"What in the world?"
Saitama's eyes widened in disbelief as he took a bite of the cooked meat, the explosion of flavor sending shockwaves through his taste buds.
With a sense of euphoria, he grabbed another piece of meat with his chopsticks and devoured it eagerly.
"This is amazing! So good...!!"
Saitama exclaimed, his voice filled with delight as he savored the delicious taste.
Tsuna chuckled at Saitama's reaction with a little smile on his lips as he skillfully flipped the meat over to cook the other side.
"You're really a cook?"
Saitama's expression shifted from doubt to genuine surprise as he turned to Tsuna.
His skepticism about Tsuna being a cook disappeared as he savored the delicious meat.
"Yeah, didn't I mention it? I'm a guy who's a cook for fun," Tsuna replied, shamelessly stealing Saitama's line with a modest shrug, flipping another piece of meat on the grill.
"...I see."
Saitama nodded, understanding now why Tsuna had claimed his cooking was better than his earth-bending abilities.
As he devoured another mouthful of the tasty meat, he found himself craving more with each bite.
They were currently enjoying a barbecue in Saitama's crappy apartment building in Z-city.
Fortunately, due to the chaos that happened a while ago, the whole apartment was empty since its tenants and the landlady seemed to have gone out to seek shelter in a different city.
"Still, I'm actually surprised that the meat was on par with A5 Wagyu..."
Tsuna muttered as he looked at the marbling on the bird meat, which went against his knowledge since bird meat usually doesn't have much marbling.
"A-A5? You're actually loaded enough to have ever eaten A5 Wagyu?"
Saitama looked surprised, as he was broke as hell and had never had a chance to eat something that fancy.
Then, his eyes widened in realization, "Wait, does that mean this meat I'm eating now is A5 Wagyu look-alike?"
"Yeah, I've been traveling the world to experience different cuisines..."
"Huh? T-Tsuna, are you some kind of wealthy heir?"
"...And that's what you care about"
Tsuna didn't consider himself rich, but he never truly worried about money until now when he had transmigrated to a new body.
"Of course! Money! Wealth! Who wouldn't want to be rich!?"
Saitama stood up, his voice rising with indignation.
He pointed accusingly at Tsuna as he recounted his struggles, "You've never experienced the sweltering summer heat without even a fan to cool you down, feeling like you're dying the whole season, have you?"
"And there were times when I couldn't even afford a simple soup and natto, so I'd resort to putting salt and bread in water and cooking it..."
Saitama grimaced as if recalling a nightmare, "The taste was horrendous. The only way I could convince myself it had any flavor was by calling it... Flavor!"
That's the only way to add some flavor to the soup!
"..."
Tsuna was slightly speechless at Saitama's indignation.
Still, he wouldn't underestimate Saitama despite his outer appearance and casual behavior, knowing that he would become the strongest in just a few years.
As they talked about things, Tsuna learned that Saitama had only started training a month ago, yet he was already this strong.
Tsuna couldn't fathom how it worked, but it was a terrifying fact nonetheless.
"Hmm, he might already be on A-level hero status. I'll probably just barely make it to B-level if we're using this world's ranking system."
And that was mainly because of his earth-bending; if he didn't have it, he was sure he'd be in a C level.
Their discussion was interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps. They turned to see who was coming.
"Oh? You actually came?"
Saitama looked surprised as he looked at King's appearance, who was bandaged all over, including his right eye.
"...Umm, yes, well, there is a reason for that too," King mumbled as Saitama told him to sit down and enjoy the barbecue with them.
"The thing is..."
King then told them what happened after they left the scene.
Saitama and Tsuna looked surprised to find out that King was becoming a hero in the eyes of the people.
He apologized and thanked both of them for the misunderstanding and offered to clear it up.
However, Saitama quickly brushed off the topic and told him that it didn't matter to him.
As for Tsuna...
"Well, it doesn't matter to me either. I'm not planning to stay for long and travel again soon anyway..."
"...I see."
After tasting Tsuna's cooking, King's doubts about Tsuna being a cook disappear completely.
"..."
Tsuna appeared quite speechless as he twitched his mouth in disbelief at the two people who were eating the meat furiously as if they were possessed by the devil.
"...Well, this is quite unexpected as well," he muttered as he looked at both King and Saitama, whose hands seemed to blur as the meat visibly disappeared.
With that, all three of them enjoyed the barbecue together while talking about life.
Saitama seemed surprised to find out that King was an otaku and liked to play games like him.
It looked like it was the start of a good friendship between all three of them.
However, Tsuna had to leave when he saw a notification screen floating in front of him, indicating that he had completed the mission.
He bid farewell to Saitama and King, who seemed reluctant to see him go, especially considering they wanted to enjoy more of his cooking. Despite their desire for him to stay, they didn't hold him back.
[Mission Completed!]
[Congratulations! Your cooking has been approved by two characters in the One Punch Man World!]
[Receive the reward? Y/N]
[Note: Once you accepted, the mission would be considered over and you shall return to your original world!]
"Yes, I'll receive the reward now!"
Tsuna made his way toward a quiet alley, where he accepted the reward.
Then, a shimmering beam of light enveloped his figure, silently whisking him away from the world of One Punch Man!
As he opened his eyes, Tsuna suddenly found himself back in his room.
He blinked in wonder.
"...I want to sleep so bad," he muttered, feeling completely exhausted.
A weird sensation started to spread all over his body, similar to what he felt back then when he received the basic earth-bending.
What was different was the fact that he saw a ticket-like paper on top of his desk slowly materializing, clearly stating a round-trip ticket.
"Hmm? I'll look into it later..."
His eyes narrowed with determination.
From his fight a while back, he realized how lacking his strength was. He suddenly muttered, "...Let's break my limit today."
After a while, Tsuna went out, shouting about who was going to carry the boar, despite his whole body trembling from exhaustion.
A few weeks later...
Tsuna rigorously trained his body for the last two weeks since he had a lot of time to spend on training because the academy was only starting today.
"Let's see what you have for me, Totsuki Academy..."
He smiled as he found himself back in front of the massive entrance of the Totsuki Culinary Academy.
Tsuna was here to attend the inauguration ceremony when he saw a familiar face walking in through the gate, "Oh, Soma! I knew it! I'm quite sure you'll pass the entrance exam as well! Are you here for the inauguration ceremony as well?"
"Umm... Who are you?"
Soma regarded Tsuna with confusion. The person in front of him seemed familiar, but he couldn't quite place where they had met.
"It's me, Tsuna!"
"Huh!?"
Soma's eyes widened as he remembered Tsuna.
He looked quite different back then, he was much skinnier and less toned than the person standing before him.
"...What?"