Disclaimer:

I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.

Arc 2

"Welcome to Ichiraku's Ramen!"

Boruto enthusiastically grinned from ear to ear. He did not expect to be promoted so quickly-in just a few weeks time, even. He guessed that his hard work really paid off. He actually started from the bottom as just a normal bus boy, then, fast forward a few weeks, and he is now considered the youngest chef in the shop, cooking ramen for the customers.

The ramen shop saw an increase in customers and sale percentages because of the blonde's contributions and he was thus now considered a partner to the ramen shop's daughter in terms of handling the orders, fixing technical issues, and other tasks related to the business.

"Coming right up sir!"

"What would you like to order, Ma'am?"

"That's a great choice, Ma'am/Sir."

Phrases and questions like these were constantly coming out of the blonde's mouth since he began working there. Truth to be told, he really enjoyed the experience of serving the customers. It was like a free trial for if he was ever going to work in the future as an adult.

The blonde observed his surroundings. Customer attendance was still at an all-time high. Even though it was a bit of a hustle, he still managed to keep with the flow. He observed the crowd; most of them were families and single individuals. The customers that caught his attention the most were a father and son eating in a particular area. They were happily bonding and talking to each other.

Boruto gave them a sad smile. Memories flooded his mind as he recalled the first time his own dad had taken him to the ramen shop. He remembered that at that time, Ichiraku, the owner, had already retired from the business. Fortunately for the blonde, however, he was able to meet the old man himself, since he had been there in the past.

"Bolt-san?" A familiar female voice called his name. The blonde snapped out of his thoughts and turned to face the brown haired woman herself, Ayame.

"Yes Ayame-chan?" Boruto asked. He was waiting for the latter to ask him something.

"So, how are you doing?" Ayame asked. She was just checking up on the blonde to see how he found his job so far.

Boruto smiled. " Well, I am actually doing great! Plus, I really need this job right now, hehe," he explained as he gave a chuckle. He really needed to earn a living to keep themselves in a stable condition.

Ayame chuckled." You sound as if this is the most important job you've ever taken," she commented.

Boruto could only sigh." Well, It's true that I value my job right now," he explained as he stirred the freshly cooked ramen. "I'm thankful that I'm earning a living because of you guys," he added as he placed the ramen into a bowl of broth and served it to a random customer.

"Without you guys I don't know what other job I would have taken besides this," Boruto explained.

(Interview)

"Well, to summarize my whole job hunting, I got myself busted in three jobs before this, all because of some unfortunate events. Working at Ichiraku's is probably the best thing that ever happened to me so far."

-Boruto

Ayame gave smile. "I think we should be the one thanking you." The blonde then stared at her with wide, bewildered eyes.

"Well," she continued, "My Pops had been really looking forward to seeing you ever since you first came here." She paused to catch her breath. "He said that guys like you are made of something special. He kinda reminds you of his favorite customer," she explained.

She was referring to a certain someone, who had the same features as the blonde.

"Who's his favorite customer?" Boruto asked, curious about who the mystery person.

"The customer's name is Naruto Uzumaki," Ayame simply replied, proudly introducing the famous customer of Ichiraku.

Silence hung in the air as Boruto stood still, astonished. The customer that the she was referring to was none other than his dad, the person who would become both Hero and Hokage of the village in the future. He just kept silent, as the memories that he treasured about his old man played in his mind.

Ayama gave him a confused look." Are you alright?" She asked.

Boruto quickly snapped out of his thoughts and was brought back to reality once more. He then gave the brown haired woman a smile.

He had a question in his mind.

"So could you tell me more about this Naruto person?" Boruto asked. He loved his old man to death but he hardly knew anything about him. Sure, the his dad would tell him his stories, but now was the best chance to get to know more about him through the eyes of the individuals who were very close to him.

(Interview)

"I have a habit of forgetting small information much like the many stories that I've heard from mom and the old man. I was bit shaken with embarassment since I can't even remember about the old man being the patron customer of the shop (Chuckles)

-Boruto

Ayame was delighted and pleased to tell the teenage blonde about the most hyperactive and inspiring person that ever came through the ramen shop. She told him about Naruto's background, and Boruto listened intently to Ayame's story of his young dad. The teenage time traveler learned more than he ever knew about his old man's past via Ayame.

