Chapter 12

"Thanks!"

"If you're free, want to have a big meal together next time?"

"Hehe, you glutton! Don't worry, I'll bring my little brother. If you have any brothers, bring them too! Then we can all enjoy a good meal together!"

"It's a promise, then. How about ten days from now?"

"Sure! Ten days from now! See you then!"

After circulating chakra through his entire body three times, Mingye tried to spit out a fireball. But no matter how hard he tried to turn his chakra into Fire Release, it was no use. The chakra in his body seemed to follow its own path of cultivation, naturally turning into Yin Release Chakra. But Yin Release Chakra was utterly useless to him. Yin-Yang Release was an extremely advanced ninjutsu, and it required Yin and Yang to be carefully balanced. Even Tsunade's Yin Seal was a form of Yin-Yang Release that required the vast chakra reserves of her clan to use.

How could Mingye compare his chakra reserves to the Senju Clan's? The Uzumaki Clan might have the largest chakra reserves in the world, but the Senju Clan's reserves were at least the second or third largest. Those clans were born with an enormous amount of chakra. A family like his, the Uchiha Clan, simply couldn't compare. Being tough enough to take a beating was what those two clans excelled at!

"Hey! Mingye, why are you out here again in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?" Madara sat on the training ground's roof, watching Mingye rapidly form the hand signs for a Fireball Technique without producing even a spark. He didn't want to disturb him, but after Mingye had stood there silently for several minutes, Madara couldn't hold back any longer. With a teasing note in his voice, he asked.

"I just wanted to see if the moon was full. That's all!" Mingye raised his head and held one hand above his brow as if shielding his eyes from the sun. He answered Madara with a solemn expression. At the sight of Mingye's face, Madara promptly fell off the roof. Then, as he threw a stone at Mingye, he said, "Mingye! I talked it over with that guy. Looks like you still owe him a meal!"

Mingye rubbed the spot Madara had hit, not in the least surprised. It was only a matter of time before Madara met him. But what Madara had said left Mingye a little bewildered. Was Madara really asking a blind man like him to cook for Hashirama? What was that about?

"You went to chat with him?"

"I just said hello. I had nothing better to do. Ten days from now, same place. You, Izuna, and I will go together!"

"Hehe! Big brother, do you really not know who he is?"

"We can pretend we don't know each other."

"What's the point of that?"

"There's no point. You just owe him a meal."

"I understand! I'll make sure to prepare properly!"

Mingye silently made his way toward his bedroom alone, leaning on his blind man's cane. Izuna couldn't bear to watch and wanted to guide him, but Madara stopped him. Madara shook his head gravely. "Let him do this by himself. We absolutely can't help!"

Izuna understood what Madara meant. Mingye had a strong sense of pride; if Izuna helped him, Mingye might never speak to him again. Thinking of this, Izuna turned to Madara and asked anxiously, "Who did you mean when you said 'him,' big brother?"

Madara explained to Izuna nonchalantly, "A shinobi we know."

Izuna frowned. Who would believe a story about some random shinobi?

"A random shinobi?!"

"Don't get the wrong idea. Are you coming or not? If not, get lost!"

Madara looked at Izuna with a stern expression and warned him. Izuna nodded and replied solemnly, "I'm coming!"

"I'm telling you, don't cause trouble when you go. If you make Mingye even more troubled, I'll cut you up and eat you with wild vegetables!"

"I'm not stupid!"

Worried Izuna might cause trouble, Madara repeated his warning and threatened him. Izuna nodded helplessly and gave a wry smile.

"Hey, what's with you? I told you we were going on a picnic today. Why are you all wrapped up and missing a few limbs?"

Madara glared at Izuna, who was covered in white bandages, and grew furious. Several days ago, he had already told Izuna to get ready to go out to the countryside with him and Mingye to sneak a taste of some wild game. But when the day finally came, he found Izuna injured and lying in the infirmary.

Izuna was terribly embarrassed. With a miserable look on his face, he explained to Madara, "Do you think I wanted to end up like this? I never thought a simple patrol would bring me face-to-face with a Senju shinobi. Damn Tobirama! I'll kill him next time!"

