31 Chapter – 28 A Ramen Without Broth, Toppings, & Flavors?

Ichiraku ramen, Konohagakure

As Sasuke and Sarutobi Hiruzen arrived at the most invulnerable and famous ramen shop on the continent, they were greeted by a teenage girl wearing the waitress's clothes, "Welcome to the Ichiraku Rame–Ehh?? Ho-Hokage-sama?"

Hiruzen nodded with a smile, "Ayame-chan? It's been a while; the last time we met was during the Chūnin Exams, right? You have certainly grown into a fine young lady…"

"Ehehehe… have I?" Ayame laughed in embarrassment. To be praised by the Hokage is the greatest accomplishment for a woman, and Ayame was very happy to be praised by the strongest Hokage ever.

"You certainly have…" nodded Hiruzen with an amiable kind grandfather-like smile. Then he looked around and upon not noticing Teuchi, he asked Ayame, "By the way, where is Teuchi? Is he not well?"

"Eh? Tou-san? No, he is perfectly fine… he has just gone inside to attend some business and should be coming in a minute… Till then please have a seat, and you can give me the order…" answered Ayame.

"Ah, yes… yes…" nodded Hiruzen as he sat on one of the seats and started to talk about some stuff with Ayame.

Watching Hiruzen's interaction with Ayame, Sasuke rolled his eyes. If not for the fact that he was aware of this dirty old man's habit of peeping on young women bathing in the Konoha Hot Springs through his Crystal Ball, perhaps he would have really mistaken him to be a kind old Ojii-san.

'She seems to be in her mid-teens, I wonder if she too goes to the Konoha Hot Springs…' a weird thought suddenly appeared in Sasuke's mind as he glanced at the dirty old man standing beside him. If that were truly the case, then perhaps Hiruzen has peeped on a bathing Ayame too.

For an old man in his sixties to peep on a girl as young as thirteen, 'Well, people have their own fetishes… I don't want to judge anyone for their weird kinks…' Sasuke did not want to think too deeply about it, but no matter from which angle he considered, only one word came into his mind that would define Hiruzen's fetish.

'Sigh, let's not say the P word… It might put me on the target list for ruining the reputation a hypocrite has built over decades,' thinking to himself Sasuke tried his best to put that thought at the back of his mind, then greeted the young heiress of the Ichiraku Ramen Shop, "Good evening…"

Hearing Sasuke's greeting, Ayame turned toward him, and spoke, "Oh? Do we have another customer? I almost didn't noti–?" Halfway through her words, she stopped and looked at Sasuke with a stunned expression, "You are?"

Feeling Ayame's gaze on him as she suddenly became silent, Sasuke couldn't help but tilt his head in confusion, "Is there something on my face?"

"Ita–!" Ayame was about to exclaim that name, but she did not dare complete it, and forcefully closed her mouth using her very own two hands, but still continued to stare at Sasuke, as she thought to herself, 'Who is he? He looks a lot like Uchiha Itachi-san!'

She was in the same academic year as the prodigious Uchiha, and just like every other girl from her generation, Ayame too had a crush on Itachi, but unlike other girls, her affection for Itachi wasn't baseless, it was based on the fact that Itachi had helped her on one occasion, though he might not have remembered that occasion, but it did not matter as she never forgot that day as the feelings in her heart itched to bloom.

Along with the other girls, she used to watch Itachi from a distance, and while he did not spend much time with his peers because he graduated very early, that did not dispel the feelings she had developed for him. Over the years, she continued to hear legends about the most prodigious Uchiha from different shinobi who used to stop by the Ichiraku Ramen and secretly cheer for him.

Ayame always knew that their worlds were different, the heiress of the Ichiraku Ramen Shop would never be able to stand beside the prodigious heir of the most prestigious Clan of Konohagakure, as such, she was content with her life as the waitress of the Ramen Shop and she would smile whenever she would hear his name in a positive light, well that was the case until a year ago before she heard about the Uchiha Genocide and the person responsible for that tragedy.