She would go on to tell about how this certain kid would wander around the streets alone, all the while being ridiculed and insulted by the people of the village. Boruto felt saddened by the truth; he hadn't known about this.

"We really don't have any regrets. My Pops and I are proud that we were one of the few ones that treated him as a member of the family," Ayame explained. The eccentric blonde was their most loyal customer, even from the beginning.

Boruto smiled. He was glad to hear that despite most of the villagers treating him as some kind of outcast, Ayame and the old man treated him as family. He also learned that the ramen shop would often give the young blonde huge discounts or sometimes when he was short on money, they would give him ramen for free, just to make sure he got good food.

"He was orphaned almost since birth. He really grew up alone and even didn't know his parents at all. Some say they both passed in an accident after he was born," Ayame explained.

Boruto sighed. He knew that his old man's parents were dead. They were none other than his grandpa Minato and Grandma Kushina. He actually never met them in person because they were long gone even before he was born.

"Hey, are you really alright? You look as if you're sad." Ayame again noticed the blonde's changing reaction. Sometimes he would smile, and sometimes he would make a sad face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that I want to meet this Naruto fellow, if ever there is a time," Boruto explained as he looked at his friend.

Ayame smiled. "Well, he really is a fun person to meet and hangout with. It's like having a best friend as soon as you meet him," she explained as she gazed at the blonde's cerulean eyes.

"You know, you kind of remind me of him. You have the same eyes," Ayame commented. She noticed the resemblance between the latter and Naruto.

Boruto slightly chuckled and grinned. "What can I say? A coincidence?" He replied coyly.

"We may never know." Ayame shrugged. She then noticed that the latter had white patches on both of his cheeks.

"Bolt-san?" She called again.

"Yeah, Ayame-chan?"

"What are those patches on your cheeks? I noticed you always have them everyday?" Ayame asked out of curiosity.

Boruto exhaled. "Well, I got my cheeks wounded during the time we escape our small village," he explained.

Ayame blinked her eyes a couple of times before making a surprised face. "Oh," the young woman uttered. She then remembered the blonde's background before they arrived at Konoha. Their small village had been attacked by raiders and everyone perished except him, his little sister, and his friend.

"Oh, I'm so sorry about that," Ayame immediately apologized. She forgot what the blonde had told her before.

"It's alright Ayame-chan, I guess the only way for us to get away from the past is by moving on with our lives," Boruto remarked. He just didn't want to remember the painful memories from back home.

He sighed again. "At least from what I think, I would rather not spend my time remembering all the bad memories about it. They won't do any good for me or anyone else," he explained further.

Ayame sighed. "You're right. Thinking about the bad memories all the time won't do any good," she agreed. "But if you guys need anything, you can just come to us. We'll do whatever we can to help." Ayame smiled as she assured the blonde that he had their full support.

"I could never thank you enough, Ayame-chan." Boruto said as he chuckled at his friends statement. The young brunette woman did the same, going along with the flow.

"No problem."

For the rest of the time, they both remained silent and focused on their jobs. The two of them knew that this was going to be a very long day, so they would have to recharge again.

(MEANWHILE)

"You've got to be kidding me!"

Konohamaru couldn't believe it. His team gave their one-hundred percent effort on capturing that cat, and yet they are still assigned to D rank missions. How's that even possible?! They should really be treated the way it used to be.

The boy, along with the rest of team, which consists Moegi and Udon, found themselves walking along the outskirts of the Hokage building. Both of the two showed their concern toward the main member of the team.

"Hey, you gotta relax Konohamaru. At least we gave all we got to catch that cat." Moegi declared. She was trying to cheer the boy up.

Konohamaru just sighed. There were a total of one hundred D ranked missions they'd finished successfully, and all they got was another D rank mission in return. This was not even worthy to be the consolation prize!

