Konohagakure.
It was a bright and beautiful afternoon. The sun bathed the village in warm, lazy light, casting a golden hue across the streets.
As lunchtime approached, the roads bustled with villagers heading out in pairs and groups, making their way to a familiar destination.
And among them stood none other than the famous Ichiraku Ramen, already overflowing with patrons. The line stretched far down the street, like a river of hungry anticipation.
For some, this brought joy. For others… despair.
Across the street, Yuuta stood motionless in front of his restaurant, staring blankly at the empty seats within. Not a single customer had walked through his door. He sighed deeply.
"System, can't we just lower the prices a little? At this rate, the place is gonna go out of business!"
[Host, as the future Supreme God of Cuisine in the Naruto world, how can you let a few hardships get in your way?!]
The system's reply was solemn and passionate.
Yuuta's lips twitched as he turned his gaze to the menu board on the wall.
Beef Ramen – 128 Ryo
That price was, without exaggeration, several times more expensive than the shop across the street.
Who in their right mind would choose his ramen over Ichiraku?
Chin resting on one hand, Yuuta stared dazedly at the crowd gathered at Ichiraku, his thoughts drifting far, far away.
Because the truth was, Yuuta didn't belong to this world.
He had come from Earth.
Just like the plot of countless transmigration novels, Yuuta had been struck by lightning and somehow found himself in the world of Naruto.
At first, he had been thrilled. He thought he'd finally hit the jackpot, become a genius shinobi, dominate Konoha, crush the Akatsuki, slap around Madara Uchiha, maybe even take out Kaguya Ōtsutsuki and unify the ninja world.
But as the saying goes…
"Reality is skinny. Dreams are fat."
And in this case, reality smacked him with a frying pan.
Yuuta had drawn one of the worst possible hands: he was an orphan, born without a shred of talent for chakra growth.
Even that might've been tolerable, after all, Rock Lee and Guy made it work with pure taijutsu.
But life didn't stop punching.
As an orphan in Konoha, Yuuta barely scraped by thanks to the generosity of a kind neighbor. Without them, he might've starved to death on the streets. Training? That wasn't even an option. The first thing he had to think about was survival, and getting a job.
Sure, taijutsu training looked accessible on the surface. But if you went into it blindly, you'd wind up in the hospital before you even broke a sweat.
If Lee hadn't had a supportive teacher and a structured training regimen, not to mention supplies and meals, he would never have made it.
Remember: Konoha had been around for decades, but the number of people who'd succeeded with pure taijutsu could be counted on two hands.
Luckily, just when Yuuta thought fate had completely abandoned him, the system arrived.
Its full name?
The Culinary God System.
But this system was nothing like what Yuuta had imagined. In fact, it was… well, tsundere.
Take a look at the first mission it assigned him:
Defeat Ichiraku Ramen. Become the most renowned restaurant in Konoha.
(Mission Note: As the future Supreme Culinary God of the Shinobi World, how could you not have a few "boss monsters" to level up with?)
Yuuta stared at the mission screen in disbelief, then raised his middle finger to the sky.
"Are you serious right now?!"
Wasn't the main character supposed to start in the newbie zone? You grind, level up, get gear, then fight bosses.
But this? This was hell difficulty from day one!
Everyone who's ever watched Naruto knows Ichiraku Ramen.
It's Naruto Uzumaki's favorite place, a legendary shop even frequented by elite shinobi like Kakashi. Its reputation was untouchable.
And the system wanted Yuuta to beat that?! On his first mission?!
If that were all, maybe he could still believe in a comeback. After all, he had the system now.
Before this, Yuuta didn't even know how to make a proper fried egg. But the moment he bonded with the Culinary God System, it injected all sorts of cooking knowledge into his brain.
Take the shop's first dish: Beef Ramen.
He didn't need training, the moment he touched the dough, his hands moved like a seasoned master with twenty years' experience. His technique, his posture, flawless. Like muscle memory he'd had since birth.
But. But. BUT.
Some things need to be said three times.
The system had the audacity to price the beef ramen at 128 Ryo!
And across the street?
Ichiraku's signature ramen, delicious beyond belief, cost only 20 Ryo.
That was a six-fold price difference!
If Yuuta's shop had been an established brand with prestige, sure, people might've seen that price and thought it worth the experience. They'd line up months in advance just to get a table.
But his place?
A newly opened, no-name ramen joint...
Directly across the street from Ichiraku.
There was no competition. Just humiliation.
Even before this, villagers used to complain that Ichiraku was overpriced, that a single meal there cost as much as three elsewhere.
Even Naruto, once he became a genin and finally had some pocket money, would walk out of Ichiraku happy and full, but also broke and stressed, needing to take more missions just to pay for his next bowl.
Given all that, Yuuta's empty restaurant was no mystery.
Out of boredom, he glanced again at his system panel:
System Objective: Help the host become the Supreme Culinary God of the Naruto world.
Host: Yuuta
Gender: Male
Age: 12
Chakra Aptitude: None (As the Culinary God of the Naruto world, you will eventually need chakra to enhance your cooking. So, work hard.)
Cooking Talent: Unknown
Skills: None
Items: None
Culinary God Score: Chickpea-tier (Your journey has just begun. Follow the system's path, and rise to the top of the food chain.)
Yuuta silently gave the system a 1-star review in his heart.
One extra star to stop it from getting cocky.
One less star to stop it from killing him.
This system… wanted him to become the top chef in a world full of chakra monsters?
Either the world was crazy, or Yuuta was.
"If anyone's dumb enough to actually pay for that outrageously priced beef ramen, I'll eat dirt in front of the whole village!"
Yuuta muttered to himself with a snort.
But perhaps the sky above were curious to see that promise fulfilled,
Because right then, the door opened.
A customer walked in.
In the quiet, nearly empty shop, that single figure suddenly felt larger than life.
He stepped into the sunlight, short, with wild, spiky blonde hair that gleamed like gold under the rays.
With youthful energy and a loud, unfiltered voice, he declared:
"Oi, boss! One bowl of beef ramen, please!"
Yuuta blinked.
And promptly tossed his previous declaration about eating dirt into the furthest corner of his memory.
"Coming right up," he said seriously, without a hint of shame.
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