Stingy Ghost

Not intending to dwell on it, Kakashi said to Jiya, "So, what do you plan to do now?" The subtext here was clearly a dismissal.

Uchiha Gen, however, suddenly put on a coy expression, pulled paper and a pen from behind his back, and said, "Please, Senior, give me your autograph. Otherwise, I'll leave on the surface but actually hide nearby to spy on Sasuke's techniques and help Dosu Kinata cheat."

Kakashi: "???"

"..." Sasuke's expression twitched. To think this guy would say something like that so brazenly—how could someone be so shameless? Although he wasn't afraid of such things, hearing it said to his face still made his heart ache.

Kakashi's expression also stiffened, and he nearly broke character: "...Can you tell me why you are so obsessed with getting my autograph?"

Uchiha Gen pondered for a moment and said, "Because you are Kakashi. Even though you showed me no mercy just now, I grew up listening to your stories."

Grew up listening to them?... Fine. Looking at Jiya's persistent expression, and sensing that if he didn't agree this time, there would just be a next time, Kakashi helplessly took out his own paper and pen and wrote his name: "Here."

The moment he received the name, Uchiha Gen seemed to sense something; his pupils suddenly dilated, and he said "Thank you!" with an excited expression.

With a few flickers of movement, he vanished from the spot.

Seeing this, Kakashi scratched his head: Could he really be a little fanboy of his? Thinking back to the previous situation, had he been too cold toward him?

Congratulations to the host for obtaining Kakashi's autograph. Reward: Taste Experience Card (one day). During this period, there are no restrictions on the food you can eat. (There is a chance to trigger rewards when receiving gifts from important characters; rewards cannot be obtained repeatedly.)

Uchiha Gen's smile was practically splitting his face. He had originally just asked for it on a whim as a souvenir, never expecting such an unexpected harvest: Long live Kakashi!

On the other side, Kakashi suddenly felt like sneezing: "Achoo!"

He rubbed his nose through his mask.

Sasuke pushed himself up from the rock with his hands: "I've rested enough, let's continue!"

Kakashi nodded, but he noticed that Sasuke's techniques had suddenly become overly fierce. He wasn't thinking about the battle deployment or when to use which technique at all, wasting a lot of chakra and leaving too many openings!

Seeing this, Kakashi frowned. With a leap, he seized the right moment to grab Sasuke's wrist as he lunged with Chidori: "This is training, not a life-or-death struggle! If you attack without regard for the consequences when you actually need to fight for your life later, do you want to end up a cripple?!"

Hearing this, Sasuke lowered his head in frustration: "He's strong! That Gaara—even if that Jonin was weak..."

Sasuke thought back to Jiya's performance; he didn't dare fight Gaara at all.

Hearing this, Kakashi was suddenly amused, wondering what it was all about: "You don't really think that Jiya from Otogakure couldn't beat Gaara, do you?"

"?"

From Sasuke's perspective, that was exactly how it looked.

"Judging by the speed at which Jiya dodged just now, if he wanted to, he could at least suppress Gaara, if not kill him. No one who becomes a Jonin is simple."

"Then why did he...?"

"Act so cowardly?"

Kakashi's expression turned serious: "He probably sensed it..." Gaara had a problem; it was highly likely he was a Jinchuriki.

"One shouldn't bully children."

Sasuke: "???"

"Alright, that's about it. Although that Jiya's strength is certainly no match for mine."

Sasuke stared with dead fish eyes, three black lines dropping down his forehead. Even though he felt the same way, hearing it said out loud felt strange.

Uchiha Gen could hardly contain his inner excitement. He wanted to use the experience card immediately, but it was already very late, and he might miss out on some snacks. Besides, he didn't know how the "one day" was calculated; if it reset at midnight, he would be screwed.

Soon, the next day arrived. Since he didn't need to sleep, Uchiha Gen stood on the roof like a stone statue, eyes fixed on the clouds in the east until the sun finally rose. Clutching the silver in his hands, Uchiha Gen's eyes shone with spirit.

"Boss! One order of Takoyaki!"

The boss had just opened the door. Hearing the familiar voice, he laughed heartily: "Alright, Jiya, up so early today?"

