Naruto: Starting with Creating a Genius Persona

One day later, in a wooded area somewhere in the Land of Fire.

The iron pot was bubbling and steaming, and the rich and delicious aroma wafted on the evening breeze, making people's mouths water.

"Mmm, this is so delicious! Shinichi!" Shizune held the bowl, her eyes crinkling into crescents with happiness. She sipped the soup, blowing on it as she drank, her cheeks flushed with satisfaction. "I never knew a simple picnic could taste this good! No wonder you're the champion of the national culinary competition!"

Although Kurenai didn't speak, her chopsticks were noticeably faster than usual. Her demeanor remained elegant, but the speed betrayed her outward composure.

Those beautiful red eyes sparkled in the firelight, glancing every now and then at Shinichi, who was adding the last bit of flavoring herbs to the soup.

Tsunade took a big gulp, savoring the soothing warmth and rich flavor, and snorted through her nose, glancing sideways at Shinichi: "You brat, you really hid it well before. With such good skills, I've never seen you offer any thanks to your teacher back in the village."

Shinichi smiled and closed the small spice jar in his hand: "If Tsunade-sensei likes it, she should certainly do so in the future if there's an opportunity."

Tsunade snorted and ate a few more bites. Soon, she sensed a subtle change in her body. Raising an eyebrow, she couldn't help but ask, "What exactly did you put in the food, kid?"

"That shouldn't be the case." Before anyone could answer, she muttered to herself, "These are all ordinary ingredients, but why does it feel like I'm eating some kind of highly nourishing medicinal cuisine?"

She watched Shinichi cook the whole time and confirmed that he did not add any special ingredients. With her top-notch medical knowledge, she also judged that the dish was made entirely of ordinary ingredients.

Strangely enough, after eating it, not only did my blood and energy flow smoothly, but my mental fatigue was also relieved. In medical terms, this dish nourishes both physical and mental energy.

Shinichi smiled but didn't answer the question. He took out a rolled-up scroll of manuscript paper and handed it over: "Tsunade-sensei, please take a look at this."

"Hmm?" Tsunade took it and looked at it. It was a series of carefully drawn, panel-style illustrations, which were also carefully colored.

comics?

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise on her face, which quickly turned into her usual disdain: "You brat, when did you start drawing comics again? Don't be like Jiraiya, that idiot who's always doing nothing but writing random novels, messing around with all this nonsense."

"Let me tell you, those who work in the arts, especially novelists, have the least promising future."

Shinichi simply smiled and said, "Tsunade-sensei, just keep watching."

"Cooking Master Boy"?

Tsunade glanced at the title on the homepage, pursed her lips, but still read on as instructed.

The story is set in the ninja world, and the protagonist is named Shinichi, who is the heir to a building called "China House" in the southeastern region of the Land of Fire.

He is cheerful, upright, kind, and sincere, with an innate love for cooking and an extraordinary talent for it.

The story begins with the ultimate culinary showdown between him and his mother's other disciple, "Shao'an," over the inheritance of "Zhonghua Lou."

In the scene, Shao'an, in order to seize the Zhonghua Restaurant, which represents glory and inheritance, does not hesitate to use treacherous means. He advocates controlling everything with absolute power and overwhelming taste. His cooking style is sharp and domineering, with a viciousness that does not care about the means.

Shinichi, on the other hand, is completely different. He adheres to his mother's original intention that "cooking is a way of being human, aiming to convey happiness and warmth," and firmly believes that the truly exquisite taste can awaken the most beautiful part of people's hearts.

The topic of the competition is "tofu".

Shao'an exhausted all his efforts to present "Nine Treasures Qilin Crystal Tofu," a dish with an extremely complex process, extravagant ingredients, and an aggressive and impactful flavor, intending to conquer everything with absolute power and skill.

Shinichi, however, chose to return to the essence of cooking and created a dish called "Mapo Tofu" that appears simple and unadorned but actually contains the deepest craftsmanship.

The comic uses highly expressive panels to depict the scene when the two dishes are presented: Shao'an's dishes are dazzling and imposing, like a visual and gustatory illusion feast.

Zhenyi's Mapo Tofu was glossy and oily, and its aroma seemed to penetrate the paper. The essence of "numbing, spicy, fresh, fragrant, hot, tender, crispy and fresh" was vividly conveyed through the judges' exaggerated yet infectious facial expressions when they tasted it, conveying a warm power that returns to simplicity and touches the soul.

In the end, Shinichi, with his "Mapo Tofu" that embodies the original intention of cooking and can turn the most ordinary ingredients into touching miracles, completely defeated Shaoan, who was lost in the maze of power, won the right to inherit Zhonghualou, and also defended the cooking way that his mother insisted on.

