Sign in From Naruto

Xu Fan lifted the curtain and walked into the Ichiraku Ramen noodle shop, with Naruto following closely behind.

As soon as Uncle Ichiraku saw Naruto, he was in a very happy mood.

And Xu Fan's ears rang with his favorite voice:

"Congratulations to the host for successfully arriving at the sign-in location and officially starting the sign-in!

Quitting in the middle is considered a sign-in failure!"

The progress bar began:

1%...

23%...

Xu Fan was instantly energized. After experiencing the previous two check-ins, he liked his little aid more and more, and his heart was full of anticipation for the new rewards.

77%...

100%...

Sign-in successful!

Reward obtained: Lonely Gourmet Proficiency.

However, Xu Fan subconsciously froze.

He had thought that his sign-in reward would be related to the Naruto world, such as Chakra, attribute changes, Kizuna, Sharingan, and so on.

But now, his sign-in reward was related to food.

Did this also mean that as long as he kept signing in, he would receive rewards from other worlds?

"Hurry up and sit down!" Naruto saw Xu Fan standing still, so he happily patted the chair, telling him to hurry up and sit over.

"Ichiraku Tonkotsu Ramen!" Naruto then ordered from the menu without any hesitation.

"Two bowls, please," Xu Fan said as he returned and sat down next to Naruto. "My treat today. Eat openly, and don't worry about the bill—I'm rich."

"Uh-huh!" Naruto hastily nodded his head before introducing Xu Fan to Uncle Ichiraku.

"Yeah?" As soon as he heard that Naruto had finally made a friend, Ichiraku was sincerely happy for him.

"Well then, to celebrate Naruto making a friend, today's ramen is free of charge!" Ichiraku said with a serious look on his face as he crossed his arms and asked his assistant to prepare the cooking utensils.

Although Xu Fan's intention was to treat Naruto to ramen, he didn't say much when he saw Uncle Ichiraku's attitude.

Speaking of which, Ichiraku himself was someone who had no prejudice against Naruto and had always treated him with respect.

And every time, Naruto had been alone.

Now that he saw that Naruto had made a friend, Ichiraku was genuinely happy for him.

As long as he had someone by his side, he wasn't alone.

So today, Ichiraku was also energized.

"Let me tell you, Ichiraku's ramen is really super delicious!" Naruto excitedly bragged. "Especially the Tonkotsu ramen. I always order it every time I come here!"

Naruto proudly declared that he was definitely Shadow-class when it came to ramen tasting.

"Hmmm," Xu Fan nodded in agreement.

"By the way..." Just as Ichiraku turned to make the ramen, however, Naruto suddenly became squirmy again.

"I can..."

"Don't be nervous, Naruto. We're good friends."

As soon as he heard "best friend," Naruto took a sharp breath. "So, can I call you Xu?"

No matter what, Naruto is a manga work written by Kishimoto, and in some details, subjective thoughts are added.

For example, regarding names, only people who were particularly close would address each other by their first names.

Although Xu Fan was already calling Naruto by his first name, for Naruto, this matter had a special meaning.

Because Xu Fan was the first friend—the first person he could call by name—among his peers.

However, the reason why Xu Fan was willing to become friends with Naruto was partly because of what happened to him, and partly because Naruto was genuinely good.

You know, when Sasuke defected from Konoha, Naruto chased after him for three years. Even after he got married, had a child, and became Hokage, he still couldn't forget about Sasuke.

This kind of loyalty—how many people could match it?

If one were to nurture it properly...

"Call me Xu Fan," Xu Fan said, temporarily stopping his fantasies and smiling.

"Xu Fan?" Naruto cocked his head, not understanding why there was an extra word for "Fan."

"Ah, yes," Xu Fan deliberately fell into thought.

Xu Fan was the name that had followed him for more than ten years, while Chihiro Xu was the name of his predecessor.

If he kept both names, it would always feel weird, so he might as well take this opportunity to start correcting others and live on in the village under the name Thousand Hands Xu Fan.

"The word 'Fan' is so that I don't forget my beginnings. Even if I gain strong power, I'm still just a mortal amongst the multitudes," Xu Fan casually explained to Naruto.

"In that case, Xu Fan, you're really great."

Suddenly, Ichiraku placed the ramen in front of the two of them and then crossed his arms again. His white chef's uniform even gave off a very professional feeling.

"I'm going to start!" Naruto shouted excitedly as he folded his arms.

Seeing this, Xu Fan also followed Naruto's example and then began.

Ichiraku ramen is made to order. In the open stall, the noodles are cooked, the broth is added, and the ingredients are prepared. Each process is very clean and hygienic. Even sitting in the seat, you can smell the aroma.

"The half-cooked tamago is the soul of the ramen—a soft-boiled egg, tender and smooth. The mellow, fragrant broth is the foundation for the warmth of the entire bowl of noodles, boiled for at least twelve hours with big bones..."

"One of the most iconic Naruto rolls and dried bamboo shoots are also plenty tough and chewy..."

For a while, Xu Fan naturally commented on Ichiraku Ramen.

What surprised him the most was that he didn't remember having knowledge in this area before.

When he tasted ramen in the past, he could only say it was tasty without elaborating.

It was the Lonely Gourmet proficiency.

Suddenly, it dawned on Xu Fan that the moment he tasted the ramen, a whole new wave of knowledge flooded into his mind.

From the selection of ramen ingredients, cleaning, preparation, and culture, it was etched into the depths of his memory like breathing.

"Wow," Naruto couldn't help but let out a gasp. He had always thought that he was the one who knew the most about Ichiraku ramen.

As it turned out, he didn't realize that Xu Fan was the one who had a true love for ramen.

When he turned his head and looked at Uncle Ichiraku, he realized that Uncle Ichiraku was frozen in place with a dumbfounded look on his face.

Minute by minute, Xu Fan had described all the steps regarding the ramen in perfect detail.

This feeling was almost as if he had been following Ichiraku's side, silently observing all the processes.

No...

That alone wasn't enough.

This was no longer an ability that could be grasped with the naked eye alone.

This was clearly the favor of the god of ramen!

I, Ichiraku, would like to call you the strongest!

Naruto even cast an adoring gaze toward Xu Fan.

"Xu Fan, you're really awesome."

"Sloppy," Xu Fan shook his head, but his mood was very happy.

It was true that the new sign-in reward wouldn't make him any stronger, but as long as it was a savored cuisine, he could easily master the preparation method.

This was still just proficiency. What if it reached the extreme?

While getting stronger was important, enjoyment was just as important.

"But..."

However, just as Xu Fan opened his mouth again, the curtains of Ichiraku Ramen were pulled open once more, and a few uninvited guests walked right in.