Two days later, Uchiha Hikaru, Kurotsuchi, and Yugito Nii—who had insisted on accompanying Hikaru to visit Iwagakure—disguised themselves and boarded a merchant ship. Traveling by sea, they crossed from the Land of Lightning to the Land of Earth.
It would likely take another full day before they reached Iwagakure.
Along the way, Hikaru quietly observed the road ahead. The path was cramped and uneven, barely maintained, with rubble from collapsed mountains scattered everywhere. Even walking required care.
From time to time, mountain goats could be seen scaling steep cliffs in search of sparse greenery. Civilians carefully picked medicinal herbs along the mountainsides, their skin darkened by years of sun exposure. Thick calluses covered their joints from constant labor and friction. Bamboo baskets hung from their backs as they cautiously searched for places to rest along the cliffs.
That night, the group stopped in a small village to rest.
What surprised Hikaru was that he still saw elderly women making earthen cakes in the village.
Yellow-brown soil was mixed with water and flour in roughly equal parts, shaped by hand, then tossed directly into the fire and baked at high heat.
Hikaru stepped forward, crouched down, and spoke to the white-haired old woman tending the fire.
"Ma'am, are you selling these? We're headed to Iwagakure and haven't arranged dinner yet."
The old woman, seated beside the stone fire pit, looked up at him. After hesitating for a moment, she asked cautiously,
"You want to buy this?"
"Young man, you're outsiders, aren't you? You probably won't be used to eating something like this. You'd better forget it."
Hikaru didn't argue. Instead, he slipped a paper note worth one hundred ryō into her hand.
"Please take it," he said gently. "I just want to try something new. I've never eaten it before."
With that, he took a piece straight from the fire and quickly walked away with Kurotsuchi and Yugito.
The old woman stared at the money in her hand for several seconds, confirming it was real. Remembering the young man's expression, she stood up and shouted after him,
"Be careful, young man! Don't burn your mouth—let it cool before you eat it!"
Hikaru didn't turn back, only raised a hand and waved twice in acknowledgment.
The three wandered around the village for a while before finally finding a small inn near the northern center.
Unfortunately, the inn was tiny. Recently, Iwagakure had opened a new gate for caravans, and the place was crowded—only one room remained.
With no other choice, the three of them squeezed into that single room and planned to sleep on the floor.
After entering, they sat cross-legged around a small table. Under Kurotsuchi's watchful eyes, Hikaru took out the earthen cakes he had bought earlier.
"You're actually going to eat that?" Yugito asked, tilting her head in confusion. "I thought you just felt sorry for the old woman and used it as an excuse to give her money."
Hikaru smiled but didn't answer. He pressed down lightly on one piece.
Crunch.
He lifted the lump in his hand—about the size of a rice ball, barely a centimeter thick—and examined it.
"Kurotsuchi, have you ever eaten this before?"
She shook her head.
"I usually stay in the village and rarely go out. Even on missions, I don't really interact with civilians. I've never eaten it."
"But my grandfather once said that when Iwagakure was first established, almost everyone survived on earthen cakes."
"It wasn't until more than a decade of development that the village finally abandoned them—farming some food and importing the rest."
"There are still many remote areas in the Land of Earth, though. The roads are too difficult, caravans can't reach them easily, so people there still eat this."
As she spoke, she took the small piece from Hikaru's hand, curiosity written all over her face.
"Now that I think about it, this is a good chance to try it."
She put it into her mouth, took a few bites—
—and immediately spat it into the wooden bucket beside the table, her face twisting in disgust.
"Bah! Bah! Bah!"
"Is this even edible?! How can something be this disgusting?!"
Yugito frowned, looking genuinely puzzled, like a confused kitten.
"Is it really that bad?"
"Or are you just spoiled because you're the Tsuchikage's granddaughter?"
"I don't believe it. Let me try."
Curiosity getting the better of her, Yugito extended her index finger. Her nail lengthened instantly, slicing the already-missing piece into several chestnut-sized chunks.
She retracted her nail, picked one up, and brought it to her nose.
"…Smells like dirt."
Kurotsuchi finally finished spitting out the grit in her mouth. She grabbed her cup, rinsed, and spat into the bucket again.
"Obviously. It's called an earthen cake. How could it not taste like dirt?"
"Just eat it and you'll know. It tastes worse than soldier pills."
"It's not something humans should be eating at all."
Yugito glanced at her with a half-skeptical, half-amused look, clearly ready to gloat. Then her eyes shifted to Hikaru beside her, and a mischievous idea surfaced.
"Eat it with me."
Before he could react, she grabbed a piece with her free hand and stuffed it straight into Hikaru's mouth. She held his chin up, pressing forward so the crumbly mass dropped in completely, leaving him no chance to spit it out.
Then she raised her eyebrows and smiled sweetly.
"This is the first time I've ever fed someone."
"So don't spit it out~" (＾▽＾)
Hikaru, who had been prepared to watch the show, froze.
…Oh no.
I wanted to watch them suffer.
Why am I the one suffering now? (ಠ_ಠ)
The moment it entered his mouth, all the moisture seemed to vanish. The texture was hard, forcing him to bite down with his teeth.
As it crumbled, fine dust spread instantly, scratching his throat.
After a few forced chews, it turned into a strange paste. There was barely any taste of flour—only the overwhelming flavor of soil, mixed with the bitterness of charred residue.
It was like chewing wall dust, leaving gritty residue clinging to the inside of his mouth, accompanied by a faint burnt bitterness.
Hikaru's brows knit together tightly, as if questioning every life decision that led him here.
In the end, he forced himself to swallow.
Then he turned to Yugito with an expression of calm kindness that clearly hid deep resentment.
"Your turn."
"The taste is a bit worse than soldier pills," he said evenly, "but it's still… acceptable."
Yugito hesitated, half-believing him, then put a piece into her mouth.
The next second, she lunged for the bucket and spat violently.
"Bah! Bah! Bah! Bah! Bah! Bah!!!"
"You lied to me! This isn't just unpalatable—this is inhuman!"
Hikaru raised his hand, pinching his thumb and index finger together as if measuring something invisible.
"It's really just a tiny bit worse," he said solemnly.
"Only… a few billion times worse."
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Bonus Chapter at 100 Power Stone
Second Bonus Chapter - 200 Power Stones
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