Not long after Kurenai left, Mei Terumi and Kisame returned to Uchiha Hikaru's home.
Mei Terumi dragged her exhausted body inside and collapsed onto the couch.
"So tired…"
Is this how hard normal life is for civilians…?
Usually, even with chakra flowing through her body, she had never imagined that washing dishes all day could leave her this drained.
Even during missions, trekking across terrain for hours, she hadn't felt this beat.
As for Kisame—his physical strength was monstrous—he didn't seem tired at all.
Following Uchiha Hikaru's suggestion, both Mei Terumi and Kisame had been working part-time at Ichiraku Ramen for the past two days.
When Teuchi found out, he was ecstatic. Business at Ichiraku Ramen had already been booming, especially after the war's end. A wave of returning shinobi meant nonstop foot traffic, and their first stop was often Ichiraku—for a long-missed bowl of ramen.
When some of the shinobi noticed that the kitchen help wore Kirigakure forehead protectors, they curiously asked Teuchi what was going on.
After learning that they were Kirigakure prisoners of war arranged by Uchiha Hikaru to work at the shop, the customers immediately ordered extra bowls!
Even if their stomachs were full, they forced it down anyway. Seeing Mei Terumi and Kisame serving them was just too satisfying.
Even Teuchi was laughing so hard he couldn't stop.
He really hadn't expected Uchiha Hikaru's prisoners of war to actually increase sales.
A total win-win!
Mei Terumi handled dishwashing while Kisame took charge of prepping ingredients.
Fillet the fish. Chop the shrimp. Slice the pork.
At first, he was a bit unfamiliar with the anatomy of the ingredients. But within thirty minutes, Kisame's knife skills had reached an astonishing level—razor sharp, lightning fast.
When he returned to Uchiha Hikaru's home, Kisame felt a strange sense of peace.
He genuinely liked this ordinary life.
At this point, he had fallen in love with—no, become obsessed with—the art of processing ingredients in Ichiraku Ramen's kitchen.
If only I could live like this forever…
Even the customers and chefs who came in were full of praise for Kisame's cutting technique. Their recognition filled him with pride and a sense of belonging.
Kisame approached Uchiha Hikaru, his face glowing with excitement.
Hikaru was slightly taken aback—Is this guy asking me for a raise?
Well, he deserved it… but that wasn't what Kisame had in mind.
Finally, it dawned on Hikaru—he had never lifted the order restricting Kisame from speaking freely.
"Kisame," Hikaru said with a sigh, "you can say whatever you want now. You don't need my permission anymore."
Kisame bowed at a perfect ninety degrees.
"Thank you very much, Master Hikaru!"
"I want to show you the knife skills I've mastered at Ichiraku Ramen!"
Uchiha Hikaru blinked.
Knife skills… at a ramen shop? Huh?
What kind of enlightenment did he have while cooking!? Oh no… don't tell me this guy is an actual genius…
Still confused but intrigued, Hikaru nodded.
He couldn't lie—he was very curious to see what kind of so-called knife technique Kisame had learned in the kitchen.
Kisame returned from the kitchen carrying a fish, a shrimp, and a hefty slab of char siu pork.
Hikaru watched, utterly bewildered.
Is… is he going to attack them like enemies? Is this some food-based taijutsu demonstration?
Honestly… not impossible.
Kisame raised the knife and struck the joint between the fish's head and body with the back of the blade.
"Thunk!"
The fish twitched once, then passed out completely, its eyes turning into little Xs.
With practiced ease, Kisame stuck his thumb into the fish's mouth, pinned it to the board, and began scraping with blinding speed. First one side, then the other. In moments, the guts were removed, the belly was split, and the fish head and spine were pulled out in one clean motion.
With a smack of the blade against the board, he launched the fish carcass aside.
Then, switching to two smaller knives with a quick flick, he moved into slicing.
"Pa pa pa pa pa pa…"
Two perfect rows of sashimi fell onto the board like petals in the wind.
Next—shrimp. Then—char siu. None were spared.
Mei Terumi, watching this madness unfold, buried her face in her hands on the couch.
This guy… why the hell does he love working in a kitchen so much!?
Uchiha Hikaru watched, going from curious to speechless to completely stunned.
Is this… is this what they call the legendary "Kitchen Sage"!?
But just as he was about to comment, a familiar voice came shouting from outside.
"Hikaru! I'm back! Get some sake ready for me!"
"BANG!"
Tsunade kicked the door wide open.
From her perspective, what she saw was horrifying.
A man with a shark-like back stood towering in the kitchen, a cleaver raised high, standing before her beloved Uchiha Hikaru.
"You bastard! You dare try to assassinate my man!?"
With a powerful stomp, she dashed forward and threw a fierce punch!
In that moment, Kisame felt an overwhelming pressure behind him.
His eyes sharpened with resolve.
Is this it… Am I going to die here?
No! he screamed in his heart. Even if I die—I have to finish this last slice! I've finally found meaning in life! I must peel this shrimp… for Master Hikaru!
Just… one… more… cut!
Seeing Tsunade's fist approaching, Hikaru immediately recognized the misunderstanding.
His Mangekyō Sharingan activated with a flash—summoning his skeletal Susano'o arm to intercept her mid-air.
"Tsunade! Calm down!"
"Kisame is just peeling shrimp!"
"...Huh!?"
Still airborne, Tsunade's fierce expression faltered into pure confusion.
Peeling… shrimp?
Suspended mid-air by the black ribcage of the Susano'o, she blinked.
Kisame, finally safe, exhaled a deep sigh of relief.
"Phew~ All done… now I can slice the char siu in peace."
With that, he turned back to the cutting board, continuing his culinary barrage with a loud "bang bang bang".
Uchiha Hikaru gently lowered Tsunade into a chair beside him.
Now that the moment of violence had passed, Tsunade finally noticed what was laid out on the table.
Perfect rows of sashimi, glistening and translucent.
Shrimp, uniformly sliced.
Thick, juicy slabs of char siu pork.
She leaned closer and sniffed with her sharp nose.
Mmm… smells amazing…
But something was off.
Two unfamiliar feminine scents clung to the air.
Tsunade's expression darkened.
"Tell me right now… Which two other women were in our house?"
Before Hikaru could respond, Mei Terumi—still half-dead on the sofa—weakly raised her hand.
"I… I'm one of them…"
Tsunade turned, her eyes landing on Mei Terumi sprawled lazily on the couch, her appearance completely disheveled—like she'd just gone through an intense battle.
"Uchiha Hikaru…"
Her voice dropped an octave.
"You really had the nerve to cheat behind my back."
"You're even dating a woman from Kirigakure now!?"
...
...
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