This had to be Lady Tsunade's latest move!

"So good!"

"It really is!"

"..."

Amid cries of "Umai!" and "Oishii!" everyone gained an entirely new understanding of Naruto's claim that Yecheng was a great cook.

It was only a simple barbecue, yet the food tasted even better than what restaurants served!

That was cooking with the Six Eyes for you, with execution on par with frying eggs using the Sharingan.

Yecheng smoothed back Hinata's loose hair and tucked it behind her ear so it would not get in the way of her eating.

She ate very daintily, but her little mouth never stopped, easily putting away large amounts of food. A glistening layer of grease coated her pink lips, making her look utterly adorable.

Naruto and Sasuke had caught plenty of fish, but Yecheng did not have to worry about leftovers at all, precisely because Hinata was there.

Whenever he watched her eat, he could never help wondering how such a tiny body could hold so much food.

It was a real mystery.

Everyone else chatted, laughed, and played around too, a scene of bustling vitality unfolding before his eyes.

Yecheng was just about to pick up a skewer and enjoy the fruits of his labor when Ino, who was sitting beside him, edged closer and offered him one. Green onions and cabbage alternated with the meat, all coated in fat and giving off a meaty aroma, delicious yet refreshing.

"Yecheng-kun, try this. I grilled this one."

She smiled as she fed him.

She acted nonchalant, but her heart was actually pounding so hard it nearly leaped out of her throat!

"Mmm, pretty good."

Yecheng took a bite and appraised it without batting an eye. "Just a little overcooked. Otherwise, it could have been even more tender."

Seeing this, Hinata blushed and followed Ino's example, offering him a skewer too.

"Y-Yecheng-kun, have some..."

Yecheng remained perfectly composed and accepted it as well.

Please, he was a master of keeping things balanced!

Playing favorites would never happen on his watch!

You're both my wings!

"Mmm, now this skewer shows real skill. The cooking time is just right, the seasoning is evenly distributed, and the freshness of the vegetables perfectly balances the fattiness of the meat. A truly perfect skewer."

"You grilled that one yourself!"

"No wonder! I was wondering."

"Hahaha..."

It was rare to see Yecheng being silly, and he had everyone laughing.

Seeing this, Sakura Haruno immediately wanted to follow their example and feed Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun, this is my specialty, Anko Dumpling Sweet Soup. Try some."

As she spoke, she brought a bowl of sweet red bean soup over to Sasuke.

She had gotten up early to simmer the red beans for this bowl of sweet soup, simply wanting to share something she loved with the person she liked. The young girl's thoughts were simple and pure.

Unfortunately, she had chosen entirely the wrong approach.

"...I don't like sweets."

Sasuke looked uncomfortable and politely refused.

"Clang!"

Sakura Haruno froze on the spot as though struck by a hundred-ton hammer.

Today, my hands tremble. Today, my heart aches.

I...

"Try these, Sasuke."

Smiling, Yecheng brought Sasuke a plate of four rice balls.

"Bonito rice balls don't just taste great. They can also boost your stamina and help you keep going longer. You should like them."

Sasuke's eyes lit up at that. He picked one up and took a bite. It really did taste quite good.

Food that can actually make me stronger?

I like it!

"Ah, that's sneaky, Sasuke! No fair! I want some too!"

Seeing this, Naruto started making a racket too.

Sasuke gave a haughty snort, but despite his attitude, he still prepared to share the rice balls on his plate.

It's nothing. I just think Naruto will be noisy, that's all.

Fortunately, Yecheng soon brought Naruto a huge bowl.

"This is yours, Naruto. Three-Fish Miso Ramen, with fried fish cutlets, squirrel-style fish slices, and fish-fragrant shredded fish. Give it a try."

"What's that? It sounds delicious! Let's eat!"

They enjoyed their feast, laughing and chatting about amusing everyday happenings as they savored their time together.

Watching the scene in secret through his crystal ball, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, could not help sighing inwardly.

Such a peaceful, beautiful scene would never have been possible in the Warring States Period.

Lord Hashirama, the First Hokage, truly was a great man.

I should work hard too, to inherit this peace and carry it forward.

"Hehe, this is milk from my special stash. Everyone, try some! It's definitely delicious!"

Naruto began handing out milk.

At the sight, Yecheng's heart gave a jolt.

If he remembered correctly, in the original story, Naruto loved milk so much that he stockpiled a huge amount, only for it all to expire before he could finish it.

Yet he did not even know that milk had a "best-before date."

Because no one had ever taught him.

Which meant...

Yes, this milk was very likely close to expiring, or even expired already!

"Yecheng, here. This is my favorite flavor! Thanks for the ramen. I loved it!"

