Chapter 38: Dreaming of Entering the Kitchen
[New Mission]
After earning Kakashi's recognition, many people in Konoha now believe your talent is comparable to Uchiha Itachi's. Parents have begun encouraging their children to use you as a role model.
At the same time, many girls, captivated by your handsome appearance, have sought your guidance, resulting in frequent private interactions.
Uzumaki Naruto has also taken notice of you. After much deliberation, he challenges you to a duel.
The pride of the Uchiha makes you fearless in the face of any challenge.
You immediately agree to meet him in a small forest, beginning your fated first battle.
However, after using two C-rank ninjutsu and one B-rank ninjutsu, your chakra is completely exhausted. Your opponent is not only unfazed by your deliberately inaccurate attacks, but even walks straight through them and punches you.
At that moment, six words fill your mind:
"Too little chakra!"
Because your chakra growth is too slow, find a way to increase your chakra through external means to overcome your lack of chakra.
[This mission may be abandoned.]
[Mission Rewards: One increase in Sharingan awakening progress, a 30-Day Taijutsu Training Acceleration Card, and a weapon similar to Samehada.]
The system was still the same system.
Its rewards were as generous as ever.
Uchiha Asuka stared at the Taijutsu Training Acceleration Card, lost in thought.
Hmm...
Thirty days probably wasn't enough to master the Eight Gates.
Even if one day of training equaled one month...
That was still only thirty months.
The Eight Gates probably required more than two hundred months of continuous training.
Hoo...
He shifted his gaze away from the card and focused on the mission instead.
Increase your chakra through external means.
Asuka already knew several methods.
First...
Capture a Tailed Beast and become a jinchūriki.
Second...
Transplant Hashirama's cells.
Third...
Become the master of Samehada.
And the greatest chakra battery in the shinobi world...
Was undoubtedly the Nine-Tails.
Long ago, Kinkaku and Ginkaku had obtained the Nine-Tails' chakra by eating its flesh, eventually becoming known as the Gold and Silver Brothers.
The Nine-Tails...
Looking toward the village, Asuka imagined himself taking a bite out of Kurama someday and couldn't help clicking his tongue.
Many people throughout history had tried eating pieces of Tailed Beasts.
Only two had survived.
Everyone else had died.
As for eating a jinchūriki...
Minato Namikaze bit Kushina often enough, yet he hadn't gained even a trace of Tailed Beast chakra.
Apart from obtaining another pair of Sharingan and some distant connection to the Sage of Six Paths...
There were no real benefits.
Convince Minato to seal the other half of the Nine-Tails inside me?
He vaguely remembered some transmigrator doing exactly that in another story.
But unless Minato completely lost his mind...
There was no way he'd hand the Nine-Tails over to an Uchiha.
Sigh...
---
The following morning...
Uchiha Asuka sighed as he left home and headed toward the Great Elder's residence.
After thinking all night...
He still hadn't come up with a good way to increase his chakra.
For the real Sasuke, this mission would have been easy.
He only needed a little emotional stimulation to awaken another tomoe, and his chakra reserves would immediately increase.
But Asuka already possessed a fully matured three-tomoe Sharingan.
Awakening the Mangekyō wasn't nearly so simple.
"Great Elder."
Seeing the old man emerge from the backyard into the front courtyard, Asuka greeted him and explained why he had come.
"Hmm."
The Great Elder sat down in the seat of honor and pondered for a while before nodding.
"The clan treasury certainly contains many things."
"But they're mostly ninjutsu collected over the years."
"If you're hoping to find something useful for your trip to Sunagakure..."
"I'm afraid you'll be disappointed."
"The treasury once held several forbidden techniques."
"But unfortunately..."
"Uchiha Madara took them all."
Remembering the glory of the Uchiha in years gone by...
The Great Elder's eyes gradually filled with tears.
Back then, the clan treasury had contained almost everything imaginable.
Ninjutsu of every element...
Even many secret techniques belonging to other clans.
Today's treasury...
Was little more than a shell of its former self.
Most of it was filled with weapons and explosive tags arranged purely for appearance.
After accompanying Asuka through the treasury, the Great Elder looked at the scroll in his hands and sighed emotionally.
"Madara did leave a few benefits behind."
"Back when he and the First Hokage were still allies..."
"He obtained several sealing techniques."
"Very few members of the clan ever studied them."
"Later..."
"The clan improved many of those techniques."
"They're now much more suitable for Uchiha to use."
"For example..."
"The Uchiha Flame Formation."
"Great Elder."
"I'll be going now."
Seeing the old man preparing to launch into another history lesson, Asuka twitched the corner of his mouth.
He quickly slipped past him and prepared to leave using the Body Flicker Technique.
He had only visited the treasury to search for that mysterious chest.
After looking everywhere without success...