To say that her entire world shattered, and her heart broke into a million pieces would be an understatement. Never in her life did she expect Uchiha Itachi to do something so cruel to his own people and betray the village.

Even if she means nothing to Uchiha Itachi, in her heart, Ayame would never be able to forgive him for what he did, and has been trying to forget him for the past year. Yet looking at the young boy on the other side of the counter, all the memories about him resurfaced in her heart. In the young boy's cold eyes, Ayame saw the shadow of that man.

"I am sorry… did you say something?" asked Sasuke with a frown. It's not that he did not catch the name the heiress of Ichiraku Ramen had almost uttered, it's just that he chose to ignore it, though his mood had soured. That name is the last thing he wants to hear today, but it can't be helped since the dunce woman has already spoken it. If he had been alone at the moment Ayame almost uttered that name, he would have most definitely stormed off from the shop, but Hiruzen's presence compelled him to control his emotions and act rationally.

'Perhaps storming off would have been a more rational choice, though that would have made things awkward…' Considering Hiruzen's persistence when it comes to indoctrinating the children, he would have definitely done something in that situation to resolve the situation and educate the young Uchiha about the 'Will of Fire.' Taking that into account, 'not storming off' is not a bad decision either.

Exactly as Sasuke had expected, the moment Hiruzen felt the situation turn bad, he tried to deal with it, and that too with a growwwwlll!

That was perhaps the loudest stomach growl he had heard in both his life combined, and he couldn't help but turn to the culprit responsible. The same was the case for Ayame who turned toward Hokage-sama in surprise.

Feeling Sasuke and Ayame's gaze, Hiruzen laughed embarrassingly, "Hahaha… it seems I am too hungry… Ayame-chan can you please serve some Ramen…"

Ayame hurriedly nodded, "Ahh… of course, yes, right away Hokage-sama!" And started taking the orders, "Then which Ramen would you like to have?"

"Shoyu Ramen for me…" answered Hiruzen, then he turned to the young Uchiha and asked, "What about you Uchiha Sasuke-kun?"

'That was perhaps the slickest method of changing the topic… And just how many people are able to make their stomach growl in hunger whenever they want?' Sasuke had an impressed expression. He didn't think that Hiruzen's stomach growling at that perfect moment was a coincidence, it must have been some technique the P Hokage used to change the topic in order to avoid an uncomfortable atmosphere. Hiruzen is known as 'the god of shinobi,' 'the strongest Kage,' and 'the Professor' definitely self-given monikers to uplift his reputation in comparison to the other Hokages, but they must mean something, as such, Sasuke wouldn't be surprised if he has mastered such a Jutsu that allows him to make his stomach growl whenever he wants.

While having such thoughts, Sasuke glanced at the menu, and after a moment of silence, he gave his order, "I will have Miso Ramen…"

"One Shoyu Ramen and one Miso Ramen, understood!" said Ayame.

At this time, Teuchi also returned back to the shop and greeted Hiruzen with an amiable smile. Once the greetings were done, Ayame passed him the order, "Tou-san, perfect timing… here… this is Hokage-sama's order…"

"One Shoyu Ramen and one Miso Ramen? Coming right up!" nodded Teuchi while keeping his eyes closed, and got busy with preparing the order, and Ayame was assisting him. Normally she accompanied the customers and engaged in some small talk, but conversing with a Uchiha made her feel somewhat uncomfortable, so she decided to help out her father with the preparation of orders.

While Teuchi and Ayame were busy preparing the orders, Hiruzen took the opportunity to continue the conversation he wanted to continue earlier, "So, Sasuke-kun… I have been told that you have been working very hard, and you have made significant progress in just one year… do you have something in your mind that you wish to accomplish?"

"Why do you ask, Hokage-sama?" Sasuke looked at Hiruzen in confusion while wondering to himself, 'Isn't that obvious? He should be very clear about this! Or is it that he wants to me tell these things himself? Why though? In order to gauge my current thinking?'

