Hinata's Hidden Skill

Ever since he could remember, aside from Uncle Teuchi and the old man who sent him his monthly living expenses, no one had ever treated him to a meal.

Qiushui nodded.

"That's awesome!"

Naruto jumped up on the spot, stumbled upon landing, and nearly fell to the ground. He turned around, scurried back, and began cleaning with even more vigor than before.

He had to finish cleaning quickly so he could go eat ramen with Teacher Qiushui.

Seeing Naruto's joyful expression, Hyuga Hinata felt happy for him as well.

Qiushui looked at Hinata, who was busy wiping the windows, and took the opportunity to perform a quality assessment on her.

[Name: Hyuga Hinata]
[Chakra Level: 600]
[Hidden Skill: Pitiful and Helpless, but an Extraordinary Eater (Appetite is dozens of times that of a normal person)]
[Chakra Quality: S+]

After browsing through all the data, Qiushui was surprised to find that Hyuga Hinata's quality was actually S+.

He carefully recalled the plot from the original work.

Hinata didn't seem to have many highlight moments throughout the entire series. When Pain attacked Konoha, she stood up to block him in front of Naruto; that courage was moving, but if Pain had truly wanted to kill her, a single encounter would likely have been enough.

But then, a second thought crossed his mind, and Qiushui remembered something else: that shut-in Otsutsuki Toneri from the moon had once come to the ninja world when Hinata was three years old. He had evaluated Hinata's Byakugan as being of very high quality and proposed that he would marry her once she came of age.

This indirectly proved that Hinata's talent was not low at all.

It was simply that she hadn't received the proper training, leading to her potential being completely wasted.

And upon seeing Hinata's hidden skill, Qiushui couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

He remembered that when Ichiraku Ramen held a big eater competition, Hinata had outperformed that bottomless pit Choji Akimichi and snatched first place in one fell swoop.

Once Naruto finished cleaning, Qiushui took him toward Ichiraku Ramen.

The two walked out of the school building and headed toward the gate along the corridor. As they neared the entrance, Naruto suddenly stopped. He lowered his head and whispered, "Teacher Qiushui... how about you go on ahead?"

He didn't want Qiushui to be looked at with strange eyes by others because of him.

Qiushui looked down at him without saying a word; he simply reached out, pressed his hand gently on Naruto's shoulder, and led him forward.

"Don't worry, Teacher doesn't mind."

Naruto felt that palm, broad and warm, making his heart feel cozy.

He walked cautiously by Qiushui's side, secretly looking up at the children around him being led by their parents, then secretly looking up again at the tall figure beside him.

Naruto thought to himself: If only Teacher Qiushui were my father, how wonderful that would be.

Namikaze Minato: Laughter erupts in the hall, my family.

Qiushui skillfully lifted the curtain of Ichiraku Ramen. He walked straight to the counter, sat down, and called out, "Uncle Teuchi, one deluxe seafood ramen, and one deluxe large bowl of tonkotsu miso ramen."

To better complete the system's task, he specifically ordered the ramen Naruto liked best.

"Welcome—" Teuchi, his eyes squinted into slits, poked his head out from the kitchen. Upon seeing who it was, his tone held a hint of pleasant surprise. "Oh my, Qiushui, it's been a long time since you've been here."

"I've been away on missions for a while," Qiushui explained.

Teuchi's gaze fell on Naruto beside him, looking somewhat surprised. "How are you two together?"

"I'm a teacher now; I'm Naruto's homeroom teacher."

Naruto leaned over the counter, tilting his head curiously. "Uncle Teuchi, do you and Teacher Qiushui know each other?"

Teuchi laughed while he worked. "Qiushui is one of my regular customers. He used to come here with his classmates all the time when he was still at the Ninja Academy. He even suggested improvements for several of the ramen recipes."

Naruto turned his head, looking at Qiushui with an expression of pure admiration. "That's amazing..."

Qiushui calmly picked up his teacup.

At the time, he had only wanted to build a good relationship with Teuchi so he could use the shop as a refuge. Since Teuchi happened to be developing new menu items back then, he had offered a few small suggestions.

Before long, two steaming bowls of ramen were placed on the table, the broth rich and the chashu thick, emitting an enticing aroma.

Naruto pressed his palms together, his expression as devout as if he were performing some sacred ritual. "I'm digging in."

He picked up his chopsticks and began to eat in large mouthfuls, his cheeks bulging, his face glowing with happiness.

Naruto even drank the very last drop of broth until the bowl was clean. As he set it down, he sighed with satisfaction, leaning back against the chair and rubbing his round belly.

[Daily Task: Treat the SSS-quality talent, Uzumaki Naruto, to a delicious meal at Ichiraku Ramen (Completed)]
[Reward Obtained--Cooking Master Boy (Beginner)]
[Reward Obtained--Cooking Master Boy (Beginner)--Effect Description: Food prepared by the player can quickly restore 20% stamina and 5% chakra, and has a 100% chance of inducing brief hallucinations (cannot be stacked)]

A massive influx of cooking techniques flooded into Qiushui's mind.

He felt as if, just a second ago, he had been an ordinary person who only knew how to make egg-fried rice, but in the next, he had transformed into a master chef proficient in frying, deep-frying, stir-frying, boiling, stewing, and steaming.

Qiushui stood there stunned for a few seconds, pondering the reward he had just received.

Thanks to the settings of the many system-genre novels he had read in his past life, he quickly cleared his thoughts. It seemed the system's rewards were not limited to this world; things from other worlds would appear randomly as well.

Qiushui looked at the description for Cooking Master Boy (Basic) once more: 20% stamina recovery and 5% chakra recovery. Although the effects didn't stack, they were nearly comparable to a standard Military Ration Pill. Furthermore, those pills tasted like absolute hell—chewing on them was like eating sand—whereas this was a proper, legitimate meal.

As for that "100% chance to induce brief hallucinations" at the end...

He recalled watching the anime, where characters would take a single bite of a dish and immediately break into an expression of intoxicated bliss, as if they had been reborn or were floating toward the heavens.

He fell silent for a moment.

He would have to find an opportunity to test it out.

He wanted to see if this stuff was truly as exaggerated as it claimed to be.

Qiushui pulled out his wallet, settled the bill, and had just stepped out of the ramen shop when a notification popped up before his eyes.

[Daily Task: Improve the sanitary conditions of the living environment of SSS-grade high-quality talent, Uzumaki Naruto.]

[Task Reward: Issued based on a comprehensive evaluation of task completion progress.]

Looking at the task hovering before him, Qiushui said to Naruto, "As it happens, this teacher has nothing to do tonight, so I'll walk you home."

Naruto's pupils dilated sharply, and he practically jumped as he asked, "Really?"

Qiushui gave a light nod.

Naruto was instantly energized, skipping and hopping ahead, turning back every so often to urge him on: "Teacher, hurry up and keep up! My place is right over there!"