He had casually taken a sealing technique before leaving.
After returning from Sunagakure...
He would search the Clan Head's residence instead.
Just then, the Great Elder suddenly remembered something.
Waving toward Asuka's departing back, he called out,
"There will be a clan meeting this evening."
"The village has approved Fugaku's request to return to the battlefield."
"Hmm?"
Asuka stopped and turned around.
"Why return to the battlefield now?"
"Although the Third Shinobi World War is essentially over..."
"There are still several localized conflicts."
"Fugaku plans to take Itachi with him."
"He wants the boy to experience war."
"Tsk... Tsk..."
Hearing the meaningful clicking of Asuka's tongue, the Great Elder stroked his beard and chuckled.
"I've personally witnessed Itachi's talent."
"Four years old is admittedly a little young."
"But the shinobi world will probably remain peaceful for a long time."
"So..."
"It's better for him to witness war now."
Looking at the old man whose face practically glowed with satisfaction, Asuka curled his lips.
He understood exactly what these people were thinking.
Wasn't this simply early training?
What you imagine:
Itachi goes to the battlefield...
Becomes more mature...
Awakens the Sharingan...
Crushes the younger generation...
Becomes Konoha's favored genius.
Reality:
He witnesses the horrors of war...
Begins questioning the meaning of life...
Falls in love with peace...
Then eventually destroys all of you for the sake of peace.
"Old man."
"I'll attend the clan meeting this afternoon."
Waving once, Asuka left the courtyard.
He still had one final lesson to give his three disciples.
The next time he'd be able to teach them would be three months from now.
---
That afternoon...
Naka Shrine.
I've really become too lazy.
After finishing a round of training, Asuka finally realized how much he had slacked off.
Since returning from the battlefield several months earlier...
He had maintained only his daily Sharingan training.
Everything else...
He had completely neglected.
Now he could clearly feel his body had become rusty.
If he weren't about to leave for Sunagakure...
His strength would probably fall to the level of an ordinary jōnin—
Much like Kakashi in the future.
Supporting himself with only two fingers against the ground...
Asuka began doing two-finger push-ups in front of Naka Shrine.
"108."
"..."
"201."
"..."
"326."
When he finally reached five hundred...
He let out a long breath.
Stretching his stiff joints, he resumed the daily training regimen he had abandoned nearly a year ago.
Recovering an entire year's worth of progress in a single day was impossible.
He could only rebuild his strength gradually.
Sweat poured from his body like rain, soaking the once-dry earth beneath him.
As time passed...
One Uchiha jōnin after another arrived near the shrine.
They merely glanced at Asuka, who was drenched in sweat.
Without greeting him, each silently found an empty corner and waited with closed eyes.
No one found Asuka's training surprising.
After all...
Everyone understood how dangerous an exchange mission to Sunagakure would be.
Recovering even a little more strength before leaving meant a slightly better chance of survival.
Without realizing it...
Evening arrived.
Elder Ryōichi looked at the already dark sky before glancing toward the Great Elder beside him.
Raising an eyebrow, he asked,
"Old man."
"Did you get the date wrong?"
"Is the meeting really today?"
"Yes."
The Great Elder nodded confidently.
Although his expression remained calm...
His heart had already begun pounding.
An entire hour had passed beyond the agreed meeting time.
Could I really have remembered the wrong day?
Sniff... Sniff...
At that moment...
A strange smell interrupted his thoughts.
The Great Elder sniffed several times before frowning at Ryōichi.
"Ryōichi."
"Did you fart?"
"You old bastard."
"You're the one who farted."
"Then why does the air suddenly smell so awful?"
"Hmm?"
After the reminder, Ryōichi also noticed the strange odor.
Turning toward another elder beside him, he sneered,
"Old man."
"How many days has it been since you washed your socks?"
"The sour smell is making my eyes sting."
"I don't even wear socks."
He stretched one foot onto Ryōichi's leg and wiggled his toes before standing up.
His three-tomoe Sharingan spun wildly as he shouted toward the distance,
"Go relieve yourself somewhere else, old man!"
"Do you think Naka Shrine is a latrine?"
After yelling for quite a while without receiving any reply...
The smell only became stronger.
"Who exactly is it?"
Ryōichi also stood up.
Activating his Sharingan, he carefully scanned the surroundings before finally looking toward Asuka, who was quietly eating noodles.
Frowning, he asked,
"Kid."
"How can you still have an appetite eating in this smell?"
"I'm fine."
Asuka waved casually toward the increasingly restless elders before lowering his head and continuing to eat his bowl of luosifen.
He was exhausted after training.
If the Clan Head hadn't been late...
He wouldn't have needed to eat here.
Completely absorbed in his meal...
Asuka failed to notice that every Uchiha present had already risen to their feet.
Their brows were tightly furrowed.
Their expressions twisted with discomfort.
