In the izakaya, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru sat side by side.
"It's so nostalgic. How many years has it been since the last time we drank together like this?" Jiraiya laughed and said after taking a sip of his drink.
"Probably since the end of the Second Shinobi World War," Tsunade said, downing her drink and briefly reminiscing.
After the end of the Second Shinobi World War, they each went their separate ways.
"Jiraiya, after all this time, have you found that student who can change the shinobi world?" Orochimaru asked while eating some snacks.
"Haha, good question. I don't know either," Jiraiya answered with a smile.
The Great Toad Sage's prophecy was too vague, and he didn't know if any of his students were truly the child of destiny.
"You still talk with such confidence despite not knowing, you're as much of an idiot as ever," Tsunade complained.
"He's just looking for trouble," Orochimaru said, not surprised by Jiraiya's response. He believed that an individual's power could never change the entire shinobi world; even the God of Ninjas, Senju Hashirama, couldn't do it. After his death, the shinobi world remained unchanged.
"I may be looking for trouble, but what about you? You've learned every Ninjutsu in the world wantiing to achieve immortality. That's impossible. No matter how much you study, human life will never be eternal," Jiraiya retorted.
"Instead of researching immortality, it's better to find a worthy successor to pass on your way of the ninja. Even if you die, you'll live on in another way."
"No matter how beautifully you put it, death is still death. Living on in people's hearts is just comforting words for children," Orochimaru responded calmly. He had witnessed many deaths since birth; his parents died shortly after he could remember.
During the Second Shinobi World War, Orochimaru was already an outstanding Jonin and had led many Konoha ninjas on important wartime missions. During this period, he witnessed many of his subordinates die before his eyes.
However, what impacted Orochimaru the most was the death of his disciple, Nawaki. Nawaki was both his disciple and Tsunade's younger brother. Although Nawaki was Orochimaru's student, their personalities were almost opposite—Orochimaru was always stern and cold, while Nawaki was always smiling with excitement and enthusiasm.
Despite their differences, Orochimaru liked this disciple. His lack of a smile didn't mean he disapproved of others smiling; in fact, Orochimaru felt very content teaching Nawaki.
But the shinobi world war was incredibly brutal. During a nighttime mission, Nawaki accidentally triggered an explosive tag trap while rushing to catch the enemy and died right in front of Orochimaru.
Since then, Orochimaru realized that humans are very fragile creatures, so he dedicated himself to perfecting Ninjutsu to make himself less vulnerable.
Listening to Orochimaru's words, Tsunade recalled some unpleasant memories and drank several cups of alcohol.
"You've really become more and more cold-hearted," Jiraiya remarked after hearing Orochimaru's words.
"Your thinking is just too naive," Orochimaru said after taking a sip of his drink.
"One is a naive fool with his ideas, and the other is a fool who can't speak," Tsunade chose to criticize both of them together.
The three of them drank and ate, chatting for a long time. Although much of the time was spent teasing each other, the overall atmosphere was quite good.
"Ha ha, today was pretty fun. Should we continue drinking tomorrow?" Jiraiya asked, his cheeks already flushed red by the end.
"I don't have time. Tomorrow night, I need to research Ninjutsu," Orochimaru declined Jiraiya's invitation.
"I won't drink. If it weren't for your invitation today, I would have been able to eat the chicken dish that Mutsuki made," Tsunade also directly and decisively refused.
"That is indeed a significant loss, considering it's Mutsuki's cooking," Jiraiya agreed with a nod, stroking his chin.
"Mutsuki?" Hearing Jiraiya and Tsunade discuss the name, Orochimaru showed a thoughtful expression. However, he wasn't thinking about some legend of a culinary genius but rather about the content in the Konoha newspaper and his interactions with Danzo.
On the day the Konoha newspaper was published, Orochimaru happened to be working at Root. Danzo, upon seeing the newspaper's content, couldn't contain his frustration. He initially thought it was just an insignificant small fry who had been poached, but it turned out to be an outstanding Jonin who could achieve significant results in battles against tailed beasts.
Danzo immediately couldn't resist using his authority to obtain a detailed report of that battle and learned how Mutsuki distinguished himself during the war.
If Orochimaru remembered correctly, this Mutsuki Yumi was skilled in using Combination Jutsu, which had great power.
After a brief recollection, Orochimaru lost interest. His current research in Ninjutsu was focused not on the ordinary five elemental Ninjutsu but on those with more unique effects.
…
When Tsunade woke up again, it was already noon. Feeling a bit hungry, Tsunade walked out of the room and called out, "Shizune, I'm so hungry. Is there anything to eat?"
"I'm making it now, Tsunade-sama, please wait a moment," Shizune responded.
