Roasting a Whole Deer in a Fire Pit

Exhale through the mouth—, inhale through the nose—

Swing his arms, take each step, drive his thighs upward, tense his calves, then spring forward.

Throughout the run, Uchiha Yu paid attention to every movement he made. He had already learned that focusing on one specific thing also helped stabilize his emotions. The key was that he did not need to worry about becoming biased.

Gradually, he entered a state of mental emptiness. His eyes remained fixed steadily ahead, his focus scattered as though he saw nothing, yet he could accurately avoid every obstacle. Whenever he brushed past people or obstructions, he maintained a precise distance of one centimeter.

In that ethereal state of mind, Omniscient Mind's Eye could be pushed to its limit, reflecting all information from the surrounding environment centered on himself within his mind. Without needing his brain to think, he could guarantee absolute evasion.

As he continued running, the monkey hair and pig blood in Uchiha Yu's mental world were continuously digested. The purified spiritual energy nourished his eyes, while part of it also drove changes in this evasive state.

By the time he reached his third lap, that wondrous state of absolute evasion had stabilized. It fused Omniscient Mind's Eye, intuitive judgment, and Lightning Reflexes into an entirely new ability.

Uchiha Yu could easily control when to activate and deactivate it. Once activated, he would automatically enter that ethereal state, even interrupting the buildup and outbreak of intense emotions.

Was this Lingbo Micro-steps? No, how could that name possibly be worthy of it? This was...

Free and Easy Wandering.

A new divine ability. It hadn't been easy. I finally had my first divine ability related to combat. Even if it was still auxiliary in nature, at least it could be useful in battle. It was a step beyond observation-type divine abilities.

Actually, divine abilities aren't important. What matters is an ethereal heart. Only then can I rise above all things, transcend my own senses and emotions, and control everything around me.

Not only can I evade every attack, I can also attack anyone. It feels like I won't have to worry about being surrounded anymore.

That's right. As long as I'm stronger than each individual enemy, even if several of them come at me together, I can still defeat them easily.

But exactly how many will need to be tested in actual combat.

If I can handle eight, then it won't matter whether it's a one-on-one fight or a group beating.

After all, at most eight people can surround and attack one person. Even then, it would have to be four on the inside and four on the outside.

Now, I have the confidence to go out for long periods. Even in wartime, I can survive.

Crises always came with both danger and opportunity. Digesting a mental crisis had ultimately strengthened him.

Uchiha Yu ended this weighted run with great satisfaction. His extreme physical exhaustion did nothing to affect his good mood, and he decided to treat himself to a hearty meal.

Right. Shisui had sent over so many ingredients that they would spoil if he did not use them soon. There was so much premium Nara deer meat, and its price was outrageously high. Uchiha Yu had been a ninja for six years, yet he had never earned this much money in a single year. Wasting it would pain him to death.

So, they would eat roasted deer at noon.

Anything they could not finish would have to be frozen in Shisui's big refrigerator. Once meat was frozen solid, it would need the troublesome process of thawing, and the texture after thawing was not as good as before.

As for making jerky or salted meat, Uchiha Yu had no such plans. He had no experience making that kind of food and could not bear to experiment with such good venison.

After returning home, he first went beneath the shade of a tree to inspect the whole deer propped up on a wooden rack. Confirming that the surface moisture had completely dried, he nodded repeatedly in satisfaction.

This deer had begun being prepared yesterday afternoon. It had been soaked in well water to draw out the blood, then soaked overnight in a broth boiled with spices. It had only been propped up to air-dry this morning.

Now was the perfect time to coat it. Uchiha Yu mixed eggs, minced ginger, flour, salt, and five-spice powder in a washbasin. Even though it was still dry powder, the fragrance had already spread everywhere, drawing out the Tabby Cat from wherever she had been hiding.

"It smells so good, meow. The smell of roasted whole deer really makes me look forward to it."

"This is nothing yet. The important thing is that we're missing cumin powder. Without that perfect barbecue spice, roasted meat loses half its flavor."

"Cat Castle's business spans the entire Ninja World, but I've never heard of cumin powder. Do barbecue restaurants have it, meow?"

"No barbecue restaurant has it. It probably hasn't been discovered yet, so I don't know where to find it either. But I have to find it someday."

"It hasn't been discovered yet... Then does this spice called cumin even exist?"

"Who knows?"

"Yu, did you foresee it, or did you dream about it, meow?"

"Of course I dreamed about it."

"..."

"Only a dog would believe you, meow!"

After mixing the powder evenly, Uchiha Yu boiled the broth that had soaked the deer yesterday, then poured it into the washbasin and stirred it into a scalded flour paste. He immediately began smearing it over the deer's body, carefully wrapping the entire deer without leaving even the slightest gap.

Only complete sealing would allow the flour paste to completely lock in the venison while it roasted, ensuring that the meat retained just the right amount of moisture and came out tender and delicious.

After all, this was venison. It did not have pork's thick layers of fat. If any part was not sealed properly, a piece of meat would lose its moisture and turn into tough jerky that could not be chewed.

Watching the bright red venison turn pale yellow beneath the coating, Miwa Masayo finally remembered that they did not have a grill large enough to hold the deer.

After she raised the question, Uchiha Yu merely smiled. "We're not running a barbecue business, so of course we wouldn't prepare such a large grill."

"Then what do we do? Can you roast the venison with Fire Style, Yu?"

"Fire Style... Rika-chan, you've made a very good suggestion for training. I'll try it when I get the chance. But this fat deer from the Nara family is too expensive today. We can't waste it."

"We'll dig a pit and roast it in there."

Earth Style: Rock Excavation Core

Without a sound, the ground in the center of the courtyard split open. A great amount of soil erupted like a fountain, and soon, a cylindrical earthen pit two and a half meters deep and one point four meters in diameter had been dug.

He spread the pre-prepared charcoal across the bottom of the pit, lit it with Fire Style as well, and accelerated it until it was fully burning.

Once all the charcoal had turned red-hot, Uchiha Yu tightly bound the whole deer with Uchiha-special steel wire and lowered it into the fire pit.

Next, he poured in salted water, filling the entire pit with steam. He covered it with wooden boards and sealed the fire pit with the freshly dug soil. He even mixed another bucket of water into the soil to make mud, ensuring the pit was sealed tightly and preventing the flames from becoming too strong and burning the venison.

Uchiha Yu used Fire Style to dry the mud on his hands. With a gentle clap, he used Earth Style's control to make every speck of dust leave his hands in an instant, achieving an effect comparable to washing them three times with clean water.

"Done. We just need to wait forty-five minutes, and we'll have delicious venison."

Miwa Masayo had also been "helping" just now. Any dignity she had as the Cat Sage had been tossed into the mud pile, and she was now a mud-ball cat, with only her large, gleaming eyes still pristine.

Uchiha Yu raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile, "So, respected Cat Sage, would you like a hot bath? Or a fire bath like mine?"

"I don't have the ability to merge into flames. A fire bath... How many hairs would I have left, meow?"

"I choose a hot bath... Please."

"I'd be delighted to serve you, adorable Rika-chan."

"I told you already, meow, don't call me Rika-chan..." (quietly)