As Long as You Praise My Brother, We're Good Friends

"Then, I'm digging in!"

Sasuke picked up a piece of lamb from the water-basin lamb stew and put it into his mouth. He narrowed his eyes as he chewed, his cheeks puffing up like a steamed bun.

After swallowing the lamb, Sasuke opened his eyes, which were shining brightly, and praised, "Naruto, your cooking is amazing. It's just as good as my brother's."

As he spoke, Sasuke generously gave Naruto a thumbs-up.

Hearing Sasuke's sincere praise, Naruto was overjoyed. This was praise from a friend—his first time experiencing something like it. It was like a warm current flowing into his body, filling him with the taste of happiness.

Mm, it felt even better than people praising his muscles.

Naruto beamed and asked with interest, "Your brother's cooking is great too?"

"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm!" Sasuke nodded like a chick pecking at grain. "At home, besides Mom, my brother is the one who cooks. But I still like my brother's cooking the most, because it tastes better than Mom's."

"After hearing you talk about him like that, I believe your brother really is a great cook. I really want to meet him and compete with him in cooking," Naruto said sincerely.

Hearing Naruto say that made Sasuke happy as well. Naruto was praising his brother. It seemed this friend Naruto was truly worth having.

"But my brother is very busy with work. Even I, his most beloved little brother, can't eat his cooking every day," Sasuke said with a disappointed expression.

But soon, he added:

"Even though my brother is busy, no matter how tired he is when he gets home, as long as there's something I want to eat, he'll make it for me. But I'm considerate of my brother too. When he's tired, I'd rather miss out on one good meal than see him exhaust himself."

Whenever Sasuke talked about his brother Itachi, he instantly transformed from a cool little brat who spoke sparingly into a chatterbox.

As Naruto listened to Sasuke talk about his brother, it seemed as though the word "happiness" was written all over his face. Naruto felt a little envious. Although he now had friends and their care,

he also wanted to know what it felt like to be loved by family.

The system sensed Naruto's thoughts and wondered whether it should tell him some things.

But after thinking it over, it decided to postpone it.

The observant Sasuke noticed Naruto's unusual mood too. With only a little thought, he understood that Naruto envied him for having family who cared about him. So he said:

"Naruto, when there's a chance, I'll introduce you to my brother. You're my friend, and I believe my brother will definitely treat you like a little brother too."

"Mm. When there's a chance, I definitely have to meet your brother. After all, someone with cooking skills as outstanding as mine—if we don't become friends, it would be a lifelong regret." Naruto nodded.

"Wow, this lamb soup is so white. Milky white."

Sasuke shifted his gaze to the lamb soup, scooped up a spoonful, and drank it. The soup was rich and fragrant, without any gaminess. It went down smoothly, slipping through his throat and into his stomach.

"It's so delicious and fragrant. It doesn't have that mutton smell that lamb soup from outside has."

Naruto explained, "These are sheep from my Breeding Farm, raised using specialized methods. They eat grass instead of feed and run all over the mountains to exercise. With sheep like that, you don't need to add anything. The meat comes out fresh, fragrant, and delicious, without any gaminess."

"Here, Sasuke, have a Spicy Lamb Trotter. The sheep run all over the mountains, so their trotters are especially chewy." Naruto picked up a lamb trotter and placed it in Sasuke's bowl.

At the Uchiha Clan Grounds, Itachi Uchiha wore an apron as he busily moved around the kitchen.

He checked the time. It was almost time for school to end, and Sasuke would soon be coming home for dinner. When he saw that his brother had personally made a whole table of dishes for him, he would definitely be happy.

At that thought, a smile appeared at the corners of Itachi Uchiha's eyes and lips.

With that happy feeling, Itachi Uchiha worked steadily and methodically.

Once the last dish was done, Itachi Uchiha untied his apron and checked the time. Sasuke had already gotten out of school and would probably be home in a little over ten minutes.

Itachi sat in the living room for a while, but ultimately decided to wait for Sasuke on the road.

When he reached the road outside the Clan Grounds, Itachi leaped onto a streetlamp, folded his arms, and quietly waited for Sasuke to return home along this road.

"Here, Sasuke, have another lamb leg. It's stewed until the flavor has soaked right in, soft and tender." Naruto placed the lamb leg in Sasuke's bowl.

"I can't, I can't. If I eat any more, I'm going to explode." Sasuke rubbed his round belly. He really could not eat another bite. Naruto's cooking was so good, and he had already eaten far more than usual today.

"Hey, Sasuke, you shouted so loudly, but you ate so little. You're still growing. You need to eat more like me if you want to grow tall and strong."

As he spoke, Naruto raised an arm, intending to show off his muscles, when he heard the sound of threads snapping from his clothes and hurriedly stopped.

Showing off his muscles ruined clothes. If he did it a few more times, even raising pigs would not earn enough to buy clothes.

"You eat it, Naruto..." Sasuke picked the lamb leg from his bowl and placed it in Naruto's.

"Then I'm eating." As he spoke, Naruto released his seal. Until now, he had merely been holding back. With his current appetite, eating an entire sheep in one meal was nothing.

Using both hands, Naruto dug in heartily. The meat on the table disappeared at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The moment food entered his mouth, he did not even need to spit out the bones. As soon as they reached his stomach, they were instantly ground into energy by his millstone-like stomach.

Sasuke stared at Naruto eating, his mouth hanging wide open.

This...

No wonder Naruto was so huge. His appetite was actually this terrifying.

"Burp!"

After wiping out every last piece of lamb on the table, Naruto let out a satisfied burp. He felt happy. Sure enough, food could make people happy.

On the road outside the Uchiha Clan Grounds...

Itachi stood on the streetlamp.

After eating and drinking his fill, Sasuke said, "Naruto, I'll wash the dishes."

"No need. You're a guest. How could I let you wash dishes? Let's go out and rest for a while." With that, Naruto pulled Sasuke outside. As they left the cabin, Naruto glanced almost imperceptibly at Kurama, who was doing a Ge You lie on the sofa.

Kurama bared his teeth at him.

After leaving the wooden cabin, the two slowly strolled along the mountain path to help digest their meal.

Walk a hundred steps after a meal, and live to ninety-nine.

On the road outside the Uchiha Clan Grounds...

Itachi stood on the streetlamp.

Once Naruto and Sasuke left, the Nine-Tails reluctantly got up, grabbed the apron from the sofa, tied it around himself, and walked to the dining table. Looking at the mess of a table, with not a scrap of food left, the Nine-Tails snorted.

"Brat, you didn't leave a single bite for this old man."

"You want the horse to run, but you won't give it any grass. Hmph..."

The Nine-Tails reluctantly cleared away the dishes, went to the kitchen, and began washing them.

On the road outside the Uchiha Clan Grounds...

Itachi stood on the streetlamp.