Chapter 6

"Good morning, Ruri."

As usual, he greeted Ruri, and she turned her head to look at him, nodding slightly as a response.

Shiraishi's face showed a slight surprise. He had thought Ruri would ignore his greeting as she always did...

The fact that she responded to his greeting must mean that his strength had been recognized.

After all, Ruri had said during her self-introduction that she didn't plan to share anything with weak people... This meant that Ruri only acknowledged strong people and probably ignored greetings from the weak.

It was a rather simple and brutal code of conduct.

"Um, about what happened last night, can you..."

Shiraishi's face was a bit awkward as he tried to continue the conversation with a flattering smile.

Ruri glanced at Shiraishi and said, "I understand. I won't say anything and will keep this secret for you. But in return, if I have any training requests, you must not delay."

Shiraishi let out a sigh of relief and smiled, "Of course, I'm happy to."

Soon, his desk partner, Hiyama Ayane, arrived. After greeting Shiraishi, she sat down and started chatting with the girl in front of her.

The bell rang, and the first class of the day was a brainwashing course.

It was the so-called "Will of Fire" indoctrination.

Taking out the book "The First Hokage and the Will of Fire," Shiraishi felt that this class was pure torture for him, but he had to pretend to listen attentively.

Political correctness had to be maintained.

Not long after, Shiraishi felt someone poking his right arm with a finger.

He turned his head and saw Ruri, who was pretending to listen attentively.

Then, he lowered his head and saw a note that read, "Do you hate this class?"

Shiraishi quickly took out a piece of paper, thought for a moment, and wrote back to Ruri:

—No, I think Mr. Fujimura is teaching very well. I also want to inherit the First Hokage's Will of Fire and become a great Leaf ninja.

Ruri turned her head and gave Shiraishi a dissatisfied look. She could tell he was lying.

—When you opened "The First Hokage and the Will of Fire" on the first day of school, I saw your face change. You were afraid and worried about something, weren't you?

—On that day, I ate expired bread and had a stomachache, so my face was bad.

—Liar. I remember, didn't you tell Ayane that you had a stomachache because you drank expired milk on the first day of school?

"..."

Shiraishi was embarrassed.

He had forgotten about it, but Ruri still remembered.

—It's true, I never lie.

—You are a man I acknowledge, and I will keep your secret.

The two of them passed notes back and forth, and Shiraishi found chatting with Ruri more interesting than listening to the brainwashing class.

At that moment, his left arm was poked lightly by a finger.

Shiraishi turned his head and saw Ayane, who, like Ruri, was pretending to listen attentively and passed him a small note.

—What are you talking about?

She seemed very interested in joining the conversation between Shiraishi and Ruri.

Women's gossip.

Shiraishi paused to think and tore off a piece of paper to reply:

—We are discussing the new Ichiraku Ramen shop in the village. The ramen there is very delicious.

Ayane received the note and wrote back:

—Ichiraku Ramen? I know about it too. Although it's new, the ramen there is indeed very delicious. Shiraishi-kun, let's go there after school.

—Sure.

Shiraishi didn't think much about it and wrote the message on the paper, passing it to Ruri:

—Ruri, let's go to Ichiraku Ramen after school. The ramen there is very delicious, and Ayane will join us too.

—Whatever.

"Whatever" meant she agreed.

Shiraishi nodded.

The homeroom teacher, Fujimura Daigoro, who was lecturing at the front of the class, looked at the three of them with a slightly helpless expression as they continued to pass notes and whisper to each other.

Do you think I, the homeroom teacher, am blind?

Seeing the three of them still passing notes and whispering, Fujimura Daigoro felt he had reached his limit.

"Don't pass notes during class! Come to the front and stand there to listen!"

Don't think that just because you're top students, you can do whatever you want in class. Fujimura Daigoro felt he needed to maintain the image of a homeroom teacher.

This group of kids is too arrogant and needs to be shown who's in charge.

The three of them didn't resist and went to stand outside.

"I thought I was being discreet, and Mr. Fujimura wouldn't notice, but I was wrong."

Ayane smiled helplessly, still holding out hope.

Ruri said indifferently, "I thought he would see but not care. He's in his twenties and still a Chunin. Having a Chunin of this level teach us about being ninjas makes me deeply concerned about the quality of the Ninja Academy's education."

In Ruri's eyes, the three of them, being "geniuses," could do whatever they wanted in class.

It was a privilege of being a genius.

Shiraishi: "..."

Hey, you two geniuses, that's enough.

Do you really think Mr. Fujimura can't hear you out here?

It was just unexpected that the usually quiet and well-behaved Ayane also had a mischievous side.

◎

Ichiraku Ramen.

This was a new ramen shop in the Leaf Village.

Although it wasn't very busy now, Shiraishi, after trying it once, was deeply attracted to the delicious ramen. It was only a matter of time before it became popular.

"I'll treat you tonight. Eat as much as you want."

After school, Shiraishi brought Ayane and Ruri to Ichiraku Ramen and said confidently.

Mainly, how much could two young girls eat?

At most, the three of them would eat four or five large bowls of ramen.

Shiraishi could afford that much.

Ruri didn't say anything, but Ayane hesitated and said, "Shiraishi-kun, it's better if we each pay for ourselves."

"It's fine, Ayane. Don't worry about my wallet. I can afford a few bowls of ramen."

Shiraishi smiled carelessly.

Hearing this, Ayane couldn't refuse.

"Okay, but if your wallet can't handle it, please let me know, and I'll stop."

"?"

Shiraishi looked at Ayane with a bit of confusion, not understanding what she meant.

"Anyway, just eat to your heart's content. I'll cover all the ramen tonight."

After saying this, Shiraishi started ordering, asking the owner to bring the ramen quickly.

The owner of Ichiraku Ramen was a man in his thirties, and his son, a handsome young boy named Teuchi, was with him.

It had to be said that the ramen at Ichiraku was indeed very delicious. Shiraishi quickly finished two large bowls.

Then he looked at Ruri, who had only ordered one bowl. After all, girls usually have smaller appetites.

Next, he looked at Ayane.

He opened his mouth but couldn't say a word.

What was that towering pile?

How much did Ayane eat?

One... four... seven... nine... thirteen...

The number of bowls kept increasing.

Shiraishi felt a deep pain.

My wallet!

Ayane noticed that Shiraishi and Ruri were looking at her with stunned expressions. She blushed and stopped eating, speaking in a barely audible voice:

"Actually, my appetite is just a little bigger than others..."

If it weren't for the pile of large bowls in front of Ayane, Shiraishi and Ruri would have believed her.

If she's like this now, what will she be like when she grows up?

Shiraishi couldn't help but worry about Ayane's future husband.

If she eats like this every day, it would be hard for an average person to support her.