Chapter 12

"Thanks!"

"If it's alright with you, could we have a big meal together next time?"

"Haha, you glutton! Don't worry, I'll bring my younger brother along. If you have brothers, bring them too! It'll be perfect for us to have a happy meal together."

"It's a deal, then. Let's make it ten days from now!"

"Good! Ten days! See you then!"

Mingye attempted to exhale a fireball by circulating his chakra throughout his body three times in succession. However, no matter how hard he tried to convert his internal chakra into the fire attribute, it was completely futile. His chakra seemed to follow its own cultivation path, naturally manifesting as Yin-attribute chakra. To Mingye, however, Yin-attribute chakra was utterly meaningless. Yin-Yang Release was an extremely advanced form of ninjutsu, requiring the precise regulation of both Yin and Yang to function. Even the Yin Seal used by Tsunade was a form of Yin-Yang Release, which could only be utilized by leveraging the massive, dense chakra reserves of her clan.

Mingye could hardly compare his chakra reserves to those of the Senju Clan. While the Uzumaki Clan might possess the greatest chakra in the world, the Senju Clan's reserves were at least second or third. Those clans were born with vast amounts of chakra that the Uchiha Clan could never hope to match. Being able to take a beating was truly the specialty of those two clans!

"Hey! Mingye, it's late at night—why aren't you sleeping? Why have you come here again?" Madara sat on the roof of the training ground, watching Mingye in the arena. Mingye was rapidly forming hand seals for the Fireball Jutsu, yet not a single spark emerged. Though he didn't want to disturb him, Madara couldn't help himself after watching Mingye stand there in silence for several minutes. He spoke up with a playful tone.

"I just wanted to see if the moon was round. Nothing more!" Mingye looked up, holding a hand to his brow as if shielding his eyes from the sun, and answered Madara with a straight face. Seeing Mingye's expression, Madara nearly tumbled off the roof. He threw a stone at Mingye and said, "Mingye! I talked to that guy, and it seems you still owe him a meal!"

Rubbing the spot where Madara's stone had struck, Mingye wasn't the least bit surprised. He knew that a meeting between Madara and that person was inevitable sooner or later. However, the implication of Madara's words left him somewhat stunned. Madara actually wanted him, a blind man, to cook for Hashirama? What kind of game was he playing?

"You went to talk to him?"

"Just idle chatter. Anyway, since I'm bored, let's do it. Ten days from now, same place. You, Izuna, and I will go together!"

"Heh! Does Big Brother really not know who he is?"

"We can just pretend we don't know each other!"

"What's the point of doing that?"

"There's no point. It's just because you owe him a meal, that's all."

"I understand! I'll prepare everything properly."

Mingye walked toward his bedroom, leaning on his cane in silence. Izuna felt a pang of sympathy and wanted to step forward to guide him, but Madara blocked his path, shaking his head sternly. "Let him do it himself. You absolutely must not help!"

Izuna understood Madara's reasoning. Mingye's pride was immense; if Izuna were to help him, Mingye might never speak to him again. Thinking of this, Izuna looked at Madara and asked with concern, "Who is this 'he' that Big Brother mentioned?"

Madara dismissed the question with a wave of his hand. "Just a random ninja I met."

Izuna frowned. No one would believe such an explanation. "A random ninja?!"

"Stop overthinking it. Are you coming or not? If not, get lost!"

Madara glared at Izuna with a serious warning. Izuna nodded and replied solemnly, "I'll go."

"I'm telling you, don't cause any trouble when you get there. If Mingye becomes even more troubled because of you, I'll chop you up and serve you as a side dish!"

"I'm not an idiot!"

Fearing Izuna might cause a scene, Madara repeated his warning and threat. Izuna could only nod helplessly, offering a wry smile.

"Hey, what's with you? I told you we were going on a picnic today! What's with all these bandages and missing limbs?"

Looking at Izuna, who was covered in white bandages, Madara's temper flared. He had told Izuna days ago to prepare to go into the wilderness with him and Mingye to poach some game. He never expected that when the time came, he would find Izuna lying in the infirmary, injured.

