Naruto: Naruto's Uchiha girlfriend is too arrogant

"...!"

Naruto suppressed the urge to vomit churning in his throat and forced himself to swallow the strange-tasting, earthy, and raw-smelling boiled insect in his mouth.

Faced with Shima the Sage, Naruto simply couldn't refuse the other's kindness, feeling that politeness and manners sometimes needed to be "sacrificed"... but the price of this sacrifice was far too terrible for his taste buds.

"How is it, Naruto? Not bad, right? This is the freshest morning dew worm, very nutritious!" Shima asked with a smile, clearly very confident in his "cooking skills".

"...No, thank you very much for your hospitality."

Naruto felt a slight ache in his stomach. He forced a smile and tentatively asked, "Um... excuse me, could I... perhaps 'process' this food a little?"

"Should I process it a bit?" Shima asked, puzzled. "Is there something wrong with the taste? Is it not cooked enough? Or is it not fresh enough? I have some more lively ones here..."

"No, that's not what I meant!" Naruto quickly waved his hands, his brain racing. "It's...it's the taste! It feels...a bit too 'bland'!"

"Bland taste?" Upon hearing this, the Fukasaku Sage, who was enjoying the same "delicacy" nearby, showed an understanding expression. He swallowed a plump worm and nodded.

"I see. Because she's getting older, her wife usually cooks light and healthy meals, which doesn't seem to suit the tastes of you young people."

It made a very serious statement, but the "dishes" that were simply boiled in water or eaten raw without a single grain of salt were a bit too mild a description of "light".

Fortunately, Fukasaku and Shima did not investigate further and agreed to Naruto's request.

Having received permission, Naruto felt as if he had been granted a pardon and immediately got to work. He quickly took out a commonly used storage scroll from his ninja tool pouch, and with a soft "bang," unsealed a bunch of bottles and jars—these were various spice powders that he had carefully blended, as well as a small set of portable stoves and a small deep pot.

These cooking utensils and seasonings were standard equipment for him as the "personal chef" of Class Seven, and he was used to carrying them with him at all times.

He picked up an astonishingly plump worm. It must be said that the worm's "meat" looked exceptionally succulent, with an absolutely off-the-charts protein content.

He used the bitter-tasting knife to cut open the insect's abdomen and rinsed away the sticky, unidentifiable fluid inside. After cleaning, he cut the insect meat into even, thin slices, rinsed it repeatedly with clean water, and drained it.

Next, he mixed several spices, including ginger powder, garlic powder, and chili powder to remove fishy smells and enhance aroma, into the pre-mixed batter for coating the frying.

Heat the oil in a pan, coat the insect meat slices evenly with batter, and carefully place them into the hot oil.

"Sizzle—!"

The sizzling sound of frying filled the air, and soon, an enticing golden color began to appear on the surface of the meat slices. At the same time, a rich and mouthwatering aroma mixed with spices quickly spread, completely masking the original raw and fishy smell.

After frying until golden brown and crispy, remove and drain the oil. Naruto quickly arranged the golden fried insect chips on a plate, neatly arranging them, and squeezed some ketchup and mayonnaise he brought from Konoha as dipping sauce.

Done! Exploding insect flakes!

Naruto picked up a piece himself, closed his eyes, and bravely put it in his mouth.

"Crunch." The outer shell is crispy.

Chewing... Hmm? The texture is surprisingly chewy and springy. Because the batter and deep-frying locked in the juices, the meat inside was quite firm and juicy, not dry at all.

The spices perfectly neutralized any lingering odors, and when dipped in the sweet and sour sauce, it was actually... edible!

In fact, you could say it tastes quite good! Once you overcome the psychological barrier of "it's an insect," it's a perfectly acceptable, even excellent, fried dish!

"Satsuki, would you like to try some?... " Naruto breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Satsuki, who had been sitting silently beside him, her face still somewhat pale. "...Or, I can use the Flying Thunder God Technique to go back to Konoha and get you a bento box..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zuo Yue had already reached out with her chopsticks. Although her movements were slightly stiff, she picked up a piece of golden-fried insect without hesitation and put it in her mouth.

"...It's delicious." She said softly, her voice low but her tone serious. Putting aside the huge psychological impact of the source of the ingredients, purely in terms of taste and texture, it was indeed a delicious fried food.

"Haha, that's good..." Naruto chuckled twice, then turned to look at Fukasaku, who had been watching with great interest and seemed surprised by how skilled the ninjas were at cooking.

"Would you like to try some?"

