By noon, Uchiha Obito arrived at Houka's house right on time and said he wanted to treat him to a meal.
Houka's eye twitched. He didn't want to dine and dash again, then get dragged off to wash dishes. That was way too embarrassing.
"I'll cook for myself!" Houka refused Uchiha Obito's offer.
"You can cook?" Uchiha Obito scratched his head and gave Houka a strange look. "Did your mom teach you?"
Houka's parents had both been Konoha Chunin, but they had died on a mission the previous year. So Houka lived alone now, and life was hard. As it happened, if Uchiha Obito hadn't looked after him this past year, Houka probably would have starved to death by now.
Houka blinked twice and said matter-of-factly, "Just because I've never eaten pork doesn't mean I haven't seen pigs run! I'll show you what I can do!"
He went into the kitchen and looked around. There was nothing but pots, bowls, and pans. Even a three-Michelin-star chef would have been helpless.
"How much money have you got on you?" Houka didn't have a thing in his own pockets, anyway.
Uchiha Obito rummaged around in his pockets and finally came up with a few coins. It didn't look like much.
Houka snatched them up. "Come on, let's go buy groceries!"
Uchiha Obito stared at him blankly. "Hey, hey, Houka, this is the last of my pocket money for the week!"
"It's fine. Cooking at home is definitely cheaper than eating out!" Houka pulled Uchiha Obito outside, looked around, then asked him, "Which way's the market?"
"...Houka, do you actually know how to cook?" Uchiha Obito had already given up hope.
Half an hour later, the two six-year-olds came home carrying bags full of groceries. Houka immediately washed his hands and the vegetables, rinsed the rice, and started cooking.
Uchiha Obito squatted in the kitchen doorway, resting his chin in his hands as he gazed at Houka with a forlorn expression.
But a few minutes later, his expression changed.
"Mm... Mmm, that smells so good!" Uchiha Obito was practically drooling.
A mouthwatering, spicy-sour aroma filled the kitchen, sending Uchiha Obito's taste buds into overdrive.
He couldn't help edging closer to take a look.
"Houka, what are you cooking? It smells amazing!"
"Spicy-sour cabbage." Houka shrugged. It was an ordinary dish in his previous life, but quite rare in this world.
"That smells so good!" Uchiha Obito was practically drooling into the pot.
Houka saw him and immediately kicked him flying.
After the spicy-sour cabbage, Houka made a plate of mashed potatoes and added a few tender green onions on top. Uchiha Obito was so hungry his teeth wouldn't stop chattering.
A few minutes later, the rice was ready. Houka served Uchiha Obito a bowl and said, "See how it tastes."
"Yeah!" Uchiha Obito eagerly took the bowl and chopsticks, then picked up a piece of cabbage. "Whew, it's sour, it's spicy, it's delicious!!!"
Then he took a bite of the mashed potatoes, and tears nearly sprang to his eyes.
"It's even better than ramen! Sniff, Houka, you really can cook! This is great—I'll never have to eat out again!"
Uchiha Obito cried as he shoved food into his mouth. Watching him made Houka's temper flare.
"Hey, Obito, you're eating too much! Leave some for me, you jerk!"
At last, the two of them finished all the rice and food. They lay on the floor clutching their stomachs, burping contentedly.
"Obito, do you have a dream?" Houka asked suddenly.
"A dream? Of course—I'm going to become Hokage!" Uchiha Obito clenched his fists, looking fired up. "Everyone's going to acknowledge me!"
"What about Rin?" Houka turned to look at him, deadly serious. "If you could only choose one, Rin or becoming Hokage, who would you pick?"
Uchiha Obito froze, scratching his head in a dilemma. "Why? Why can I only choose one? Can't I have both?"
"Reality doesn't give us many choices." Houka sighed, then changed the subject with a smile. "All right, Obito. You're full and rested, so go help an old lady cross the street. You can spend the whole afternoon doing it!"
"Jerk! What are you even talking about?" Uchiha Obito was thoroughly confused. In the end, he got up, dusted off his pants, and left, saying he'd wait for Houka to come back so they could have dinner together.
Then Houka realized he was faced with a deeply awkward situation... washing the dishes?
"Obito, you jerk, get back here and wash the dishes!!!"
Outside, Uchiha Obito heard Houka's voice and took off running.
With no other choice, Houka washed the dishes himself...
Since arriving in this world, he hadn't had a proper look around the house.
The house wasn't large, but it was tastefully furnished. It had a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and living room—small, but complete. There was even a little backyard with flowers and plants, along with a pond a few square meters in size. There were no fish in it, but the water was crystal clear.
Then Houka entered his parents' bedroom.
"If my parents in this life were both shinobi, they might have left behind some Ninjutsu Scrolls or something."
Houka searched through every drawer and finally found two scrolls in a wooden box. He unrolled them and saw that one contained Fire Release Ninjutsu and the other Genjutsu.
Pretty much every member of the Uchiha Clan learned Fire Release from a young age, and those who awakened the Sharingan were especially skilled in Genjutsu. These were the Uchiha shinobi's signature abilities, so Houka wasn't surprised to find the two scrolls.
Houka immediately looked over the Fire Release scroll.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique."
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet."
"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"
The scroll contained hand seals and training instructions for four Fire Release techniques unique to the Uchiha Clan.
They were all C-Rank Fire Release techniques, which suited the Chunin rank of Houka's parents in this life.
Then he opened the Genjutsu scroll.
"Hell Viewing Technique."
"Fox Mind Technique."
"Qiedu."
There were three Genjutsu techniques in all, but they were all ordinary techniques that even regular shinobi could learn.
"Man, they were really struggling. They could've at least left behind a Sharingan-exclusive Genjutsu like Mirror Heaven and Earth Change."
Houka grumbled inwardly, but he was grinning from ear to ear. These Fire Release techniques and Genjutsu would be more than enough for his early training.
But before practicing ninjutsu, he still needed to learn two things: hand seals and precise Chakra control.
Ninjutsu required hand seals, and how quickly you formed them could directly determine whether you lived or died.
Uchiha Itachi could form six hand seals in one second, while you could only manage two. By the time you cast one technique, he'd already cast three. How could you possibly survive?
And if you couldn't control your Chakra precisely, you'd waste it unnecessarily, or worse. Take Naruto in his early days: he was so weak that anyone could beat him up. Why? Because the Nine-Tails had thrown his Chakra into hormonal chaos, leaving it too disordered to control precisely. He couldn't even perform the Three Body Technique properly!
"Okay, I spent the whole morning refining Chakra. This afternoon, I'll practice hand seals, and tonight, I'll practice tree climbing and Water Walking!" (To be continued.)
Before you continue