"Oh, just call it an old man's curiosity… I just wish to know what the most prodigious child of the younger generation wants to achieve in his life…" answered Hiruzen with a kind smile.

'I want to annihilate you, all your friends, and your entire Clan!' thought Sasuke to himself. Of course, he couldn't speak this out loud, so after a moment of silence, he replied in a grim tone, "I have but one goal in life, and that is to avenge my Clan!"

"Revenge, huh?" mumbled Hiruzen with a thoughtful expression, then asked, "I see, is there any other goal?"

"Haven't thought that far, and don't care about anything else…" answered Sasuke while thinking to himself, 'Even if I do, I wouldn't be telling you, humph!' Naturally, he does have a lot of things on his mind past revenge, but yes, he doesn't intend to reveal them to Hiruzen only for him to take advantage of that information.

"I see…" muttered Hiruzen with a frown. Followed by a moment of silence, he suddenly called out to the waitress of the Ichiraku Ramen, "Ayame-chan!"

"Huh?" Stopping midway while preparing the Ramen as per the order, Ayame turned toward Hiruzen, "Yes, Hokage-sama?"

"May I add another dish?" asked Hiruzen.

"Uh, sure… please wait a moment, Hokage-sama…" nodded Ayame as she put down the Strainer, and wiped her hands on her apron, then came toward Hiruzen, "What is it that you wish to add?"

Hiruzen smiled, and instead of directly giving the order, he whispered it in her ear, "It's like this… use it… and directly… also prepare two bowls…"

"Uhuh… uhuh… Alright, I understand… just a moment, I will bring it immediately…" nodded Ayame as she immediately went back and started doing some stuff.

Sasuke also looked at Hiruzen and then at Ayame in confusion.

Hiruzen just smiled lightly, "Have patience…"

Sasuke shrugged, "Sure…" as if not caring what the Hokage was trying to do. Internally he couldn't help but wonder, 'He isn't planning to feed me poison, right? Probably wouldn't… On that note, maybe I should also take some measures to build up my poison resistance…' With Orochimaru targeting his body, it would be a good thing for Sasuke to have some poison resistance.

Poison resistance can only be developed over the years by slowly adapting the body to various kinds of toxins and venoms to render most poison useless. In the Canon, Sasuke developed a very strong poison resistance during the three years he spent training under Orochimaru, which probably won't happen here so it's better to start focusing on that as well.

While Sasuke was making a Poison Resistance Development Plan in his mind, Ayame returned to the counter with two bowls and placed them in front of Hiruzen and Sasuke along with a pair of Chopsticks, "Here is your order, please enjoy the meal~"

"Thank you…" said Sasuke as he picked up the Chopsticks and separated them to eat the Ramen, but the moment he looked at the bowl, his expression turned into a frown, he looked at Ayame, and asked, "Is this a prank?"

Ayame avoided eye contact and made a whistling action while looking at the sky. Her meaning was clear, don't look at me, it wasn't my idea.

With a sigh, Sasuke turned to Hiruzen, "Hokage-sama, can you please explain to me why I have only noodles in my bowl? Why is there no broth and no toppings? It must have been done based on your instructions…"

"Certainly, I instructed Ayame-chan to prepare this dish…" nodded Hiruzen, not shying away from taking the responsibility.

"Why?" asked Sasuke. He couldn't understand why this hypocrite would do something so pointless.

Instead of answering Sasuke's question, Hiruzen posed a question of himself, "Tell me Sasuke-kun… the dish you have… those noodles, are they edible?"

"Uhh…" not understanding what Hiruzen wanted to convey, Sasuke nodded, "Yes… while noodles individually are not as delectable as a complete dish, they are indeed edible…"

"Exactly… while you can still eat only noodles, it's not as appetizing… Even if you manage to eat them today, perhaps you won't want to eat them tomorrow… or maybe you will be able to eat them tomorrow, but not the day after tomorrow or maybe after that… In short, within a short period of time, you will grow tired of only eating noodles and the meal wouldn't be very satisfactory either, do you agree with me?" asked Hiruzen.

