Chapter 288 Tsunade Eats Chicken

At the Izakaya, Jiraiya, Lady Tsunade, and Orochimaru sat side by side.

“It’s really nostalgic. How many years has it been since the three of us drank together like this?” Jiraiya took a sip of sake and said with a laugh.

“It was at the end of the Second Shinobi World War, I think.” Tsunade downed the sake in her cup, briefly recalled, and said.

After the Second Shinobi World War ended, they each went their separate ways.

“Jiraiya, so much time has passed, have you found that student who can change the Ninja World?” Orochimaru picked up a side dish, ate it, and then asked.

“Haha, good question, I don’t know either.” Jiraiya replied with a smile.

The Great Toad Sage’s prophecy was too vague; he didn’t know if there truly was a child of destiny among the students he had taught.

“You don’t know, yet you speak with such confidence. You’re truly as foolish as ever.” Tsunade retorted.

“He’s just making trouble for himself.” Orochimaru was not surprised by Jiraiya’s answer.

He believed that an individual’s power could never change the entire Ninja World. Even someone as strong as the God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama, couldn’t do it. After he died, the Ninja World remained as it was.

“I’m making trouble for myself, then what are you? You want to learn all the Ninjutsu in the world and achieve immortality. That’s impossible. No matter how much you research, human life won’t be eternal.” Jiraiya retorted impolitely.

“Instead of researching immortality, it’s better to find a suitable successor to pass on your Ninjutsu. That way, even if you die, you live on in another way.”

“No matter how good it sounds, once a person dies, they are dead. Living in the heart is just comforting words for children.” Orochimaru calmly countered.

From birth, he had witnessed many deaths. His parents died not long after he could remember.

During the Second Shinobi World War, Orochimaru was already an excellent Jonin, having led many Konoha Ninja on important war missions. During this time, he personally witnessed many subordinates die before his eyes.

However, what touched Orochimaru the most was the death of his disciple, Nawaki.

Nawaki was both his disciple and Tsunade’s younger brother. Although he was Orochimaru’s disciple, Nawaki and Orochimaru’s personalities were almost opposite. Orochimaru always had a cold, stern face, while Nawaki always had an excited, enthusiastic smile.

Although their personalities differed greatly, Orochimaru quite liked this disciple. His not smiling didn’t mean he couldn’t stand others smiling. In fact, Orochimaru felt exceptionally comfortable when teaching Nawaki.

But the Shinobi World War was simply too cruel. During a night mission, Nawaki, in his haste to pursue an enemy, accidentally fell into an explosive tag trap and died instantly before Orochimaru’s eyes.

From then on, Orochimaru learned one thing: humans are very fragile creatures. Therefore, he wanted to master Ninjutsu to its fullest extent to make himself less fragile.

Listening to Orochimaru’s words, Tsunade recalled some unpleasant memories and drank several cups of sake in a row.

“You’re really becoming more and more ruthless.” Jiraiya sighed after hearing Orochimaru’s words.

“It’s your ideas that are too naive.” Orochimaru said, taking a sip of sake.

“One is an idiotic dreamer, the other is an inarticulate idiot.” Tsunade chose to retort to both of them.

The three of them drank, ate, and chatted for a long time. Although much of the time was spent in mutual bickering, the overall atmosphere was still quite good.

“Haha, today was quite fun. Shall we continue drinking tomorrow?” At the end, Jiraiya’s cheeks were flushed red as he asked.

“No time. Tomorrow night I need to research Ninjutsu.” Orochimaru refused Jiraiya’s invitation.

“No drinking. If you hadn’t invited me today, I would have eaten Muzuki’s chicken dish today.” Tsunade also refused very directly and decisively.

Are you kidding? To eat the chicken made by Muzuki, she had changed her previous plans. How could she possibly go drink with Jiraiya?

“That certainly is no small loss, after all, it’s Muzuki’s cooking.” Jiraiya stroked his chin and nodded in agreement.

“Muzuki?” Hearing Jiraiya and Tsunade both discuss this name, Orochimaru showed a thoughtful expression.

However, he wasn’t thinking about some legendary chef, but rather the content of the Leaf Newspaper and his conversations with Danzo.

The day the Leaf Newspaper was published, he happened to be working at Root, and Danzo couldn’t hold back when he saw the newspaper’s content.

He had initially thought it was just an insignificant small fry who had been poached, but it turned out to be an excellent Jonin who had contributed to a Tailed Beast battle.

Danzo immediately couldn’t resist using his authority to obtain a detailed report of that battle, learning how Muzuki had contributed in the war.

If Orochimaru remembered correctly, this Hayate Mugetsu was skilled in Combination Ninjutsu, and his Ninjutsu was very powerful.

After a brief recollection, Orochimaru lost interest. The Ninjutsu he was currently researching wasn’t the common Five Nature Release Ninjutsu, but rather those Ninjutsu with more special effects.

…

By the time Tsunade woke up again, it was already noon.

Feeling a bit hungry, Tsunade walked out of the room and shouted, “Shizune, I’m so hungry! Is there anything to eat?”

“I’m making it now, Lady Tsunade, please wait a moment.” Shizune replied.

