Haruno Family Secret Recipe

Rotate, rotate, rotate...

Use Chakra to burst the Rubber Ball in his hand!

Naruto stared at the small white ball in his hand, continuously pouring Chakra into it and making it spin without pause.

Three days had passed since Sakura gave him the Rasengan. He had already completed the Water Ball training and was now undergoing the second stage.

That was, spinning the Rubber Ball in his hand until it burst.

Kakashi sat in a tree with The Paradise of Intimacy in hand. His dead-fish eye glanced at Naruto in the distance before shifting to Sasuke, who was training in the nature transformation of Lightning Release Chakra.

Geniuses...

At this moment, even Kakashi had to marvel at the two boys' talent.

In three days, Naruto had burst the Water Ball, while Sasuke had mastered the shape transformation of Lightning Release.

Before long, both of them would master a high-level jutsu.

However, judging solely by their current performance, Sasuke's talent was still somewhat greater than Naruto's.

Naruto's training was much simpler than Sasuke's. As a Chakra nature with extremely powerful offensive capabilities, the shape transformation and nature transformation of Lightning Release were not something ordinary people could master.

For Sasuke to complete the shape transformation in three days, his talent was no less impressive than Kakashi's.

"You two, remember to rest. Running out of Chakra is a very dangerous thing, you know~~~"

Kakashi lazily read the adult novel in his hands as he reminded them.

But neither of them paid any attention to Kakashi's warning, continuing their training with stubborn determination.

At that moment, Sakura approached carrying a bamboo basket.

"If you feel like your Chakra is about to run out, come try the Military Rations Pills I specially made for you."

"I added quite a few good medicinal ingredients."

Sakura held up a Military Rations Pill the size of a baby's fist and beckoned Naruto and Sasuke over.

As for the ingredients for the Military Rations Pills?

Naturally, they had been provided by the Third Hokage.

Sakura had earned so much money for Konoha before; asking Hiruzen Sarutobi for such a small amount of supplies was hardly worth mentioning.

"Eh?"

"Sakura, you can make Military Rations Pills too?"

The moment Naruto saw Sakura arrive, he immediately tossed aside the Rubber Ball in his hand and hurried over.

Even though Naruto did not feel that he had used much Chakra yet, he still wanted to taste the Military Rations Pills Sakura had made.

Sasuke also walked over at that point. Unlike Naruto, who had an absurdly massive Chakra reserve, his Chakra was genuinely close to running out.

"Military Rations Pills involve Medical Ninjutsu, so of course I can make them."

"Come on, try one and see how effective it is."

Sakura promptly placed the Military Rations Pill in her hand into Naruto's palm.

Naruto looked at the black, mushy sphere in his hand, several times larger than an ordinary Military Rations Pill, and for a moment had no idea how to bite into it.

Meanwhile, Sasuke had already picked one up and tossed it into his mouth without the slightest hesitation. Naruto, unwilling to be outdone, immediately put his into his mouth as well.

!!!

At that moment, Naruto and Sasuke felt as though lightning had struck the crowns of their heads!

An extreme spiciness, an extreme sour bitterness, an indescribable astringency, mixed with the gritty sensation of dirt and even a foul stench...

Their expressions became wonderfully colorful, turning from white to red, red to green, green to purple...

"Don't spit it out!"

"These are very precious!"

Sakura covered both their mouths, one hand each, and spoke with a serious expression.

Sasuke was practically rolling his eyes. He forcibly swallowed it, then leaned against a nearby tree and gasped for breath as though he had suffered some terrible torture.

"S-Sakura, what exactly did you make me eat...?"

Sasuke felt as though his mouth had endured a hundred tortures.

"Haruno Family Secret Recipe Military Rations Pills!"

"Super effective!"

"Want another one?"

Seeing Sasuke looking like he was about to die, Sakura picked up another one and smiled at him.

Sasuke's face turned green as he stared at the black, mushy thing in Sakura's hand, as if she were holding some unspeakably terrifying monster.

Kakashi stepped over to the three of them, took a Military Rations Pill from Sakura's basket, and held it to his nose for a sniff.

"Deer antler, ginseng, licorice, and it seems there's also..."

"It's good stuff."

Battle-hardened Teacher Kakashi had practically identified several of the medicinal ingredients with a single sniff.

"As expected of Teacher Kakashi. You've got a good eye."

Sakura gave Kakashi a big thumbs-up.

Because Chakra was a combination of physical and spiritual energy, anything that replenished the body could basically replenish Chakra.

Ninjas could also restore Chakra by simply eating.

As for spiritual energy, unless one was a Genjutsu type Ninja, a dojutsu-type ninja, or someone who had lost the will to live, it generally would not be depleted too heavily.

Physical energy was the major factor.

Just as Sasuke was about to retort, he really didn't want to eat even a single one of these damn things anymore!

But his meager medical knowledge left him with no grounds to argue.

Just then, he suddenly felt a scorching heat rise within his body, and his Chakra began recovering at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Hmm?

The effect was this good?

Sasuke's eyes lit up. He then looked at Sakura beside him and spoke awkwardly.

"C-Can I have a little more?"

Hmm~ So delicious~~

Even Sasuke could not escape the law of "it smells so good."

"Of course, but..."

Before Sakura could finish, Sasuke had already grabbed three or four from the basket and shoved them into his mouth, enduring the nearly deadly taste.

???

With his cheeks puffed out, Sasuke looked at Sakura in confusion.

Sakura watched him swallow the Military Rations Pills in his mouth, then fell silent for a moment before saying, "No, that's all."

"Remember to take care of your body tonight."

???

Sasuke looked at Sakura, somewhat confused.

Kakashi looked at Sasuke from the side, speechless.

Since they were Military Rations Pills meant to replenish physical energy, then...

Emmm...

They might cause a tiny bit of excitement...

But with Sakura's specially made Military Rations Pills, the effect might be even better... probably...

At this moment, Naruto finally recovered from the horrible taste of the Military Rations Pills.

When Naruto saw that his opponent had actually endured that indescribable flavor and eaten so many more, the stubborn competitiveness unique to a youth reared its head again.

Not to be outdone, he grabbed nearly the same number of Military Rations Pills as Sasuke from the basket and stuffed them all into his mouth!

"..."

Sakura and Kakashi could not help rolling their eyes at these two who competed with each other over everything.

They truly were a pair of natural-born happy enemies.

Taking advantage of the medicine's effects kicking in, Sasuke immediately hurried off to continue training.

Naruto, meanwhile, had eaten the Military Rations Pills too quickly, and combined with their awful taste, he went stiff with a darkened face and collapsed to the ground...

Sakura... next time... remember to add sugar...