Naruto: Farming Emotions with Multiple Identities in Naruto — Chapter 204

Chapter 204: What Did You Say? Sakumo Hatake is a Ramen Seller?

Upon arriving at the bustling academy courtyard, Stelle once again encountered the familiar faces she had spotted before, such as Shiranui Genma and Morino Ibiki.

As usual, Asuma Sarutobi was hovering right next to Kurenai Yuhi, eagerly chattering away about something or other. The boy standing beside him was laughing heartily, while Kurenai maintained a stiff, awkward expression, clearly not knowing how to respond to the unwanted attention.

At that exact moment, Stelle spotted Kakashi Hatake standing at the very edge of the noisy crowd. He sported his signature silver, spiky hair and a dark mask covering the lower half of his face. His dead fish eyes swept over the lively scene with a look of utter impatience.

He stood with his arms firmly crossed over his chest, projecting a calm arrogance that completely mismatched his young age. He looked exactly like the Kakashi from Stelle’s deepest memories.

But that was not the focal point. The real issue was the man standing directly behind Kakashi.

Sakumo Hatake.

He was wearing a pure white chef uniform. A few fresh, greasy oil stains were blatantly splashed across his cuffs.

His iconic long silver hair was tied up loosely with a simple hairband, allowing several stray strands to fall messily over his forehead. His gaze lacked any sort of sharpness. Instead, his eyes held a heavy hint of listlessness, and his entire posture radiated an overwhelming air of dejected exhaustion.

He was a far cry from the legendary Anbu Captain in Stelle’s memories, a man whose mere presence used to be as sharp and deadly as an unsheathed short blade. The man standing here and the phantom in her mind seemed like two completely different entities.

If they did not look absolutely identical, and if his son was not standing right there, Stelle would have genuinely assumed she had the wrong person.

Why on earth was Sakumo wearing a chef uniform? What kind of top-secret mission required the White Fang to disguise himself as a line cook? Did he go to Ichiraku Ramen for advanced culinary training?

Even so, a chef’s temperament should not be this hopelessly depressed.

The way he carried himself right now resembled a broken drunkard who had not gripped a weapon in years.

Stelle seriously doubted whether those calloused hands could still release the terrifying blade energy rumored to be capable of killing the Third Raikage in a single strike.

Something was fundamentally wrong with Sakumo.

She only allowed herself a brief glance before smoothly looking away, but a veteran ninja’s ingrained instinct still prompted Sakumo to react. He sensed the heavy scrutiny.

He slowly looked around the crowded courtyard, his dull eyes scanning the children and parents, but he failed to find anyone suspicious. Shaking his head slightly, he withdrew his gaze.

“Dad, what is wrong?” Kakashi asked, tilting his head up.

“It is nothing.” Sakumo pressed his large, heavy hand onto the top of Kakashi’s spiky head. “Make sure to get along well with your classmates at school. You will be able to make friends soon.”

Upon hearing the mere suggestion of making friends, a look of pure disdain washed over Kakashi’s visible features.

He had zero interest in playing childish ninja games with brats. He would much rather spend that wasted time in the backyard, rigorously training with his shuriken.

After the lengthy opening ceremony finally concluded, the formal classes officially began the very next morning.

Early in the day, Obito bounded around the academy grounds as usual to find Stelle. Once he tracked her down, the two of them walked to the school building together.

Because of the sheer distance they had to cover, they ended up being the absolute last students to walk into the classroom. Scanning the rows of desks, Stelle noticed an empty seat right next to Kakashi. Without a second thought, she walked straight over and sat down beside the silver-haired boy.

When Obito caught up and realized exactly who was occupying that desk, his face contorted in deep disgust.

They were both from the same village, and he had crossed paths with Kakashi plenty of times before. Kakashi always acted incredibly high and mighty, looking down on everyone else. The arrogant jerk had even toyed with him mercilessly during a neighborhood game of Kick the Can. Obito hated his guts.

Some people simply possessed clashing auras. Still, not wanting to leave Stelle alone, Obito reluctantly pulled out the chair on her other side and sat down with a heavy huff.

“A-Mu, why do you want to sit here of all places?”

Stelle calmly reached up and touched the thick scarf wrapped around her lower face. “Because this classmate is also wearing a mask. Since we share the same fashion sense, we should naturally become friends.”

Her outward tone was perfectly innocent, but her internal calculations were running wild. Back then, to ensure Kakashi’s successful birth, she had burned through a massive amount of mood values to save Sakumo from his tragic fate. She had drained her alias dry until the system forced it offline. This background character, Sakumo, was only just now presenting an opportunity for her to earn back her massive investment.

It was finally time to harvest mood values from the Hatake family. Otherwise, she would be taking a catastrophic loss.

Obito glanced sideways at Kakashi, let out another annoyed huff, and then suddenly froze as a realization struck him.

“Wait… does he wear a mask for the exact same reason you do?”

Obito did not voice whatever tragic scenario his hyperactive imagination had just conjured up, but his face instantly filled with overwhelming guilt.

“If I had known that, I would not have been so angry about him teasing me during Kick the Can.”

Driven by sudden remorse, Obito abruptly stood up from his chair and delivered a stiff, ninety-degree bow directly toward Kakashi. “I am sorry. I should not have lost my temper with you during the game earlier.”

Sitting at the far end of the desk, Kakashi stared back with complete and utter bafflement. He had absolutely no idea what the goggled boy was rambling about.

