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Chapter - 16

A Week Later

As promised, Teuchi and Ayame were given a few days' break before they started to work. They took a tour of their new space, which was indeed quite large. They weren't sure about how they would handle a restaurant since it was only the two of them. However, there were already applications being sent in for support staff. It seemed the Emperor had already done some searching to help them out. Teuchi hoped that the people here would be much better than those of the East. Teuchi shopped for ingredients while Ayame conducted interviews and made the staff hirings. Eventually, by the end of the week, Ichiraku Ramen in the West was officially open for business.

However, they had a bit of a soft opening first. Allowing a few people to try their ramen first before anyone else. Their first customers, of course, were the Emperor and Empress themselves.

Both Teuchi and Ayame were nervous.The Emperor and Empress and Rin were seated at the counter flanked by their two special guards. The guards are Invel and Tatsumi. Trio the Emperor and Empress order the miso chashu pork ramen, which was also the favorite of Naruto. This led to both Teuchi and Ayame wondering where Naruto was. The Emperor had mentioned that Naruto would be their first customer, disappointing Teuchi and Ayame just a bit.

As the ramen was placed in front of the Emperor and Empress, Teuchi and Ayame started to sweat profusely.

"I hope he likes it," Teuchi thought.

"What if he doesn't like it? Will he kick us out? Will he harm Naruto because he vouched for us?" Ayame thought.

Naruto smiled a bit, sensing the father-daughter duo getting very nervous. He figured he should end the misery they must be feeling right now. He took his mask off, completely. Showing his face to Teuchi and Ayame.

"I did tell you both that Uzumaki Naruto was going to be the first to try Ichiraku Ramen and dammit I can't wait-ttebayo!" Naruto said as Ayame ran up to him in flash and hugged him tightly. She couldn't care less if this was improper, she was just happy to see the person she saw as a younger brother again.

"Naruto-kun, I've missed you so much," she said as tears fell from eyes. Naruto reciprocated the hug, a warm smile on his face.

"I've missed you too Ayame-neechan. I've missed both of you guys. Thank you so much for everything you've done for me over the years. It's now time I pay you guys back."

After a few moments, Ayame let go and hugged Arturia now, surprising the Empress a bit, "Thank you so much for taking care of him. I hope he hasn't caused you too many problems, but I'm happy he has found someone who loves him." Arturia reciprocated the hug too, thanking both Ayame and Teuchi for all they did for Naruto back in Konoha.

After all the pleasantries, Naruto decided it was time to eat. He couldn't wait to dig into the ramen he had missed for so long. Arturia also wanted to see what was so special about this ramen. Naruto had rambled to her about how great Ichiraku's was, which Arturia could really believe. It was just ramen. How good could it be?

The Empress soon found out how good it was. After she took her first bite, she kept going back for more bites, not slowing down at all. Next thing you know, she was done. However, her stomach longed for more. Naruto was already on to his second bowl when he noticed that his wife had a look of disappointment on her face.

"What's wrong ?" he asked, as both Teuchi and Ayame were wondering the same. They hoped she had like it.

"It's empty. I've never finished a ramen bowl like this before," she said as Naruto laughed.

"I told you it was good! Oh yee of little faith," Naruto teased as Arturia requested another bowl. All in all, the Empress nearly matched her husband. She ate four bowls while her husband ate five. It was a great day for Teuchi and Ayame, knowing that Naruto was safe and that he was the Emperor no less, and also that the Empress liked it too. They had so many questions that they wanted to ask Naruto and he answered all of them and surprised when he mention about the wifes and introduced Rin to them.

Eventually, Ichiraku Ramen became a big hit in the West. Endorsed by the Emperor himself, thousands flocked to the restaurant every week. It got so busy that Teuchi needed to hire six more chefs to keep up with the demand. Not to mention that he also got the bright idea of having a delivery service for people who couldn't get a seat inside. It was safe to say, Ichiraku's was a huge success in the United Western Empire.

End of the flashback