"The story is pretty good, and the artwork is passable too." Tsunade rolled up the manuscript paper. "The art style is quite fresh, and the plot is engaging enough to keep you following along. If it were actually serialized, it might have the potential to be a bestseller."

She changed the subject, narrowing her eyes slightly: "But why did you name the main character of your comic book after yourself?"

Shinichi explained calmly, "Tsunade-sensei, becoming a great chef is not just a dream for me. But the reality is that I chose the path of a ninja and will continue to walk it firmly. Naming the protagonist of the manga Shinichi is, in a sense, a way of entrusting a thought to me. It's like seeing another version of myself focused on moving forward in the world of cooking through him, achieving a dream that I have never personally set foot in."

"Furthermore, if the comic is actually serialized, I plan to continuously upload some new dishes that I have created or improved in the story, along with the protagonist's growth journey. For example, the Mapo Tofu I drew this time is one of them. This will not only make the comic content more realistic and more attractive to cooking enthusiasts, but also be a way to share my understanding and passion for cooking in another form."

Shinichi's thoughts were, of course, not so simple.

The deeper calculation lies in the fact that in the story of "Cooking Master Boy", Shinichi set the protagonist to have extraordinary knife skills (swordsmanship) and the talent to use fire to control ingredients in a subtle way (fire release).

At the same time, since the story is set in the ninja world, there are naturally many powerful enemies and exciting battles. The protagonist, "Shinichi," will showcase his superb swordsmanship and fire-style techniques to defeat various enemies.

While people are immersed in the excitement of the genius boy named "Shinichi" who constantly challenges the pinnacle of cooking and defeats various powerful enemies, they are filled with adrenaline.

It's hard not to project this admiration and association onto the manga's author—the real-life Konoha prodigy ninja with the same name, also renowned for his swordsmanship and fire-style techniques.

Shinichi plans to continuously "upload" new dishes that he has personally developed or improved as the story progresses in the manga serialization, along with the creative ideas and flavor characteristics of the recipes. This directly links the fictional story with real-world creativity.

While readers marvel at Shinichi's culinary talent in the manga, they simultaneously receive the message that these mouthwatering and wondrous dishes are real, created by the real Shinichi Higashino.

This continuous and concrete interweaving of reality and illusion greatly enhances the relevance and particularity of cognition.

This carefully crafted effect, combining the real and the virtual, has far more merits than simply boosting fame; it subtly accomplishes two things:

First, it expands the public's perception of Shinichi Higashino, moving beyond the relatively simplistic and potentially distant label of "ninja genius" to a richer, more approachable, and humane dimension.

This multi-dimensional image of genius is more likely to gain widespread favor and recognition, and its legendary nature is more three-dimensional and full.

Secondly, positive feedback and cognitive reinforcing: The focus, passion, integrity, never-give-up spirit and constant self-breakthrough displayed by the protagonist of the manga, "Shinichi," will subtly attach to the author, Shinichi Higashino, through the emotional power of the story.

Readers' love and admiration for virtual characters can be partially transformed into positive imagination and recognition of real people's character, which inadvertently creates a very favorable public image for them.

All of this—public attention, multi-dimensional understanding, and emotional identification—will eventually converge to become a valuable source of knowledge to nourish its terminology system, especially for the newly added blue term "foodie".

When it comes to acquiring knowledge, Shinichi's vision is never limited to ninjas.

While ninjas are indeed the mainstream of this world, Shinichi is well aware that the true foundation supporting this world is the millions of ordinary people.

They may not understand how difficult A-rank ninjutsu is, or what winning the Chunin Exams means. Humans cannot imagine things they have never seen, as long as they know whether a dish tastes good or not.

This is enough.

When these insights travel from one person's tongue to another's ear, from one family to a street, from one city to the entire Land of Fire, and from the Land of Fire to the whole world.

Even food is just an experiment; the next step is healthcare.

It's not about high-end medical ninjutsu, but about bringing medical technology down to the grassroots level, to the fields, and to all living beings.

To ensure that children from ordinary families no longer die from a cold or fever, that women giving birth no longer gamble with their lives, and that elderly people who have worked their whole lives don't have to wait to die when they get sick.

The education he received in his previous life had etched something into Zhenyi's bones—what truly moves people is never something that catches the eye with its novelty, much less something that is high and mighty like a deity.

Rather, it's those who make people's lives better!

When they find that they eat better, can afford medical care, and can live better and longer.

People will be genuinely grateful to those who created all of this, and that gratitude transcends nationality, race, and ethnicity.

It will flow out from the cracks in the doors of every household, like a river, and converge into the deepest and broadest power.

That is what truly will never be forgotten.

That is the true power of all living beings.

Come from all living beings, and go back to all living beings.