Fire Release Ninjutsu, Essential for Home and Travel!

"Alright, let's focus our attention back on preparing the ingredients."

Hayato steered the conversation back on track at the right moment; after all, it was getting late, and if they didn't hurry, dinner would be a wash.

Kurenai chimed in from the side, "Right, who knows how to process these rabbits and pheasants?"

There was a hint of anxiety in her voice, as these wild game animals were still a novelty to them, and preparing them was indeed a difficult task.

Everyone's gaze focused on Hayato in unison, as if expecting him to provide a solution.

Hayato smiled helplessly and shook his head, "It seems this arduous task falls to me."

No sooner said than done, Hayato began bleeding the chickens and rabbits with practiced, decisive movements.

As for the squirrel, he left it alone, not intending to include it on the dinner menu.

"Speaking of which, why aren't Asuma and the others back yet?" Obito looked around, noticing that Asuma's group was still nowhere to be seen, and couldn't help but feel a bit worried.

Guy and Kurenai were busy assisting Hayato, Rin was focused on organizing the firewood, and Kakashi was fully absorbed in cleaning the fish.

By comparison, Obito felt a bit idle, so he volunteered, "How about I go look for them? It's so late, I hope they haven't run into any trouble."

However, before he could finish his sentence, Asuma and his group appeared in their line of sight.

Obito hurried over to meet them, "Are you guys okay? Why are you back so late?"

Ebisu explained with a smile, "We went a bit further out, so it took us some time."

Rin stood up curiously and leaned in, only to see that the bundles in Asuma's group's hands were filled with all sorts of mushrooms. "Wow, they're so pretty!" she exclaimed.

Asuma raised his eyebrows smugly, "I picked these out specifically; they'll definitely be delicious in a soup."

The others gathered around as well, admiring the colorful mushrooms.

Seeing this, Hayato placed the bled chickens and rabbits on a rock and walked over slowly to inspect what Asuma and the others had brought back.

These were nothing but "white stalks and red caps"—the kind of poisonous mushrooms that would have them all lying in coffins after a single bite.

"These mushrooms are poisonous; you can't eat them," Hayato warned.

The others were startled to hear Hayato say this.

Kurenai even took a few steps back, muttering, "Could the scent itself be toxic?"

Clearly, she trusted Hayato's words implicitly.

Asuma, however, looked somewhat displeased, "What do you mean? The food I brought back is poisonous? Are you targeting me?"

Hayato shook his head helplessly, choosing not to explain further, and turned back to continue preparing his ingredients.

Asuma felt that Hayato was just jealous of him stealing the spotlight and was intentionally disparaging him.

He then glanced at Ebisu and the other two, "You guys don't believe his nonsense, do you?"

After thinking for a moment, Ebisu spoke up, looking a bit awkward.

"Asuma, maybe we shouldn't eat these things."

Genma and Izumo nodded in agreement.

Better safe than sorry; they had never eaten these things in their lives, after all.

Hearing this, Asuma's anger flared, "Traitors! Hmph, if you won't eat them, I will. You don't know how to appreciate such delicious food; you don't deserve this good fortune."

They walked over to Hayato's group and asked if there was anything they could help with.

"Go help start the fire and boil some water," Hayato said after a moment's thought, assigning them a task.

The three agreed readily and went over to Rin and Obito. At that moment, Obito was struggling to start a fire with a drill, but it didn't seem to be going well.

His face was flushed red, but not a single spark had appeared.

"This is so hard!" Obito wailed, stopping his work.

Seeing this, Genma volunteered, "Let me try."

And so, the three began taking turns, trying to drill for fire. However, as time ticked by, the fire still refused to catch.

After a long while, Hayato glanced at the fire-starting group, who were still making no progress, and walked over.

"What's the situation?"

Seeing Hayato come to check on them, all four boys looked troubled.

"Starting a fire is too hard. My hands are almost smoking, but it's no use," Obito said, waving his right hand.

Hayato glanced at the fire-drilling device in their midst; if they kept at it like this, the sun would be up before they had a fire.

Without another word, he quickly formed hand seals, adjusting his chakra output.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

A stream of flames flew onto the dry wood, and it ignited instantly.

Fire Style ninjutsu—an essential for home and travel!

"That's... Fire Style ninjutsu!" Obito exclaimed.

The others also wore expressions of shock; they hadn't expected that someone would have already mastered Fire Style ninjutsu only a few days after entering the academy.

Kakashi's pupils constricted slightly. Although the power of Hayato's ninjutsu was not great, he could tell that Hayato had controlled the output specifically to ignite the fire. He nodded inwardly, gaining a deeper understanding of Hayato's strength.

"Alright, basic operation, don't be surprised. Time to boil the water." Hayato waved his hand, signaling everyone to get back to work.

The group snapped out of their shock and began to busy themselves. With Hayato's help, the fire-starting team successfully ignited the flames and began to boil water.

On the other side, Asuma appeared somewhat dejected.

He watched jealously as Hayato became the center of attention, while he himself had fallen into an awkward situation due to a moment of impulse.

He took a piece of wood to scrape against the fire, feeling as if his dignity were being trampled upon.

"Hmph! Once my mushroom soup is ready, the aroma will kill you all! But I won't give you any to eat!" Asuma muttered to himself.

However, what he did not know was that the mushroom soup in his hands harbored a great danger...

After a while, Hayato used the boiling water to pluck the wild pheasant, cleaning it thoroughly. Once the game was processed, he handed the ingredients over to the others for roasting.

He didn't bother with the rest; as for why he wasn't making chicken soup, it was mainly because there were no other seasonings, and boiling it plain would be quite bland.

By this time, Kakashi had already finished grilling his fish. He walked over to Hayato with the fish in hand: "Want some?"

"Want some?"

Hayato looked up, smiled, and took the fish. "Your skills are decent, Kakashi," he praised. The grilled fish was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with the flavor just right.

"Thanks for the compliment."

Kakashi then sat down beside Hayato and began to enjoy the fruits of his labor.

The two of them quietly enjoyed the delicious food, neither disturbing the other, savoring this rare moment of tranquility.

On the other side, Asuma was stirring his mushroom soup. Ebisu was nearby, earnestly trying to persuade him: "Asuma, why don't you just give it up? It would be terrible if something went wrong."

"Tch, coward. I'm not afraid, so what are you worried about? I trust my own judgment." As he spoke, Asuma took a sip.

However, that was when the accident happened! As soon as the mushroom soup hit his stomach, Asuma felt a powerful force surge into his brain. "Oh no! There really is a problem!" He had barely finished the sentence before he collapsed to the ground, foaming at the mouth.

Everyone was shocked.