Chapter 288: Tsunade Eats Chicken
At the izakaya, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru sat side by side at the counter.
"It really brings back memories. How many years has it been since the three of us drank together like this?" Jiraiya took a sip of sake and laughed.
"It should have been at the end of the Second Shinobi World War," Tsunade said, tipping back her cup in one shot and thinking back for a moment.
After that war ended, the three of them had each gone their own way.
"Jiraiya, after so long, have you found that student who can change the entire Ninja World?" Orochimaru picked up a side dish with his chopsticks, took a bite, and asked calmly.
"Haha, that is a good question. I do not know either." Jiraiya smiled wryly.
The Great Toad Sage's prophecy was far too vague. Jiraiya was not sure whether the child of destiny was among the disciples he had taught.
"You do not know, yet you speak with such confidence. You really are as foolish as ever," Tsunade retorted.
"He is just making trouble for himself," Orochimaru added without surprise.
In his view, one person's strength could never change the whole Ninja World. Even someone as powerful as the God of Shinobi, Hashirama, had failed to do so. After his death, the Ninja World had returned to its old ways.
"I am making trouble for myself, then what about you?" Jiraiya shot back. "You want to learn every Ninjutsu in the world and reach immortality. That is impossible. No matter how much you research, human life will never be eternal.
"Instead of researching immortality, it would be better to find a worthy successor to pass down your Ninjutsu. That way, even if you die, you keep living on in another form."
"No matter how pretty you make it sound, once someone dies, they are dead. 'Living on in the heart' is just comfort for children," Orochimaru replied calmly.
From the moment he was old enough to understand, Orochimaru had been surrounded by death. His parents had died not long after he began forming memories.
During the Second Shinobi World War, Orochimaru had already been an elite jonin, leading many Konoha shinobi on important missions. During that time, he had watched many comrades die right in front of him.
The death that affected him the most, though, was that of his disciple, Nawaki.
Nawaki had been both his student and Tsunade's younger brother. Personality wise, they were almost opposites. Orochimaru always wore a cold, stern expression, while Nawaki always carried an excited, sunny smile.
Even so, Orochimaru had liked that disciple quite a bit. Just because he did not smile himself did not mean he could not stand other people smiling. In fact, teaching Nawaki had been strangely pleasant for him.
But war was merciless. On a night mission, Nawaki had rushed ahead in pursuit of an enemy and stepped straight into an explosive tag trap. He died instantly, right before Orochimaru's eyes.
From that day on, Orochimaru had understood one thing very clearly: humans were terribly fragile. So he wanted to master Ninjutsu to the fullest extent and make himself less fragile.
Listening to Orochimaru, Tsunade was reminded of her own painful memories. She threw back several cups of sake in quick succession.
"You really are getting more and more ruthless," Jiraiya sighed after hearing Orochimaru's words.
"It is just that your ideas are too naive," Orochimaru replied, taking another sip of sake.
"One is a hopeless dreamer, the other is a gloomy idiot who cannot speak like a normal person," Tsunade said, choosing to roast them both at once.
The three of them drank, ate, and argued for a long time. Although most of the time was spent bickering, the atmosphere between them was still warm in its own way.
"Haha, today was pretty fun. How about we drink again tomorrow?" At the end, Jiraiya's cheeks were flushed red as he made the suggestion.
"No time. I need to study Ninjutsu tomorrow night," Orochimaru refused flatly.
"No drinking. If you had not dragged me out today, I would have eaten Mugetsu's chicken dish tonight," Tsunade refused just as decisively.
Are you kidding? She had rearranged her plans specifically to eat the chicken Mugetsu was going to make. There was no way she would waste another night drinking with Jiraiya.
"That really is a loss. It is Mugetsu's cooking, after all," Jiraiya said, stroking his chin and nodding in agreement.
"Mugetsu?" Hearing both Jiraiya and Tsunade mention the name, Orochimaru's expression turned thoughtful.
He was not thinking of some so called legendary chef, but of the Leaf Newspaper reports and his conversations with Danzo.
On the day that edition of the Leaf Newspaper was published, he had happened to be working at Root. Danzo had not been able to sit still after reading it.
He had originally thought the missing talent was just some small fry being poached. It turned out to be an outstanding jonin who had made contributions in a battle involving a Tailed Beast.
Danzo had immediately used his authority to obtain a detailed report on that fight and learned exactly how Mugetsu had performed on the battlefield.
If Orochimaru remembered correctly, this Hayate Mugetsu was skilled in Combination Ninjutsu, and his jutsu were quite powerful.
After thinking it over for a moment, though, Orochimaru lost interest. The Ninjutsu he was researching now were not the basic Five Nature Release techniques, but more unusual Ninjutsu with special effects.
…
By the time Tsunade woke up again, it was already noon.
Feeling a wave of hunger, she walked out of her room and called, "Shizune, I am starving. Is there anything to eat?"
"I am making it now, Lady Tsunade, please wait a moment," Shizune answered from the kitchen.
