Naruto: Choosing from Birth

"Sure." Uchiha Cheng readily agreed.

This way, not only could he keep eating and drinking, but he could also freely go back and forth between the two shops and better observe whether there was anything suspicious about them.

Of course, he was not eating at the beef shop for free either. While eating their beef balls, he casually mentioned that he had once tasted some incredibly delicious beef balls from a street vendor and had spent all his New Year's money on them.

They were called "Exploding Beef Balls."

He briefly described how delicious they were, but as for the recipe, the owner could figure that out himself. Cheng was no saint—did the man think one bowl of beef balls was enough to get him to hand over the recipe?

Hayakawa Hayato had initially dismissed it as childish nonsense, but seeing that the drink shop's new product really had some merit, he began to wonder.

What if there really was such a thing as "Exploding Beef Balls"?

After all, he had spent most of his life dealing with beef. Once the thought took hold, he could no longer get it out of his head.

His mind was suddenly filled with thoughts of how beef balls could explode with juice, how they could... urinate... No, he could not bear it. That name was simply too awful.

Thus, while everyone else worked themselves to the bone, Uchiha Cheng leisurely ate and drank while secretly observing their every move.

By the afternoon, the drink shop had run out of ingredients due to overwhelming demand, and the event was declared over. However, the fat man's Shota Drinks had successfully made a name for itself.

"Thank you both for your help. You brought my shop back from the brink. This is a small token of my appreciation. Don't misunderstand—it's simply payment for today's hard work."

Maruyama Shota handed them a large red envelope containing five thousand ryo.

Uchiha Rinne accepted it with a beaming smile. "Thank you, boss. I don't have to pay for that wooden door anymore, right?"

"No, no need. Once I have the money, I'm replacing it with a steel gate."

"..."

"Sir, this red envelope is too generous. Are you going to buy milk now? Why don't we help you carry some?"

Uchiha Cheng blinked his "innocent" eyes at Maruyama Shota again.

"What can a little runt like you help with? You just want to see the dairy cows, don't you?"

Rinne dealt him another blow from the side.

"Yes. Usually, the ranch sends milk over in the morning, but we ran out so quickly today. I can go pick some up early and let the ranch know to send more tomorrow."

Maruyama Shota tactfully played along.

So they closed the shop and headed together toward the ranch outside Konoha.

They chatted now and then along the way.

When the ranch owner came up, Maruyama Shota thought for a moment. "Uncle Kensho's ranch has supplied us with milk for a very long time, going all the way back to when my father was still around."

"He loves our Kiyomizu Tea. He says it helps ease his joint pain quite well. See? I brought him another pack of tea leaves."

"So he has joint pain?"

"Yes. They say he caught a chill when he was young, and it left him with a lingering illness. His left leg isn't very mobile."

Originally, I wanted to go into detail about the Exploding Beef Balls like I did with the drink shop, but that felt a little too dragged out, so I cut it and went with a simpler approach.

I'll post the next chapter too, reveal this spy, and wrap up this part of the story. I don't want to leave anyone hanging. I cut a lot from these two chapters to avoid dragging things out and padding the word count, while also trying to create a unique atmosphere.

In the end, I spent an entire night and morning revising them over and over. It took far too long and felt a little not worth it.*

By the time they arrived at Uehara Kensho's small ranch, the sun was already gradually sinking westward.

Several simple wooden houses stood on a grassy hillside.

Over a hundred beef cattle were grazing freely on the slope, while around ten dairy cows leisurely chewed at the grass.

An old man and two workers, who were clearly hired hands, were milking the cows.

Maruyama Shota's round body squeezed through the fence gate first. He shouted toward the old man on the hillside, "Uncle Kensho, we came to see you!"

"Who is it?"

Uehara Kensho set down his work, carrying a wooden bucket full of milk as he slowly stood up and squinted at the visitors.

Only when he saw that unmistakably round figure did realization dawn on him. "So it's little Shota. Come on in. What wind actually blew you out of the house?"

"Haha, with my build, it would probably take a powerful tornado."

"It really would take a tornado. It's rare for someone who hardly ever leaves home to remember that I like Kiyomizu Tea."

"And the little girl came too?"

