Naruto: Starting with Creating a Genius Persona

"You're saying all the ingredients inside are real?" Tsunade's gaze returned to the plate of glistening, fragrant Mapo Tofu on the manuscript paper. She licked her lips. "Mapo Tofu? No wonder the name sounded so strange; I'd never heard of it before. So it's a new dish you created yourself?"

"Yes, Tsunade-sensei." Shinichi smiled slightly: "Mapo Tofu is a new dish that I 'created' after trying to integrate different flavor concepts."

How powerful was Mapo Tofu in the past life for the island nation?

To put it another way, Mapo Tofu, a dish originating from China, is so popular that it can be described as a phenomenon. It has almost become synonymous with "Chinese cuisine," and its status is solid and its audience is wide in the island nation.

Countless TV variety shows, food columns, and street interviews reveal people's undisguised love for it.

A variety show personality once admitted on a program that "I eat Mapo Tofu at least four times a week, and when I don't eat it, I'm always thinking about when to eat it next."

This immediately resonated strongly with the guests and audience present.

Its complex flavor profile—spicy, savory, hot, tender, and smooth—perfectly matches the country's people's pursuit of a rich, appetizing, impactful, and addictive taste experience.

And now, in this ninja world with its Japanese style, there is a similar environment for food culture. Shinichi can almost foresee what kind of trend this dish will create when it is released through his manga and actual promotion.

The timing was perfect. He had just won the championship in the highly anticipated National Culinary Competition and received a top-level chef certificate personally awarded by the daimyo. With his personal reputation and culinary talent receiving the highest level of official recognition, he struck while the iron was hot.

Launching the manga "Cooking Master Boy," named after himself and featuring a protagonist with extraordinary talent, and then showcasing Mapo Tofu—a dish destined to become a killer weapon—in the opening chapters will undoubtedly push the attention and buzz to the extreme.

This is just the beginning; Shinichi's blueprint goes far beyond this.

After Mapo Tofu, there are other hit dishes like "Mala Tang" that swept through the streets and alleys of the island nation at an explosive speed in the past.

There are also countless other charming Chinese dishes such as Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, twice-cooked pork, Peking duck, and xiaolongbao.

Although he was not a professional chef in his previous life, and was from the southwest, the dishes he made tended to be spicy, sour and fragrant, which are popular in the southwest region.

However, given the prevalence of short videos in his previous life, one of his hobbies was watching content creators cook and explore restaurants. With his current culinary skills and the added benefit of being a "foodie," recreating the dish shouldn't be too difficult.

These Chinese dishes will be brought to the ninja world by the manga series "Cooking Master Boy" under the name of "Shinichi, the heir to the Chinese restaurant".

When these delicacies, which embody the wisdom and hard work of countless generations from another world, conquer the taste buds of this world one after another, and become popular in the Five Great Nations and even the entire ninja world, what he accumulates will not only be a reputation for culinary skills, but also a huge influence that transcends cultures and penetrates into daily life.

At that time, he will become a recognized culinary legend, a grandmaster who created a brand new school of gastronomy, and a taste magician who will captivate countless people.

Calling him "the greatest chef in history" seems inadequate; perhaps only the title "God of Cookery" is enough to encapsulate his ultimate position at the pinnacle of gastronomy.

And what kind of tremendous feedback and enhancement will the vast and profound understanding brought about by the title of "God of Food" have on his "Gourmet" entry?

More importantly, this widespread and profound goodwill and reputation will act like a lighthouse, continuously attracting the world's attention to his other achievements—swordsmanship, fire jutsu, physical strength, intelligence, etc., forming a virtuous cycle of cognition, allowing his other talents to continuously receive cognitive nourishment and opportunities for upgrading.

This is a cognitive management that transcends dimensions, a foundation for soft power based on culture and taste. Cooking will become another solid and unique pillar for him to deeply penetrate this world, in addition to his ninja power, and may even directly change the world's food culture.

If successful, the breadth and depth of knowledge that may result is unimaginable!

"You brat, hurry up and make the Mapo Tofu so I can have a taste!" Tsunade was unaware of Shinichi's deep-seated schemes. She was simply captivated by the exaggeratedly tempting depiction of the Mapo Tofu in the manga and the judges' almost manic expressions of enjoyment.

Upon confirming that this was indeed the new recipe concocted by the young man in front of him, his curiosity and eagerness instantly overwhelmed all other thoughts.

Shizune and Kurenai on the other side also turned their gazes toward them. Although they didn't speak, their eyes were filled with the same longing and expectation.

Shinichi shrugged and smiled helplessly: "Tsunade-sensei, even if I wanted to make it now, there aren't any suitable ingredients in this desolate place. There's no tofu, no special sauce, no fresh minced meat, and no garlic sprouts."

"Then we'll buy it in the next town!" Tsunade waved her hand, as if it weren't a problem at all. "I want to try it myself and see if your incredibly detailed Mapo Tofu drawing is really that good!"

.....

One day later.

Tsunade was the first to sit down, and without any hesitation, she picked up a spoon and scooped up a large spoonful of tofu. The tofu lay trembling in the spoon, coated with glistening red oil, finely minced meat, and Sichuan peppercorns.

She blew on it and put it in her mouth.

next second!

"Hmm!"

Tsunade's eyes widened suddenly, as if lightning had flashed past them. Her movements froze for a moment, and then she chewed much faster.

"Ha!" After a moment, Tsunade exhaled a long breath carrying a spicy aroma, her face flushed slightly from the heat, but her eyes shone with an astonishing brightness: "Good lad! This tastes amazing!"

Without saying a word, she scooped up another large spoonful and mixed it directly with the prepared, distinct grains of white rice. The red and white colors blended together, and the aroma mingled. She ate with gusto, completely disregarding her image.

Seeing this, Shizune and Kurenai couldn't wait to get started.

"Ah! It's so spicy! But...it's so delicious! I can't stop eating it!"

Jingyin gasped for breath from the spiciness, fanning her mouth with her little hands, tears welling up in her eyes, but the spoon seemed to have its own will, constantly reaching towards the bowl of red tofu that seemed to have magic.

Kurenai ate relatively quietly, but her beautiful red eyes were wide open, and each chew was filled with careful appreciation and increasingly obvious surprise.

The only sounds in the courtyard were the soft clinking of spoons and bowls, the occasional satisfied sighs of the three people, and the gasps of breath from the spiciness. A large bowl of Mapo Tofu was visibly disappearing.

Shinichi understood what was happening as he watched this scene.

The magic of Mapo Tofu, in the ninja world where food culture has similar soil, demonstrated its undeniable dominance from its very first appearance.

However, serializing comics is ultimately a tough job.

Conceptualizing the plot, designing the storyboard, repeatedly revising the sketches, and maintaining a consistent update frequency... all of this requires a massive investment of time and energy.

For Shinichi, who needs to focus on ninja training, developing fire-style ninjutsu, and dealing with the increasingly tense situation, this is undoubtedly a considerable burden.

Shinichi sighed softly to himself.

Oh well, never mind.

Suffering, I can create a shadow clone.

I'll take the blame.