Mukai watched in bewilderment as Pakura, looking every bit the mature beauty, departed with a stylish use of the Body Flicker Technique.
Lady, your back...
Forget it. I shouldn't look.
Holding the scroll Pakura had tossed him, he had so many things he wanted to comment on that he didn't know where to start.
The original body's mother broke the silence:
"Our Mukai is amazing!
He just became a ninja, and he's already earned Lord Pakura's favor!
Honey, make something good tonight. Let's celebrate!"
Before Mukai could react, he was pulled into a warm embrace.
The original body's father merely gave an honest smile and walked back into the little tavern with his eyes narrowed.
Mukai also returned to his "home" in this world.
The buildings in the Land of Wind were all shaped like eggshells,
and Mukai's home was no exception.
It was a two-story building, with a small tavern on the ground floor and living quarters upstairs.
He could tell that business wasn't doing well.
Sunagakure had just suffered a defeat in a war,
and the alliance treaty it had signed with Konoha was, to put it bluntly, an agreement to cede territory and pay reparations.
From then on, not only would Sunagakure's mission volume and finances be drastically reduced,
but even the number of ninja it could keep on active duty would be heavily restricted.
A mood of pessimism now hung over the entire village.
With less money to go around, naturally, not many people would come out for a drink.
Besides, little taverns like his family's were everywhere in Sunagakure,
and theirs had nothing particularly appealing to set it apart.
After a heartwarming meal that wasn't quite to his taste,
Mukai spotted flour, chili peppers, sesame seeds, and garlic at the corner of the second floor.
He suddenly remembered a dish he'd loved in his previous life.
"Um... can I use some of this flour and chili and stuff?
I learned a new... a new dish on my mission this time, and I want to try making it."
Mukai hesitantly made his request.
His parents didn't find anything strange about it.
They had no idea that transmigration was even possible.
"Why are you so shy today, Mukai?
You want to use the flour to make something?
When did our Mukai learn to do that?
Go ahead and try. I'm curious to see what delicious dish you can make too!"
The original body's mother spoke gently.
All of Mukai's plans and mental preparations had been for nothing.
After getting permission, he pulled out his mission pay and set it on the table.
"This is my mission pay. I'll leave it here.
I'm going to the kitchen to try making the new dish!"
Mukai fled the room, leaving his parents staring at each other and a stack of silver notes on the table.
His father asked in puzzlement,
"Don't you think Mukai's acting a little strange?"
Mukai's mother picked up the silver notes, counted them, and put them away in a box. Then she said to his father,
"We need to save this for Mukai's wedding someday. You're not allowed to sneak any of it!
What's strange about him?
He probably witnessed killing on his mission, didn't he?
When Mukai graduated from the Ninja Academy, I went out of my way to ask the retired ninja Nofuji about it.
He said ninja have all sorts of emotional problems the first time they kill someone on the battlefield.
We'd better not ask him about it, or we might make him remember something unpleasant.
Since even Lord Pakura thinks highly of our Mukai,
he'll surely be safe. Don't worry!"
Back in his room, Mukai finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He first looked over the Ninjutsu scroll Pakura had given him
and found that it contained two practical low-level Ninjutsu.
One was the Wind Release technique Wind Blade Slash,
and the other was a genuine Lightning Release technique, Earth Flow.
After only a brief study, Mukai gained a general understanding of how Chakra circulated in them.
Neither of the two Ninjutsu techniques was suitable for testing at home, so he didn't try them any further.
After putting the scroll away, he focused on mixing, kneading, and washing the dough.
He separated the starch from the gluten, then toasted the sesame seeds and ground them into a paste.
He even recreated the garlic water and chili oil from memory.
Once the starch sheets were steamed, he sliced enough for three bowls and seasoned them simply. Only then did he say,
"The dish I tried making is ready. Won't you come in and have a taste?"
While washing the dough, he had sensed the electric fields of two people outside the door.
This sensory ability also let him play the part of a sensory ninja.
In his own home, there shouldn't have been anyone but the original body's parents hiding outside the kitchen and peeking in.
Hearing Mukai's words, the original body's parents smiled sheepishly and pushed open the sliding door. They were immediately drawn to the aroma of the three bowls of liangpi on the table.
"What dish is this?
It doesn't look like ramen. How can it smell so strong?"
Mukai handed them both chopsticks and said,
"This is a special dish I learned on my mission. I heard it's called liangpi.
Try it and see what you think. Could we sell it at the tavern?"
Although all three had already eaten, they still polished off every bit of the liangpi, which gave off an unusual fragrance.
To Mukai, liangpi without shredded cucumber always felt as if it were missing something.
But to the original body's parents, who were used to bland food,
the rich, flavorful liangpi was a wonderful surprise.
"Sugoi! Our Mukai learned how to make such a delicious dish.
I can rest easy handing the tavern over to you someday!"
The original body's mother was so annoyed by his father's remark that she jabbed him with her elbow.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Our Mukai will become a great ninja,
just like Lord Pakura, someone everyone trusts and admires!
But this liangpi really is delicious!
Is it hard to make?"
Seeing that they could appreciate this delicacy from his hometown,
Mukai was quite pleased.
He explained the entire process in detail, including the timing and the key points of steaming,
as well as the seasoning and everything else, one by one.
The original body's father took careful notes in a small notebook,
while his mother stood by shouting "666."
She praised Mukai without ever repeating herself.
The sunny disposition in the original body's memories probably came from his mother.
Once he had finished taking notes, the original body's father made a batch of liangpi himself.
Mukai gave its flavor high marks, and his father was so happy his eyes disappeared.
Now that he had learned how to make liangpi, the original body's father immediately decided to add it to the tavern's menu.
Having given them another way to make a living, Mukai finally felt a little less guilty.
Just then, he faintly sensed a weak electric field in his consciousness.
This electric field was different from those of the two people in the room with him.
It was weak, but strangely familiar.
As if sensing Mukai probing it,
the electric field also conveyed a message to him:
"Thank you..."
This is...
Mukai could clearly feel that the electric field in his consciousness had grown much weaker, as if it had fallen asleep.
It thanked me?
Mukai's heart stirred. Could this electric field be the soul's electric field left behind after he had merged with the original body's memories?
Could this electric field be the original Mukai, the one who had met with an accident?
The boy nicknamed Komushi?