Chapter 9: The Beginning of the Trial

  After leaving the Third Hokage, Mengying didn't go find Kakashi directly as he said, because she knew that at this time, Kakashi should also have a good habit in the storyline of the Hokage - being late.

  "Before doing this, I'd better fill my stomach first." You see, our little Mengying hasn't had breakfast yet. Why? Since experiencing the Fourth Hokage's sealing of the Nine-Tails Fox two nights ago, Danzo has locked her in a dark room for an entire day without even sending food over. This morning, she was dragged to the Hokage Hall by Danzo as soon as she woke up. And so, Mengying's little stomach is still empty until now.

  "What should we eat? I heard that the 'Ichiraku Ramen' in Konohagakure is quite famous." Miren knew that, although Naruto was not yet at an age to understand things, Ichiraku Ramen's store should already exist now.

  "I don't know if Naru's recommendation is correct, but I'll just go and try it out. But where exactly is this store? With a mindset of trying it out, Mugino came alone to the highest point in Konoha - 'Hokage Monument'."

  "Ah... it's there!" Meng Ling finally spotted a very familiar store on the main street of Konohagakure. She immediately dashed towards it at full speed.

  "Since even the 'Food God' in the Fire Shadow, Ding Ci, has a very good evaluation of Yī Lè Lā Miàn." At this time, Meng Ling had already arrived at the entrance of Yī Lè Lā Miàn. He stretched out his hand and pulled open the sunshade hanging on the door.

  "Oh, welcome! Hmm? Little girl, you're a new face." At this time, Meng Ling heard an extremely familiar old man's voice. She looked up and found a middle-aged to elderly uncle wearing a chef's hat speaking to her.

  "Uh... I'm new here in Konohagakure and was thinking..."

  "Want a bowl of noodles? Okay." The noodle uncle smiled and brought a big bowl of noodles in front of Meng Ling.

  "Ah, I...” Meng Ling only then remembered that since coming to this world, he hadn't even touched the currency of the Fire Shadow World. Moreover, he was currently penniless. He couldn't even afford a bowl of noodles. "It seems that in this world, not having money is absolutely unacceptable." At this moment, Meng Ling felt deeply moved.

  "What? Don't you have any money on you?" asked La Mian Shu Shu tentatively.

  "Uh...," Meng Ling looked down in embarrassment, already prepared to leave the store.

  "Hey, wait a minute. You must be very hungry now, right? In that case, I won't charge you this time." The ramen uncle smiled and pulled Meng back again.

  "Huh?" Meng Ling stared at the uncle in front of her with a look of astonishment.

  "Here you go." The ramen uncle smiled and placed the large bowl of noodles in front of Meng Leng.

  "How can this be..." Meng Ling said with some embarrassment.

  "It's nothing, this doesn't count as anything, but looking at you now, it seems like you haven't eaten for a long time. So this bowl of noodles is even more important to you now." At this point, the ramen uncle had already pulled Meng Lin to the seat and sat down.

  "Come on, today's business isn't great either. You're the first customer, how could I let my own customer leave unsatisfied?" La Mian Da Shu smiled and patted Mengying's head.

  "To be honest, Meng Ling disliked this action the most. However, her first impression of this ramen uncle was still good. But she, who had been isolated since childhood in her previous world, was more interested in things she could achieve through her own efforts."

  "Alright then, consider this account settled for now. When you have time, come to my shop and lend a hand, that'll be considered repayment for the bowl of noodles, haha." La Mian Shu Shu smiled.

  "Alright then." After hesitating for a moment, Meng Ling started wolfing down the food. Although she had always relied on her own two hands to get by since childhood and wasn't used to getting something for nothing, she also wouldn't be foolish enough to not take care of her own stomach at this point. Moreover, if she continued to insist on not eating, it might make Lāmiàn Dàshū think that she was looking down on him, which could have a bad effect.

  It's not clear how big Mengying's stomach is, nor whether it was because the flavor of Yile's ramen was extremely good or if Mengying was simply too hungry (perhaps both), but she ate a full five large bowls of special-grade ramen before withdrawing from the battlefield. The ramen uncle next to her looked stunned, and must have been thinking "This little girl's stomach is really big!"

  "This is a lot, uncle. I've eaten so much, it's really embarrassing. If you have time, let me help out with the chores." Meng Ling said somewhat embarrassedly.

  "Haha, okay then, I've made a profit now... "

  "So you're here, didn't the Third Hokage say to meet at the 'Third Training Ground'?" Before Ramen Uncle could finish his sentence, a voice sounded from behind Menma.

