Chapter 47: New Mission: 01

The group made their way through the village gates, with Tsunade, Shizune, Sasuke, and Jiraiya striding confidently up front. Behind them, Naruto trudged along, her face an emotionless mask, her eyes half-lidded but alert, scanning the cheering crowd like she was inspecting a row of cabbages.

As they walked, villagers gathered, clapping and chanting, "Lady Tsunade! Lady Tsunade!" Flowers were tossed, streamers fluttered. It was a royal welcome for the new Hokage. Tsunade waved her hand lazily, while the crowd continued chanting her name louder and louder.

Naruto, meanwhile, blinked slowly, her face unreadable. She lifted her hand half-heartedly and called out in a monotone, "Yes, yes. Praise her. Praise Lady Tsunade. She is… exceptional. But perhaps, you could also acknowledge me. I, too, saved the village. And brought the new Hokage. Dattebayo."

Her voice faded as not a single head turned in her direction. It was as if she were invisible.

Sighing heavily, she muttered to herself, "So ungrateful villagers…" She then looked up at the sky, her expression deadpan. "Fine. I shall seek ramen. It shall console me."

With that, she shuffled away from the celebration, making a beeline for Ichiraku's.

Upon reaching Ichiraku's, Naruto pulled back the curtain and froze. Sitting on a stool in the far corner was Hinata, her head bowed, looking as miserable as a wilting daisy.

Naruto stared at her blankly, then tilted her head ever-so-slightly, like a confused owl. She stepped forward and loomed over Hinata, examining her face without a shred of subtlety. After a few seconds, Naruto leaned down and asked, in her flat, robotic tone, "Are there chillies in your eyes?"

Hinata gasped, practically leaping off her stool, clutching her chest as if she'd just seen a ghost. "N-Naruto!" she squeaked, her face turning a shade of red that almost matched the ramen broth. "You… y-you startled me!"

Naruto blinked, unfazed. "Startling was unintended. However, your eyes appear… leaky. Is this the result of spicy noodles?"

"No! No, not at all!" Hinata waved her hands, her cheeks still pink. "I'm… I'm just a little… distracted, that's all."

Naruto tilted her head a fraction more, her stare intense. "Distracted by what?"

"Um…" Hinata fumbled, her fingers nervously twisting together. She took a deep breath, trying to muster her courage. "Naruto… do you… still, um… like… girls?"

Naruto blinked, her expression as blank as a stone wall. "I like ramen."

Hinata's face fell just a little, her eyes looking almost… defeated. "Oh… I didn't mean… food," she whispered, her cheeks turning an even deeper shade of red. "I… I meant… love."

Naruto stared at her for a long moment, processing the words. Then, she looked down at her bowl and gave a slow, deliberate nod. "Yes. I love miso ramen."

Hinata stared at her, jaw dropping slightly. "No, no, I meant… like, real… feelings. Love. You know… with another person."

Naruto tilted her head, looking almost thoughtful in her stiff way. "Hmm. But what is real love, if not the warmth of a bowl of miso? The aroma. The texture. The… satisfaction." Her gaze turned oddly intense. "Miso ramen… it fills the heart."

Hinata's cheeks flushed with both frustration and disappointment. "That's not what I meant at all!" she stammered, looking utterly flustered. "Y-you're impossible, Naruto!"

Naruto blinked at her, then shrugged, entirely unaffected. "I am often told I am impossible." She watched as Hinata huffed and stormed off, her footsteps fast and flustered. "Because I make them possible. Dattebayo."

Naruto gave another blank shrug. "Human emotions complicated." She turned back to the counter, looking at Teuchi. "Twenty bowls of ramen. Now."

Teuchi raised an eyebrow, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Twenty bowls? What kinds?"

Naruto blinked slowly, considering. "All kinds. I shall sample them all."

Teuchi chuckled, shaking his head. "Coming right up."

As she waited, her gaze focused, as usual, on nothing in particular. But her strange meal order had attracted a familiar voice.

"Well, if it isn't the little thief— Naruto!" Ino's voice rang out as she walked up to the counter, hands on her hips, a smug grin on her face. "You know you still owe me money for that dress I bought you!"

Naruto turned to look at her, blinking once, then twice, in her stiff, almost mechanical way. With no change in her blank expression, she reached into her pocket and calmly placed a large wad of bills on the counter. "Here. Payment fulfilled. Dattebayo."

Ino stared, utterly speechless. "Where did you even get… this much cash?"

Naruto's eyes shifted back to her ramen, her tone as deadpan as ever. "I am a Jounin now. Dattebayo."

Ino's eyes nearly popped out of her head. "Wait, what? So, Shikamaru wasn't lying?! You're… you're really a Jounin now?"

Naruto nodded slowly, her expression neither proud nor humble. "Indeed. It is… reality."

Ino's expression shifted as quickly as a weather vane in a hurricane. She immediately threw her arm around Naruto's shoulder, flashing a wide grin. "Oh, well look at you! Fancy Jounin, all grown up! You know, you've never really been to the shopping district with me. And I bet you've never eaten at the new restaurant that just opened up. Or… I mean, just look at you. Wearing that weird dress all the time." She gave Naruto a pointed once-over.

Naruto tilted her head, unbothered. "This dress is… efficient."

"Oh, no, no, Naruto, that just won't do!" Ino tsked, shaking her head. "You're practically a hero now. You need more than just 'efficient.' You need style!"

At that moment, Ayame, Teuchi's daughter, walked over with Naruto's first bowl, overhearing the conversation. She gave Naruto an amused smile. "She's right, you know. You really do need more clothes than… whatever that is."

Naruto looked down at her dress, her face as blank as a piece of wood. She lifted her gaze back to Ayame and Ino with a robotic sigh, her voice flat. "Fine. I shall acquire more garments."

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