"No problem. Glad you liked it."

Naruto handed him a carton of red bean-flavored milk. Yecheng turned it over and checked the back. Sure enough, it was close to expiring.

After a moment's thought, he decided to say it outright. "Naruto, did you know milk has an expiration date? Drinking it after that can upset your stomach."

"Huh? Really?"

Naruto paused and scratched his head. "I thought I just had a bad stomach. So it was the expired milk making me sick."

He visibly deflated. "Sorry, everyone. I didn't mean to..."

"Well, you can't really be blamed. You didn't know either."

Seeing this, Shikamaru quickly stepped in to smooth things over.

Naruto still looked deeply guilty. They rarely got to go out together, yet he had made the mood so awkward.

"Heh-heh, in that case, I'll just have to let you try my secret, exclusive drink."

Yecheng spoke with a smile.

He put a pot of water on to boil again, took out half a bag of tea leaves, and added them to brew.

"Naruto, bring your milk over. Throw away the expired ones. The ones near their expiration date are fine. We can still use those."

"Okay."

The drink Yecheng planned to make was actually milk tea. All the ingredients happened to be on hand, and since he studied medicine, he carried plenty of different supplies with him. He could take out some vanilla and dried fruit to add flavor.

Once the tea had brewed, Yecheng showed off his skills. Using chakra, he divided the tea into ten portions, added different flavors of milk, then controlled the flames to heat each separately before pouring them into cups.

Unfortunately, he had not prepared in advance. Otherwise, he could have rolled some starch and caramel into balls to add, making bubble tea.

"This is delicious!"

"It really is!"

"..."

Seeing that everyone liked it, Naruto quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

"It has the fragrance of tea and the smoothness of milk. Yecheng-kun, how did you come up with a drink like this?"

Choji seemed especially fond of milk tea and kept asking Yecheng about it.

Yecheng simply wrote down the recipe and handed it to him. With the Six Eyes, he could easily determine the ideal proportions for every ingredient.

"Here's the recipe. Milk tea is actually very easy to make. You can try making it yourself when you get home."

"The recipe? You're just giving it to me?"

Choji was stunned. Even his perpetually narrowed eyes opened slightly as he looked at Yecheng in surprise.

Yecheng waved a hand. "Consider it a gift from me."

He had plenty of recipes from his previous life. One milk tea recipe was nothing to him.

This was indeed a gesture of goodwill toward the Akimichi Clan. After all, if things really reached the point of forcing the Hokage's hand in the future, the Ino-Shika-Cho's stance would be important too.

But ultimately, it was only a casual move.

Such a lovely time spent having fun could not be polluted by filthy politics.

The gathering ended with hosts and guests alike thoroughly satisfied.

With the milk tea recipe tucked against his chest, Choji returned home and sought out his father, Choza Akimichi.

"Dad..."

After thinking it over the whole way home, Choji ultimately decided to tell his father everything.

Choza Akimichi was taken aback. "That milk tea was really so popular?"

"Yes, really. Everyone liked it."

Choji nodded.

Choza Akimichi sank into thought.

As clan head, the moment he opened his eyes, he had the daily needs of hundreds of people to manage. Many of them were ninja, whose various resources cost even more!

It was not just him. Every ninja clan leader in Konoha was the same.

That was why every clan had its own businesses.

A legitimate example was the Nara Clan, which had long specialized in medicinal herbs. More than eighty percent of Konoha's medicinal herbs passed through their hands.

A less legitimate example was the Uchiha Clan, which partnered with the Ninja Cat Clan outside the village to specialize in military supplies such as kunai, shuriken, and explosive tags. Their arms business was booming!

Everyone coveted that slice of the pie, but no one dared provoke that bunch of red-eyed maniacs, so they naturally let them be.

Their Akimichi Clan mainly ran the village's barbecue restaurants, along with a few other food businesses.

If what Choji said about milk tea was true, introducing this new product could earn the Akimichi Clan a substantial fortune!

And the recipe was already in their hands!

What was Yecheng's purpose in doing this?

With such enormous profits involved, surely he could not simply be giving a classmate a gift.

Choza Akimichi racked his brains, feeling as though he was about to grow some brain cells.

He thought of the Aburame Clan. They had obtained Explosive Insects, and he had heard that Yecheng had been the main driving force behind it.

Then he thought of the Hyuga Clan. Hizashi Hyuga's remains had been buried just a few days earlier. Although the funeral had been low-key, every Konoha jonin without an urgent mission had attended!

And who had demanded that Kumogakure return Hizashi Hyuga's remains?

Yecheng again!

Could a mere six-year-old Ninja Academy student have that kind of ability?

No!

But he was Tsunade's student!