“Who are you?”

Kakashi had long since dumped the memory of the loud, clumsy kid he had occasionally played a street game with. He genuinely did not know who Obito was.

“You actually forgot me! You clearly… Hmph!”

Obito turned red, stomping his feet against the floorboards in sheer frustration. But then, remembering his own fabricated theory about why Kakashi wore a mask, he forced himself to calm down. He figured Kakashi only had such a nasty, abrasive personality because he was deeply insecure about severe facial injuries. With that tragic thought in mind, Obito decided to be the bigger person and let the insult slide.

He leaned in close to Stelle, whispering loudly. “He really is an annoying guy. A-Mu, if you try to be friends with him, you will just end up getting bullied. I think you should forget about it. However, the ramen his family sells is genuinely delicious. I will take you to try it next time.”

Wait, what did you just say?

Stelle froze, her eyes widening slightly beneath her bangs.

“You said his family sells ramen?”

“Yeah,” Obito nodded enthusiastically. “The ramen Uncle Hatake makes is top-notch. It is super popular all over the village. Every time I get my monthly living allowance from the clan, I go eat there a few times to treat myself.”

Stelle sat completely stunned, her brain struggling to process the sheer absurdity of the information contained in that single sentence.

What did you say? I will give you one chance to rephrase that. Say it again. Sakumo Hatake sells ramen?

Are you kidding me? He is the Anbu Captain. He is the legendary man who single-handedly led an entire army to the front gates of the Hidden Sand Village, striking terror into the hearts of nations. And now you are telling me the great White Fang is just a local uncle tossing noodles in broth?

So that was the real reason Sakumo was wearing a greasy chef uniform at the school gate earlier.

Stelle felt the fabric of this world becoming entirely surreal once again.

[System, quick, run a diagnostic check for me. Am I currently caught in the Infinite Tsukuyomi? Is that why I am hallucinating that Sakumo Hatake sells ramen?]

[Host, you are free to look down on my overall intelligence, but you absolutely cannot look down on my technical abilities. Total immunity to Genjutsu is one of my core basic skills.]

The teacher assigned to their class was a Chunin from the Senju Clan named Senju Naoto. He possessed a very warm, approachable personality, smiling brightly as he stood at the front podium.

After giving a brief introduction of himself, Naoto asked the students to take turns standing up and introducing themselves to the class. Asuma, sitting proudly in the very first row, was by far the most enthusiastic. He immediately shot up from his seat to deliver a loud, confident speech.

Stelle casually looked around the room, spotting several other named characters from her memories, such as the perpetually serious Ebisu.

Everyone’s introductions varied slightly, though declaring a burning desire to become a powerful ninja remained the most common theme.

When it was finally Obito’s turn, he practically jumped out of his chair. He grandly declared that his ultimate dream was to become a great Hokage, just like the Fourth Hokage, so he could protect the village and everyone in it.

As soon as he finished his passionate speech, Naoto led the room in applause. The rest of the classmates clapped a few times out of basic politeness.

Only a small cluster of fellow Uchiha clan members sitting near the back looked openly disgusted. They clearly knew Obito’s actual, abysmal skill level, and their faces practically screamed, ‘Sure, keep bragging, loser.’

Kakashi simply rolled his dead fish eyes and muttered, “Before you do all that, you should probably practice your terrible Taijutsu.”

Obito snapped his head around, his gaze locking fiercely onto Kakashi.

“What did you say? You are laughing at me, aren’t you?”

Kakashi calmly stared back at him, his expression completely blank. “You heard wrong.”

Sitting right in the middle of their glaring contest, Stelle felt as if she should not be sitting on the bench, but rather hiding underneath it. She was entirely in the way of their legendary rivalry.

Eventually, it was Stelle’s turn to introduce herself. She slowly stood up, her small frame barely rising above the desk.

“My name is A-Mu. I am eight years old. I do not have anything I particularly like, but I do like being friends with Obito. I do not have anything I particularly hate either. My dream for the future is…”

She completely abandoned the flowery, sentimental script the system had provided for her and spoke her truest, most unfiltered thought.

“My dream for the future is to live well and keep on living.”

Earn enough mood values, survive this crazy world, and start the glorious path to immortality.

The entire classroom fell dead silent, everyone looking at Stelle in sheer surprise. At eight years old, she was so tiny she looked even shorter than the six-year-olds in the room. Yet, her dream was so incredibly strange and grounded.

It sounded far too heavy for a child.

Obito did not like the suffocating feeling hanging in the air at all. He reached out and grabbed her hand firmly, his voice dropping into a tone more serious than she had ever heard from him before.

“You will definitely live a good life, I promise. On the honor and name of the Uchiha, I will definitely protect you. Even if I have to die, I will make sure I die before you do.”

Stelle blinked beneath her bangs. We have only known each other for a little over a month. Where on earth did such heavy, life-and-death emotions come from?

She felt that she really could not quite understand the inner workings of Obito’s brain.

However, a split second later, a massive notification chimed in her mind. After receiving a huge influx of mood values, especially a single, staggering drop of fifty thousand points directly from Obito, Stelle’s perspective shifted entirely.

With such an incredible, self-sustaining emotional farming expert sticking by her side, she would definitely achieve her dream of immortality in no time.

Stelle looked at the fiercely determined boy and gave him a small, genuine smile.