that.Saddles and Eight Clouds

Successfully coaxing a group of little girls, Naraku gathered everyone into a circle and sat down.

After roasting the wild boar for so long, it was finally time to eat.

In fact, this wasn't Naraku's first outdoor barbecue. Usually, when he went out to train alone and his stomach growled, he'd casually catch some game in the forest and set up a fire.

Barbecuing was second nature to him, and as for seasonings… the system wasn't stingy about that. After years of signing in, Naraku figured that if he ever wanted to stop trying, he could even open a general store and support himself. If the system's storage didn't have a limit, that pile of junk would have overflowed long ago.

Naraku took the golden‑browned boar skin off the roast, placed it on the tablecloth, then drew his Zanpakutō… Swish swish swish… the boar instantly shattered into pieces!

If the King of the Spirit Palace in the Soul Reaper world, Eruya of the Two‑House, saw this, she'd be livid… "The Zanpakutō I painstakingly forged, and you use it to slice barbecue??"

"Come on, everyone, don't be shy—dig in!"

Naraku greeted everyone politely.

*"Thanks for the treat, I'm about to dig in!3"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Naruto, Dingci, and Ya each grabbed a leg and started wolfing it down, completely ignoring how hot the fresh meat was.

Shikamaru and Shino leisurely picked up a piece of meat, put it in their mouths, and savored it.

"Wow… I never expected Brother Naraku to be such a great cook!"

After just one bite, Shikamaru couldn't help but praise.

Naraku smiled, took the remaining leg, sliced it into bite‑size pieces with his Zanpakutō, placed them before the girls, and then tried a piece himself.

"Hmm, not bad. Perfectly roasted. It's my first time grilling such a huge boar; I thought I might mess up, but the flavor turned out great!"

After tasting it, Naraku gave himself a approving nod and fed a piece to the little fire spirit in his arms.

The three girls watched the boys devour the meat with gusto and felt a bit conflicted.

"What should we do? It looks so good… I want some too…"

"Ah ah ah, how about just one piece? One piece won't make us fat, right?"

"Mmm mmm mmm, okay, just one piece. We'll stop after tasting it!"

So each of them took a piece and popped it into their mouths. The next moment…

"Heavens… this is amazing! I never knew grilled meat could be this delicious!"

"Not bad, not bad. The key is that it's fatty without being greasy—the fat's already rendered, so each bite feels light."

"I have no idea what seasonings are in it; I only taste honey. The rest is indistinguishable, but it's like a thousand flavors explode in my mouth all at once. My god… how can grilled meat be this good!"

"Brother Naraku is incredible… Handsome, powerful, gentle, and now an amazing chef. I'm completely smitten!"

"Get lost, Inyo‑pig. Look at yourself—how could Brother Naraku possibly…?"

After just one bite, the two little girls, Inyo and Sakura, were completely won over by the barbecue.

"Sigh… so Brother's cooking is this amazing? So tasty, I want to eat his grilled meat every day!"

After a bite, the little fire spirit in his arms stared at his brother with adoration, eyes practically sparkling.

Hinata, however, was unsurprised. Over the years she'd already known.

Two years ago, Hinata and Naruto started sneaking to Naraku's training spot, and after a while they naturally ate his barbecue, so they'd long known Naraku's culinary skill.

After a feast of reckless eating, everyone lay on the ground, satisfied, rubbing their bellies to aid digestion.

"Sigh… I can't eat another bite…"

"So full… I wish I could eat Brother Naraku's barbecue every day."

The girls, meanwhile, felt both pain and joy.

"Seriously, how many pounds am I going to gain from this meal? If I turn into a big fatty, no one will want me…"

"Brother Naraku, if I get fat it's your fault. You have to take responsibility!"

Naraku rolled his eyes. "When you were eating, you weren't like this. Back then I hated that I didn't have a bigger mouth. Now you're counting on me after you're done. Huh… women really change!"

"Alright, everyone's full and satisfied. It's about time we head back. We'll have another barbecue another day!" Naraku stood, clapped his hands, and addressed the group.

"Ah… we're leaving already? Come on, I still want to hang out with Brother Naraku a bit longer!" Inyo pouted, putting on a pitiful expression.

"Inyo‑pig, I knew you had ulterior motives. Huh, didn't you say you liked Sasuke? Why are you tangled up with Brother Naraku now?" Sakura teased from the side.

"Huh, so you can't compare people. I used to think Sasuke was the best, but after meeting Brother Naraku I realized what true excellence looks like. Compared to Naraku, Sasuke looks like a kid on the street. From today on, Sasuke's out, and Naraku is the only idol in my heart!"

"You jerk, Inyo‑pig, who do you think you are!"

The two started arguing again.

Naraku gave a wry smile. He wasn't sure why, maybe his charisma was just that overwhelming. In the original story, the two who adored Sasuke to death had, after meeting Naraku, shifted all their affection to him—Sakura was still okay, but Inyo had completely abandoned Sasuke.

After packing up, the group headed back to the village.

Passing a small hill, a sharp‑eyed Naraku noticed someone standing on it.

The person wore a dark dress, her black hair reaching her waist, a hairpin tucked into the side of her forehead facing Naraku, and was holding a paintbrush, sketching on a board in front of her.

Naraku glanced at her twice, and she seemed to notice. After all, ten people (including the noisy Naruto and Ya) were marching by, making it hard not to draw attention.

She turned her head to the side, her face now facing Naraku, glanced at them, then turned her head back to focus on her drawing.

Naraku looked at her appearance; she was about the same age as him, roughly eleven or twelve years old.

Seeing her engrossed in her drawing, Naraku suddenly became interested. He stepped forward and said, "Hello, sorry to intrude, I'm Hinata Naraku!"

The girl glanced at Naraku, who had greeted her. She first lowered her head, seeming reluctant to respond, but then lifted it and shyly said to Naraku, "Hello, I'm Umayama Yakumo!"

"Umayama Yakumo?" Hearing the name, Naraku was taken aback; it was her!

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