Mu Yue's Interest in Sealing Jutsu

On Saturday afternoon, Mu Yue returned to his house in the Main City Area.

Since they had mooched meals off each other a few times and grown fairly familiar, Mu Yue simply invited the two of them over before he started cooking.

"Hanyu, what are you making today?" Kushina asked curiously.

After eating at Mu Yue's place several times, Kushina had never had the same dish twice.

The variety alone was impressive, but more importantly, Mu Yue made everything delicious. That was what made Kushina both admire and envy him.

"Mushroom Soup and Stir-fried Mushrooms." Mu Yue pointed at the plastic bag stuffed full of mushrooms beside the sink.

At noon, Shisui and the others had gathered too many ingredients—various fish, wild vegetables, and they had even worked together to hunt a wild boar. Mu Yue brought home what they had not finished.

Wild mushrooms really were fresh and flavorful, but they had to be cooked thoroughly. Otherwise, food poisoning would be miserable. Diarrhea was the least of it; ending up flat on a bed was entirely possible.

"Don't tell me these are wild mushrooms picked in the forest?" Kushina asked. The mushrooms varied in type and size, so they did not look store-bought.

It reminded her of how she had teased Mu Yue the first time she mooched a meal at his house, asking if he had added some strangely colored mushrooms that made her see hallucinations.

If there really were mushrooms like that in there, combined with Mu Yue's cooking, would eating them not feel like being caught in a genjutsu?

Mu Yue nodded. "I had a picnic in the forest with several students at noon. We prepared too much food and couldn't finish it, so I brought the extra home."

"Hanyu, you even take your students on picnics?" Kushina asked enviously.

She had spent a full six years at the Ninja Academy, yet she had never seen a teacher so nice that they would take their students on a picnic.

"I'm fairly close with those students," Mu Yue explained.

"Hanyu, do you need help? I'll wash the vegetables," Minato offered, feeling embarrassed about eating for free.

"Then Namikaze, help me wash the mushrooms. I'll deal with the boar meat first." Mu Yue did not stand on ceremony and immediately assigned Minato a task.

Being overly polite all the time was not good for building friendship either.

Relationships needed give-and-take to grow stronger.

Since there were three people eating, aside from Mushroom Soup and Stir-fried Mushrooms, Mu Yue also planned to make Braised Pork Belly.

For some reason, in his previous life, eating fatty meat always made him want to throw up. The only exception was the fatty meat in Braised Pork Belly. He could accept it, and even felt that the alternating layers of fat and lean meat made it taste better. Braised Pork Belly with Preserved Vegetables had been one of his favorite dishes.

But there were no preserved vegetables right now, so he could only make Braised Pork Belly instead of Braised Pork Belly with Preserved Vegetables.

"What about me? What should I do?" Watching Mu Yue and Minato from behind, Kushina scratched her head. Why did it feel like they were close brothers cooking together while she had become an outsider?

"There isn't any more room here. Just sit down and wait for the food," Mu Yue replied.

This was not some restaurant kitchen. Three people working at once would only get in each other's way. Two was just right, and there was not much that needed helping with anyway.

Thus, bored Kushina sat down on a chair in the living room and casually picked up a book from the low table.

"Huh." Kushina was surprised when she saw the title on the cover. It was a book about Sealing Jutsu.

"What is Sealing Jutsu? Hanyu, why are you reading something like this? You can tell from the title alone that it's no good. It's not even as good as—"

Kushina stopped because she had turned the page and seen the words "Written by Uzumaki Ashina."

"Ahem, this is actually quite a good book. Mu Yue, you should give it a proper read," Kushina said after clearing her throat and rephrasing her words.

"Mm, I've already read it several times. Lord Uzumaki Ashina truly deserves to be called the founder of Konoha's Sealing Jutsu.

Even someone like me, who knows absolutely nothing about Sealing Jutsu, gained quite a lot from reading it." Mu Yue answered as he prepared the pork.

"Of course. He was the clan head of our Uzumaki Clan." Kushina spoke with a proud expression.

"But Mu Yue, you're interested in Sealing Jutsu too?" Kushina asked curiously.

"Very interested. Sealing Jutsu feels both mysterious and powerful." Mu Yue spoke with a look of longing.

"From the perspective of improving one's strength, Sealing Jutsu is indeed a good choice," Minato said with a nod.

The three continued talking about Sealing Jutsu until the food was ready.

Most of the time, Mu Yue simply listened. Every now and then, he voiced a few beginner-level opinions, making Minato and Kushina feel even more accomplished.

Kushina first tried the Braised Pork Belly she had never eaten before. The moment she took a bite, it was incredible. The soft, glutinous texture, rich but not greasy, made Kushina shovel down a huge mouthful of rice.

"This is too delicious! Why have I never seen such a tasty dish before?" Kushina instantly fell in love with Braised Pork Belly.

"If you want to learn, I can teach you," Mu Yue said with a smile.

"It's a deal. Tomorrow evening, Minato and I will buy the ingredients for you," Kushina said, nodding at once.

After saying that, Kushina glanced at the plate of Stir-fried Mushrooms and discovered that more than half of it was already gone. While they had been discussing cooking lessons, Minato had been continuously stuffing himself.

"I haven't even had any yet! Minato, leave some for me!" Kushina could not worry about anything else and hurriedly began eating as well.

The first bite amazed Kushina too. It was simply too fresh and flavorful.

After eating and drinking their fill, the three of them went out for a walk together.

As they walked, they naturally chatted. Mu Yue shared some amusing stories from teaching, while Minato and Kushina told strange and interesting tales from their missions.

With two days left before the competition, Mu Yue began Obito's final training.

"If you want a Ninjutsu to look more imposing, aside from Nature Transformation and the amount of Chakra, you can also use Form Transformation to make it appear more impressive," Mu Yue said.

"But there are only two days left. Is there still time to train Form Transformation?" Obito scratched his head.

"Of course not." Mu Yue answered bluntly. Obito was not especially talented in Ninjutsu.

"But you don't need to master Form Transformation. You only need to master the improved Great Fireball I created."

In order to help Obito take first place and maximize the reward from the training mission, Mu Yue had truly gone to great lengths.

He had specifically modified the Great Fireball to make it look larger, though there was not actually much more fire inside. Its power remained unchanged.

Put simply, it looked intimidating.

After all, the Youth Ninjutsu Tournament did not involve fighting. Everyone simply cast one Ninjutsu, and whoever received the highest score won.

"Mu Yue-sensei, you're practically my Sage of Six Paths!" The moment Obito heard Mu Yue's words, he felt that first place was completely in the bag.

Against him, who had Mu Yue-sensei's guidance, Kakashi had no chance of winning!

"After all, you even said something like a lifelong request. As your teacher, I naturally have to give it my all," Mu Yue said with a smile, deliberately cultivating Obito's habit of asking his teacher for help when he needed it.

"Hehe." Obito smiled sheepishly.

"Focus on your training." Mu Yue knocked Obito on the head.

"Yes!" Obito immediately began training.

He could not wait to defeat Kakashi in front of Nohara Rin and claim first place.