Chapter 464: Obito’s Reward for Promotion to Jonin

【Disciple Uchiha Obito has diligently cultivated and accumulated merits to be promoted to Jonin, receiving rewards: Chakra +2400, Item Draw Scroll, Unknown Pokémon Egg (Only Uchiha Obito can hatch)】

On his way home, Muzuki washed his hands in a clear stream, then clicked to draw.

【Item Draw Scroll has been used, received reward — Unknown Pokémon Egg】

Muzuki was slightly surprised to see the draw information. He didn’t expect Obito’s single mission to contribute two Pokémon Eggs, and the one he drew wasn’t locked like the system reward.

Muzuki had thought he would draw an item related to Obito’s abilities.

“Then I’ll give it to Rin when she gets promoted to a formal Jonin,” Muzuki thought.

All the other disciples had one, and Rin Nohara was the only one who didn’t, which would indeed be quite awkward.

If the system didn’t reward it, Muzuki wouldn’t have any way, after all, he couldn’t just conjure a Pokémon Egg out of thin air to give Rin Nohara as a gift.

Since the system gave two, Muzuki would definitely give one to Rin Nohara.

Although Rin Nohara can sign a contract with Shikkotsu Forest to summon Katsuyu, one can never have too many good Nin-Beasts, and a Ninja can sign contracts with multiple Nin-Beasts.

Moreover, compared to Katsuyu, Pokemon generally possess strong combat abilities, which can compensate for some of Rin Nohara’s weaknesses in combat.

The only one who loses out is Obito; his reward turned into Rin Nohara’s.

However, Muzuki guessed that if Obito knew everything, he might even be quite happy, as this would further ensure Rin Nohara’s safety.

When Muzuki returned home, he found a letter from Minato Namikaze in his mailbox.

Muzuki sat in the living room and opened the envelope to read it.

“In this early winter, I heard about your deeds on the East Bank Battlefield, Muzuki, and I was incredibly excited. The enemies who invaded our country have finally been driven out of our homeland. With this surge of passion, even the cold winter wind cannot diminish the warmth within me.”

Muzuki nodded slightly. This was precisely the effect Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to achieve through deliberate promotion: to boost the morale of Konoha Ninja on other battlefields.

“Since our parting in Lou Lan, roughly calculating the time, it has been over half a year since we last met. A few months ago, I returned to Konoha for a period of rest, but unfortunately, at that time, you were on the East Bank Battlefield, Muzuki.”

The past half-year has been one of Konoha’s more difficult periods since the war began. The Hidden Mist landed and invaded the homeland, the Lord Daimyo of Fire Country exerted pressure, and it was difficult for more capable Ninja to remain idle.

“Presumably because Kumogakure and Sunagakure are fighting intensely, the Land of Hot Springs battlefield where I am located hasn’t seen much conflict recently. Perhaps in two or three months, I will return to Konoha again. I hope that by then, neither of us will be too busy, and we can have a chance to meet.”

Then Minato Namikaze briefly talked about his recent situation and some events on the Land of Hot Springs battlefield.

“If you return to Konoha and have time, Muzuki, please help look after Kushina. She is very fond of your cooking. After not tasting your dishes for so long, she has probably reached the point where she dreams of them.”

Upon seeing the end, Muzuki showed a subtle expression. Minato Namikaze truly loved Kushina deeply; even on the battlefield, he was still worried about Kushina’s daily life.

After putting away the letter, Muzuki tidied up his home, then went out again and activated his Byakugan to see if he could coincidentally meet Kushina on the street.

Muzuki had no way to actively contact Kushina; in the past, Kushina would send messages to Muzuki through Anbu.

But Muzuki couldn’t be sure if Kushina would know about his return to Konoha immediately, so Muzuki chose to go out and try to meet her by chance first.

Because of the Nine-Tailed, the area Kushina could move around in was not large. With Muzuki’s Byakugan abilities, as long as Kushina was out strolling, Muzuki could meet her by chance.

If Kushina didn’t come out that day, Muzuki could only go to Hiruzen Sarutobi and ask if Hiruzen Sarutobi had any news of the “missing” Kushina.

Although it was a bit roundabout, there was no other way, because openly, Muzuki did not know Kushina’s identity as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

Muzuki was lucky; Kushina was out shopping today, and judging by her mouth movements, she seemed to be humming a little tune as she walked, looking like she was in a good mood.

Muzuki thought for a moment and then, acting as if he were casually strolling, slowly approached Kushina. It was perfectly reasonable for a Ninja who had just returned from the battlefield to relax by strolling.

“Muzuki, long time no see! I actually ran into you!” When Muzuki was about ten meters away from Kushina, Kushina saw the familiar golden-haired figure and immediately smiled, waved, and called out.

