Did you still remember those days of laughing and chatting with your friends, only to turn around and find that one playmate had quietly fallen behind? He might not have been ignoring you on purpose, but simply been too shy... too afraid to speak to you. That did not mean he disliked you...
The group chatted and laughed as they headed to the school rooftop together. They had often gone there for lunch lately, and the rooftop had practically become these young children's secret base.
Seemingly noticing that a small figure was missing from his side, Naruto turned around in puzzlement and found Hinata walking with her head down, already a long way behind them. Without thinking much of it, he quickly called for her to catch up.
"Oi~ Hinata, hurry up! We're going to eat together."
Hinata had been looking down, lost in some unknown thought. Hearing Naruto's voice, she hurriedly raised her head and found everyone waiting for her. Their actions left her a little stunned, and her eyes grew damp before she realized it. She had never imagined she would deserve to be treated this way, when clearly...
Shaking her head, she stopped thinking about those things that made her sad and hurried after them on her short little legs.
Up on the terrace, everyone began eating their packed lunches. Some were still rather enthusiastic, though. Ino, for instance, pushed her lunch box toward Naruto.
"Naruto, try some! I made this myself."
Naruto looked at the lunch box Ino had pushed over. Her lunch consisted of nothing but some raw seafood sashimi paired with rice. He really did not dare try raw sashimi. He felt that his stomach simply would not accept him trying these raw foods.
He could not get used to it. He really could not.
Naruto smiled, shook his head, and pushed Ino's lunch box back.
"Sorry, Ino. I don't really like sashimi. I can't quite stand the taste."
Ino was not annoyed at being turned down. Right in front of Naruto, she simply picked up another piece of unidentified fish sashimi with her chopsticks, popped it into her mouth, and chewed away.
Naruto watched in disbelief.
Wait, she just ate it like that? So people in the Naruto world love sashimi and stuff this much too? You can tell these kids have never had anything good.
When Hinata saw that Naruto had even turned Ino down, she clutched her own lunch box tightly, feeling that hers was hardly worth offering. Naruto would surely dislike it too.
Naruto did not notice what was happening on her side, because he was about to eat. The instant he opened his lunch box, a savory, fragrant, numbing-hot aroma rushed straight at everyone's taste buds. One sniff alone was enough to whet their appetites.
That was right. After spending so long in the Naruto world, Naruto truly could not stand this world's bland, watery food anymore. After a long search for ingredients, he had finally managed to reproduce a few simple dishes from his previous life, such as the mapo tofu before him.
Thinking of how much effort it had taken him to make this dish filled Naruto with a sense of accomplishment. Eating it with his rice, he could only wonder what kind of miserable life he had been living before.
The others gathered around as well, staring fixedly at the enticing color of the savory, fragrant, numbing-hot mapo tofu in Naruto's lunch box, though they did not know what it was called.
But seeing how much Naruto enjoyed it, and smelling that tempting aroma, was more than any of them could bear.
Finally, someone could not hold back anymore. Since Ino was closest to Naruto, she poked his arm and asked cautiously, even swallowing as she spoke.
"Um, Naruto, that looks so delicious. What's it called? Where did you buy it?"
Naruto was enjoying his food and was a little unhappy at having his meal interrupted. But after hearing Ino's question, he was not quite sure himself. Did anyone in this Naruto world actually sell this?
Presumably, no one could make something that tasted like this unless they were transmigrators like him.
He simply shook his head and openly admitted that he had made it himself. After all, even in his previous life, this dish had already been passed down for more than a hundred and fifty years. It had taken improvements by generation after generation to finally achieve this flavor.
"No, I don't think anyone sells this, because I made it myself. I call it mapo tofu. Want to try some, Ino?"
Ino was rather disappointed to hear that such a delicious-smelling dish was not for sale. Then she heard that Naruto had made it himself-he was really impressive. After hearing what he said next, she pointed at herself in disbelief.
"What, Naruto? Me? I can eat that food that looks so delicious?"
The sight of Ino like this reminded Naruto of a meme from his previous life. (Me?.jpg)
Naruto could not help laughing. This Ino really was amusing.
He nodded and pushed his lunch box toward her. Ino stopped standing on ceremony, took the lunch box, and gently scooped up a small bite of mapo tofu with her little spoon before putting it into her mouth. In that instant, the delicious sensation seemed to assault her taste buds: first the numbing heat, then the spice, savoriness, and fragrance.
That feeling, unlike anything she had experienced before, utterly captivated Ino.
"This is so delicious."
Without Naruto even having to teach her, Ino picked up her rice and shoveled several mouthfuls into her mouth. The numbing heat of the mapo tofu mingled with the delicate fragrance of the rice, making her cover her face. It was simply too delicious. What had she even been eating before? Compared with the delicacy before her, the food she used to eat was not even worth comparing.
