Chapter 85: Discovering a New System Mechanism
Saturday morning.
Because he'd promised Minato and Kushina a detailed Squirrel Mandarin Fish lesson, Mugetsu sent a Shadow Clone to guide his disciples while his real body stayed in the Main District to teach.
He didn't swap roles for a simple reason: Shadow Clones could use all his ninjutsu, but skills like Chef and Professor didn't transfer their bonuses to clones.
Mugetsu set a fish on the cutting board, motioned for Minato and Kushina to watch, and explained as he worked.
"To prep the fish, make a diagonal cut behind the gills and sever the spine."
He removed the head, then reminded them:
"Trim the gill cover on the head. When you fry it later, it holds shape better and looks cleaner on the plate."
"No wonder mine looked awful—so that's the step I missed!" Kushina said, enlightened.
While working the fillet, Mugetsu warned them about pressure control: cut four-fifths through the flesh and don't break the skin. Tear the skin, and the shape's already a failure.
He produced two prepped fish for practice. Minato did decently—his cuts were shallow from being overcautious. Kushina, meanwhile, sliced straight through the skin.
"Haha, this fish is too soft—it just went through. Mugetsu, got anything… tougher?" she tried to blame the ingredient.
"If it were that tough, would you still want to eat it?" Mugetsu sighed, helplessly amused.
Fortunately, he'd prepared spares. On her second try, Kushina only nicked the skin on the third cut—clear progress.
"From now on, the slicing is yours, Minato," she said gravely. To save time, she decided not to wrestle the fillet anymore.
The lesson continued: Mugetsu explained each step in detail, then had them practice immediately. It was slow going. By noon they still hadn't produced a full Squirrel Mandarin Fish—just completed the breakdown and technique drills.
Not until after two did Mugetsu guide them through their first full plates. Technically successful… but the looks varied wildly.
"We followed every step. Why is the gap still so big?" Kushina frowned at her handiwork.
"We're beginners. With practice, the finish will improve," Minato said. Truthfully, he was thrilled: they'd actually pulled off such a complex dish. If recipes had ranks, Squirrel Mandarin Fish had to be at least B-rank. He immediately added it to Jiraiya's welcome-back menu.
[Lecture Completed]
[Evaluation: B]
[Reward: Mabo Tofu of Illusion]
Just as Mugetsu was about to speak, the system prompt popped up.
"So cooking instruction counts as a lecture? And teaching two people still settles a lecture reward?" Two questions flickered through his mind.
Why hadn't this triggered before? Why not when teaching disciples?
After thinking it through, he formed a guess. The lecture judgment might not be based solely on headcount—student strength likely weighed in as well. He'd taught only Minato and Kushina, but both were very strong. As for earlier cooking sessions, the time and depth probably hadn't met the threshold.
The settlement was a surprise, and the reward was… unusual—a recipe. If he remembered right, it came from Chinese Master Chef.
Minato and Kushina tasted their Squirrel Mandarin Fish and smiled. The plating was rougher than Mugetsu's, but the flavor was solid. Even so, Mugetsu's dish vanished first—good was good, but his was irresistible.
"Mugetsu, thanks. You spent almost the whole day teaching us," Minato said warmly.
"It's nothing. You two answer my sealing questions all the time," Mugetsu replied with a smile.
"Speaking of sealing, how's your Three-Finger Sealing going?" Kushina asked.
"I'm getting the feel for it," Mugetsu said, sharing the insights from his first three days of practice.
"Then your pace matches what I estimated," Kushina nodded, satisfied. In the kitchen, she'd concede Mugetsu was king. In sealing, she doubted anyone in the shinobi world outclassed her.
"I'll write down some of my past sealing insights and pass them to you when I'm done," she added after a moment's thought.
She was someone who knew how to repay kindness. Since Mugetsu had just taught her and Minato to cook so carefully, Kushina returned the favor without hesitation.
"That would be a great help," Mugetsu said, genuinely pleased.
"Mugetsu, don't be so formal with us. It's nothing—just a small favor," Kushina laughed.
That evening, Obito let Mugetsu know in advance that he wanted to attempt the taijutsu challenge again on Sunday.
"Are you ready?" Mugetsu asked with a smile, slowly drawing three test papers from a scroll.
The moment the papers appeared, Obito's face fell. He didn't want anything to do with test questions. But after glancing at Guy and Shisui practicing Shave nearby—and remembering yesterday's conversation—his fighting spirit flared.
"Teacher Mugetsu, I'm ready! I'll definitely pass this time!"
Seeing Obito's confidence, Mugetsu handed him the "ticket" and went to set up the course.
The next morning.
Obito arrived early—earlier than Shisui for the first time—and finished his warm-up just as Mugetsu led him to the challenge zone.
"Same rules as before: head straight east and you'll reach the finish," Mugetsu reminded.
Obito nodded and sprinted full tilt in the direction indicated. Lesson learned from last time, he didn't look back at the Shadow Clones; he kept his eyes forward, constantly scanning for traps and mechanisms.
Thanks to that caution, he reached the big pendulum section—the spot where he'd failed last time—without triggering a single trap. Thick tree trunks swung like giant metronomes.
Obito didn't hesitate. He burst through, untouched, on pure speed.
After so long running with weights, he felt light as air without them, and his pace spiked. Clearing the place of his prior defeat, his tension eased, and a bright grin tugged at his lips.
"As long as I take this seriously, this challenge is nothing."
His swagger lasted all of three seconds. He promptly dropped into a wide pit Mugetsu had dug.
"Minus one point," came Mugetsu's warm voice.
Obito scrambled out, then tore ahead even more carefully, no longer daring to be careless. The price of a mistake was steep—not just a restart, but another hundred questions. The first was annoying; the second was terrifying.
After a long, watchful run, he spotted a kunai in a stake, a small flag tied to it: "Finish Line."
His grin returned.
"This is the goal, and I still have two points to spare. Not bad for a cautious guy like me." Chin high, he strode toward the kunai.
Just as he drew level, a snare yanked him skyward. A trap—right beside the finish.
"Minus one point," Mugetsu's voice drifted over again.
Obito freed himself in a hurry. He didn't dare smile now—smiling felt like tempting fate into docking his last point and slapping him with three fresh test papers. He swept the area, then stepped across the line.
Mugetsu appeared. "You only had one point left, but you passed."
"Haha—yes!" Obito whooped, leaping with joy. No more penalties, no more failure, no hundred questions. "Finally I can learn Shave like Shisui and Guy!"
"Who said you could learn Shave now?" Mugetsu asked, puzzled.
"Didn't you say I could, once I passed the taijutsu challenge?" Obito blinked.
"Yes, once you pass the challenge. You only cleared stage one—the Forest Sprint. There's a second stage," Mugetsu said.
Obito thought back and dug up the memory from some dusty corner. Right—there was a second stage.
"It's called the River Sprint," Mugetsu explained. "Run from one bank to the other within the time limit without falling in."
"That's it?" Obito brightened. Water walking? Easy.
"I'll be disrupting the surface with ninjutsu once you start," Mugetsu added with a smile.
"Water Dragon Bullet again?" Obito asked.
Mugetsu nodded. Same jutsu—just… more of them.
Obito relaxed. Water Dragon Bullet plus water walking? He'd trained that long ago.
"Teacher Mugetsu, I want to start stage two." He couldn't wait to finish and begin learning Shave.
Guys What do you think of a fanfic based on Tensura (That Time i got reincarnated as a slime?)
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