Izuna looked incredibly embarrassed, his face crestfallen as he explained to Madara, "Do you think I wanted to end up like this? I never expected that a simple patrol would lead to a run-in with Senju Clan ninjas. Damn that Tobirama! I'll kill him next time!"

"The name Tobirama... why does it sound so familiar?"

Madara frowned, the name ringing a bell but failing to trigger any specific memory. Izuna continued his explanation, "He's the son of the Senju Clan head, Senju Butsuma. His second son is named Tobirama!"

"I see! Forget it, then. You stay here and rest. Mingye and I will go."

Madara nodded, spoke to Izuna, and turned to leave.

"Wait, wait! You can't just leave me behind! Can't you wait until my wounds heal?"

Izuna gritted his teeth and sat up, calling out to Madara and pleading. After all, with Mingye's skills, the food would undoubtedly be delicious, and Izuna was loath to miss the chance to taste it.

"The ingredients are already prepped. You think I'm going to wait for you? Who cares about you!" Madara knew exactly what Izuna was thinking, but the arrow was already on the string; he wouldn't abandon the plans just because Izuna couldn't make it. With a mischievous grin, he pulled his arm away from Izuna and ran out of the room.

"Tell me, where exactly are we going? You aren't planning to sell me off, are you?" Unable to withstand Madara's constant pestering, Mingye had finally agreed to leave the clan compound with him to share a meal with Hashirama. However, after riding a mule for over thirty minutes, they still hadn't reached their destination. Mingye couldn't help but feel bored and teased Madara, "We usually travel by leaping through the trees. We've never done anything like this—riding a mule! Just wait a little longer!" Madara was also frustrated; usually, they could reach the river in ten minutes of fast travel. Yet, with Mingye in tow, they had been riding for thirty minutes and still hadn't arrived. Fortunately, neither of them was too bothered. After another fifteen minutes, they finally reached the spot where they had first met Hashirama. Two massive wild boars lay to the side, and a white-haired boy stood nearby, looking at them with a cold, indifferent expression. He didn't say a word, merely watching them in silence.

Hashirama climbed out of the river, carrying a branch skewered with several large fish. Seeing Mingye and Madara, he grinned and said, "The ingredients are great, guys! My little brother and I worked really hard to prepare them!"

"My little brother is an expert at cooking all sorts of delicacies. You're in for a treat this time!"

After taking the iron racks and cutlery hanging from the mule and setting them aside, Madara laughed and replied. Hashirama looked at Mingye with curiosity, suddenly noticing the blank, unfocused look in his eyes. Before he could ask, Mingye hopped off the mule and said calmly, "Because of a small incident, I've gone blind. It's no hindrance, though. Feel free to enjoy the meal I'm about to prepare."

In his past life, he had lived alone from a young age and had always cooked for himself, which made his culinary skills quite exceptional. After arriving in this world, Mingye had recreated some of the simple, delicious dishes from his previous life to share with his clan. Within the clan, he was even known as a master chef. He didn't dawdle; sensing the environment around him, he channeled Yin-attribute chakra through his feet into the ground and walked over to the pack Madara had dropped. He pulled out several iron rods and began assembling the rack.

Seeing Mingye start, Madara moved as well. He walked over to Hashirama, took the branch with the fish, and smiled as he gave an order: "Bowl Cut, you know how to slice meat, right? Cut it into large chunks!"

"I'll start the fire!" The white-haired boy jumped down from the giant boar, quickly made his way to Mingye's side, gathered a pile of stones to form a pit in front of him, and then turned to run into the woods in search of dry branches.

The four boys, all of similar age, lacked the complex anxieties of adults. Neither suspicion nor caution existed between them. Madara cursed at Hashirama while wielding a kitchen knife, and Hashirama, acting like a punching bag, scraped the pig skin with his own knife, carefully preserving the most tender cuts of meat. When the white-haired boy returned to Mingye's side with an armful of firewood, Mingye—unable to see him—couldn't confirm the boy's identity. He smiled and asked, "My name is Mingye. What's yours? Are you Hashirama's younger brother?"