And so, under Tsunade's relentless torment, Shangguan Yue grew stronger, until at last he finally succeeded.
Shangguan Yue got up, washed, and dashed out of the Senju Compound. He made his way to Konoha's main street, glanced at the various shops along the road, and headed straight for the barbecue restaurant.
After sampling the new dishes, Shangguan Yue let out a satisfied burp.
"I'm about to start. Are you ready?"
"Ready."
"This new ninja-beast meat is pretty good. You're the experts when it comes to grilling, so I won't say much about that. The main issue is the seasoning..."
Shangguan Yue mercilessly picked apart the flaws in the flavors, leaving the Akimichi cooks embarrassed but impressed. They took meticulous notes in their little notebooks.
"Just as expected of Master Yue. His tongue is a measuring stick—one bite and he knows exactly what's wrong."
"The order in which you apply and marinate the seasonings is wrong, too. This batch of meat is excellent, so don't marinate it for too long. You'll ruin the best parts of the meat..."
Shangguan Yue casually tossed out another recipe sheet, leaving the head chef utterly impressed.
Under the other man's reverent gaze, Shangguan Yue left the private room. An Akimichi clan member who had been waiting by the door had been there for quite some time.
"Hm? Uncle, who are you? Where's Uncle Torisui?"
Shangguan Yue looked at the unfamiliar Akimichi clan member, puzzled.
"Weren't we supposed to discuss working together? Why the change of plans?"
"Haha, little guy, my name is Torifu Akimichi. Torisui isn't qualified to discuss a partnership with you yet, so I've come instead."
"You're the head of the Akimichi Clan?"
"Mm-hmm. Little guy, we've already tested out the recipes you gave us. They're surprisingly delicious."
Torifu Akimichi's eyes lit up as he looked at Shangguan Yue. "Come on, little guy. Follow me."
Shangguan Yue followed Torifu Akimichi all the way to the Akimichi Compound. "Yue, please have a seat."
Akimichi Torisui led Shangguan Yue into his home and gestured toward the tea table across the room. Shangguan Yue plopped down unceremoniously in the seat of honor.
"Yue, what kind of partnership did you have in mind?"
"Easy. I provide the recipes, and you handle everything else. We split the profits. I want forty percent."
"What? Yue, that's... too much."
Torifu Akimichi rejected the proposal without a second thought. The Akimichi Clan's main source of income was currently its barbecue restaurants. If he gave Shangguan Yue forty percent, he'd be out of a job as clan head.
Shangguan Yue didn't get angry at the rejection. He kept smiling. "Uncle Torifu, tell me, how much do you make in a month?"
"Uh, about ten million ryo, I guess."
"Are there many barbecue restaurants in Konoha?"
"There are quite a few."
"Can our restaurants rank among the best?"
"Right now, that would be difficult."
"How about this, Uncle Torifu? Let's make a wager. If a restaurant using my recipes makes less than fifty million ryo in a month, I won't take a cut at all. I'll give the recipes to the Akimichi Clan for free. If it makes fifty million, I'll take forty percent. If it makes over a hundred million, I'll take fifty percent. How does that sound?"
Torifu Akimichi was taken aback. Raising the clan's younger generation was incredibly expensive. Aside from essential expenses, the Akimichi also had to eat, and every little bit of money helped.
Besides taking on missions as ninja, the only other way for the clan to earn money was to pick up odd jobs. But that was only a stopgap, so they had started opening restaurants.
Torifu could eat just fine, but when it came to making barbecue, the clan's skill was merely ordinary—not particularly good. But after tasting Shangguan Yue's barbecue...
Torifu Akimichi felt that all other barbecue was hard to swallow. A reckless thought flashed through his mind, but Shangguan Yue had the Senju Clan backing him.
Even with ten times the courage, Torifu wouldn't dare lay a hand on him. The Senju Clan had deep roots. Although there was a gap in the younger generation at the moment, with Senju Nawaki around, no one could say what the future held.
Cooperation was the only option. After thinking it over for a moment, Torifu Akimichi gritted his teeth and agreed. "Fine. It's a deal."
"Listen to your teacher at school, okay? Be nice to your classmates and make lots of friends."
"Sweetie, make sure you eat well at school. Mommy will be waiting at home, so come back as soon as classes are over."
"..."
With Tsunade leading them, Shangguan Yue and Senju Nawaki arrived at the gates of the Ninja Academy. Before long, a crowd of little kids had gathered there.
Children from the various clans exchanged warm greetings. Enemies glared at one another, commoner children looked uncertain, and the youngsters sized each other up.
Tsunade said a couple of things, then disappeared. Shangguan Yue found it all rather boring, but Nawaki was staring warily at a little kid from the Uchiha Clan across from them.
"Nawaki, who's that?"
"Brother Yue, that's Uchiha Fugaku. He's strong."
"Come on, stop staring. I'm here, aren't I? Don't worry."
Shangguan Yue didn't take the other kids his age seriously at all. The night before, he had already finished merging the God-Slaying Art with his chakra.
He still didn't know exactly how powerful it was, but the change had been earth-shattering. It now counted as a mental Kekkei Genkai.
However, because he had so much chakra, the transformation wasn't complete yet. He still couldn't use it freely.
Nawaki glanced at Fugaku, then at Shangguan Yue. "Brother Yue, he's older than us. He deliberately waited for me so we could start school together. This is my destiny, so don't get involved."
"Fine. You look pretty serious about this. If he bullies you, tell me. I'm your brother-in-law, after all. We're family."
"Brother Yue, keep your voice down. If anyone hears you, I'll never be able to show my face again."
"Everyone, quiet down. We're starting the entrance exam now. You're not allowed to use chakra during the test."
The crowd stirred as the little kids followed their teacher into the school. The parents from the various clans used the Body Flicker Technique and vanished one after another.
Only the commoner parents remained where they were, their eyes full of worry as they watched the places where their children had gone.
Soon, Shangguan Yue and the others followed their teacher to the school's training ground. The teacher called out loudly.
"The rules are simple. The weights on the ground beside you come in different sizes.
"Each of you will pick the heaviest weight you think you can manage. Put it on, then run laps around the training ground in front of you.
"You're not allowed to use chakra while running."
After explaining the rules, the teacher fell silent. He used the Body Flicker Technique to appear in a chair at the center of the training ground, leaving the bewildered children staring at one another.
Shangguan Yue immediately understood.
Damn, how could I forget that I could train my body with weights? With bloodline this good, I'd be wasting my cheat if I didn't make use of it.
Excited, Shangguan Yue stepped forward and tested the different weights one by one.
When he reached the hundred-kilogram weights, he was satisfied. He put one on.
The little kids watching behind him came over one after another to try the hundred-kilogram weights.
Thinking they were light, several commoner kids reached out to pick them up, only to find they couldn't move them at all.
Even some of the clan children could only lift the weights shakily off the ground before letting them fall with a heavy thud. One by one, they stared at Shangguan Yue in shock.
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