The complex aroma filling the air, unlike anything I'd ever heard before, was truly irresistible. Even Fukasaku, who claimed to prefer "light" flavors, was intrigued by the enticing scent and nodded. "Thank you then. I'll try something more appealing to a young person."

He picked up a golden, crispy fried insect chip and put it in his mouth.

"Click."

chew.

The next second, Fukasaku the Sage froze on the spot, as if the pause button had been pressed. His eyes widened slightly, and his pupils seemed to lose focus. It was as if he were hallucinating, like someone watching a gourmet anime.

"Um... is it alright? Does it suit your taste?"

Fukasaku took a slow, deep breath. "...Naruto, your talent in cooking... is just as amazing as your talent as a ninja."

Shima-sensei came out of the kitchen carrying a plate of freshly prepared dishes. She immediately noticed that her husband and two guests were eating lunch around a new plate, while her carefully prepared "delicacies" were left untouched.

"Hey! Honey! What are you doing?!"

Immediately, Master Shima shouted in displeasure, "How old are you all? Still fighting with the younger generation for food? And why aren't you eating what I made?"

"Honey, don't panic," Fukasaku quickly explained, "You...you should try what Naruto made first. You'll understand once you've tasted it."

"Huh?!" Shima-sensei was even angrier, her frog-like face filled with displeasure at being provoked. "You mean, after all these years of cooking, my skills are inferior to a junior's? And don't you prefer 'light' flavors?!"

"...Although I hate to admit it," Fukasaku sighed, his expression unusually serious, "but...try it first. Just one bite."

Seeing her husband's unusually enthusiastic and seemingly genuine expression, Shima Senjin put down her plate with some skepticism, picked up a pair of chopsticks, and with a scrutinizing and critical look, took a bite of the fried insect chips from the plate.

It had already made up its mind that if the taste wasn't as amazing as it had imagined, it would definitely have a huge fight with its old man.

however--

"Wh-what?! This taste...it's unbelievable..."

The anger on Shima's face was instantly replaced by extreme shock.

"Right, honeymooner?" Fukasaku, seeing his wife's reaction, had anticipated it. "If your cooking skills are comparable to an ordinary ninja, then Naruto's skills... are practically at the level of the Sage of Six Paths!"

Naruto, listening from the side, was sweating bullets; this analogy was simply... far too much of an exaggeration.

"A genius... a monstrous brat," Shima finally snapped out of her shock, looking at Naruto with a complex expression. "You can't deny getting old, can you? Looks like this old lady will have to relearn how to cook in the kitchen."

In the end, this perilous "whole insect feast" was successfully completed without any major incidents.

Meanwhile, in Naruto's inner world, Minato Namikaze watched everything happening outside with a touch of envy. He didn't possess this skill when he trained at Mount Myōboku.

Having no choice but to accept the "natural" hospitality, it left a very deep taste memory.

------

Night fell, after another afternoon of focused and efficient practice.

Naruto, who was sitting cross-legged, slowly opened his eyes.

His pupils changed; his left eye, which was originally a clear azure blue, turned into a warm orange, and a slender black horizontal pupil appeared in his pupil.

The right eye still retains the unique black background and gold pupil state of the "Starry Eye".

Above his eyes, two bright and consistent orange eyeshadows were clearly imprinted!

"...It's unbelievable...there's not a single trace of a frog in it..."

Fukasaku stared intently at Naruto, his voice filled with disbelief and astonishment, "Compared to you, Jiraiya is simply incomparable."

In just one day! Countless times faster than Fukasaku's most optimistic prediction! Naruto not only successfully harmonized the massive natural energy, but also directly bypassed all unstable stages, achieving a perfect state, a state of completeness—Sage Mode!

"Did it work?"

Naruto himself was somewhat dazed as he felt the vast, gentle yet terrifying new chakra within his body.

The Nine-Tails, in its inner world, certainly understood. Rather than saying Naruto was "learning" Sage Mode, it was more like a mountaineer who had once reached the summit, temporarily forgetting the route, and now simply following instinct and a few hints to rediscover the shortcut to the top.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Uchiha Satsuki also made progress, thanks to Naruto's use of the [Star Eye] ability to safely guide, materialize, and assist her in perceiving and harmonizing natural energy. A faint orange eyeshadow had appeared above her right eye; although not as pronounced as Naruto's, this was still a remarkably rapid improvement.

As Fukasaku looked at Satsuki, he secretly assessed her. If he disregarded the cheating factor of the "Star Eye" assist, and only considered her affinity for and talent in controlling natural energy...

Satsuki's potential is probably second only to Jiraiya's previous disciple, the equally brilliant Minato Namikaze.