahiko sighed. Every time he beat him, Naruto kept saying he knew, he knew, but the next time, he would make the same mistake again.
He then turned to Kimimaro, who had been watching the show for a while. "Haku is your companion. Do you know what companion means? If a companion is in trouble, you have to help..."
Masahiko pointed at little Naruto. "This little guy is trouble!"
"I understand, God!"
"And you, Haku," Masahiko continued. "Being kind is fine, but you also need to know how to refuse people. You are so 'pretty'; in the future, there will definitely be many people flocking to you like Naruto. If you don't refuse them, our Land of Whirlpools might be doomed!"
Haku smiled sweetly without speaking, instantly leaving Masahiko defenseless.
"Great Ancestor, rest assured, I will protect Big Sister Haku in the future!"
"Smack! Smack! Smack! Big Sister Haku?"
"Big Brother Haku, Big Brother Haku."
Masahiko felt a deep headache, but from the corner of his eye, he suddenly caught the upward curve of Naruto's mouth.
"You child, you're doing this on purpose to anger me, aren't you? Smack! Smack! Smack!"
"Ah! Stop hitting me! Mother, save me!"
Hearing the noise, Kushina glanced over but didn't feel any heartache at all. With a smile on her face, she went back to whispering with Sara.
Masahiko wasn't afraid of hitting too hard either. A few days ago, he had opened a small crack in Naruto's Nine-Tails seal specifically to increase his 'beating resistance'.
It wasn't until his little bottom was beaten bright red that Masahiko let him go.
Naruto was indeed tough. Without shedding a single tear, he pulled up his pants and trotted over to Kushina.
Masahiko could only smile and shake his head. Kids were too mischievous; there was really nothing he could do.
"If you're mischievous, you get spanked." Masahiko glanced at Haku and Kimimaro. Unsure of what came to mind, he shivered and hurriedly turned towards Kushina's side.
With Naruto running over, the three girls naturally couldn't whisper anymore. The topic of conversation now changed to how to make dumplings, allowing Masahiko, the stream-of-consciousness chef, to chime in.
"Great-Grandpa, you said we can put any kind of filling in dumplings. Can we use ramen?"
Masahiko paused, then nodded with a smile. "Of course you can. You can even use tomatoes."
"Tomatoes... I don't really like them."
Konan pulled at Kushina's sleeve with a helpless look. Even though she was five years younger than Kushina, she was able to look at her with an 'older sister's gaze'... and it felt incredibly natural.
"Hmph! Great-Grandpa, next time I make ramen-filled dumplings, you have to eat them." Kushina clenched her small fist.
"No problem." Masahiko agreed in a second. I'll just pretend I'm eating steamed buns.
Sara shook her head helplessly. Kushina particularly loved eating her ramen; even when making dumplings, the first thing she thought of was a ramen filling.
With ramen turning into a filling, the subsequent conversation turned into a weird filling competition... Masahiko silently prayed in his heart for Minato to pass away peacefully.
It wasn't until little Naruto let out a soft snore that they realized the sky had darkened.
"Sara, are we having ramen for dinner?" Kushina continued to mooch food.
Sara smiled. "There are still some dumplings left. Without Little White, it's enough for another meal. I'll go boil them right now."
Kushina and Konan exchanged a glance and followed along; you can't learn just by listening and not doing.
Masahiko looked at little Naruto sleeping with his head on the table and smiled. With a raise of his hand, Naruto's little blond hair automatically tied itself into two small buns on either side.
"Naruko Uzumaki, much cuter now."
Beside him, Haku looked at this with curiosity, making Masahiko feel like he had done something wrong...
Even after dinner, Naruto, who ate his meal bleary-eyed, didn't notice anything wrong. The adults held back their mischievousness and didn't say anything either; Kushina also felt this version of Naruto was cuter.
It was getting late. Kushina pulled Naruto up. "Great-Grandpa, Sara, won't you go out for a stroll together? Today is the first day of the festival; it's liveliest at night."
Konan also chimed in to persuade them: "Teacher, Big Sister Sara, let's go together."
Masahiko and Sara exchanged a glance and gently shook their heads. "Maybe tomorrow. There are too many people tonight. Although Sara and I don't need to intentionally hide our relationship, it's better not to make it known to everyone; it would be somewhat troublesome."
Kushina smiled. "It's better if everyone knows, this just shows your..."
"Go, go, go." Masahiko hurriedly interrupted. Women become different after getting married; they even dare to make this kind of joke with him.
"Alright then, we're leaving. Naruto, let's go!" Kushina waved goodbye.
Little Naruto rubbed his eyes, his gaze gradually regaining liveliness. He looked back and forth between Masahiko and Sara, then followed Kushina and Konan...
After seeing the three off, only Masahiko, Sara, and the two little guys remained in the shop.
Masahiko hesitated for a moment but still asked: "Daughter, earlier when I saw Konan blushing, was Kushina talking about her and Nagato?"
"Mm." Sara nodded with a smile.
"Konan has also reached the age for marriage," Masahiko sighed. "What about you?"
Sara was momentarily stunned before understanding Masahiko's meaning. Seeing his conflicted expression, she smiled and said, "Let fate decide."
Masahiko frowned. Although he couldn't bear to let her go, he didn't want his daughter to end up like him, single her whole life. Leaving it to fate wouldn't do.
"Someone around Sara's age, a young man I'm relatively familiar with, preferably with high strength and good looks..."
Masahiko pondered for a long time, and the image of a red-haired boy gradually appeared in his mind: Sasori.
"No, no, who knows where that guy went, and I don't even know if he's still human now." Masahiko repeatedly shook his head.
Sara was both annoyed and amused. "Father, are you thinking about something weird again?"
Masahiko smiled awkwardly. "It's nothing, nothing."
It was the New Year; it wasn't suitable to think about these vexing matters. Masahiko looked at the two children beside him, then at Sara, and pulled out a deck of playing cards from who knows where.
"The night is long, let the God of Gamblers teach you how to play poker..."
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