Chapter 2

A few days have passed since the Nine-Tails' chaos, and the Hidden Leaf Village seems to have returned to peace.

However, the entire village is still shrouded in a somber atmosphere. Although the sudden attack of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox was eventually forcibly quelled, the battle caused significant losses to the Hidden Leaf Village, especially among the ninja, with a large number of casualties.

Some people have even lost their parents, like Iruka.

The upper echelons of the Hidden Leaf Village classified the Nine-Tails' attack as highly confidential and imposed a news blackout. This was also for the sake of the entire village. The Third Great Ninja War had just ended, and if other ninja villages learned that the Hidden Leaf had suffered a significant loss of ninja power, it could very well trigger a new war.

In recent days, the security level of the Hidden Leaf Village has been raised to S-level, and people entering the village are strictly questioned.

Uzumaki Hanadao walked unhurriedly towards the Hidden Leaf Village, carrying a wooden backpack.

The backpack contained some simple kitchen utensils, ingredients, and seasonings.

In the Hidden Leaf, his identity was that of a gourmet.

After being deemed unsuitable to become a ninja by the Ninja Academy, Uzumaki Hanadao devoted himself to his dream of cuisine and achieved some success in the culinary field, such as defeating Ichiraku Ramen.

At the village gate, a team of ninja was on duty, including several high-ranking ninja.

Uzumaki Hanadao glanced at the ninja on duty and quickly spotted two familiar figures.

One had white hair, wore a black mask, and his left eye was covered by a forehead protector. He was dressed in a black tight-fitting combat suit and was none other than the man who would later be known as the "First Technician of the Hidden Leaf" — Hatake Kakashi.

The other had a toad-like hairstyle and thick eyebrows, a rugged face, and wore a green tight-fitting training suit. He was the man who would forever praise youth, known as the "Proud Blue Beast of the Hidden Leaf" — Might Guy.

However, both were still just teenagers at the moment.

Over the years in the Hidden Leaf, although Uzumaki Hanadao had always kept a low profile, he still paid attention to and interacted with these future seeds of the Hidden Leaf, such as Hatake Kakashi. He had used food to win over this young man many times before, as he believed it was necessary to maintain a good relationship with this genius ninja who could go toe-to-toe with anyone. It might be useful in the future.

Besides, as a fan of the Hokage, he was also a fan of Hatake Kakashi.

"Please show your identification!"

When Uzumaki Hanadao arrived at the entrance of the Hidden Leaf Village, the ninja on duty immediately came forward to question him.

Uzumaki Hanadao quickly presented his identification as a villager of the Hidden Leaf.

"Master Hanadao!"

As Hanadao presented his identification, a voice tinged with surprise rang out.

Immediately, a figure flashed to Uzumaki Hanadao's side.

It was none other than Hatake Kakashi.

Uzumaki Hanadao looked at Hatake Kakashi and smiled brightly, "Kakashi!"

The "Blue Beast" also quickly joined in, "Master Hanadao, and me too!"

Uzumaki Hanadao reached out and patted the spirited young man's shoulder, "Guy, you've grown a lot."

Might Guy flashed his trademark glowing smile, "Of course!"

Seeing that Uzumaki Hanadao was familiar with Hatake Kakashi and Might Guy, the ninja on duty did not question him further and quickly let him pass.

Uzumaki Hanadao said, "Kakashi, Guy, if you have time, I'll treat you to some new dishes I've developed."

Guy waved his hands excitedly, "Sure, Master Hanadao!"

Hatake Kakashi's eyes gleamed with anticipation.

Uzumaki Hanadao soon bid farewell to Hatake Kakashi and Might Guy, as they had their duty to perform.

Entering the Hidden Leaf, Uzumaki Hanadao could still feel a somber atmosphere.

Suddenly, he stopped and looked at a nearby ramen shop — Ichiraku Ramen!

He then walked towards Ichiraku Ramen.

Upon entering the ramen shop, he immediately saw the square-faced owner, Ichiraku.

They were old acquaintances.

"Uncle Ichiraku, long time no see!"

Uzumaki Hanadao greeted the uncle warmly.

The uncle did not notice Uzumaki Hanadao entering the shop at first, but turned around when he heard the greeting. Seeing Uzumaki Hanadao, his face immediately lit up with surprise, but he quickly put on an angry expression, "Hmph, you finally deigned to return to the Hidden Leaf. My daughter Shizuka really misses you."

Uzumaki Hanadao replied, "I miss Shizuka too!"

"Brother Hanadao!"

As he spoke, a girl with a charming smile appeared beside Ichiraku.

Her cheeks were slightly flushed!

When Uzumaki Hanadao defeated her father's Ichiraku Ramen, she had developed a good impression of him. She had always thought that her father's ramen was unbeatable, but Hanadao won!

Uzumaki Hanadao looked at Shizuka, "Wow, you've matured a lot!"

Her cheeks turned even redder.

Uzumaki Hanadao ordered his favorite bowl of tonkotsu ramen.

He had defeated Ichiraku Ramen in the Hidden Leaf's cooking competition mainly because of the noodles, which were more chewy in his Lanzhou ramen.

After eating a large bowl of tonkotsu ramen, Uzumaki Hanadao was about to say goodbye to Ichiraku and Shizuka when a graceful figure burst into the ramen shop.

The newcomer had long light yellow hair tied in a ponytail, short eyebrows, bright brown eyes, and a pale pink mouth. Her skin was fair and smooth, but what was most striking was her voluptuous figure.

Extremely curvaceous!

Seeing the newcomer, Uzumaki Hanadao was slightly taken aback. The person before him was none other than Tsunade, his dream girl from watching Naruto!

She had already become one of the heroes of the Hidden Leaf during the Second Great Ninja War.

Uzumaki Hanadao and Tsunade had not interacted much, and he had only seen her from a distance a few times. This was the first time he encountered her up close.

In the year 48 of the Hidden Leaf, Tsunade was still a woman under forty, not the old lady some main character called her. With excellent care, she looked like she was in her twenties.

Tsunade sat down and soon noticed Uzumaki Hanadao beside her, frowning slightly.

Staring at someone so intently was clearly impolite.

Uzumaki Hanadao quickly realized his indiscretion and hurriedly said, "Lady Tsunade!"

Tsunade did not recognize Uzumaki Hanadao, but she politely nodded in response to his greeting.

Although Uzumaki Hanadao wanted to stay longer, he had finished his ramen and had to say goodbye to Ichiraku and Shizuka before leaving Ichiraku Ramen.

Leaving Ichiraku Ramen, Uzumaki Hanadao set his sights on a direction and walked quickly.

"Nephew, Uncle is here!"

Uzumaki Hanadao's next destination was to find his sister Kushina and his nephew Uzumaki Naruto. On the night of the Nine-Tails, he had altered the history of the Naruto world. He was unsure how the world would develop next, but no matter what, he had to gather strength to prepare for any possible changes. The mastermind behind the scenes possessed god-like power, and although his current strength was on par with a Kage, he was still far from matching the mastermind.