“Long time no see,” Muzuki responded with a perfectly timed expression of surprise, then walked towards Kushina.

Kushina jogged over to Muzuki, patted his shoulder, and said with a triumphant look:

“A few days ago, I saw the newspaper promoting your military achievements, and I guessed you might be returning to Konoha soon. I thought I might run into you while out and about, and I actually did!”

“Aren’t I amazing? If Minato were here, he might not even have thought of that,” Kushina said, putting her hands on her hips with a smug smile.

“Amazing,” Muzuki nodded in praise. It was indeed not easy for Kushina to think of this step.

“You’re also pretty amazing, Muzuki. I didn’t even realize you were that strong. You even killed a Jinchuriki; it really scared me,” Kushina said, giving Muzuki a thumbs-up.

As the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Kushina deeply understood the terror of a Tailed Beast. Even for her, becoming a Jinchuriki was so difficult, and fighting a complete Tailed Beast would undoubtedly be extremely dangerous.

In the past, Muzuki left three main impressions on Kushina.

Firstly, he was an excellent teacher, recognized by Hiruzen Sarutobi for his significant contributions to education.

Secondly, he was a kind-hearted friend who made amazing food.

Thirdly, he was a disciple with excellent talent in Sealing Technique, comparable to her in that regard.

Kushina was once very worried that Muzuki would lose his life in this chaotic situation. Every time she taught Muzuki Sealing Technique, she was very serious, hoping to improve Muzuki’s ability to deal with crises.

But recently, Muzuki had given Kushina a completely new impression: a powerful Ninja who could dominate the battlefield.

“Recently, your prestige has even surpassed Minato’s. If I hadn’t read the newspaper bought by Anbu, I would have thought there was a Ninja with the same name as you but with the surname Rie Yang. Now, in Konoha, many people often discuss something called Raging Sun Mu Yue,” Kushina complained.

Perhaps Raging Sun Mu Yue sounded a bit smoother; generally, when referring to Muzuki with a title, few people used his full name, directly using the title plus his given name without the surname.

Muzuki and Kushina chatted as they walked, and eventually, without realizing it, they arrived at the restaurant where he had once cooked for Kushina.

“This place is still open,” Kushina said, looking at the restaurant’s sign, and some memories surfaced in her mind.

At that time, she had only recently become the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. She also happened to run into Muzuki while strolling, and Muzuki ended up choosing a struggling restaurant to borrow its kitchen and cook for her.

Kushina remembered it clearly, because at that time, the Nine-Tailed Chakra made her irritable, and Minato was out on a mission, which made Kushina even more annoyed. It was that incredibly delicious food that made her temporarily forget her worries.

“And it looks like business is good,” Muzuki said, looking around.

Compared to its previous deserted state, the restaurant now looked very lively, with all the tables filled.

Kushina turned to leave. With such good business, they probably wouldn’t lend out the kitchen, and Kushina didn’t want to disturb their business.

“Lord Mu Yue!” Just then, the owner saw Muzuki, and his eyes lit up as he called out.

When the restaurant owner shouted like that, everyone in the restaurant looked at Muzuki. Nowadays, Muzuki’s reputation in Konoha was immense; even ordinary people knew of his deeds and knew that a powerful Ninja named Hayate Mugetsu had emerged among the Konoha Ninja.

The Ninja in the restaurant all respectfully followed suit and called out, “Lord Mu Yue.”

Muzuki played a huge role on the East Bank Battlefield. Their ability to stay safely in the rear was the result of the efforts of Ninja like Muzuki, so they genuinely respected powerful individuals like Muzuki.

Muzuki smiled and responded to each of them.

The restaurant owner ran up to Muzuki and said with a grateful expression:

“Thank you so much! If it weren’t for experiencing the profoundness of the Way of Cooking from your dishes back then, my restaurant would probably have gone out of business due to poor management.”

The restaurant owner had once tasted Muzuki’s cooking, in exchange for temporary use of the kitchen. That taste was still unforgettable to the restaurant owner.

Although many people now praised his cooking, the restaurant owner still believed he hadn’t reached even one percent of Muzuki’s level.

“No need to thank me, these are your own efforts,” Muzuki replied, shaking his head.

The chef’s skill cannot help those who eat the food improve their cooking. It was mainly the restaurant owner himself who had developed something.

“You are too modest.” The restaurant owner looked at Kushina, who was standing silently beside him, and then took the initiative to ask:

“Do you still need to borrow the kitchen? I can lend it to you anytime.”

“You must be quite busy here; we won’t bother you,” Muzuki politely declined the restaurant owner’s offer.

