After lunch, Uchiha Naruto lay down in the shade of a tree in the school courtyard for a short nap, then headed to the cooking classroom when it was time for afternoon classes.
The first class that afternoon was Home Economics, held once every two weeks.
They worked in pairs in Home Economics, and, unsurprisingly, Uchiha Naruto was paired with Tanaka Hikaru. The smiling, elderly Home Economics teacher distributed a large basket of white radishes, giving their pair four.
"We won't be learning anything too advanced in today's cooking class. We'll just cover a basic knife skill: peeling."
The Home Economics teacher picked up a white radish, holding the knife in one hand and rotating the radish with the other. Round and round, the teacher peeled away its skin until the entire radish was peeled, leaving one long, unbroken strip.
This was the technique known as Katsuramuki.
Katsuramuki wasn't a particularly advanced knife skill. In the culinary world, it was merely an entry-level technique that could be mastered through extensive, repetitive practice.
But it was still too difficult for these Tokyo high schoolers, who had never lifted a finger around the house and could barely tell one crop from another. Some broke their strips after peeling only a little skin, while others were even less fortunate and nearly cut their hands.
"Done!"
Tanaka Hikaru set a short, unevenly whittled radish core on the cutting board. Uchiha Naruto glanced into the trash can. More than half the radish had been hacked off, flesh and all.
Half the class had passed, and only one well-behaved-looking girl in all of Class B had successfully performed Katsuramuki, earning the teacher's praise.
Tanaka Hikaru took a little notebook from inside his jacket, flipped to a certain page, and wrote with his pen: "Takasaki Tsuki: good knife skills, probably cooks often at home. Might be a decent cook."
The corner of Uchiha Naruto's eye twitched. He couldn't help asking quietly:
"What are you writing that for?"
"I'm collecting intel on every girl in the school! I'm going to sort them into three tiers: A, B, and C." Tanaka Hikaru waggled his eyebrows. "Takasaki Tsuki's figure isn't much, but her face is pretty cute. If she's good at cooking and makes tasty food, that's a huge plus. She might make it into A-tier."
Uchiha Naruto stared at Tanaka Hikaru, somewhat speechless. They say you can't judge a book by its cover, but who knew you were every bit as sleazy and frivolous as you looked? If the girls heard that little speech, you'd be socially dead for the rest of high school. You could kiss any chance of getting laid goodbye.
He began seriously considering putting some distance between himself and Tanaka Hikaru. He was, after all, a handsome young man in the prime of his youth. It would be terribly unfair if people assumed he was a closet pervert just because birds of a feather flocked together.
The students soon ruined the radishes they'd been given, but the teacher didn't mind and handed out another basketful.
Fortunately, radishes were among the cheapest vegetables in Japan, making this sort of waste affordable.
Radishes, also called daikon, had been a blessing to the poor since ancient times. After paying their tenant rents and grain taxes to the shogunate and feudal lords, impoverished commoners had little grain left. Radishes were also among the few vegetables that could be stored into autumn and winter, so plenty of poor people ate them as a staple.
Even in the relatively abundant modern age, radishes remained among Japan's cheapest and most popular vegetables. The Japanese had even developed different ways of preparing each part based on its moisture and pungency. The root end, for instance, was fibrous and unpleasant in texture, so it was fried; the middle was neither spicy nor sweet and had a balanced flavor, making it best for simmering; and the top was juicy and sweet, making a delicious dish dressed cold or added to a salad.
Some people even ate the leaves, believing that only by eating both root and leaves could they absorb all the radish's nutrients. This was called "eat the whole thing."
Uchiha Naruto held his knife without starting. He had an idea he wanted to test, so he raised his hand and asked the teacher for permission to use the restroom.
Once he entered the restroom and closed the door, Uchiha Naruto switched his eyes into Sharingan mode. He took out his phone, went onto N Station, and opened a tutorial video posted by a famous cook known as the Peeling Sage.