If this hadn't been Naka Shrine...
They would have thought someone had moved the clan's entire latrine inside.
After searching unsuccessfully for the source of the smell, Ryōichi muttered to himself as he walked over to Asuka.
Originally...
He had planned to ask Asuka whether he could spare some chicken wings for his grandson.
But before he could speak...
The odor around Asuka became overwhelmingly intense.
Pinching his nose...
Ryōichi instinctively leaned down and sniffed the bowl in Asuka's hands.
"Ha..."
Asuka looked up comfortably after finishing another mouthful.
Thump!
Watching Elder Ryōichi collapse onto the ground, Asuka raised an eyebrow.
"Elder."
"Were you looking for me?"
"You..."
"You..."
"What exactly are you eating?"
Ryōichi pointed tremblingly at the empty bowl.
His body shook instinctively.
He felt he had finally discovered the source of the horrific smell.
"This?"
Asuka glanced at the empty bowl.
Wiping his mouth, he immediately summoned another serving and handed it over.
His expression suddenly became solemn.
"Our Uchiha Clan..."
"Is a clan filled with love."
"No other clan loves as deeply as we do."
"I developed this food especially for the Uchiha."
"It carries..."
"The taste of love."
Smelling the increasingly pungent sour aroma...
Ryōichi fell unusually silent.
Does love really smell this sour?
After a long silence...
For reasons even he didn't fully understand...
He instinctively accepted the steaming bowl.
Looking down at the wood ear mushrooms...
The pickled long beans...
The vegetables...
And the other toppings floating inside...
After confirming there wasn't actually anything disgusting hidden in the bowl...
Ryōichi casually snapped two twigs off a nearby tree to use as chopsticks.
He picked up a mouthful of noodles and tasted them.
He genuinely wanted to know...
What the taste of love was like.
After all...
He had lived without it for many years.
Slurp.
After one mouthful...
Ryōichi slowly closed his eyes.
The faces of his deceased comrades flashed before him one after another.
He could still eat such delicious, unfamiliar food.
Yet they had long since been buried underground.
Thinking of that...
He quietly picked up another mouthful.
The unpleasant smell somehow resembled the bitterness that rose in his heart whenever he saw young couples holding hands as they walked through Konoha's streets.
"Ryōichi."
"What are you eating?"
Just then...
The Great Elder's astonished voice sounded behind him.
Clearing his throat, made slightly hoarse by the chili, Ryōichi spoke quietly,
"Our Uchiha Clan..."
"Is a clan of love."
"And these noodles..."
"Are filled with the taste of love."
"They remind this old man of things he once longed for..."
"But could never obtain."
"Thinking back on those heartbreaking memories..."
"Then taking another bite..."
"The sourness..."
"The sweetness..."
"The spiciness..."
"And that pungent aroma rushing straight into my brain..."
"My state of mind now..."
"Is exactly the same as it was back then."
"This food..."
"Really does suit the Uchiha."
With that...
He handed the bowl toward the Great Elder.
Clearly inviting him to taste it as well.
"...?"
The Great Elder glanced at the strangely scented noodles...
Then looked into Ryōichi's nostalgic eyes.
His fingers froze halfway through stroking his beard.
Could this stuff...
Really be that miraculous?
Should I try it?
However...
Looking at the few noodles left in Ryōichi's bowl...
Then at the half-finished bowl in Asuka's hands...
The Great Elder's expression darkened.
Finally making up his mind, he stretched out an old arm toward Asuka.
"Kid."
"You invented this, didn't you?"
"Make this old man a fresh bowl."
"..."
Asuka looked at the Great Elder's determined expression.
Smacking his lips, he prepared another bowl of luosifen.
Slurp...
"Hmm."
"It really does have a certain charm."
"You all should come over and try it."
Following the principle that good things should be shared...
The Great Elder waved over the surrounding Uchiha after taking a bite.
More and more clan members gathered around to experience what the elders called...
"The taste of love."
As more bowls were served...
The already overwhelming smell became even stronger.
"Let's move inside the shrine."
"If we keep eating outside..."
"People will think the Uchiha Clan is boiling something disgusting."
Led by the Great Elder...
The Uchiha jōnin all carried their bowls of luosifen into Naka Shrine.
To be honest...
It actually tasted quite good.
The taste of love...
Sour...
And pungent.
---
An hour later...
Uchiha Fugaku arrived with Mikoto and Itachi.
Walking beside his father, Itachi quietly asked,
"Father."
"What did Hokage-sama want earlier?"
"To finalize matters concerning the war."
"Father..."
"Where are we going?"
"Either the Land of Rain..."
"Or the Land of Water."
"It depends on the border situation."
Hearing that...
Itachi silently nodded.
At this point...
His understanding of war came only from books.
Severed torsos...
