The Sage’s Departure: Final Part

Naruto woke up the next morning feeling rejuvenated. The talk with Azula made Naruto bounce back to his energetic, normal self. He quickly stretched his arms out and hopped off of the queen sized bed.

The Fire Lord had offered him to stay in this guest room which he reluctantly accepted. As large as the room is, it was extremely bare to the bone with just a few dressers and a bed to rest. A knock on the door woke Naruto out of his stupor, and he quickly opened it just enough to see their face.

"Hey, Naruto," Jiraiya greeted him with a low voice.

Naruto looked up to meet his eyes, "Oh, hey, Pervy Sage..."

"You mind if I come in?"

"No, not at all." Naruto swung the door all the way open.

Jiraiya stepped inside and glanced around the room. His steps were slow as he walked towards the bed to sit down.

"Jeez, this place is spartan," Jiraya joked, chuckling to break the ice.

"I can deal with it," Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

An awkward silence permeated the air around them. Jiraiya felt suffocated from the atmosphere between his godson. He could easily tell that Naruto was still angry at him.

He sighed, "Look, Naruto." Jiraiya ruffled his own hair. "I just want to-" He didn't even finish what he had to say before Naruto punched him straight in the gut. Hard. Jiraiya groaned in pain and plopped to the floor with a thud.

"Apo...lo...gize," He managed to squeak out the last word.

"That's what you get for not telling me before that you were leaving," Naruto spat out.

Jiraiya coughed out a bit of saliva, "Agh. Damn, that was a hard punch, Naruto."

Jiraiya sat up in a formal seiza position while clutching onto his stomach, "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you beforehand. I was wrong about that, and I regret it. Can you ever forgive you sensei?"

"I don't know" Naruto crossed his arms. "It'll take more than a punch to the gut to earn my forgiveness, Pervy Sage."

"How about for a large bowl of ramen?"

"Two," Naruto cheekily grinned. He raised up a peace sign to emphasize his desired amount.

"Haha, you got yourself a deal, kid!" Jiraiya said. "I know a great ramen shop that I know you'll love."

"Yatta!" Naruto burst out of the room with Jiraiya following closely behind.

Naruto's mouth overflowed with saliva as he imagined that sweet, sweet pork ramen.

"Hold it."

The two boys suddenly stopped as if time had frozen over. They slowly turned their heads simultaneously to Azula who was currently leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.

"Where are you two heading off so early in the morning?" Azula pushed herself off from the wall and sauntered her way towards them.

"Hey, Azula!" Naruto waved at her. " We were just heading out to grab some ramen. Wanna come?"

"Ramen?" Azula scrunched her nose in disgust. "I have never heard of such a ridiculous name for a cuisine."

"What!" Naruto cried in shock. "You mean... you never had ramen before?"

"Is that what peasants eat nowadays?"

"What you just said was the ultimate sin against the ramen gods," Naruto grabbed her hand. "Come on, Azula. We're going to get you some top quality ramen."

Azula blushed furiously, "L-let go of me with your filthy hands!" Her words were quick and sharp as a knife. However, her demands were simply ignored by Naruto as he dragged her through the hallways.

*****

They arrived at a small ramen shop but not without a pair of guards escorting them. Naruto had brought the Fire Nation princess, after all. The building was situated on a corner street in a quiet district not far from the royal palace. Surrounding the ramen shop were high-class commercial and residential buildings only the wealthy could afford.

"It's been so long since I've been here," Jiraiya said. "And, it still looks exactly the same."

"How long ago was it?" Naruto asked.

"Before you were even born, kid!"

"Woah..."

The ramen shop had a curved red roof - a common architecture type found across the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom. It had no doors but an open entrance where guests can walk in-and-out freely. Red noren curtains lined the entrance of the shop, dividing its interior from the outside world.

Naruto read the sign on the shop, "No way, it's Ichiraku! I didn't know they have one here!"

"This was where they first opened up," Jiraiya added.

Ichiraku Ramen was Naruto's undisputed number one shop. All the ramen shops he had been to couldn't compare to the hegemony that is Ichiraku. Especially when it came to Naruto's favorite pork ramen. But, to try ramen where Ichiraku first opened up was like a dream come true.

"You better have a good reason for bringing me here, Foxy," Azula growled. She felt absolutely annoyed that she was dragged here for a dish with a ridiculous name.

"Trust me, you're going to love it!" Naruto said.

The trio walked in and sat on tall wooden stools in front of the counter. In the compact kitchen, filled with pots and pans along with a cooking fire pit, stood a middle age man with a white chef uniform serving delicious ramen to customers.

"Welcome!" Teuchi greeted. He quickly noticed Azula and bowed, "Princess Azula! It's an honor to meet you."

Azula leaned on the counter with her head resting on her palm, "Don't bother with the useless bootlicking. I'm just here to try this so called ramen that someone has been begging me to try."

She took a single glance at Naruto.

"Ah, then I'll make sure you won't regret it, princess!" Teuchi happily responded.

