A Luo Cooks, but the Oil Jug Gets Stolen

"Sasuke, my body has gotten much better now. I don't want to go to school anymore. I want to rest at home. The teachers always have to look after me at school, and that isn't appropriate..."

While drinking fish soup at dinner, A Luo suddenly brought up an idea to Sasuke.

He did not want to go to school.

He had not really wanted to go in the first place, but his body had initially been too frail. Sasuke had insisted, so he had not had any other thoughts about it.

Now he wanted to cultivate quietly at home, and Naruto Uzumaki had conveniently given him a reason. It should be fine for him to be a little willful, right?

As for the danger of staying home...

Konoha would not make a move against him for the time being, and Itachi Uchiha was no longer bent on coming to kill him. There was nothing else to worry about.

There was also at least one ANBU following him at all times. Even if something happened at home, as long as it was not too troublesome, that ANBU would take him to the hospital.

"A Luo... if A Luo doesn't want to go, then he doesn't have to..."

Sasuke had thought of the reason as well. A Luo must have been unhappy about being discussed by the teachers at school.

Now that he knew the teachers had said behind A Luo's back that he could not become a ninja, making A Luo face those teachers again would definitely leave him in a bad mood.

In that case, A Luo could stay home. Sasuke would go to school in the morning, run home for lunch at noon, and come straight back after school in the afternoon...

During that time, A Luo would just have to put up with staying at home and not going out.

The two brothers had different thoughts, but the result remained the same.

Early the next morning, Sasuke got up and made breakfast. When he saw A Luo rise from bed, still in his pajamas, smiling at him, Sasuke truly realized that his little brother would no longer be going to school with him.

"Sasuke, study hard in class. You can do it!"

Standing at the front door, A Luo waved Sasuke off.

"Your brother will come back for lunch after class. A Luo, don't run around at home, and don't do anything dangerous..."

Sasuke gave him a few more reminders before turning around and running off.

Throughout the morning's lessons, Sasuke could not focus at all. He kept worrying about how his little brother was doing at home, whether he had fallen down or bumped into something...

As for A Luo at home, he dawdled around for over an hour before changing clothes. Then he went to the kitchen, took a look around, and pulled out the simplest vegetable available.

"This feels so hard!"

Because there was ANBU nearby, A Luo slowly washed the vegetables while muttering about how difficult and tiring it was, wondering why cooking always looked so easy when Sasuke did it.

By the time the vegetables had been washed limp, he finally fished them out of the basin of water and set them aside to cut.

Then, the already miserable-looking vegetables were chopped into uneven pieces. He even nearly cut his finger during the process, making the ANBU watching nearby wince.

After cutting the vegetables, the next step was to put them in the pot. But after searching all around, A Luo could not find any oil...

[That ANBU is afraid you'll burn yourself to death here once you light the stove.]

The system could not even be bothered to mock its host's acting anymore. But acting so well that the ANBU took action and temporarily carried off the cooking oil was truly excessive.

What else could I do? I'm a little kid who's never cooked before. If I suddenly showed off the skills of a master chef, he'd immediately drag me to the Hokage Building and probably bring in the Torture Department and the Yamanaka Family to examine me...

On the surface, A Luo anxiously searched for the oil jug. Inside, he continued complaining to the system with utter disdain.

Here in Konoha, he had to keep up the act properly.

[Host, please watch your wording. You only won second prize in a regional cooking competition once. You do not possess the skills of a master chef.]

What the system focused on was not the Hokage Building, but A Luo's shameless self-proclaimed title.

A master chef...

That was too much!

Yes, yes, yes. I'm just a participant in some tiny regional competition. As long as the food tastes good, that's all that matters. Don't fuss over those details. They aren't important, not important at all...

A Luo had long since abandoned any semblance of dignity in front of the system. By now, the system could no longer be bothered to mock that attitude.

With no oil jug, A Luo did not dwell on it. He simply turned on the stove, added water, and boiled the vegetables.

The nearby ANBU's eyes darted around at that sight, seriously wondering whether Sasuke would still be able to stomach this meal when he returned.

But he soon stopped worrying.

Other than the oil, A Luo had prepared all the seasonings Sasuke usually used. Though they had been cut rather poorly, he had made sure to get everything ready.

Once the boiled vegetables were out of the pot, he poured the prepared seasonings over them, mixed them together, and brought the dish to the dining table.

The dish was done, and the rice Sasuke had set on a timer before leaving was cooked as well.

After serving the rice and vegetables, A Luo tilted his head toward the door and silently counted down in his heart.

3, 2, 1...

"A Luo, I'm back!"

Sasuke opened the door and ran inside.

The timing was perfect.

"Sasuke, I couldn't find our oil, so I didn't put any oil in the dish..."

A Luo pointed toward the kitchen, looking somewhat aggrieved.

"What..."

Sasuke rushed to the kitchen entrance. Seeing the oil jug sitting right where it had always been, he froze for a moment but said nothing.

After washing his hands nearby, he returned to the table and sat down. With his freshly dried hand, he rubbed A Luo's hair.

His little brother knew how to cook now...

"A Luo, thank you!"

Looking at A Luo's blank expression, Sasuke sat down and picked up his chopsticks.

After tasting the dish and finding that it was actually quite good, he murmured a thank-you, then lowered his head and began shoveling rice into his mouth.

All this time, he had thought his little brother simply liked staying close to him, which was why he would always watch from nearby whenever Sasuke cooked.

Only after eating the dish his little brother had made did he realize that A Luo had been learning how to cook. He had been trying hard to remember how much seasoning each dish needed...

So what if he could not become a ninja? His A Luo was still living seriously, still growing with all his effort!