A C rank mission would be much better. He was eager to prove himself to the blonde and show him that he had gotten stronger. All he wanted was for the latter to be proud of him.

"If only big brother Naruto was here." Konohamaru sighed. He wondered he would return to the village. It's almost been two long years already and he still hasn't showed up. What was the big deal?

"Speaking of Naruto, do you know when he is gonna come back?" Udon was the one to speak.

"Yeah, how is he, by the way? I hope he's doing good in his training with Grandpa Jiraiya," Moegi questioned and commented. She also wondered when the latter would return.

Konohamaru just grinned as he looked up at the blue sky. "Of course he is doing good. Not only good, but GREAT!" He exclaimed. He was just hyped up about it.

"I believed in him a hundred percent," Konohamaru added. A thought then came into his mind. What if they searched the village to find out if the blonde had already arrived. He's just got that feeling that he's gonna return today.

The boy Sarutobi then turned around to face the rest of his team.

"Hey guys, wanna go to Ichiraku's?"

(MEANWHILE)

Tsunade observed the trio from the large open window at the main office. She sighed but also smiled. The boy reminded her of the blonde knucklehead himself.

"He might be the seventh Hokage in the future perhaps. But definitely a second Naruto," Tsunade asserted. It was just so surreal.

"Seventh Hokage? Quite possibly. What do you think Iruka-san?" Shizune asked the brown haired shinobi on the other side of the desk .

Iruka sighed, "Yeah I guess so." He was also thinking about his former student.

It's really been two long years since the hyperactive blonde knucklehead left the village for his training journey with the master toad sage.

"I hope you are doing alright Naruto," Iruka thought to himself. He wondered about how his formed student was fairing right now. He must be stronger now than before. He might be even summoning toads by now!

"I think it's about time for him to return to the village," Shizune proclaimed. She too was looking forward for the blonde's return. She wondered on he looked like nowadays.

As for Tsunade herself, she felt that this was the day that the latter would be returning to the village. It was long overdue and the kid had a destiny with fate.

"The village needs you Naruto."

(BONDING)

Himawari walked along the streets of the village. After spending time with her Uncle Neji and Aunt Hanabi she found herself walking back to the apartment. It was a very short but fun day for her. She had to go home because she really needed to prepare the ingredients for dinner later on.

Himawari sighed. She forgot to wear the patches on her cheeks; without them someone might notice the resemblance between her and her past dad.

"Oh bugger," Himawari muttered. If she had only brought the patches, then she would still have time to explore the village more. Being in the apartment was quite boring sometimes. But she had obligations to follow and it was her job to take care of the house.

Himawari sighed again. She had no choice, but she was hopeful that maybe next time she could explore the village with the two. She knew that this Konoha was far different from the Modern Konoha of the future and this was her chance to see everything back in its original state.

The Uzumaki girl felt like a tourist from another place every time she walked along the streets of the village. The whole place was really qualified as a tourist destination.

(CUSTOMER)

A certain raven haired Uchiha girl stared at the different types of bread in front of her. Her eyes then darted toward a certain direction and saw that the customers were slowly dwindling down in numbers.

She had been handling the orders recently. The customers just kept coming for these breads. She doesn't even know what kind of breads these are. They had a powerful essence that would attract a lot of customers every minute. The reason why the customers were dwindling down was because almost all of the bread was bought out.

This bakery shop was not really even a Bakery shop at all. It was some kind of cafe which had a traditional vibe to it. That is why there is always so many customers here all the time. Now the whole place is quiet, though.

Sarada sighed yet again. She was hoping for her schedule proposal to be approved by the main boss of the bakery shop. She was eagerly awaiting the announcement. As time passed by, the Uchiha girl relaxed her head on her chair.

Thoughts were now running around her mind. She thought of the blonde's advice of staying low for awhile. In fact, she took the latter's advice, and was now awaiting the change of her work schedule.

A few minutes passed by and the raven haired girl felt her consciousness fading away. She was on her way to sleep when a customer suddenly entered the shop. The girl was unaware of the customer as she continued to mind her own business of sleeping.

