Preparing Materials, Relationship Advances

With the number of captives so high, the food reserves must keep pace.

It seems I must gather enough provisions before we can set sail for the Land of Whirlpools.

"Father, keep a close watch on the Mist Ninja; our men are already exhausted. I will head to the sea to fish myself, and we shall depart once we have gathered enough food."

The people had just emerged from battle, and the manpower was worn thin.

Seeing that only he still had sufficient energy, Uzumaki Ashina nodded, signaling that he would keep a firm eye on the Mist Ninja.

He then greeted the others, and several Jonin indicated they still had enough strength to assist.

They headed off with the First Generation toward the location where the Mist Ninja were being held.

He looked toward Orochimaru, who had come from Konoha to help.

"My apologies, the conditions here are quite crude. We will be sure to thank you properly once we return to the Land of Whirlpools."

The Three-Tails was pacing about impatiently, while Orochimaru followed behind, studying the runes used to seal it.

Too busy to reply, he simply waved his arm to signal that he was fine.

He watched Orochimaru, who was deeply engrossed in researching the sealing jutsu.

He couldn't help but think, If you want to study the sealing jutsu for the Three-Tails, you could just ask me.

After all, I was the one who cast this seal.

He truly could not fathom it.

Uzumaki Shori turned and headed toward the shore, gazing out at the endless expanse of the sea; he had no experience with fishing.

How to actually catch fish from the ocean had suddenly become a thorny problem.

He felt rather awkward; he had sworn to come fishing, and was he really going to return empty-handed?

He looked around, turning his gaze toward those nearby, his eyes silently pleading for help.

Tsunade immediately noticed Uzumaki Shori's silent request and walked over, acting as if nothing were amiss.

It seemed she intended to bail him out; she gathered chakra and stepped in front of a massive boulder.

"Strength of a Hundred!"

She lifted the giant rock and hurled it directly into the sea.

"Boom!"

The boulder struck the surface, sending up a massive wave.

Uzumaki Shori was splashed from head to toe, and just as he was about to demand justice from Tsunade, he stopped.

A moment later, a vast quantity of sea fish appeared on the surface.

They floated up with their eyes glazed over, seemingly stunned by the impact of the boulder.

One boulder wasn't enough, so she threw several more in succession.

Dusting off her hands, Tsunade paced back and forth in front of him.

It was clear she wanted praise; he hadn't expected a boulder could be used this way, though this method wouldn't work without such monstrous strength.

The awkwardness on Uzumaki Shori's face vanished, replaced by a smile—the problem was finally solved.

"This method is truly brilliant. Without fishing gear, I might have had to swim out there myself, and who knows how long that would have taken."

To avoid anyone realizing he hadn't thought of a plan, he put on a show of authority, ordering the Genin to go down and collect the fish.

Just as the Genin were gathering the catch, a cry of alarm went up, and chaos ensued.

Uzumaki Shori hurried forward to investigate, only to discover that the miniature Three-Tails was devouring the fish one by one, clearly enjoying itself.

If it kept eating, the entire haul would be gone, so he quickly reached out, grabbed the Three-Tails by its tail, and hoisted it into the air.

"You brat, put me down! I haven't tasted fish this fresh in over a decade!"

The miniature Three-Tails, Isobu, cursed while stretching out its head, trying to bite the hand that held its tail.

Uzumaki Shori chuckled, dangling the Three-Tails in his hand.

"If I let you keep eating, we won't have enough to last a few days, let alone the journey. Once we get back to the Land of Whirlpools, I promise to let you eat your fill."

Seeing this, Tsunade stopped helping with the fish and ran over to tease the Three-Tails, Isobu.

After a long while, the mountain of fish was finally processed.

"Second Generation, we have gathered enough food."

Uzumaki Shori's eyes lit up at the sight of the mountain of fish meat; it seemed they had enough provisions to return to the Land of Whirlpools.

He directed the Genin to move the meat stripped from the fish.

As they loaded it onto the warship, he turned and saw the piles of bones left behind.

He spotted Tsunade still playing with the Three-Tails.

"Three-Tails Isobu, come take a look. Don't say I didn't take care of you—there is all that food right there."

Hearing there was food, the Three-Tails, Isobu, stopped bickering with Tsunade and trotted over on its small feet, eager to see where the food was.

Turning his head, he discovered that the fresh fish he had just been eating had been stripped of its meat, leaving behind nothing but piles of skeletons.

He hurriedly jumped up to strike the other party's knee with his head, then turned and ran toward the remains, opening his maw wide to devour them.

"Damn it, if I hadn't gone without food for over a decade, I wouldn't be tempted by these scraps, and that detestable human!"

Tsunade walked over and saw this scene, covering her mouth to stifle a laugh.

"Is this really okay? After all, no matter what, the other party is a Tailed Beast with a fearsome reputation."

Uzumaki Shori stared at the Three-Tails, who was eating with great relish.

"Defeating the Three-Tails won't make him submit. Since we want to make friends with him now, playing a few harmless pranks can help foster our relationship."

After saying this, he called everyone over; the ingredients were ready, so they would have a hearty meal before setting off to return to the Land of Whirlpools.

Just then, a patrol returned to the seaside and hurriedly spoke up.

"Father, gather everyone at the beach. Since we are all here, there is no need to continue patrolling."

Uzumaki Ashina had been wandering for a long time, and his stomach began to protest.

He hurried off to gather everyone together.

The Uzushio Ninja arrived one after another, escorting the captured Mist Ninja.

Uzumaki Shori decided to show off his skills and picked up a large iron pot.

Boiled fish, steamed fish, fried fish.

Seeing everyone sitting together, filling the space.

He quickly served the dishes.

It could be said that eating a hot meal like this was truly a luxury.

Watching Tsunade eating with oil on her lips, he was inexplicably drawn to her side.

"Since it's so delicious, how about I make it for you every day from now on?"

The others were busy wolfing down their food and did not hear the conversation.

Tsunade froze upon hearing this; she hadn't expected Uzumaki Shori to say such a thing. Was this a rare confession? She murmured a soft reply.

"It's not impossible, but it depends on how you perform in the future."

Hearing Tsunade's words, he was instantly overjoyed and quickly sat down beside her.

"Don't wait for the future, let's start today."

"What?"

Tsunade was stunned when she heard this.

She had originally intended to take things slow and let their feelings warm up over time, never expecting Uzumaki Shori to be so impatient!

Her face slowly flushed red as she stood up from her seat and shouted loudly.

"You idiot."

She then ran off elsewhere to continue eating.

Everyone around looked over in unison, but when Uzumaki Shori looked left and right, they all silently turned their heads away.

He felt as if a basin of cold water had been poured over him from the sky, leaving his heart feeling icy cold.

He didn't know what he had said wrong; he had only asked Tsunade to eat more, so why was her reaction so intense?

Realizing his actions might have embarrassed her, he looked at her with a pitiful expression.

Tsunade sighed inwardly and sat back down.

"Don't look at me with that pitiful face; who told you to talk nonsense?"