"But food is different. Good food knows no boundaries. Nobody turns down something delicious."
"If a really good restaurant opened in the Uchiha district, serving specialties found nowhere else in the village, the villagers who normally wouldn't dare or wouldn't want to come here might walk in of their own accord just to satisfy their appetites."
"Once they come in, sit down, have a hot meal, and exchange a few words with the Uchiha working there-even ordinary clan members who don't do police work... some of those misunderstandings and barriers might dissolve without anyone even noticing. People tend to relax when they eat. Their guard comes down, too."
Shisui looked at Cheng, his gaze earnest. "I think it's feasible on the practical side. Cheng, you'd only need to provide the core recipes and essential cooking instructions. You wouldn't have to stay at the restaurant every day."
"We could hire ordinary clan members for the kitchen and front of house-you know, those who... well, don't have much talent as ninja, or aren't particularly interested in fighting."
"They need stable, respectable jobs, too. As for the premises, I've looked into it. There's an unused storefront diagonally across from Naka Shrine. It's a good location, near the boundary between the civilian district and the clan grounds, so we should have a steady stream of customers. I can handle the coordination and paperwork."
When he finished, the living room fell silent for a few seconds.
Obito and Guy blinked, looking from Shisui to Cheng and back, seemingly trying to digest this grand plan to "open a restaurant."
At some point, Kakashi had closed his book, and his exposed eye turned toward them as well.
Uchiha Makoto didn't speak immediately. He put down his tweezers and leaned back slightly against his chair, his fingers tapping