Cooking for Naruto

Qiushui took the opportunity to say, "Now do you see how important it is to learn the theory? It saves you from taking so many detours. If you don't understand these things, you'll waste a massive amount of time in the future practicing ninjutsu that doesn't suit you, your progress will be slow, and your strength will always improve slower than others."

Naruto nodded, feeling for the first time that studying might actually be useful.

Qiushui knew in his heart that he could have told Naruto all of this from the very beginning, but if he had, it wouldn't have left a deep impression; Naruto probably would have forgotten it after a night's sleep. Only by letting him experience failure firsthand and then explaining the principles could he truly make this lesson stick.

Qiushui felt the sun beginning to heat up. He raised his wrist to check his watch, which showed the time as 11:05. He took out the study materials he had prepared, which contained the content he had marked as highly likely to appear on the exam, and said to Naruto, "Stay here and practice. Don't wander off. I'm going back to cook, and I'll bring it over to you in a while."

Naruto had been starving for a while, but the joy of learning a new ninjutsu that morning had suppressed the hunger. He nodded immediately.

This was the first time someone had ever cooked a meal for him, and he felt quite excited inside.

Qiushui was afraid that Naruto might actually be foolish enough to bake in the sun—given his personality, he was truly capable of it—so he told him to move the table and chairs into the shade of a tree and said, "Naruto, create three more shadow clones to study with you."

Naruto immediately created three clones; happy things must be shared.

As soon as those three clones appeared, they thought there would be something fun to do. When they realized it was for studying, they all pulled long faces, because just like Naruto, they were all poor students.

Naruto, however, was quite happy. Even though these clones were himself, it at least counted as having company.

Qiushui created two clones and had them supervise Naruto's studies, which would also serve as a test to see if his clones could effectively utilize the Talent Aura skill.

After leaving the area, he first went to a fresh food supermarket. He wandered through the various stalls, buying beef tenderloin, millet chili, cilantro, eggs, tomatoes... soy sauce, cooking wine, sugar, salt, black pepper, and a whole pile of seasonings, large and small.

Even though he had acquired the Cooking Master Boy culinary skill, if the seasonings weren't sufficient, the food wouldn't taste particularly good.

Since it was not a time of war and supplies were plentiful, these items only cost him 1,300 ryo; if it were during wartime, the price would have doubled.

Qiushui carried the bags as he walked back.

He entered the apartment, went upstairs, and opened the door. He had cleaned the place earlier; the refrigerator, washing machine, and television were all fully equipped.

Qiushui walked straight into the kitchen, set down his things, and put on an apron, preparing to test whether the Cooking Master Boy culinary skill really had the exaggerated effects described.

He first put on five servings of rice to cook—his appetite was not small, and Naruto's likely wasn't either. Next, he placed ten eggs into a pot of cold water, turned on the heat to boil them, and then began preparing the stir-fry.

The first dish Qiushui made was Stir-fried Beef. This dish was excellent with rice, and its essence lay in the four flavors of fragrance, spice, freshness, and tenderness. If any one of these was missing, the taste of the entire dish would be greatly affected.

He took out the beef tenderloin he had bought; it was the most tender part of the entire cow and was most suitable for this dish.

Following the memories in his mind, Qiushui washed the meat, patted it dry, and placed it on the cutting board to carefully observe the grain. He had to cut against the grain into thin slices about two to three millimeters thick; the thinner the slice, the faster it would heat up and the easier it would be to cook through.

Into the sliced beef, he added light soy sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, and cooking wine, mixing it by hand until the meat had completely absorbed the seasonings and felt slightly sticky. He then added starch and a small pinch of baking soda, mixed it well, and finally drizzled in a spoonful of cooking oil to seal in the moisture, letting it marinate for ten to fifteen minutes.

He heated the wok and added oil. When the oil temperature reached sixty percent heat and began to smoke slightly, and dense little bubbles formed around a pair of chopsticks placed inside, he poured the marinated beef into the wok.

He quickly used a spatula to break it apart, stir-frying over high heat. As soon as the beef changed color and reached eighty percent doneness, he immediately removed it and set it aside. This step had to be quick, or the meat would become tough.

He left a little oil in the wok, turned the heat to high, and added minced ginger, garlic, wild mountain peppers, and millet chili, stir-frying until a rich aroma and spicy scent emerged. He then poured the beef back in, added chili peppers, and drizzled the pre-mixed sauce along the edge of the wok. Keeping the heat at its maximum, he quickly stir-fried everything evenly. Finally, he sprinkled in the cilantro, turned off the heat, and used the residual heat of the wok to toss it a couple of times. Once the cilantro wilted, it was ready to be served.

Qiushui placed the dish into an insulated container, took off his apron, and turned to head out.

The Hyuga Clan compound was located in the heart of Konoha, occupying a vast area with orderly houses. On both sides of the blue-stone paths were meticulously trimmed shrubs, every leaf growing in the same direction, just like the rules passed down through generations in this family: neat, strict, and inviolable.

Inside the training ground of the Hyuga Clan head's residence, two small figures were facing off.

Hyuga Hinata's fingers, hanging at her sides, curled slightly. She kept her father's teachings in mind: when one cannot skillfully use the Byakugan, one must learn to predict the opponent's next move from their stance.

Standing opposite her, Hyuga Hanabi was only six years old, her height barely reaching her sister's shoulder. She stood straight and did not choose to strike first, merely watching Hinata quietly. She understood that there was a certain gap between her own strength and that of her sister, Hinata.

Hinata bit her lower lip and struck first, using the basic moves of the Gentle Fist. With her palm facing forward, she pushed toward Hanabi. Fearing she might hurt her sister, she used only half her strength. Hanabi's body turned lightly to the side, and the palm grazed past the collar of her clothes, stirring up a breeze.

This was the moment. Hanabi seized the opportunity and extended her small hand with extreme speed. Her hand was too small to grip her sister's wrist, so she precisely wedged it into the gaps between her fingers—right at the joints—at an angle so devious it was as if it had been calculated long ago.

Before Hinata could pull her hand away, her entire body was pulled forward by that force. Fortunately, Hanabi did not have much strength, so she only stumbled a step before steadying herself.

Beside a corridor pillar, Hyuga Hiashi stood with his hands behind his back. He watched his eldest daughter's performance, his brows slightly furrowed.

Standing beside him was the former clan head, his father Hyuga Tenin, the old man's expression calm.

After Hinata steadied herself, she immediately overlapped her two small hands in front of her, assuming the standard Gentle Fist stance.

Hanabi also assumed a stance, her movements actually more upright and standard than those of her sister, who was four years her senior.

This time, Hanabi did not choose to defend; she could feel that her sister's power just now had not been great.

She stepped forward, pushing out her right palm while her left palm guarded her chest. These were all basic moves that had been taught countless times, yet when she performed them, there was a fluid, effortless ease. Hinata retreated half a step, meeting her with her own right palm.

The two palms collided, emitting a dull thud.