Appointment

The final exam was set for one month later. Jimo walked along the road, unsure of what to do.

There was no need to worry about Sasuke—Kakashi was teaching him. And Naruto needed even less concern... his teacher was Jiraiya.

Jimo stared at the orange chakra sphere in his hand, sighing at how much of a genius the Fourth Hokage was... Though it wasn't as convenient as firing a Shockwave directly, this attribute-less technique held infinite potential... As he thought, a whirlwind began to swirl around the chakra sphere, and a faint, shuriken-like phantom flickered in and out of view beside it.

"Wind Release: Rasengan... Complete!"

"Ding. The system detects that the host has been promoted to chunin. A gift pack is now being distributed."

This damn system had been gone for ages. Usually, it rewarded him with useless little skills, like a master chef's culinary arts or Chopper's animal linguistics.

"Open the gift pack..."

"Congratulations, host. You have obtained a new form—Giant Ape Form! You can create an artificial mini-moon to transform into a giant ape, boosting combat power tenfold.

Congratulations, host. You have obtained the weapon Indestructible Nyoi-Bo!

Note: The form can only be maintained for one hour. After one hour, it enters cooldown, which lasts five days. Additionally, for 24 hours after de-transformation, the host will be unable to move their body, and pain sensitivity will double."

Seeing this skill, Jimo's face lit up with joy. He'd been worrying about how to deal with a super monster like Shukaku...

"By the way, why did you pop up now? Shouldn't you have appeared the moment I became a chunin?"

"Host, are you sure you don't have a hole in your head? If I'd shown up then, you'd probably have been dragged off for dissection by the people of the ninja world..."

After mocking Jimo thoroughly, the system tossed him two small gift packs and vanished.

"Senzu Bean Reproduction and Upgrade... Flying Nimbus Reproduction and Postnatal Care..."

Jimo stared at the two books in his hands, sinking into deep thought...

As everyone knows, when you're feeling down, you go eat something sweet.

"Boss, give me three portions of every sweet dumpling you've got."

"Coming right up!"

In no time, dozens of plates of dumplings were laid out before Jimo.

Just as he was eating with gusto, a familiar voice came from behind him.

"Boss! Give me three portions of your three-color dumplings!"

"Sorry, but the dumplings are all gone. The last batch was just ordered by this young man here."

The boss pointed at Jimo. At that moment, the final three-color dumpling slid down his throat with a gulp.

"It's you!"

As if remembering something, Jimo shot up from his chair.

Stand up, pay, run—all in one fluid motion.

"Stop right there, you little pervert! I'm going to kill you!" Anko shouted as she chased, hot on his heels.

Jimo had no choice. Ever since his past life, he'd been weak against bold, fun-loving women... Even if Anko was ten years older than him, he still had no resistance.

After a chase, Anko pinned Jimo to the ground with her weight.

"Run? Go on, run again! Ask around—in that shop, who dares steal rice dumplings from my mouth, Anko's?"

"Sis... I'll make it up to you, okay! Ow ow ow! It's breaking! It's breaking!"

Jimo yelled from the ground, but in the end, he was caught.

"You didn't hold back during the exam, did you! Your hands, your face! Today, you've finally fallen into my hands!"

Anko said with a grin, a sinister smile spreading across her face...

After a thorough lesson, a battered and bruised Jimo took Anko to buy ingredients for making dumplings.

"I'm very picky, you know! Don't think you can just half-ass it!" Anko strutted behind Jimo like a victorious rooster.

After shopping, Jimo arrived at the apartment the Hokage had assigned him. The basic facilities were quite complete—pots, pans, bowls, and dishes, all fully stocked.

"I was planning to invite Team 7 over for a gathering... You're lucky to be eating my first meal in this place..." Jimo muttered under his breath.

Anko, meanwhile, had immediately flopped onto Jimo's bed the moment she entered. This was something Jimo had specifically requested—other amenities could be mediocre, but the bed had to be the most comfortable!

"Not bad taste, huh. This big bed is really comfy!"

"Hey, hey, hey. You're a grown woman. Could you not roll around on someone else's bed the second you walk in?"

Jimo skillfully prepared the ingredients—red bean paste, sugar, glutinous rice—and began making the rice dumplings.

"Sigh... Looks like the original author never ate anything good either..." Jimo muttered as he used the steaming time to make other snacks.

"What are you making?" Anko asked curiously, watching Jimo's deft movements.

"Just a few snacks from my hometown for you."

After a flurry of work, Jimo produced xiaolongbao, pan-fried dumplings, candied hawthorn skewers, peach blossom pastries, and other treats. It fully opened Anko's eyes to just how impoverished her previous favorite foods were.

"Eat a little less, or you'll end up like Choji..." Jimo's voice chimed in at just the wrong moment behind the feasting Anko.

"Do you know how rude that is?!"

Jimo, sporting several large lumps on his head, watched as Anko huffed with a tsundere air.

"By the way, where did you learn this skill? With talent like this, you could open a shop on Konoha Street and make a decent living."

The two chatted idly, one sentence at a time.

"Jimo! We're here to eat..."

Naruto's voice came from the window. Looking over, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were all standing outside, followed by Kakashi and a middle-aged man with red face paint.

"Ooh ooh ooh, are you on a date with Teacher Anko?" Naruto stuck his head inside.

"Use the door, hey!"

What greeted Naruto was a combined double attack from the two of them.

After training ended, the group remembered that Jimo had said they'd have a feast after the exams. So they dragged their supervising teachers, asked the Third Hokage for Jimo's address, and hurried over.

"You must be Lord Jiraiya!" Jimo bowed deeply to the middle-aged man.

"Oh! Is the great Jiraiya's fame now known even to kids this young?" Jiraiya laughed heartily, then glanced at Anko, who was munching on rice dumplings, and whispered slyly.

"Good eye, kid."

"Hey hey, you're not actually falling for that problem female ninja, are you..." Kakashi stared with his dead-fish eyes at Jimo. Anko was notorious in the jonin circle for being a maverick... plenty of her suitors had gotten thoroughly thrashed.

"Well... it's purely gratitude for her saving me in the Forest of Death, that's all..." Jimo gave an awkward smile, hoping Anko would step in to explain, but she was already lost in a sea of snacks, utterly oblivious.

"Everyone, come in. I bought a lot of ingredients today—I'll make some more!"

"Yeah!" After tasting Jimo's cooking, the three little ones cheered with delight.