Delicacies from Land and Sea

The closer they got to the residence, the stronger the burnt smell became. The group was no longer surprised—Sen never settled down without causing some kind of commotion every day.

The day before yesterday, he'd dragged the Third Hokage's youngest son, Asuma Sarutobi, to peek at female ninja bathing. The day before that, he'd insisted that everyone in the Hyuga Clan had come down with a disease called cataracts...

"Tsunade, you're a medical ninja. Is there really something wrong with Sen's head?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi had long wanted to find a medical ninja to examine Uchiha Sen's brain, and Tsunade was undoubtedly the most authoritative choice in the Leaf Village.

"Uh, I've secretly checked him with medical ninjutsu before. How should I put it... his brain really is different from a normal person's, but I can't tell exactly how. After all, medical ninjutsu's development regarding the brain is practically nonexistent."

Tsunade was telling the truth, but Hiruzen Sarutobi instead revealed a look of relief, as though it were a good thing that Uchiha Sen wouldn't recover.

"Looks like I'll only be able to communicate with him as Double-Zero Seven from now on."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed. Though it was somewhat embarrassing, as time passed, he became increasingly astonished by Uchiha Sen's strength. At the same time, he lamented the Uchiha Clan's stupidity. They had such an outstanding clansman, yet they had ostracized him...

If they'd treated him even a little better, this pearl wouldn't have been reduced to surviving on the Leaf Village's relief rations.

As for the Impure World Reincarnation, Hiruzen Sarutobi's own explanation was that when Naruto stole the Scroll of Seals, Sen had been nearby. Although there had been very little time, considering Sen's exceptional talent, he had probably memorized those complicated casting methods almost immediately, then improved upon and surpassed his teacher's work in an incredibly short time.

"I have to admit, if his mind were normal, he really might endanger the village. It's better that he's like this now—much easier to control, at least compared to those Uchiha from before."

Although he and Madara had been close friends, Hashirama understood the Uchiha Clan well...

"What's going on inside that house? How am I smelling a faint fragrance beneath the burnt odor?"

Jiraiya stretched out his head and sniffed the air.

At that moment, a little head poked out from the residence's front gate.

"Hahaha, you're all back! A huge black rat suddenly shot out of the house just now. I almost caught it! It was so much fun!"

Uchiha Sen jumped out and grinned at everyone, vividly describing just how muscular that huge black rat had been.

"I'm telling you, that huge black rat was about this big!"

"It was pitch-black from head to toe."

"And it glowed while it ran! Isn't that amazing?"

The others couldn't hold back their laughter. Everyone knew exactly who that huge black rat was...

What do I do? I really want to laugh...

"Alright, alright. Sen, why are you dressed like that?"

Hashirama asked. Sen's outfit was simply bizarre: a red headscarf wrapped around half his hair, a white long-sleeved undershirt beneath a red shirt, and a little yellow vest over that. Nothing about it matched.

"My name isn't Sen."

Unexpectedly, Sen turned his head and swept his gaze over everyone as though they were country bumpkins who had never seen the world.

Of those present, only Hiruzen Sarutobi was familiar with this behavior. He immediately understood that Sen had imagined another new scenario.

He then asked,

"Then may I ask this young gentleman's esteemed name?"

Sen planted his hands on his hips, lifted his nostrils at them, and spoke with the swagger of someone who owned the place.

"Hmph, hmph! Speak my name, and you'll be frightened out of your wits! I am the number one divine chef under heaven, Little Master Chef Liu... uh, Liu Xing!"

Sen paused before blurting it out.

[You might as well burn the house down. You got this excited over a cartoon, and his name was clearly Liu Angxing!]

Ignoring the blue prompt box entirely, Sen's eyes blazed with fervent flames.

"Uh... it's just a dress-up game. Why did Second Grandpa run so fast just now?"

"Who knows? We'll find out once we go inside."

Jiraiya and Tsunade discussed it behind him, both feeling that something was off.

"Come on, come in with me."

As he spoke, Uchiha Sen enthusiastically ushered everyone into the house. Once they sat around the dining table, Tsunade noticed strangely that Haku's smile was extremely forced, while Zabuza, who was supposed to be on guard, was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Zabuza?"

Tsunade asked.

Haku's gaze darted away slightly, and he gave an awkward smile.

"Lord Zabuza... uh, he's in the bathroom."

Haku was indeed telling the truth, though he omitted one important detail. Zabuza really was in the bathroom—he just hadn't come out in four hours...

And he might not come out for another two hours either...

Haku looked worriedly toward the bathroom and silently prayed.

This is really hard on you, Lord Zabuza.

"Hahaha, you're in for a treat today! This Little Master Chef is only cooking once in his lifetime, and I've got every delicacy from land and sea you could ask for."

As three large dishes covered with iron basins were brought out, everyone sensed that something was wrong.

Now they finally understood where the black smoke had come from...

"Hehehe, come on, let me introduce the first dish. It's absolutely incredible—Magical Mapo Tofu."

As Sen removed the large basin, a bowl of pitch-black, mushy, unidentifiable substance appeared before them.

Uh... how should they put it? Its appearance certainly was magical...

The group swallowed, their eyes filled with horror. Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi hurriedly said,

"Hole-Hole Monster, my current body was specially made by the planet, so I don't need to eat. You should let them enjoy such delicious food instead."

While making excuses, Hiruzen Sarutobi dragged two others down with him.

Ignoring the murderous stares from Jiraiya and Tsunade, he calmly held the pipe he'd just bought between his lips, narrowed his eyes, and took a gentle puff.

Mm! This was happiness~

Hashirama followed suit, silently warning himself that the next time Tobirama dragged him along, he absolutely had to run immediately! As expected of his younger brother—he always remembered him at critical moments!

"Uh, alright then. What a pity you won't get to eat something so delicious. You have no idea how many hours Zoro cried in the bathroom after eating this mapo tofu."

Uchiha Sen said regretfully.

For a moment, Tsunade and Jiraiya both felt a chill rise from the soles of their feet. Good grief...

"Alright, let me introduce the second dish: specially made shredded pork with green peppers! With my exquisite culinary skills, this shredded pork with green peppers has been infused with a soul. The green peppers and pork have been perfectly combined!"

The two stared closely... and it really was a perfect combination. The green peppers and shredded pork had both turned equally black. It truly was specially made—ordinary people really couldn't pull that off...

"Come, come, now for today's main event: Golden Fried Rice! I used a special technique to perfectly blend the eggs and rice grains together. The golden fried rice has an extra touch of nobility to it, and the emerald-green scallions make it look like a beautiful painting!"

The iron basin was lifted. Huh? It really was golden fried rice. Could it be...?

Tsunade grabbed Jiraiya, who was about to pick up his chopsticks, and pointed to a black smear at the edge of the plate. That said everything.

Jiraiya finally understood. Damn it, he'd just brushed on a layer of paint and called it Golden Fried Rice? If he brushed on a layer of green paint, would it be called Spring in Full Bloom?

The two couldn't help suspecting that if they took one bite, they might be the next ones summoned out...

"Why aren't you using your chopsticks? It's delicious! Hurry up and try it!"

Sen rubbed his hands together at the side, his smile as kindly loving as a mother's. But to Tsunade and Jiraiya, that savage grin looked as though death itself were beckoning to them...

Eat it. Hurry up and eat it. Today's quota will be taken care of~