But before Ino could keep tasting it, Shikamaru and Choji rushed over from behind her. Hearing that there was something delicious, especially something Naruto had made himself, the two of them simply had to try it properly. After all, even as Naruto's friends, this was their first time hearing that he could cook.
Only after tasting the delicious food did they realize their earlier ignorance. Choji and Shikamaru could both see surprise in each other's eyes. There was no other reason: the flavor was simply too powerful. It made them want to eat several large bowls of rice with this one dish.
"Naruto, did you really make this?"
Hearing Shikamaru's question, Naruto rolled his eyes at him. If I didn't make it, what? Did I pick up some wild mapo tofu?
Seeing Naruto's expression, Shikamaru realized he had asked a stupid question and obediently shut his mouth. But before they could continue tasting the delicacy before them, Naruto snatched the lunch box back.
The three exchanged looks, not quite understanding Naruto's reaction. Fortunately, there was a clever one among them. Shikamaru immediately understood what Naruto meant. The three of them had been a little presumptuous. Naruto had not even had his own lunch yet. They could hardly just hog his lunch box and eat from it. That would be awful.
Shikamaru flushed and hurriedly apologized.
"Ahem, sorry, Naruto. It's our first time eating anything this delicious, so we got a little excited."
Hearing Shikamaru's words, Ino and Choji lowered their heads too. Thinking it over, their behavior really had been rather embarrassing. But they could not help it. Naruto's cooking smelled so good that they had only acted that way because they could not hold back.
Naruto did not hold it against them. He even felt a little sorry for these children, who had grown this big without eating anything good. In all of Konoha, only Ichiraku's ramen could be called tasty. As for everything else, it fell far short of the food from Naruto's previous life. It was not even as good as his own cooking.
Seemingly noticing that someone still had not joined in, he turned around. Sure enough, he saw that small, thin figure quietly nibbling the rice ball in her hands in a corner.
"Ah, this little girl."
Hinata really had been rather timid as a child. Naruto could not help sighing. He picked up his lunch box, walked over to her, and pushed it toward her.
Still eating her rice ball, Hinata was left at a loss by Naruto's sudden action. She looked up at him, then at the very appetizing mapo tofu in his lunch box, and unconsciously swallowed. But she still lowered her head, not daring to look him in the eye.
Naruto looked at Hinata helplessly. Without giving her a chance to refuse, he scooped up a spoonful of mapo tofu and brought it straight to her mouth. Hinata had originally wanted to refuse, but after smelling that wonderful aroma, she somehow opened her mouth and let Naruto feed her the bite.
The instant it entered her mouth, a numbing, spicy sensation burst across it, followed by a savory fragrance and a soft, tender, silky springiness. She swallowed before she had even chewed a few times, but the spicy sensation still filled her mouth, making her take a big bite of the rice ball in her hand. Only then did the burning sensation ease a little.
It seemed to be her first time eating anything this spicy. Hinata's little face turned bright red, whether from shyness or the spice.
"So yummy. So spicy, so spicy."
Even after several bites of her rice ball, Hinata still found it terribly spicy. She could not help sticking out her little pink tongue, as though that could ease the hot, spicy sensation. Yet that numbing heat was also stimulating her, making her want a few more bites.
"Well? Is it good?"
Hinata nodded and glanced at Naruto again. I think I just ate with his spoon. What do I do? What do I do? This is so embarrassing. But it's so delicious. I really want another bite.
Seemingly seeing through Hinata's thoughts, Naruto could not help laughing. He handed her his spoon, pushed the lunch box toward her again, and produced another spoon from somewhere.
"Let's eat together."
Without bothering about Hinata's reaction, Naruto scooped some mapo tofu onto his own rice and began eating them together. Seeing that he was no longer looking at her, Hinata secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Hinata had still been a little shy, but under the temptation of delicious food, that embarrassment quickly vanished. Copying Naruto, she carefully scooped up a spoonful of tofu and placed it on her rice ball. With one bite, she understood why Naruto ate this dish with rice. There was no other reason: they simply went together too well.
The two ate together in such a warm atmosphere that they had already forgotten the three little gluttons watching them longingly from a short distance away. Ino, in particular, was practically dying of envy, with disgraceful tears spilling from the corners of her mouth. She had never expected Naruto to dote on Hinata so much...
Perhaps the resentment radiating from the three was too strong, for Naruto noticed them. Only then did he remember that those three were still nearby. While eating with Hinata just now, looking at the adorable girl before him had given him a momentary sense of life's quiet peace, and he had forgotten all about them.
Naruto was not stingy either. Ignoring their resentful gazes, he beckoned the three to hurry over and join them.
"Ahem, everyone, come eat together..."
For a while, exclamations of praise, hissing breaths, and cries rose one after another.