"Excuse me miss?" A male voice then said, coming out of nowhere and interrupting the raven haired girl's slumber.

Sarada almost fell out her chair but she managed to regain her composure and properly stand up. Her eyes focused on where the customer was located and saw a young but older man. He had onyx eyes, under which were long, pronounced tear-troughs. He had jet-black hair that was pulled back in a low ponytail and his face was framed with center-parted bangs that extended to his chin; the ponytail and bangs grew longer over the years. His overall appearance was very similar to that of a person she knew.

Sarada observed the customer. He was also wearing casual civilian clothes.

"Hello sir, what can I do for you?" Sarada immediately smiled and asked the customer.

The customer just sighed. He had already deduced that the clerk of the bakery shop was just now considering her actions and manners. But he was a patient person and he was going to give this teenage girl a second chance.

"Yes, I would like to ask if you have any sweet breads or cakes here?" The customer asked. He liked foods that have something to do with sweets. It was one of his favorites.

Sarada smiled." Yes! We do have a lot of sweet breads and cakes here," the raven haired girl replied as she presented the different types of sweet breads and other food items that the shop had to offer.

The Customer smiled. He finally made a choice of which bread he wanted. "I would like to have this delicious Tiramisu cake and I will check for a Dine in," he explained.

"Also, a nice little cup of tea would be a good partner," he added.

Sarada nodded. "That's a great choice! That will be a 2 minute wait time, please take a seat," she explained like a professional worker.

The customer nodded in understanding. "Thank you, I understand," he said politely as he turned to find a seat on the small dine in area of the shop.

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At the same time, something came to the raven haired girl's mind. She forgot to ask the customer's name.

"Hold on, Sir!" Sarada called out to the latter.

The customer turned back to the girl and gave a face of surprise.

"I'm sorry, but I forgot to write your name here," Sarada informed the man. She explained on she needed the customer's name so that she can just call the name to signal that his order was ready.

The customer sighed but smiled.

"You can call me Chitai."

Sarada just stared at the customer. His name sounded really familiar, but she couldn't put a finger on it. To be honest, the raven haired teen thought that he really looked familiar from somewhere.

(Interview)

"The name really sounded familiar. I just can't figure it out on where I heard that name before. It seemed as if it was reversed.

-Sarada

(HOMECOMING)

Somewhere in the outskirts of the village two people could be seen walking through the main road of the forest. One was a tall and well-built man in adulthood with fair skin. He had a wart on the left side of his nose and waist-length, spiky white hair that he usually tied back into a ponytail, with two shoulder-length bangs framing his face. There were red lines under his eyes which extended further down his face.

His attire consisted of a green short shirt kimono and matching pants, under which he wore mesh armor that was visible at his wrists and ankles. He also wore hand-guards, a black belt, traditional Japanese wooden sandals, and a red haori with two yellow circles on each side. He carried a large scroll on his back.

The other one was a blonde teenager with blue cerulean eyes, three whisker marks on his cheeks, wearing a black and orange jumpsuit.

The two were on their way back to the village after a 2 year training trip. They were expecting a lot of changes in the village and they were also ready to meet their old friends and resume their lives there.

Jiraiya smiled. He could finally see the famous Hokage mountain in its glory. It was safe to say that they'd officially arrived at home.

"Man! I can't wait!" Naruto exclaimed. He was pretty much happy and excited. After all the ordeals, challenges and hard work, he could finally prove to them that Naruto Uzumaki has gotten into a stronger level than he was ever before.

Jiraiya observed his blonde student. He gave him a proud smile. He had indeed seen massive improvement in him. He was also starting to look liked his father during his younger days. Minato and Kushina would be so proud of their son. The way he had grown up to be the healthy boy that they dreamed of raising when they were alive.

There was fear building up inside of him, though. What if he did not make it through this journey? Who would watch over the young blonde? He was not completely ready yet to face the danger of all dangers. He still had a long way to go.

As they neared the gates of the village, Jiraiya thought that things would not be the same from now on. But as for right now, it will be a very Home sweet Home.

CHAPTER ENDS