After the Sharingan developed its second tomoe, it gained the ability to copy other people's movements and even Taijutsu. Uchiha Naruto wanted to test whether that ability was useful in real life.
His Two-Tomoe Sharingan fixed on the Peeling Sage's hands in the video, taking in every tiny movement.
Less than five minutes later, Uchiha Naruto returned to the cooking classroom.
Tanaka Hikaru had long since finished writing in his notebook and put it away. He had picked up another radish and was carving it haphazardly for fun, a sleazy grin on his face. He seemed to be carving a woman.
Picking up a radish and a kitchen knife, Uchiha Naruto put the knife skills he'd copied with the Sharingan to use. His five slender fingers moved as though caressing a lover's skin. With gentle nudges of his thumb, the rough radish spun lightly and nimbly in his palm. Within mere seconds, he had peeled off a long, unbroken strip of skin as thin as a cicada's wing.
He placed the peeled radish on the cutting board, chopped off the top and root end, and left only the middle section. The blade slid in, and a nudge of his palm sent the radish rolling, unfurling a long, thin sheet like a roll of paper being pulled open. Draped over his hand, it was so thin that every detail of the skin beneath remained visible.
The kitchen knife danced deftly up and down between his fingers. Only after performing a few flashy knife flourishes did Uchiha Naruto put it away, thoroughly pleased with himself.
The Sharingan really was amazing!
With the Sharingan, I could copy and paste any knife technique with a single glance.
Thinking about it that way, every member of the Uchiha Clan who awakened their eyes was a chef in the making. They were also skilled in Fire Release. An Uchiha Clan kitchen might be a very interesting place.
Beside him, Tanaka Hikaru was already staring in astonishment. With a crack, he sliced the "radish woman" in his hands straight through the torso.
"Uchiha, you're that good with a knife? A few quick swipes, and you peeled that huge radish! And so cleanly, too. Teacher, come take a look!"
Tanaka Hikaru's loud exclamations soon drew the entire class's attention. The Home Economics teacher stepped down from the front and picked up the Katsuramuki strip, thin as a cicada's wing, with fingerprints clearly visible through it. The teacher couldn't help asking:
"Does your family work in the culinary business? Your Katsuramuki knife skills are better than mine."
"My family isn't in the food business. I'm just a little interested in it myself, so I practice for fun."
Katsuramuki at this level wasn't something anyone could master by practicing for fun. Without at least five years of hard practice, it would be impossible to cut so beautifully. This boy must have put in a great deal of work in secret. Was he hoping to become a professional chef but refusing to admit it because he feared other people finding out and his family opposing him?
Just then, the bell rang right on cue. Several thoughts passed through the Home Economics teacher's mind, and the teacher's tone grew even gentler. "Your knife skills are excellent, and I can see how much effort you've put into them. I'll give your pair an A+ for today's class. I look forward to seeing how you do in Home Economics from now on."
What a joke. Beyond making something simple like instant noodles or egg fried rice, Uchiha Naruto couldn't cook at all.
Those breathtaking knife skills had merely been copied on the spot, and Katsuramuki was the only technique he knew. If he'd been asked to julienne something or carve decorative flowers right then, he wouldn't have done much better than Tanaka Hikaru's mangled knife work.
It looked like he'd have to copy a few more common knife techniques with his Sharingan once he got home, so he wouldn't give himself away next time.
After class, Tanaka Hikaru sidled over with a cheeky grin. "Uchiha, you really keep your talents hidden! Thanks to you, I managed to snag an A in this class too. Once I've finished collecting and organizing my classified intel, I'll definitely let you see it first."
No thanks. I don't think I could handle that honor. Uchiha Naruto brushed him off with a few casual words, and Tanaka Hikaru asked another question:
"Uchiha, are there any clubs you're interested in joining? I'm in the Kyudo Club. Want to come give our club a try? The Kyudo Club is seriously cool!"
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