Dark Cuisine (New Book, Please Bookmark and Follow)

Thirteen full days had passed since the last practical combat assessment.

During this time, Uchiha Shu seemed to have vanished without a trace and did not come looking for trouble with Rogge again. Perhaps he had received a severe warning from the Hokage.

However, Rogge had etched this grudge deep in his heart. He secretly swore that once the right opportunity arose, he would make the Uchiha Clan pay a heavy price for their arrogance and tyranny.

But for now, he knew his strength was far too weak, so he had no choice but to endure.

After thirteen days of relentless, grueling training, Rogge had successfully mastered Flash Step.

When he used Flash Step, he could achieve an effect similar to the Body Flicker Technique, making him difficult to catch with the naked eye. He would no longer suffer the embarrassing mishap of crashing into trees, either.

This temporarily made up for his weakness in speed.

However, using Flash Step consumed an enormous amount of chakra and stamina. At full capacity, he could only use it eight times at most. If he exceeded that limit, he would collapse from exhaustion.

Therefore, increasing his chakra reserves had become his most urgent task.

Rogge's chakra reserves were pitifully small. He could not even perform the most basic D-rank ninjutsu.

Chakra was a special form of energy created by combining the body's physical energy and spiritual energy. In Sanskrit, it was called a chakra wheel.

Physical energy was drawn bit by bit from the body's 130 trillion cells, while spiritual energy could be continuously increased through learning, meditation, and accumulated experience.

The stronger these two forms of energy became, the stronger the chakra they produced would be.

Through repeated practice, one could strengthen spiritual energy, create more chakra, and use greater power to perform higher-level ninjutsu.

For ninjas, as long as their chakra had not been completely depleted, they could restore it through proper rest, food, or sleep.

Although training could increase one's chakra reserves, everyone had a limit to some extent.

Take Kakashi Hatake, for example. He often found himself in difficult situations due to insufficient chakra.

It was said that Naruto Uzumaki possessed four times as much chakra as Kakashi Hatake.

As for the nine tailed beasts, their chakra reserves were simply vast beyond measure, nearly inexhaustible.

Leaf Village, in an empty forest.

Wearing specially made iron armor, Rogge was doing weighted training and grinding through push-ups.

Whenever he trained outside, he always held something back and never allowed his stamina to be completely drained.

Only at home, where it was relatively safe, would he push every last bit of strength from his body without restraint.

Although he was in Leaf Village, protected by its barrier and far safer than the wilderness, he did not dare lower his guard in the slightest.

Many times, danger did not come only from the outside. It could also lurk within an environment that appeared peaceful.

Over the past thirteen days, Rogge had left his footprints in every corner of Leaf Village through the sign-in system.

[Ding! The host successfully signed in at Leaf Village's Hokage Rock and obtained the ninjutsu—Transformation Technique!]

[Ding! The host successfully signed in at Leaf Village's Ichiraku Ramen Shop and obtained the ninjutsu—Summoning Technique!]

[Ding! The host successfully signed in at Leaf Village's Valley of the End and obtained the ninjutsu—Four Symbols Seal!]

The Devil Fruit system's daily refresh had also brought him all sorts of abilities, such as the Chop-Chop Fruit, Bomb-Bomb Fruit, Clear-Clear Fruit, Imitation Fruit, Venom-Venom Fruit, Teleportation Fruit, Smoke-Smoke Fruit, and more.

Among them, only the Teleportation Fruit had left him relatively satisfied.

Unfortunately, he had already chosen the Magma-Magma Fruit as his fixed skill. He would have to wait more than three hundred days before he had another chance to choose a second Devil Fruit ability.

Besides his daily taijutsu training, Rogge spent a great deal of time each day refining chakra in an attempt to increase his reserves.

The long-term training had gradually given his body clearly defined muscle lines.

In the world of Naruto, people matured physically at an earlier age. Around the ages of fourteen to sixteen, one's chakra limit was basically set.

Rogge was only seven years old. He would have to wait at least another seven to nine years before his chakra limit was finally determined.

But the problem was that Rogge was not sure whether he could live to be sixteen.

Less than two years remained until the Second Shinobi World War.

By then, he would most likely become a genin of Leaf Village, and he would one hundred percent be sent to the front lines as expendable cannon fodder who could die at any moment, ultimately falling on the battlefield.

To survive the brutal war, to stop being insignificant cannon fodder, Rogge could only train desperately and keep growing stronger.

"One hundred thirty-seven, one hundred thirty-eight... two hundred nine, two hundred ten..."

Drenched in sweat, Rogge was doing handstand push-ups with all his might. Then, without pause, he went to strike the wooden dummy and practice Wing Chun.

[Ding! Wing Chun proficiency increased!]

[Wing Chun: Proficient (0/2000)]

The red panel of the Grind Emperor System appeared at just the right time.

After training, he would eat a Soldier Pill to restore his stamina and chakra.

Soldier Pills were like compressed biscuits. Rich in nutrients, they could help ninjas recover stamina and some chakra in a short period of time.

Soldier Pills were an important food source that ninjas relied on when they were out on missions and needed to rest and recover, but their surroundings made it inconvenient to start a fire and cook.

Ever since his conflict with Uchiha Shu and the warning from ANBU, Rogge had become much more restrained.

He no longer casually used large-scale attack skills like Meteor Volcano to destroy Leaf Village's forests.

"Tap, tap, tap..." Footsteps approached from afar. Rogge, who had been resting, turned his head and saw Kushina jogging over with a lunchbox in hand.

"Rogge! Why have you gotten yourself covered in injuries again?" Kushina sighed as she reached out to help him up.

"You've already awakened the Lava Release Kekkei Genkai and defeated Uchiha Iwa. You're already so strong, so why do you still have to push yourself this hard?"

Rogge revealed a bitter smile. He had no intention of telling Kushina about the coming brutality of the Second Shinobi World War or Leaf Village's darkness.

Rogge said casually, "There is always someone stronger, and beyond every mountain lies another mountain."

"The Uchiha Clan has the Sharingan, and that Uchiha Iwa has not even awakened a single tomoe. Defeating him as he is now means nothing. I have to become stronger."

"Fine, I can't argue with you. But I brought you a lunchbox. I made it myself, so give it a try." Kushina handed him the lunchbox.

Rogge could not help swallowing. He knew full well that this was most likely another serving of "dark cuisine."

But Kushina eagerly urged him to taste it, so he could only say, "I just ate a Soldier Pill. I'm not hungry right now."

"Just one bite. I put a lot of thought into making this fried rice. It's definitely delicious!"

Helpless, Rogge opened the lunchbox. The first thing that entered his sight was the so-called "five-color fried rice." The rice had clumped into sticky lumps, while diced carrots, diced ham, and corn kernels were scattered about in complete disorder. The colors were mottled, yet utterly without pattern.

The fried rice as a whole was an eerie dark brown. When he leaned closer, the scorched smell hit him in the face, mixed with either the harsh saltiness of too much soy sauce or the blandness of too little salt.

"..."

"Kushina, you definitely haven't tasted your own cooking, which is why you're so confident. Here, you take a bite first. I'll feed you."

Rogge picked up a spoonful of fried rice and brought it to Kushina's mouth.

Kushina confidently opened her little mouth and ate the spoonful of fried rice.

"Blergh..."

After chewing only a few times, Kushina truly could not swallow it and spat it out.