"Uh… well… I guess?" Sasuke certainly couldn't deny Hiruzen's logic. True, if he were to only eat noodles with no spices, no broth, no toppings he would grow tired of them in a very short time, and yes, the meal wouldn't be very satisfactory either since all he is doing is eating boiled noodles, what kind of satisfaction would that bring to his taste buds?

Hiruzen smiled, "Alright…" Then he interchanged the bowl in front of him with the bowl in front of Sasuke's and added, "But… if I were to change the dish… in this, other than noodles, there are spices, there's broth, there are toppings, there are vegetables, meat, and other things, so you can eat this more… Just look at it, it looks so appetizing, and what's the best thing is that you can also mix match with other broths, flavors, and toppings such that you can continue to eat this dish for many more days without getting bored… and most of all, eating this bowl of Ramen is satisfactory… do you agree with me?"

"Yes…" nodded Sasuke.

"Good, now that both of us are on the same terms in regards to Ramen… let's talk about something in your life… the life you are currently living while trying to isolate yourself from everything in order to pursue a single goal… It's like that bowl of noodles… sure you can eat that bowl, but you would grow tired of it pretty soon and even if you do manage to eat it, it wouldn't be satisfactory enough…

In life, there must be different flavors, toppings, vegetables, meats, and spices to make life interesting, satisfactory, and worth living… am I right?"

"..." Sasuke blinked, "Well…" Hiruzen is indeed right but he did not want to accept the old P's reasoning. So, after a moment of contemplation, he posed a question, "Then what do you suggest Hokage-sama, should I give up?"

Hiruzen shook his head, "I am not saying that… don't misunderstand… Uchiha Clan must get their justice, however, that justice must not come at the cost of your life, otherwise, what's the point of living? Is the sole purpose of your existence revenge? If that's the case, then what is the point of your existence?

What I am trying to say is that do not let revenge be the be-all and end-all, at this rate, you'd end up becoming the very person you least want to be like. Don't get fixated on a single thing like him, he got so fixated on one thing that he did not care about other things, and look where that got him… In short, have some other motivations in life… make friends, play around, have fun, create trouble, and fall in love… Find something that you would want to accomplish in life after the Uchiha Clan gets their justice!"

"I… I see…" mumbled Sasuke with 'conflicting' emotions on his face.

Hiruzen smiled in satisfaction and did not speak any further. Instead, he signaled Ayame to take back the two bowls she had served earlier as per his request and serve the proper orders given by the two of them, to which Ayame complied, "Here is your order, one Shoyu Ramen and one Miso Ramen, please eat carefully~"

"Thank you for the food!" Sasuke and Hiruzen spoke their prayers and began to eat their respective Ramen. Both of them were eating silently and slowly. The young Uchiha was especially slow since a lot of thoughts were going through his mind. Hiruzen understood this and did not disturb him. Based on Sasuke's expression, Hiruzen was certain that his words had taken root in the boy's heart, and in due time, they would sprout beautifully, exactly the way he wanted them to.

Soon, both of them finished their Ramen, and Hiruzen paid the bill.

"Thank you for visiting Ichiraku Ramen, please come again~," said Ayame with a smile.

Hiruzen nodded lightly, then he began to leave for the Hokage Building, but just before disappearing, he spoke to Sasuke, "Alright then, I will take my leave, I have to do a lot of things, take care boy. Also, think about what I told you… and if you have any doubts in regards to anything, you are always welcome to my office…"

"I… I understand, Hokage-sama," nodded Sasuke with a grateful smile.

With that Hiruzen and Sasuke parted ways. Hiruzen went to the Hokage Building, meanwhile, Sasuke went to his apartment.

.

.

.

As always, drop your power stones, comments as well as reviews, and also if you like the story so far, then make sure to add the book to your library for constant updates of new chapters.