*Chapter 8: Naruto Wants Ramen, Trades His Future Wife*

"Next time you dare to bully someone, or give someone a random nickname, I'll beat you again. Got it?" Aizen didn't hit them hard, just enough to make their noses bleed. After a while, when they cried enough, he grinned mischievously as he spoke.

As the saying goes, a brat can only be dealt with by another brat.

If an older person were to step in, they'd only be scared for a while, then shrug it off in a few days.

Only when someone even more troublesome steps in, do they learn their lesson.

"We got it, waah!"

Hearing Aizen’s words, the three looked up. Seeing the playful, wicked smile on his pale face, they shuddered, and in unison, tearfully replied.

Once Aizen stopped watching them, they ran away in a panic, crying loudly as if they wished their parents had given them extra legs to run faster.

At this time, Hinata Hyuga still had tears in her eyes. She looked at this boy who had suddenly appeared like a hero and saved her.

Strangely, a familiar feeling arose in her heart.

It seemed as though she had seen him before.

Summoning her courage, she walked up to Aizen, her face blushing, and bowed slightly. "Um... thank you."

"No need to thank me." Aizen made a hand sign with his right hand, and with a puff of smoke, he returned to his original form.

Hinata watched as Aizen suddenly grew taller, and that strange sense of familiarity surged up in her heart again. She couldn’t help but ask, "Have we met somewhere before?"

"Looks like you do remember. Two years ago, on that winter day, you got lost in the snow. Do you remember now?" Aizen squatted down slightly and asked with a gentle smile.

"You were the big brother who took me home!" Hinata exclaimed, as familiar images flooded her mind.

Aizen nodded and gently patted the little girl's head.

Hinata immediately lowered her head, shy and blushing.

Aizen glanced toward the end of the road, where another male ninja with pure white eyes stood. Then, he spotted a blond-haired boy hiding behind a tree not far away.

He softly said to Hinata, "Little girl, you're from the Hyuga clan and possess the Byakugan. You should have received formal ninja training from a young age.

Why couldn't you handle those bullies? Remember, next time something like this happens, don’t back down or cry. You need to learn to fight back.

Other people’s help is only temporary. No one can protect you for a lifetime.

Endless tolerance and weakness won’t solve anything.

If you want to protect what you cherish, you must learn to take the initiative.

Alright, I have things to do. See you next time.”

After saying that, Aizen turned around and slowly disappeared from Hinata’s sight without looking back.

A while later, a Hyuga clan Chunin ran over nervously and said, "Miss, why did you sneak out again? What if you had run into trouble? Fortunately, that person didn’t do anything... Also, you didn’t go near that blond-haired brat, did you? The clan leader ordered us to stay away from him."

Hinata didn’t pay attention to her guard’s nagging. Her eyes were still fixed on where Aizen had disappeared, and behind him, the blond-haired boy was sneakily following. In her heart, she whispered, "See you next time, big brother."

After that day, Hinata’s usual shy and timid nature changed.

Her interest in practicing Gentle Fist suddenly increased. Besides completing the training tasks her father set, she would practice extra on her own.

Whenever she didn’t understand something, she would immediately ask her father.

This surprised and pleased Hiashi Hyuga, who was responsible for teaching her the Gentle Fist.

During one evaluation, after seeing Hinata’s significant improvement, he, who had always been strict, surprisingly praised his daughter, who he had previously been disappointed with.

Receiving praise from her father filled Hinata with joy, and she worked even harder in her training.

Eventually, she would catch up to the one known as the genius, Neji Hyuga.

Of course, that’s a story for later.

On the other side, Aizen had returned to Ichiraku Ramen.

[Ding, congratulations to the host for completing the task. Reward: Earth-Style Chakra Nature Transformation.]

"It was worth the effort," Aizen muttered, a small smile forming on his lips as he heard the system notification.

He then glanced behind him.

There, a blond-haired brat was using a ridiculously poor hiding technique, peeking out from behind an electric pole.

When Aizen turned around, the blond-haired boy immediately shrank back nervously.

"Come out. You've been following me the whole way. Aren’t you tired?" Aizen sighed, full of helplessness.

"Big bro, do you remember me? I’m Naruto… Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto said sheepishly, stepping out from behind the pole.

"Of course, I remember," Aizen said.

Their meeting went back two years, when Aizen sent Hinata home.

Originally, it should have been Naruto, wandering the streets with no family, who would have sent her home.

But because Aizen interfered, they didn’t meet.

This time, it was the same.

If Aizen hadn’t intervened, Naruto would have stepped up, saved Hinata, and gotten beaten up, just like in the original story.

On his way back, Aizen met Naruto and, seeing how pitiful he looked, treated him to a bowl of ramen.

Who would have thought Naruto would still remember that?

Hearing this, Naruto’s pale blue eyes filled with excitement and joy, and his face was brimming with happiness.

Aizen was the first person in his life, apart from the Third Hokage, who didn’t look at him with disgust.

Ichiraku Ramen’s owner was the second.

Just then, Naruto’s stomach growled loudly.

"You haven’t been eating properly, have you?" Aizen looked at Naruto.

Naruto’s face flushed red as he awkwardly rubbed his stomach and glanced longingly at the brightly lit Ichiraku Ramen shop beside them, swallowing hard.

"I figured. Come on in, I'll treat you to some ramen." Aizen glanced subtly at the Anbu ninja hidden in the shadows, who were monitoring Naruto, and walked into Ichiraku Ramen first.

Naruto froze for a second, then broke into a smile and quickly followed.

In the shadows, one of the Anbu tasked with watching Naruto said, "Someone’s interacting with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Should we report this to Lord Hokage?"

The other Anbu replied, "No need. That brat’s just being kind, treating him to a meal. Let’s wait and see."

"Hey, it's Aizen! How come you’re not with that little girlfriend of yours today? What would you like?" Teuchi, the ramen shop owner, greeted him with a smile.

"Give him a bowl of pork bone ramen," Aizen said, pointing at Naruto, and placed the little money he had on the counter. "Teuchi, give him a bowl of ramen every day. This should cover him until the new year."

"Naruto, huh?" Teuchi’s usually half-closed eyes opened wide for a rare moment, looking at Naruto with a complicated expression. He remembered two years ago when Aizen brought Naruto for ramen and, thinking of Aizen's background, sighed, "Aizen, you’re truly a good person."

Aizen smiled and was about to leave when Naruto’s small, hopeful voice rang out, "Big bro Aizen, aren’t you eating?"

"No, I have plans with someone." Aizen shook his head. Izumi was waiting for him to have New Year's dinner together. Without looking back, he left.

Naruto stood there, stunned for a moment, but soon his attention was drawn to the delicious aroma of Ichiraku ramen.

Today was destined to be a good day for Naruto.

Though he missed the chance to meet his future wife, he gained a New Year's supply of ramen instead.

PS: Second update, please vote for recommendations, and for monthly votes.

(End of Chapter)