"Yes. Are you doing well, old man? My little brother heard there was a ranch here and kept insisting on seeing dairy cows, so I brought him along."

Smiling, Uchiha Rinne took the wooden bucket from Uehara Kensho and carried it for him.

"Good, good. Come visit this old man more often when you have time. Seeing young people as lively and energetic as you always makes me feel a few years younger."

Uehara Kensho replied cheerfully. His voice leaked through the few remaining teeth in his mouth.

"Grandpa, let me help you milk the cows."

Watching the two workers milk the cows, Uchiha Cheng looked "eager to give it a try."

"Little brother, don't make trouble. If you dare mess around, I won't bring you here again."

"It's fine, it's fine. Dairy cows are pretty docile; they won't hurt people easily. How about I get you each a cup of fresh milk?"

"No need, Grandpa. We already drank a lot at Uncle Shota's place."

Afterward, Uchiha Rinne went with Shota to milk the cows.

Uchiha Cheng ran around everywhere, occasionally keeping the old man company with a bit of conversation.

The old man could not stay idle. Before long, he went back to work as well.

As evening approached, Uehara Kensho herded the cattle into their pens step by step.

Though his body was still quite sturdy, his gait was indeed somewhat unsteady.

There seemed to be a peculiar rhythm in his uneven footsteps. They looked slow, yet he always managed to block the cattle precisely at every turning point.

With each shout, the cattle followed one after another, entering the pens in steady, orderly fashion.

The wrinkled skin on the old man's face layered together like the bark of a dying tree. The mottled age spots highlighted an air of fading life.

Yet his movements were highly coordinated. Though the pain in his joints made his gait seem unsteady, the distance between every step was perfectly consistent.

Nor did his body tremble as other elderly people did from uncoordinated legs and feet. It was as though he had forced himself into the habit of walking with an unsteady gait, rather than it being the natural result of pain or frailty.

Every detail of this scene clearly entered the eyes of Uchiha Cheng, who was searching for crickets in the grass more than ten meters away. The two tomoe in his red eyes slowly turned.

In the distance, another brilliant setting sun broke through the encircling clouds, leaving a ring of golden-red radiance upon the world.

The crimson evening clouds were like the most beautiful ribbons in the world, doing their utmost to absorb the final rays of the red sun.

It reminded Uchiha Cheng of long ago—one year ago. It truly felt like a long time had passed. In a hazy dream, there had been another evening like this, with the sunset as picturesque as a painting.

That time, the young girl's beautiful red hair had shone together with the evening glow.

That time, Uchiha Cheng had killed someone for the first time—killed a somewhat renowned Jonin for the first time.

After herding the cattle into the pens, the old man slowly returned to the wooden house to make baked bread and hot milk as a reward for his guests.

He unhurriedly lit the firewood, then carefully divided the milk among the jars. His expression was serious, and his movements practiced.

"Grandpa, have you always lived alone?"

Uchiha Cheng held several white bread rolls and placed them in the oven.

"Yes, for several decades now. I've long gotten used to living alone. With so many cattle keeping me company, I don't feel all that lonely."

"Then was your leg injured before? You limp when you walk."

"Yes. I caught a chill when I was young. When I got old, it turned into gout."

"Oh! I thought you were like me, walking like other people just for fun. Whether uphill or on flat ground, all your steps are the same length."

The old man's focused gaze froze slightly. Then, expressionless, he touched his legs and feet. "Yes, when people grow old, they forget many things.

They forget that their legs and feet really did hurt for a long time in the past, and they forget when those legs and feet somehow recovered.

Yet they still keep their old habits, only so they will not forget gratitude, forget their mission, or forget who gave them such a wonderful life! Konoha is truly far too peaceful a place."

Waves of cooking smoke rose from the house on the hillside, lending the place a touch of poetic charm.

A shout that dinner was ready made Rinne and the others stop working and enter the house together, where they tasted the most earnest meal the old man had ever made in his life.

Afterward, Uchiha Cheng, Rinne, and Shota followed the ranch workers, riding in the ranch's horse-drawn cart and swiftly departing beneath the last rays of the setting sun.

"Grandpa, this place is so much fun! We'll come again tomorrow!" Uchiha Cheng's clear voice drifted over from afar.