Then he could!

I get it!

Choza Akimichi was gradually coming to understand everything.

The only remaining uncertainty was whether this milk tea recipe in his hands really was so appealing...

It was a hit!

Milk tea sales absolutely exploded!

The unique blend of milk and tea, along with its perfectly balanced sweetness, made it hugely popular. Whether ninja or civilians, almost everyone who tried it liked it.

In less than a single day after introducing milk tea, the Akimichi Clan's barbecue restaurant chain sold over twenty thousand cups, and that number was still climbing at an astonishing rate!

Especially in the evening, when more customers arrived, they simply could not keep up with demand!

When Choza Akimichi heard the news, he felt a little dizzy.

He had priced it at forty ryō a cup!

In other words, in just one day, this new milk tea had already brought in over a million ryō in sales!

By comparison, the production cost of the milk tea was pitifully low!

It was nothing more than water, tea leaves, milk, and syrup.

Livestock farming and light industry in the Naruto world were hardly unproductive. The village had supermarkets, and those supermarkets sold large quantities of packaged milk.

At least, that was how things were in Konoha.

Those ingredients did not cost much. Even including labor and kitchen expenses, the profit margin was probably around seventy percent!

If they expanded production in the future, costs could fall even further!

Choza Akimichi did some quick calculations and felt his head spin. He hurried off to consult Shikaku Nara.

When he arrived, Inoichi Yamanaka was playing a board game with Shikaku Nara.

"Oh, the Milk Tea King is here~"

Inoichi Yamanaka's words were dripping with envy.

The three Ino-Shika-Cho clans had long shared an unbreakable alliance.

Neither the Yamanaka Clan nor the Akimichi Clan had much productive capacity to speak of, so one ran flower shops and the other ran restaurants, helping cover their household expenses.

They could only maintain a balance between income and expenses. If the clans' ninja wanted to make serious money to improve their strength, they still had to go out and risk their lives on missions.

But now?

Weren't they supposed to stick together as brothers? How had he gotten rich first?

A million ryo coming in every day-who wouldn't be envious of that!

Choza Akimichi plopped down, irritably shoving Inoichi Yamanaka aside.

"...Shikaku, help me figure something out."

He explained the situation to his external brain and asked him to decide what to do.

The profits were enormous. Even Inoichi Yamanaka, their longtime ally, was envious, so the other clans would be even more jealous!

If they didn't come up with a solution, the Akimichi Clan would probably become a target very soon!

Never mind anyone else-Danzo would definitely pull some dirty tricks to get a share!

"You're saying Yecheng brought out this Milk Tea Recipe and gave it to Choji?"

"That's right."

Choza Akimichi nodded firmly.

"This must be Lady Tsunade's latest move!"

"What?!"

Both Inoichi Yamanaka and Choza Akimichi were shocked to hear that.

Then they fell silent, merely staring at Shikaku with a little nervous excitement.

"Shikaku, is that really true?"

Shikaku nodded.

Who was Yecheng?

He was none other than Lady Tsunade's most cherished disciple at present!

From the looks of things, Lady Tsunade had returned to the village with her sights set on the Hokage's seat!

She hadn't even been back a month, yet she had already made successive moves to win over the Aburame Clan and the Hyuga Clan!

Now, she was finally reaching out to Ino-Shika-Cho!

But why had she started by approaching the Akimichi Clan instead of coming directly to him?

Everyone knew that the three Ino-Shika-Cho clans were one, but the Nara Clan took the lead in making decisions.

I get it!

Lady Tsunade must be uncertain of Ino-Shika-Cho's stance, so she sent her disciple Yecheng to sound us out indirectly!

Just like her previous two moves to win over the Aburame and Hyuga, she had her disciple handle things so there would still be some room to maneuver!

"Our Princess Tsunade really is something!"

Having worked out the intricacies, Shikaku Nara couldn't help voicing his admiration.

Inoichi Yamanaka and Choza Akimichi exchanged looks, unsure why Shikaku Nara had suddenly said that.

Lady Tsunade had always been formidable!

Though this situation had arisen suddenly, Shikaku Nara had been making contingency plans ever since Princess Tsunade returned to the village, so he soon offered a suggestion.

"Choza, first thing tomorrow morning, take five hundred thousand ryo to Lady Tsunade's home. Offer her half the profits from now on and ask her to advertise the Milk Tea Drinks."

Shikaku Nara's gaze was deep.

"It's time for us Ino-Shika-Cho to make our stance clear, too."

[Diary of a Flop]

Why must people devote their limited time to endless overtime?

If going to work is painful, am I wasting my life?

Is seizing the moment and having fun what it really means to enjoy life?

What misery!!