Intestines spilling from open stomachs...
Corpses...
Looking down at his silent son...
Mikoto gently stroked his head.
A trace of heartache flashed across her face before disappearing once more.
As the future Clan Head...
These were things Itachi would inevitably have to face.
The battlefield...
Would become his first lesson in life.
Some things could only be understood through personal experience.
Creak...
Looking at the opened doors of Naka Shrine...
Mikoto calmly observed the assembled clan members.
As the Clan Head's wife...
She hadn't attended a clan meeting in a very long time.
Today...
She simply wanted to see how that scoundrel Asuka intended to persuade Fugaku to remarry.
"...?"
A toilet...?
Sniffing the strange odor lingering in the air...
Mikoto instinctively frowned.
Is something wrong with my nose?
There shouldn't be any latrine anywhere near Naka Shrine.
Then...
Where was this nauseating, sewer-like smell coming from?
After sniffing several more times...
She looked at Itachi covering his nose...
Then at the equally bewildered Fugaku.
A look of realization immediately crossed her face.
So...
The problem wasn't her nose.
"Burrrp..."
A long satisfied burp echoed through the shrine.
The Great Elder patted his stomach before standing.
Looking toward Fugaku's frozen family, he spoke hoarsely,
"Clan Head."
"Close the doors first."
"Don't let outsiders think our Uchiha Clan is cooking something indescribable."
"...Alright."
Fugaku nodded stiffly.
Closing the shrine doors behind him...
He walked to the seat of honor and sat down.
"The smell in here..."
"It's the taste of love."
The Great Elder nodded with absolute certainty.
Rubbing his reddened eyes, he looked toward Asuka and firmly raised three fingers.
"Three bowls."
Still utterly confused...
Fugaku's family watched as Asuka bit his thumb, formed the summoning seals, and slammed his hand onto the table.
Poof!
Three large bowls of steaming luosifen instantly appeared.
After placing one bowl before each member of Fugaku's family...
Asuka rubbed his own reddened eyes and spoke earnestly,
"Clan Head."
"Tonight belongs to the Uchiha."
"These noodles are also filled with the taste of love."
"Please enjoy."
He regretted it.
Dozens of people eating luosifen inside a sealed room...
The smell had become unbelievably intense.
The worst part...
Everyone had eaten multiple bowls.
Even his own eyes were beginning to sting.
"...?"
Fugaku sniffed the pungent aroma rising from the bowl.
Looking across the room...
He saw every jōnin staring expectantly at him with swollen, bloodshot eyes.
His heart skipped a beat.
After a brief hesitation...
Trusting his clansmen...
He picked up his chopsticks.
Hmm.
The taste isn't bad.
That was his conclusion.
Beside him...
Mikoto smelled the overpowering odor piercing her nostrils.
Rubbing her dizzy forehead...
She stared fixedly at Asuka.
If looks could kill...
He would already have died.
How could anyone possibly eat something like this?
Even chocolate flavored like feces probably wouldn't be much worse.
That perfectly summed up Mikoto's thoughts.
Without anyone noticing...
She quietly pushed her own bowl toward Fugaku.
Then silently clenched her fist.
I'm so angry.
I really want to punch someone.
Because of the overpowering smell filling the shrine...
Fugaku finished his noodles, briefly concluded the meeting, and immediately dismissed everyone.
Even his own eyes had begun stinging.
As Mikoto passed Asuka...
She shot him a fierce glare.
A cold sneer escaped her lips.
Not counting all of his ridiculous suggestions...
He had already fooled her twice.
First...
Those awful pastries.
Now...
These unbelievably foul-smelling noodles.
Infuriating.
---
Late that night...
Most of Konoha had already fallen asleep.
Itachi reached out beside him.
Finding nothing there...
He let out a soft sigh.
He would be leaving for the battlefield tomorrow.
His mother had promised to sleep beside him tonight.
Had she already gone back?
Slowly opening his eyes...
He saw moonlight streaming through the window.
His mother was still there.
She simply wasn't lying down.
Instead...
She sat upright against the wall.
Her Sharingan spun continuously.
Her face was deathly pale.
"Mother?"
Hearing Itachi's voice...
Mikoto slowly shifted her gaze away from the direction of Asuka's house.
Looking at her son, she said coldly,
"Go to sleep."
"Mother..."
"Aren't you sleeping?"
Hearing that...
Mikoto took a deep breath.
Her Sharingan slowly faded.
Patting Itachi's back gently, she answered,
"I can't."
Itachi looked at her worriedly.
"What happened?"
"I dreamed that I walked into the kitchen and every single pot was boiling feces."
As she spoke...
Her Sharingan activated once more.
Staring hatefully toward Asuka's house...
She bit her lip until all color disappeared from it.
Uchiha Asuka...
Just wait until you come back from Sunagakure.