  Turning back to look, it was Kakashi.

  "Ah, sorry, sorry, I'm disturbing you." Kakashi also seemed to notice something was off and hurriedly apologized to the ramen uncle.

  "Hehe, it's nothing." The ramen uncle waved his hand and didn't say much else.

  "If nothing's wrong then I'll take her away. Sorry." Kakashi said with a smile and a slight bow.

  "Haha, see you next time, little girl. Good luck!" The ramen uncle patted Mengying's head.

  "Uh-huh, I'll come often. See you later, Uncle." Meng Ling didn't say much more, and after saying goodbye, she followed Kakashi out of the Ramen Ichiraku shop.

  On the main street of Konohagakure, two figures stood out, a large and small one. The man had a very strange hairstyle, holding a book "Intimate Tactics" with great interest, covering his face, only revealing one eye, but the forehead protector on his head and the green vest (no other meaning) told passersby - he was an Jonin.

  By the side of this young ninja man, however, was a little girl with fiery red hair and wearing a white bathrobe-like kimono, who couldn't have been more than three years old. The two were an odd mismatch.

  And these two people were Xiaomeng Ling and Kakashi.

  "The Third Hokage didn't tell you, did he? Being late on our first meeting will leave a bad impression on others." Kakashi put away his "Affectionate War Tactics" and inserted both hands into his pant pockets, saying calmly.

  "Late? Aren't you always doing this?" Meng Ling retorted harshly.

  "How did you know this?" Kakashi asked with a hint of embarrassment, as if he had been caught in some kind of lie.

  "Ah, well..." At this point, Meng Ling thought to herself, "Oh no, how did I just casually mention Kakashi's weakness?" Wouldn't that arouse Kakashi's suspicion? Although she could tell that Kakashi was just joking earlier, what if he seriously asked her what to do? Should she say, "Sir, do you know that I'm a transmigrator, and I'm well aware of all your secrets?"

  He wouldn't think he's a spy, but rather that he's crazy.

  "It must have been the Third Hokage who told you, but what they don't know is that at that time I was helping an elderly person in dire need..."

  "Stop, don't say any more, I already understand. Now I'll ask you a question, what are we going to do now?" Meng Ling interrupted Kakashi's explanation and asked calmly.

  "Hmm... well. We should head to the Third Training Ground first, I want to test your abilities thoroughly and come up with a training plan tailored to you. This is important." Kakashi replied calmly, scratching his chin.

  "Oh? Is that so? Well, to be honest, I've never actually had a one-on-one battle with a Jonin before." said Mugen with some excitement.

  Konoha Village outskirts, Third Training Ground...

  At this time, Kaka Xi and Meng Ling were standing opposite each other, and the content of their confrontation had already been guessed by everyone. That's right, it was a competition to grab the bell.

  At this time, Mu Rong was gathering momentum, but Kakashi surprisingly didn't have a single thread of tension, and he even took out the "Proximity Tactics" that he had just put away.

  "I'm saying, you're reading a book while fighting me, isn't that going to be a problem?" Meng Ling asked tentatively.

  "You can start your attack now, remember you have to come with the intention of killing me to get this bell, otherwise it won't work." Kakashi said lightly, pointing at the bell tied around his waist.

  "You'd better be careful then, my attacks are completely different from those of a normal ninja." Meng Ling said with a smile.

  "Ah, ah, I see, no problem, come on and attack." Kakashi waved his hand, giving the order to start.

  Everyone will ask, Meng Ling has not touched any aggressive ninja techniques at all, why boast? The reason is very simple, Meng Ling has decided to start using the ability brought by the Devil Fruit to fight.

  "Let's try the famous Fire Fist technique, Fire...!" Xiaomeng shouted, her body immediately transforming into a fire-based physique. To make Kakashi unaware that this was the power of the Devil Fruit, she also pretended to complete several hand seals, and after completing the final tiger seal representing fire jutsu, Xiaomeng's right fist suddenly turned bright red, and with just one punch, it swung towards Kakashi's location. Suddenly, Xiaomeng's originally bright red fist seemed like a giant flame launcher, as a huge fireball with a radius of about 10 meters rushed towards Kakashi's position.

  "What's with the fire attribute escape technique? Interesting." Kakashi thought to himself, his entire body already enveloped in the flames brought by Mei Terumi.

  "The temperature is quite high, but the timing isn't well grasped, and one's strength is exposed right away. This isn't a wise choice." A sudden, out-of-place voice came from behind Meng Ling.