Tsunade washed up briefly, and as she passed by the table, she smelled a faint floral fragrance. She followed the scent and found two packages on the table, unsure of what they contained.
Feeling a bit hungry, Tsunade curiously opened one of the packages and put the pastry inside into her mouth.
"It's surprisingly good. Is this a new dessert?" Tsunade opened the second package and sampled the pastry inside, nodding in approval.
"Tsunade-sama, the food is ready," Shizune said as she jogged over and placed the prepared dishes on the table.
She then noticed the two packages that had already been opened.
Shizune was dumbfounded, as they were so delicious that she had planned to wait twenty-four hours before eating another. To avoid succumbing to temptation, she hadn't brought any with her while cooking. She hadn't expected this...
"Maybe it's just identical bags. Tsunade-sama might be eating a different type of dessert," Shizune reassured herself.
Shizune then picked up the two empty packages and examined them closely, finding a few crumbs of pastry remaining.
At that moment, Shizune could no longer reassure herself; there was no doubt that these were the pastries she had left on the table.
Shizune's face went blank, and she stared at Tsunade with a vacant expression.
"Shizune, what's wrong?" Tsunade noticed Shizune's gaze and asked.
"It's gone."
"What's gone?" Tsunade asked, puzzled.
"The desserts are gone, eaten by Tsunade-sama, who doesn't even like sweets," Shizune said with a hint of resentment.
"Oh, those two on the table? They tasted unexpectedly good. Where did you get them? I'll give you money to buy more," Tsunade said, looking enlightened and preparing to give Shizune money.
"Can't buy more. Those were made by Yumi-sensei," Shizune said with a very disappointed expression.
Seeing Shizune's downcast mood, Tsunade felt a bit awkward. Although she usually didn't care about such things, accidentally taking a treat that a child had been looking forward to did give her a vague sense of guilt.
"It's not a big deal. Shizune, you should eat too. When he arrives, I'll just ask him for some more," Tsunade quickly thought of a solution and said.
"It's troubling Yumi-sensei. I don't want to bother him for no reason," Shizune said, shaking her head.
"It's fine. His issues are so complex and difficult; hundred thousand ryo per hour is not enough. He should give some sweets as well," Tsunade waved her hand dismissively, indicating that there was no problem.
At 12:30, Mutsuki arrived at Tsunade's house again, but this time he came on his own without Jiraiya leading him.
"Tsunade-sama, today is for five hours," Mutsuki said, handing five hundred thousand ryo in cash to Tsunade.
Tsunade accepted the money and handed it to Shizune, then began addressing Mutsuki's questions.
Mutsuki felt that Tsunade was more enthusiastic today compared to yesterday, when she had a tendency to slack off whenever she had the chance.
At the end of the five hours, Mutsuki felt that the experience was similar to yesterday, still very rewarding.
After the lesson, Mutsuki fulfilled his promise and prepared a chicken dish for Tsunade.
Curious and with nothing else to do, Tsunade and Shizune watched Mutsuki cook the whole time, eager to see if the new dish he mentioned was as impressive as he claimed.
"Why are you spreading mud on it?" Tsunade asked, looking puzzled as she watched Mutsuki run into the yard.
"What if it gets dirty? Will this make it taste better?"
"It won't get dirty; the lotus leaves are wrapped tightly. As for the taste, you'll know once you try it," Mutsuki answered with a smile.
The dish Mutsuki was preparing was the famous Beggar's Chicken from his past life, known for its unique flavor.
After placing the Beggar's Chicken into a simple roasting device made with Earth Release, Mutsuki started on other dishes. He made some tempura, sushi, and, of course, stir-fried vegetables. When all the dishes were set on the table, it looked very sumptuous.
Although many of the dishes emitted enticing aromas, Tsunade's attention was drawn to the largest dish, the Beggar's Chicken.
Tsunade poured herself a glass of sake, which she had specifically bought for eating the chicken.
"Will wrapping it in mud make it taste better?" Tsunade, still puzzled, pulled off a chicken leg and took a bite.
As soon as she tasted it, the crispy, tender, and flavorful chicken exploded in her mouth. Tsunade's eyes lit up; she had never tasted such delicious chicken before.
She then fell into a daze, feeling as if she had become a free-roaming wild chicken living in the forest, both mentally and physically relaxed.
Tsunade didn't say another word until she had finished all the dishes on the table.
"Mutsuki, that dessert of yours was really good. Can you bring some for Shizune? She loves sweets," Tsunade said, remembering Shizune after the meal.
"Sure, I'll bring some when I come to teach tomorrow," Mutsuki replied with a smile.
Tsunade fell into silence, contemplating the end of her brief teaching career today.
"Never mind, I'll teach one more day. For Shizune's sake, it's definitely not because the food was too good," Tsunade decided she would ask Mutsuki not to come tomorrow.
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