"Tobirama? Why does that name sound so familiar?"

Madara furrowed his brows. Tobirama's name sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. Izuna explained again, "He's the son of Senju Butsuma, the head of the Senju Clan. His second son is named Tobirama."

"I see! Well, forget it, then. Rest here. Mingye and I will go without you!"

Madara nodded, then spoke to Izuna again before turning to leave.

"Wait, wait! You can't just leave me behind! Can't you wait until I'm better?"

Izuna hurriedly gritted his teeth and sat up, calling out to Madara and pleading with him. After all, with Mingye's cooking, the food was bound to be delicious. Izuna really didn't want to miss his chance to enjoy a good meal.

"We've got all the ingredients ready. Why should we wait for you? Who cares about you!" Madara knew exactly what Izuna was after. But everything was already prepared, and there was no way he would abandon the plan just because Izuna couldn't come. He gave Izuna a mischievous grin, then swiftly shook off his arm and ran out of the room.

"Where exactly are we going? You're not planning to sell me, are you?" Unable to withstand Madara's constant pestering, Mingye had finally agreed to leave the clan compound with him again and share a meal of wild game with Hashirama. But the two of them had been riding on a mule for over thirty minutes and still hadn't reached their destination. Bored, Joseph teased Madara. "We usually travel by leaping from tree to tree. We can't move like that when we're riding a mule! Just wait a little longer." Madara was frustrated too. When they ran at full speed, they could reach the river in barely ten minutes. But today, with Mingye along and the two of them riding a mule, it had taken them more than thirty minutes to get there. Fortunately, neither of them was too bothered. After another fifteen minutes or so, they finally reached the place where they had first met Hashirama. Two enormous wild boars lay off to one side. A white-haired boy watched them coldly, his head tilted. He showed no intention of speaking, merely staring at them in silence.

Hashirama climbed out of the river too, carrying a branch threaded with several large fish. Seeing Mingye and Madara, he grinned and said, "The ingredients look great, Anbu! My little brother and I worked hard to get everything ready!"

"My little brother's great at cooking all sorts of delicious food. You're in for a treat this time!"

Madara took the iron grill frames, knives, forks, and other things hanging beside the mule and set them down nearby. Then he laughed and replied. Hashirama looked curiously at Mingye, then suddenly noticed that his eyes were lifeless. Before he could speak, Mingye seemed to know what he was about to ask. He jumped off the mule and calmly said, "I went blind because of a little accident. It's nothing to worry about. Just enjoy the food I make!"

In my previous life, I'd lived alone from childhood and had always cooked and eaten by myself, so I'd become a pretty good cook. In this life, with my clan, I'd made some of the simple, delicious dishes I'd cooked in my previous life and shared them with everyone. I'd even earned a reputation as a master chef in the clan. Without a moment's hesitation, Mingye felt out his surroundings and channeled Yin Release Chakra through his feet into the ground. He walked to the bundle Madara had tossed aside, took out some iron rods, and began assembling a frame.

Seeing Mingye get started, Madara followed suit. He walked over to Hashirama, took the branch threaded with large fish, and smiled as he gave Hashirama an order. "Bowl Cut, you know how to cut meat, right? Cut it into big chunks!"

"I'll start the fire!" The white-haired boy jumped down from the enormous wild boar and quickly came over to Mingye. He gathered some stones and placed them in front of Mingye, arranging them into a fire pit, then ran off into the woods to look for dry branches.

The four boys were around the same age and didn't have the complicated feelings adults did. None of them felt the need to be wary or guarded. Madara kept cursing at Hashirama as he wielded a kitchen knife, while Hashirama took it like a scolded child, scraping the pig's skin with his own knife and cutting away the tenderest pieces of meat to set aside. When the white-haired boy returned to Mingye with another bundle of firewood, Mingye couldn't see him and had no way to confirm his identity. Smiling, he asked, "My name's Mingye. What's yours? Are you Hashirama's little brother?"