Sure enough, some things could only be understood after boldly giving them a try.
Take Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji-their expressions were guaranteed to change. When they first saw Naruto bring out the river snail rice noodles, they acted as though they were facing a formidable enemy. If they had not personally seen Naruto carry the ingredients into the kitchen, they would have thought he was cooking shit.
The smell was simply too overpowering. The moment they caught a whiff, all three lost it, pinching their noses and trying to flee Naruto's little home.
Imagine someone who had never eaten river snail rice noodles before encountering that smell in a cramped space. That was quite an ordeal.
They had clearly gone with Naruto to buy the ingredients. The beginning had been normal, the process had been normal, so why had everything smelled wrong once he finished cooking?
"Shikamaru, are you sure you don't want a taste? It's delicious."
Naruto held out a basin of river snail rice noodles toward Shikamaru, who scrambled backward like a mouse that had spotted a cat, terrified of coming into contact with the ominous substance in Naruto's hands.
"Get away, Naruto! That smell is just too-bleurgh!"
"Ino, want some? Girls generally love this stuff."
Tiny beads of cold sweat formed on Ino's forehead as she politely waved him off.
"No, thanks, Naruto. It smells weird."
Naruto turned his gaze to Choji and lifted the river snail rice noodles in his hands. The little chubby boy's face visibly paled, but his father had taught him from childhood never to waste food. Out of respect for food, Choji accepted the river snail rice noodles Naruto offered.
The stench hit Choji straight in the face, making him retch uncontrollably until tears came out, but he still refused to let go. He even accepted the chopsticks Naruto handed him. His mind felt dazed, and the chopsticks holding the noodles felt impossibly heavy. With tears brimming in his eyes, he looked as though he had suffered a terrible injustice.
Naruto could see Choji's predicament too.
"How about we don't eat it?"
Choji exploded the moment he heard that.
"No! I can't waste food! Wasting food is the most shameful thing anyone can do!"
Without waiting for Naruto to persuade him further, he pinched his nose and shoved the noodles held in his chopsticks into his mouth. He chewed a little and found they tasted pretty good, then tried a sip of the broth. Rich flavors instantly burst across his mouth, sour, spicy, and delicious. For a moment, Choji entered a wondrous, indescribable state. Even his perpetually narrowed little eyes flew wide open, shining.
"Delicious! Naruto, what's this stuff called? It tastes amazing! It smells stinky, but it's so good to eat!"
"It's called river snail rice noodles. Well? Pretty good, right? I wasn't lying, was I? Once you try it, you're sure to fall in love."
Choji no longer had time to pay Naruto any attention and dug in ferociously. Even the heat making him yelp failed to slow his noodle slurping. Ino and Shikamaru exchanged looks beside him. Seeing Choji enjoying it so much and praising it so highly, this stuff probably couldn't taste bad, right?
"What do you think, Shikamaru? Want to try it?"
"Yeah, let's try it. I trust Choji."
"Naruto, give us a serving each. We'll try it too."
Naruto said nothing and simply brought them two basins of river snail rice noodles.
"You little punks, as if I couldn't handle you. With something this delicious, just dig in. One bite and you'll have nothing left to say."
At first, the two were still hesitant, but only after actually tasting it did they realize what a delicacy they had nearly missed.
Each of them practically wanted to bite off their own tongue as wonderful flavors blossomed on their taste buds. Just as they were thoroughly enjoying their meal, Hinata arrived, leading to that especially awkward scene from earlier. In the end, Naruto had to step in and explain at length before Hinata finally stopped being suspicious.
"Hinata, hurry up and try this. We really weren't doing what you thought."
"Mm."
Hinata's voice was very quiet. Although her expression still showed resistance, she believed what Naruto and the others had said. After making an effort to taste a mouthful of the river snail rice noodles Naruto handed her, she fell completely in love with the flavor. Sour and spicy, it was delicious.
She started by taking tiny bites, but as it grew increasingly spicy, Hinata could not help panting through the heat. She accepted the cup of water Naruto offered and drained it in one go.
"Whew, it's so spicy. But this stinky stuff tastes so good."
"Hinata, it's called river snail rice noodles."
Ino chatted with Hinata as she slurped her noodles.
The next day, along the same familiar streets, the villagers' looks toward the Uchiha Clan gradually grew strange. The Uchiha in the Konoha Police Force, in particular, kept feeling that the villagers were looking at them oddly today.
But remembering that the clan head had already punished Sasuke for his behavior last night, they could hardly say anything. They simply felt that these ignorant villagers were really asking for it.
At school, Sasuke Uchiha noticed it too. Why did he keep feeling that his classmates were looking at him strangely?
"Look, that's him. He got so scared he wet his pants during his duel with Naruto Uzumaki yesterday."
"Huh? No way. He's so handsome, and he still wets his pants?"
"Oh, you don't get it, do you? Handsome guys like him are the weirdest. Didn't you hear how he threw himself into his big brother's arms yesterday, asking for a hug?"
"Huh? Then could he come into my arms and let me hug him? I don't mind him wetting his pants."
Seeing her start indulging in fantasies, the female deskmate chatting with her promptly rolled her eyes. Forget her-even she herself wanted that. She did not mind Sasuke wetting his pants either.
As for Sasuke himself, he felt as though the sky had fallen.
"Damn it, who was it? Who spread this nonsense? When did I ever wet my pants?"
Sitting in his seat, Sasuke ground his teeth in hatred. He could not help thinking of Naruto and looked toward the back, only to find Naruto raising his head just then, meeting his eyes.
For a moment, the two stared at each other in silence.
But Sasuke soon turned back around in a huff. He had made out what Naruto was mouthing.
"What the hell are you looking at?"
Looking at Sasuke sulking after turning back around, Naruto could not help smiling. Uchiha Sasuke was so much fun at this age. One little tease and he got angry.
Of course, Naruto had heard the voices in the classroom too, but he had no intention of defending Sasuke. Hadn't the person involved himself said nothing?
Sitting in his seat, Sasuke could not help recalling last night's scene again. A crowd of clansmen had surrounded him and berated him, saying he had disgraced the Uchiha Clan. They had even said he was unworthy of being the Uchiha Clan Head's son or the younger brother of a genius like Uchiha Itachi.
Little Sasuke had never faced anything like that. His tears flowed as though they cost nothing. In the end, Itachi had stepped forward and shielded Sasuke behind him.
The final outcome was that Itachi and Fugaku would personally train him. At the very least, they could not let him disgrace the Uchiha again.
"Damn it, I'm going to get stronger, even stronger! Just you wait, Naruto Uzumaki. One day, I'll defeat you."
Naruto also noticed Sasuke burning with renewed determination. Although he had no idea what Sasuke was fired up about, his blind guess was that it definitely had something to do with him.
Somewhere no one noticed, a man with a bandaged eye stared gloomily into the distance with his one exposed eye.
"The Jinchūriki is getting stronger and stronger. He'll definitely break free of our control in the future. The Uchiha Clan Head's son is in contact with the Jinchūriki-he must be trying to get his hands on the Nine-Tails. Evil Uchiha. I knew you hadn't given up your treacherous ambitions."
"Someone, come with me to see Monkey."