Ten Jars were placed before Teuchi.
Shen Mo picked up his chopsticks again and began eating the ramen Teuchi had made.
Although it could not compare to the Gourmet Showdown Cuisine purchased from the system, it was still delicious.
Watching Shen Mo's actions, Teuchi seemed to have had some kind of resolve stirred within him.
"I never thought about reaching any particular realm in cuisine." Teuchi bent down and slowly opened a cabinet. "But I hope that, at the very least, every customer who comes to Ichiraku Ramen can leave satisfied."
A large stack of cash was placed before Shen Mo.
Five hundred thousand yen.
It was worth thirty thousand Trading Points, enough to buy a set of Level 1 Chests.
"Please."
With a wave of his hand, all the money vanished.
"I'll do it, I'll open them." Naruto eagerly reached out.
Then came a thud.
Tsunade punched Naruto directly on the head.
"It's best if Teuchi opens these Jars himself." She recalled what Shen Mo had said earlier.
Jars represented a change in the Chest Opener's fate.
This was Teuchi's dream.
Really, to think dreams could be realized this way.
Tsunade continued wolfing down her ramen.
As for Teuchi,
he looked at the Jars before him, swallowed hard, and slowly reached out.
Everyone else, even Sasuke, stared without blinking, tense with anticipation.
Shen Mo had made these Jars sound far too miraculous—Gourmet Hunters, changing fate, and the strange attitude of a legendary ninja like Tsunade.
It just felt like
something incredible would happen once a Jar was opened.
Amidst that atmosphere, Teuchi finally touched the first Jar.
He picked it up and slowly opened it.
Inside was a can of edamame?
Teuchi poured everything out. It really was a Jar full of edamame.
"What? It's just edamame." Naruto looked deeply disappointed. "A Jar worth fifty thousand yen, and it only has some edamame?"
"Just this?"
Sasuke frowned deeply at Shen Mo, his eyes filled with indescribable disappointment.
He had talked it up so much.
Was he just some con artist?
"This isn't ordinary edamame, is it?" Tsunade already understood the nature of the Jars quite well.
"That's right." Shen Mo smiled and nodded. "Though the luck was indeed a little poor, and this item isn't worth much, it's still rather rare. Mr. Teuchi, open one of the pods and take a look."
Shen Mo's words seemed to recapture everyone's attention.
From the outside, it looked like perfectly ordinary edamame.
Teuchi did not hesitate.
He picked one up and cracked open the pod.
"Ah—!" Sakura let out a thin scream, as though startled.
Because
inside the pod were round eyeballs!
That was right. Aside from the lack of blood vessels, they looked exactly like eyeballs.
White sclera, black pupils.
Not just Sakura—Naruto and Sasuke both felt chills run down their spines.
"This is a special kind of edamame called Branch Demon Eyes." Shen Mo explained with a smile. "It may look frightening, but it tastes quite good. Enjoyed with alcohol, it gives off a unique fragrance. For drinkers, it is a rare and excellent snack to go with liquor."
This bizarre delicacy naturally came from Toriko World.
Shen Mo had placed quite a few miraculous ingredients inside these Jars.
"A snack with liquor?" Tsunade seemed interested. "Teuchi, you should have some good alcohol here. Bring me some so I can try it."
Although it was a ramen shop, quite a few ninja enjoyed drinking, so Ichiraku Ramen kept a small supply of alcohol.
Teuchi brought out a bottle.
He first poured Tsunade a cup, then poured himself a small cup as well. He put one of the grotesque-looking edamame into his mouth with the drink.
"This, this is..." The instant he tasted it, Teuchi's eyes widened, his face full of amazement. "What a marvelous fragrance! It still tastes like edamame, but it is as though it has sprouted beneath the flavor of the alcohol. It's impossible to describe."
"See?" Shen Mo shrugged.
"Uncle Teuchi, is it really that tasty?" Seeing Teuchi's reaction, Naruto seemed a little conflicted.
"I'd never eat something like that even if I died!" Sakura could not help shuddering.
"If it were used to brew alcohol—no, to make alcohol-infused ramen..." Teuchi's gaze became fervent.
Sasuke's gaze became fervent as well.
There really were miraculous things inside these Jars? Just as this man had said, were there really things that could make people stronger?
Teuchi carefully put away the edamame.
Then he opened the next Jar.
A knife-work Experience Orb, a Sweet Ginger Box for clearing lingering flavors from the mouth, delicious seasonings, Doctor Aloe capable of treating external injuries...
They were all unheard-of, extraordinarily miraculous items.
Naturally, there was also the most infuriating item of all: ten thousand yen.
Until the second-to-last Jar, when he finally opened the most valuable item: one-third of a Secret Ingredient Recipe.
"Mr. Shen Mo, why is this recipe only one-third complete?" Teuchi's expression was anxious, as if he had been reading a novel he loved only for it to abruptly stop. It felt as though countless ants were crawling over his heart, making him unbearably miserable.
"Hmph, another one of these tricks." Tsunade looked displeased. "I still haven't collected the complete Medical Secret Manual on my side."
She had opened twenty sets of Level 1 Chests, yet she still had not collected the full set of medical secret techniques. The most frustrating part was that there were even duplicates!
When it came to knowledge, duplicates were just waste paper.
"There's nothing to be done about it." Shen Mo spread his hands. "The price of a Level 1 Chest is not enough to open a complete recipe."
There really was nothing to be done.
After all, collection mechanics like this were the ultimate way to make people spend more. How could he possibly not make good use of them?
Teuchi had already felt that urge.
The urge to open another set of Jars.
But for now, there was still the final Jar.
Teuchi carefully tucked the incomplete recipe into his clothes. Then, filled with both nervousness and anticipation, he opened the last one.
Inside was only a small, bright-red fruit.
"It's actually this." Shen Mo glanced at it and praised, "Teuchi, your luck really is quite good. This is a Vermilion Pill Fruit. It tastes ordinary, but after eating it, one can gain a bit of strength."
It came from some fantasy world.
It could probably increase the strength of one's arms by around ten pounds, which was not too little.
"Increase strength?" Sasuke suddenly spoke. "Isn't this from the Gourmet Series Chests?"
Although Sasuke had said little, he had been listening carefully the entire time.
From Shen Mo and Tsunade's conversation, he could infer that
there were many different series of these Jars.
The kind Teuchi had purchased was the Gourmet Series, which was why it contained all sorts of ingredients and Secret Ingredient Recipes.
"A chef cannot do without strength. For example, kneading dough requires enough force to mix it properly." Shen Mo explained, then turned to look at Sasuke.
Sasuke tried his best to hide it.
But his eyes had already given him away.
His heart had been stirred.
Don't stop voting with recommendation tickets. Be proactive; don't make me ask. (`^)
Before you continue