Tsunade quickly washed up. As she passed the table, Tsunade caught a faint scent of flowers. Then, following the scent, Tsunade located two unknown wrapped packages on the table.

Feeling a bit hungry, Tsunade curiously opened one of the packages and then put the pastry inside into her mouth.

“It’s actually quite good! Is this a new dessert that was researched?” Tsunade opened the second package as well, put the pastry inside into her mouth, and nodded.

“Lady Tsunade, the food is ready.” Shizune scurried over and placed the prepared dishes on the table.

Then she saw two already opened packages.

Shizune was dumbfounded. Because it was so delicious, she decided to eat another one after twenty-four hours. To prevent herself from succumbing to temptation, she deliberately didn’t carry them with her while cooking. She didn’t expect…

“Maybe they’re just identical bags, and Lady Tsunade might eat other types of sweets.” Shizune comforted herself mentally.

Immediately after, Shizune picked up the two empty packages and carefully examined them. There were still a few pastry crumbs on them.

At this moment, Shizune could no longer comfort herself. Without a doubt, these were the pastries she had left on the table.

Shizune’s face froze, staring blankly at Tsunade.

“Shizune, what’s wrong?” Tsunade noticed Shizune’s gaze and asked.

“It’s gone.”

“What’s gone?” Tsunade was a little confused.

“The dessert is gone, eaten by Lady Tsunade, who doesn’t even like sweets.” Shizune’s voice carried a hint of small resentment.

“Oh, oh, those two on the table. They tasted unexpectedly good. Where did you buy them? I’ll give you money, go buy some more.” Tsunade showed an expression of sudden realization, ready to give Shizune money.

“I can’t buy them. Teacher Muzuki made those himself.” Shizune’s expression was very disappointed.

Seeing Shizune’s low spirits, Tsunade also felt a bit awkward. Although she usually didn’t care about such things, inadvertently taking a child’s much-anticipated candy indeed brought an indescribable sense of guilt.

“It’s not a big deal, Shizune, you eat quickly too. When he comes, I’ll just ask him for some.” Tsunade quickly thought of a solution and said.

“Wouldn’t that be troubling Teacher Muzuki?” Shizune shook her head and said.

Although she really wanted to eat it, she felt that bothering Muzuki for no reason was a bad thing.

“What’s the big deal? His questions are so complicated and difficult, ten thousand ryo an hour isn’t enough. It’s only right for him to give some more dessert.” Tsunade waved her hand, indicating no problem.

At half past twelve, Muzuki arrived at Tsunade’s house again, but this time, he didn’t need Jiraiya to lead the way; Muzuki came by himself.

“Lady Tsunade, today is five hours.” Muzuki handed Tsunade five hundred thousand ryo in banknotes.

Tsunade took the money and tossed it to Shizune, then began to answer Muzuki’s questions.

Muzuki felt, whether it was his imagination or not, that Tsunade was a bit more proactive today than yesterday. Yesterday, Tsunade would slack off whenever she had the chance.

When the five hours ended, Muzuki felt much the same as yesterday, still having gained a lot.

After the lesson, Muzuki also fulfilled his promise to make a chicken dish for Tsunade.

Tsunade, curious and with nothing to do, brought Shizune to watch Muzuki cook the entire time, wanting to see if the new dish Muzuki mentioned was just a trick.

“Why are you smearing mud on it?” Tsunade asked with a puzzled expression, looking at Muzuki who had run into the yard.

“What if it gets dirty? Will it taste good like this?”

“It won’t get dirty, the lotus leaves are wrapped very tightly. As for the taste, you’ll know once you eat it.” Muzuki replied with a chuckle.

The chicken dish he was making for Tsunade was the famous Beggar’s Chicken from his previous life, which had a very unique flavor.

After placing the Beggar’s Chicken into a simple roasting tool made with Earth Release, Muzuki began to prepare other dishes.

He fried some Tempura, made Sushi, and then, of course, stir-fried dishes. When all the dishes were laid out on the table, they looked very bountiful.

Although many of the dishes emitted a very enticing aroma, Tsunade’s gaze was still drawn to the largest dish, which was the Beggar’s Chicken.

Tsunade poured herself a cup of sake, which she had specifically bought for eating the chicken.

“Will it taste good roasted while wrapped in mud?” With this question, Tsunade directly pulled off a chicken leg and took a bite.

Upon tasting it, the tender, succulent, and rich flavors burst in Tsunade’s mouth. Her eyes lit up; she had never eaten such delicious chicken.

This was followed by a moment of trance. Tsunade felt as if she had become a free wild chicken living in the forest, her mind and body completely relaxed.

After that, Tsunade didn’t say another word until she had finished all the dishes on the table.

“Muzuki, that dessert you made was quite tasty. Can you give some to Shizune? She really likes it.” After eating, Tsunade remembered Shizune’s matter.

“No problem, I’ll bring some when I come to study tomorrow.” Muzuki replied with a smile.

Tsunade fell silent. She had been thinking of ending her brief teaching career today.

“Fine, I’ll teach for one more day. For Shizune, and definitely not because the food was too delicious.” Tsunade decided to tell Muzuki not to come tomorrow.

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