"Hey, old man, two large bowls of ramen pork with extra everything, please!" Naruto shouted, his legs shook with anticipation.

"Comin' right up. What about you two?"

Azula lazily pointed at Naruto, "I'll take whatever this fool's having but only one bowl."

"I'll take a regular miso, old friend," Jiraiya said.

The chef took one closer look at the man with white hair, and his eyes widen with shock, "Is that really you, Jiraiya?"

"It's been quite a while, Teuchi," Jiraiya smiled. "You haven't aged a bit."

"A while? More like ten years!" Teuchi gave a chortle. "It's so good to see you again. As a reunion gift, I'll make this miso ramen extra special. Just for you."

"As expected of a ramen master!" Jiraiya gave him a thumbs up. He then looked around the shop, "Where's Ayame?"

"She went out to grab some ingredients," Teuchi responded. "She won't be back for a while."

Jiraiya sulked, "Aw, I want to see little Ayame all grown up."

"Like hell I would let you close to my daughter," Teuchi grimly replied.

Jiraiya nervously chuckled, "That's perfectly fine with me..."

Time passed, and Teuchi had just finished cooking. He quickly served them all with bowls of ramen.

"Eat up," He said. "I know the lot of you are hungry."

"You bet!" Naruto said with glee.

He couldn't wait to dive right into the food from heaven; Naruto broke a pair of wooden chopsticks and went right to work, throwing all table manners out of the window.

Azula watched as Naruto consumed his food like a feral mutt with disgust written on her face. How can anyone eat those strands of dough and enjoy it was beyond her. Not wanting to watch him anymore, Azula looked at her own ramen bowl and took a quick sniff.

'It smells quite interesting,' She thought to herself.

Azula picked up a pair of chopsticks and brought the steaming noodles closer to her mouth. She winced her eyes a bit while slurping the dangling noodles, and an explosion of flavor suddenly hit her taste buds. Her disgusted face gradually turned to thoughtfulness then to absolute shock.

'This flavor...'

"How is it?" Naruto asked with anticipation. He could see the shocked look on her face, and it made him joyful.

Azula didn't bother to answer his question and dug straight into the bowl like a hungry wolf, exactly how Naruto did to his.

Naruto laughed with joy, "I guess that answers my question." He then went right into his second bowl of ramen, eating it at an even faster pace than before.

Minutes passed, and the three of them had finished eating with satisfied expressions on their faces. Azula couldn't believe she had missed out on this doughy deliciousness in her whole life. Perhaps, she can get the chefs at the palace to make ramen as part of her regular meal. No, she had to.

"Well, princess, still think ramen as only peasant food?" Naruto said with a smug look. He was happy that he converted a sinner to the ways of ramen.

Azula crossed her arms, "Well, I do find it certainly interesting."

"Then, I'll just bring you here as much as you want!" Naruto gave her a huge grin.

Azula felt a weird feeling rise up in her chest. It was that damn stupid happy grin on his face that made her like this. She did not dislike it, though. It was merely a strange sensation that would probably go away soon.

"Only if you pay for all of it," Azula haughtily said.

*****

They arrived back at the palace entrance, and Azula made her way inside to speak with her father, leaving the two of them behind.

"What should we do tomorrow, Pervy Sage?" Naruto made a thinking gesture. "Oh! How about we visit the beach to watch the elephant koi fish migration? That would be awesome!"

"Or maybe we can visit the Fire Nation colosseum and watch a bunch of meatheads duke it out!" Naruto was practically jumping in place.

Jiraiya felt his heart waver from seeing the excitement on Naruto's face; he truly didn't want to leave him. But, Jiraiya couldn't linger around here anymore, so he hardened his heart.

Jiraiya slowly knelt down to Naruto's height, "Naruto... I would love to visit all the fun places with you, but I can't stay here with you anymore."

"O-oh," Naruto hung his head low, hiding his dejected face away from his sensei. "I-I guess this is goodbye, then." He spoke in a low voice.

"Don't be like that, kid," Jiraiya ruffled Naruto's hair. "When I come back, we'll visit all the ramen places you want! How does that sound?"

Naruto didn't respond, but his whole body was shaking. Jiraiya grabbed Naruto's chin and gently pulled his head up. He was suddenly greeted with a waterfall of tears that poured out from Naruto's eyes.

"Naruto, do you want to be strong?" He suddenly asked.

He nodded, "The...strongest... in the world." Naruto said through whimpers and sobs.

"Strength comes from the heart, Naruto," Jiraiya pointed to Naruto's chest, "A man with a strong heart will overcome anything. Tell me, will you be that man, Naruto?"

Naruto hastily wiped the tears from his eyes and looked at Jiraiya with newfound determination.

"I will, Pervy Sage. I'll be the strongest in the world," Naruto said with confidence.

Jiraiya smiled. He could feel the Will of Fire burning bright within Naruto.

Jiraiya raised his fist up, "Then, promise me that."

"Heh, I never break my promises!" Naruto responded. He quickly bumped fist with his sensei for the last time.

It was a promise of a lifetime.