Tsunade quickly washed up. As she passed the low table, a faint floral fragrance brushed past her nose. Following the scent, she saw two wrapped parcels sitting there.
Feeling a bit peckish, Tsunade curiously opened one of the parcels and popped the pastry inside into her mouth.
"This is actually pretty good. Is this a new dessert you found?" Tsunade opened the second parcel as well, ate that pastry, and nodded in satisfaction.
"Lady Tsunade, lunch is ready." Shizune hurried over and set the prepared dishes on the table.
Then she noticed the two opened packages.
Shizune froze. Because the pastries were so delicious, she had decided to ration herself to only one every twenty four hours. To avoid temptation while cooking, she had deliberately left them out here instead of keeping them with her. She had not expected…
"Maybe these are different bags, and Lady Tsunade just ate some other sweets," Shizune tried to comfort herself.
She picked up the two empty wrappers and examined them carefully. There were still a few pastry crumbs clinging to the paper.
At that point, Shizune could no longer lie to herself. These were definitely the pastries she had left on the table.
Her expression stiffened, and she stared blankly at Tsunade.
"Shizune, what is it?" Tsunade noticed her stare and asked.
"They are gone."
"What is gone?" Tsunade was puzzled.
"The desserts are gone. Lady Tsunade, who does not even like sweets, ate them all," Shizune said, her voice carrying a faint, wounded resentment.
"Oh, those two on the table. They were surprisingly good. Where did you buy them? I will give you money, go buy more," Tsunade said as realization dawned, already reaching for her wallet.
"I cannot buy them. Teacher Mugetsu made them himself," Shizune answered, looking very disappointed.
Seeing Shizune's mood sink, Tsunade felt a little awkward. She normally did not care about such things, but accidentally eating the candy a child had been looking forward to did leave her with a strange sense of guilt.
"It is not a big deal, Shizune. You eat too. When he comes, I will just ask him for more," Tsunade said quickly, coming up with a solution.
"Would that not be bothering Teacher Mugetsu?" Shizune shook her head.
She really wanted more, but she still felt it was wrong to trouble Mugetsu for something like that.
"What is the problem? His questions are so complicated and difficult that ten thousand ryo an hour is not enough. It is only right for him to give us some extra dessert," Tsunade said with a wave of her hand, completely unconcerned.
At half past twelve, Mugetsu arrived at Tsunade's house again. This time he did not need Jiraiya to lead the way.
"Lady Tsunade, five hours today," Mugetsu said, handing her five hundred thousand ryo in banknotes.
Tsunade took the money, tossed it to Shizune to keep, and then began answering Mugetsu's questions.
Mugetsu felt that, whether he was imagining things or not, Tsunade was more focused today than yesterday. The day before, she had slacked off whenever she found an opening.
When the five hours were up, Mugetsu felt almost the same as the previous day: he had gained a lot.
After the lesson, he fulfilled his promise and made a chicken dish for Tsunade.
Curious and idle, Tsunade dragged Shizune with her to watch Mugetsu cook from start to finish, wanting to see whether this so called new dish was just talk.
"Why are you smearing mud on it?" she asked in confusion when she saw Mugetsu walk out into the yard.
"What if it gets dirty? Will it still taste good like that?"
"It will not get dirty. The lotus leaves are wrapped very tightly. As for the taste, you will know once you try it," Mugetsu replied with a small chuckle.
The chicken dish he was making for Tsunade was the famous Beggar's Chicken from his previous life, with a very distinct flavor.
After sealing the chicken in lotus leaves and mud and placing it in a simple earthen roasting pit formed with Earth Release, Mugetsu went back to preparing the other dishes.
He fried tempura, rolled sushi, and of course made several stir fried dishes. When everything was set out on the table, the spread looked lavish.
Although many of the dishes smelled incredibly appetizing, Tsunade's gaze was still glued to the biggest one, the Beggar's Chicken.
She poured herself a cup of sake she had bought specifically to pair with the chicken.
"Will something wrapped in mud and roasted really taste good?" With that doubt in mind, Tsunade reached out, tore off a chicken leg, and took a bite.
The moment she tasted it, tender meat and rich juices exploded across her tongue. Tsunade's eyes lit up. She had never eaten such delicious chicken in her life.
For a moment she felt as if she had become a carefree wild bird living deep in the forest, her mind and body both completely relaxed.
After that, Tsunade did not say another word until all the dishes on the table were gone.
"Mugetsu, that dessert you made was really good. Can you give some to Shizune? She really likes it," Tsunade said at last, remembering Shizune's pastries.
"No problem. I will bring some when I come to study tomorrow," Mugetsu replied with a smile.
Tsunade fell silent. She had originally planned to end her brief teaching stint today.
"Fine. I will teach you for one more day. For Shizune's sake, and definitely not because the food was too delicious," Tsunade decided inwardly, planning to tell Mugetsu not to come again after tomorrow.
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