The restaurant was currently in its peak dining hours. If he borrowed it, it would cause a considerable delay, and some customers might become dissatisfied. Konoha wasn’t the only place to cook, and Muzuki felt it wasn’t necessary.

“No bother at all. I have a small kitchen here that I don’t use much; I usually only use it for experimenting with dishes. Today, I just put in a fresh batch of ingredients,” the restaurant owner explained.

Muzuki glanced at Kushina out of the corner of his eye. Kushina looked like she wanted to say something but then closed her mouth.

“Then I’ll trouble you,” Muzuki said, seeing that the restaurant owner had gone to such lengths, and nodded in agreement.

Since it wouldn’t affect the restaurant’s business, Muzuki had no reason to refuse the owner’s kindness, and Kushina also seemed quite eager to eat.

After the restaurant owner led Muzuki and Kushina into the small kitchen, he left. Muzuki quickly scanned the ingredients and decided what dishes to make.

Kushina also felt a bit awkward about eating for free, so she proactively helped Muzuki as his assistant.

As she watched the ingredients gradually transform into dishes full of color, aroma, and flavor under Muzuki’s skilled hands, Kushina could barely stop her mouth from watering.

“Braised pork belly, squirrel mandarin fish…” Kushina looked at the finished dishes with eager eyes.

She had even dreamed of eating Muzuki’s braised pork with preserved vegetables yesterday.

Muzuki didn’t make Kushina wait too long. Feeling it was about time, he stopped, and he and Kushina began to eat heartily in the small kitchen.

“I’m eating,” Although the environment was not a typical dining setting, Kushina still said with a sense of ceremony.

As Kushina picked up a piece of braised pork and put it into her mouth to chew, a look of pure happiness uncontrollably appeared on Kushina’s face.

In a trance, Kushina felt as if she had entered a realm of freedom, and an incomparably refreshing sensation surged through her heart.

At this moment, Kushina just wanted to say, “It’s back, it’s all back.”

Then Kushina took a chopstick-full from each dish, savoring the flavors, before unleashing her true eating power, swiftly devouring the dishes before her like a whirlwind.

“Mmm, mmm, it’s too delicious! Compared to your cooking, Muzuki, the food Anbu buys for me is simply not fit for human consumption,” Kushina almost shed tears of emotion.

Sometimes Kushina wondered why there wasn’t a long-distance teleportation Ninjutsu; that way, even if Muzuki was on the battlefield, she could still enjoy his cooking.

However, Kushina only thought about it; in a battlefield environment, how could she possibly bother Muzuki to expend energy cooking for her?

“It’s a pity Minato isn’t here; he hasn’t had your cooking in a long time either, Muzuki,” Kushina thought of Minato Namikaze, who was far away in the Land of Hot Springs.

Although she was very happy now, Kushina believed that the happiest times were when the three of them ate and chatted together.

“You two really are in sync,” Muzuki said teasingly.

“Minato sent me a letter, and in it, he asked me to make you a meal if I returned to Konoha, saying that after not eating it for so long, you must be dreaming about it.”

“What is it? Why do you make it sound like I’m someone who only thinks about food? I think Minato himself was dreaming about it,” Kushina said, her cheeks slightly flushed and her expression flustered.

Kushina was a little flustered because she had actually dreamed about it yesterday.

Kushina now felt the awkwardness of a child whose secret fantasy had been exposed.

“Perhaps,” Muzuki smiled and did not continue the conversation.

“Let’s go for a walk. We need to digest after eating, and I’ll also test you to see if you’ve been diligently studying Sealing Technique recently,” Kushina quickly changed the subject.

Muzuki nodded in agreement, and then the two walked together to a small pavilion in the park. Kushina asked Muzuki several questions related to more advanced Sealing Technique knowledge.

Muzuki’s performance exceeded Kushina’s expectations. Muzuki answered all of Kushina’s questions calmly, completely unlike a Ninja who had only studied Sealing Technique for just over two years.

“You must be very tired normally, Muzuki, having to train and spend a lot of time learning Sealing Technique,” Kushina believed that Muzuki’s progress was the result of spending a lot of time and effort studying.

“It’s alright,” Muzuki replied.

He did spend a lot of time on Sealing Technique, but his training in other areas wasn’t quite as Kushina imagined; most of it was directly added by the system.

Then Kushina taught Muzuki some more Sealing Technique knowledge. She had a feeling that perhaps soon she wouldn’t be able to teach Muzuki anymore; Muzuki truly had both talent and diligence.

Finally, when they parted, Muzuki told Kushina that if she wanted a hot meal, she could directly send a Ninja to notify him.

The next morning, Muzuki went to the South Border Forest and saw Obito standing there, looking expectant.