Jiya flashed a wide smile and nodded: "Sorry for the trouble!"

The boss wiped his hands, his mood brightening at the sight of that smile, and he started the fire to make the balls: "You seem especially happy today? Any good news?"

Although Jiya was a ninja from another village, why not earn money if you could? Besides, the kid was polite, and his way of doing things was impossible to dislike.

Jiya smiled and complimented: "Because I get to eat your takoyaki early~"

That was the honest truth.

The boss, however, interpreted it as ninja business that wasn't convenient to discuss, so he didn't ask further: "Hehe, I'll take that compliment! The takoyaki is ready! Careful, it's hot."

"Thank you." Uchiha Gen took the takoyaki and sniffed it, but felt nothing; it was the same as before. His brows furrowed, and he was inevitably a bit disappointed.

He took a bite, and the unique, fresh flavor of the takoyaki suddenly burst forth in his mouth. Uchiha Gen froze, and tears formed by chakra welled up, unable to be held back.

Seeing this, the boss was startled and asked with concern: "What's wrong? Is the takoyaki not good?"

Uchiha Gen shook his head, desperately trying to control his emotions. These days, his thoughts had been drifting, like he was in a dream he couldn't wake up from—devoid of touch, pain, or taste, save for his own thoughts.

His daily actions were all controlled by bodily instinct and calculation, just to avoid crushing a cup with a single grab.

Seeing the water droplets on the takoyaki, he wiped his tears, and Uchiha Gen's hope for life grew stronger: "It's nothing, nothing. The boss's takoyaki is just too delicious, I couldn't help myself."

As he spoke, he stuffed two takoyaki into his mouth side-by-side.

Freeing up a hand, Uchiha Gen pulled out a list he had stayed up all night writing and hurried away. He only had one day, so he had to make the most of it and eat his fill!

The boss watched Uchiha Gen leave, dumbfounded.

Wasn't it hot? The boss looked at the steel skewer in his hand, quickly prepared a takoyaki, and bit off half of it. As he savored it, the boss frowned: "The taste is the same, though? Damn! Hot! Hot!..."

After an entire afternoon, Uchiha Gen arrived at the famous Otsutsuki Ichiraku ramen shop, carrying a haul of food he had both eaten and packed to go; although he had been here before, this time was different!

The total amount of food Uchiha Gen had consumed over this period was roughly as tall as a person, and while he had been worried at first, he later discovered there were no issues at all. He had no idea where all that food went, but this was the only aspect of the system that Uchiha Gen found beneficial: he could eat ravenously without ever feeling full.

However, the money in his hands had dwindled to just over 9,000 ryo in the blink of an eye, and thinking of that 100,000 ryo goal, he had to save some capital.

He chose the ramen shop as his final stop so he could sit down and enjoy his meal slowly, though he couldn't help but think that if he had more money, he would have gone for the Akimichi Clan's secret grilled meat, which was expensive enough to make one cough up blood.

"Welcome! What would you like to have? Oh, it's Jiya, the usual?" Uncle Teuchi asked with a smile.

"Not today, I want to eat a bit more; your cooking is top-notch, Uncle!" Uchiha Gen flattered him, ordering ten bowls of ramen, each with a different flavor, before sitting down to wait. As he looked around, he finally noticed two figures sitting nearby—one big, one small, one in white, and one in yellow.

Naruto saw the bags of food piled up next to Uchiha Gen and, upon hearing the order for ten bowls of ramen, couldn't help but wonder if this guy was from the Akimichi Clan. But he didn't look fat at all.

Noticing Naruto eyeing his food with a puzzled expression, Uchiha Gen put on a kindly smile, much like a creepy uncle trying to lure a child: "Little friend, is there anything here you like? If you do, I can... hmm." Uchiha Gen hesitated slightly as he spoke.

Looking at Naruto's yellow hair and the whisker marks on his face, he made up his mind: "I can let you have one thing, but no more than that."

Naruto's eyes, which had been wide with anticipation, suddenly deflated, and he curled his lip, looking at Uchiha Gen as if he were a stingy person who had just failed to show off.