The next day.
After a fierce battle…
After driving Sunagakure's shinobi out of the Land of Fire…
Konoha's army finally decided to take a full day to rest.
Although there hadn't been many casualties in this battle, everyone was completely exhausted.
On top of that, all kinds of weapons and gear that had taken a beating needed to be repaired, polished, and resupplied.
Without proper preparation, you couldn't keep fighting forever.
"Lord Yagami, good morning!"
"Lord Yagami, good morning!"
Just as the sky was beginning to lighten, Yagami woke up as usual.
Walking through Konoha's encampment, every shinobi he passed greeted him respectfully.
Yagami, without putting on any airs, simply nodded back to each of them.
In yesterday's battle, after that one-sided slaughter, he had earned a little more than forty thousand prestige points.
At this moment, his accumulated prestige had already reached over sixty-five thousand.
Since there was nothing urgent to do today, Yagami had spent two thousand prestige points right after waking up, doing two primary lottery draws.
Originally, he'd only wanted to kill some boredom.
But unexpectedly, he pulled a very interesting reward.
The hero of "Food Wars," the halberd-eating spirit himself—
Yukihira Sōma, as a data card.
Yagami had already fused with the card.
And his culinary skill, [373], had undergone a breakthrough so drastic it could only be called sky-shaking.
So, taking advantage of the day's break and the team's reorganization, he decided to take Kushina to a quiet place for an outing and camping.
He wanted her to taste his current, mythical-level cooking.
As the saying goes, if you want to capture a man's heart, you capture his stomach first.
Right now, Yagami planned to do the opposite—
Capture Kushina's stomach first.
And along the way, during that little outing, see if he could make some… substantial progress with her.
"Yagami?!"
The tent where the two of them were staying wasn't far.
After walking for just over a minute, Yagami arrived in front of Kushina's tent.
At that moment, Kushina stepped out.
The two of them locked eyes at once.
"Cough, cough."
"Kushina, let's go camping."
Yagami deliberately cleared his throat and spoke in an overly serious tone.
Because of the less-than-pure thoughts in his head, there was a faint guilt on his face.
However, Kushina didn't notice these little details at all.
"Huh? Camping?"
Kushina tilted her head in confusion.
She didn't understand why Yagami wanted to go camping in the middle of a war.
"Yes. The teams are getting reorganized today, right?"
"So, I have nothing to do. I'm planning to take you camping… and let you see just how good my cooking is now."
"And I'll tell you a big secret while we're at it."
"And I'll tell you a secret—when it comes to cooking in this whole shinobi world, I'm the one at the top. If anyone thinks they're better, they can come challenge me after you taste it."
Yagami leaned in close, lowering his head to whisper right by Kushina's ear.
Warm breath brushed against her skin, and her cheeks instantly flushed red.
"O-okay…"
Kushina's head felt strangely light as she nodded in agreement.
She didn't even question Yagami's shameless bragging. In her current dazed state, whether he claimed to be the best or the greatest cook in the world barely even registered.
[It's done!]
Yagami cheered silently in his heart, overjoyed.
Then, unable to hide his excitement, he took Kushina along and headed toward the logistics area of the encampment.
After receiving all kinds of spices and utensils from the logistics staff,
Yagami immediately activated Kagura's Mind Eye.
At a distance of about twenty kilometers from the camp, he quickly found a quiet spot.
It was a valley surrounded by mountains, lush greenery spreading everywhere, carrying the feeling of eternal spring.
A clear stream wound its way through the center of the valley.
Secluded yet beautiful.
It was the perfect spot for a couple's outing and camping.
On the way back, Yagami casually grabbed a passing Konoha shinobi who had just finished greeting him respectfully.
He asked the man to relay a message to headquarters that he and Kushina would return tomorrow, so no one would panic over their disappearance.
After settling that, Yagami and Kushina set off toward their destination, hand in hand.
The two of them walked side by side, shoulders brushing now and then as they swayed along the path.
While enjoying the scenery along the border, they also took the time to catch some wild game in the mountains.
By the time they arrived at the valley, it was already afternoon.
Yagami first took out a moisture-proof mat—an outing essential—from his system and spread it over a flat patch of grass.
Then he took out a simple dining table, a tablecloth, and two chairs.
In the end, he even set out candles and red wine.
A grand, romantic atmosphere began to bloom around them without either of them saying a word.
Kushina, standing off to the side, was completely stunned.
After finishing the setup, Yagami took out the pots and pans he had borrowed from logistics.
Right after that—
He began to show off his mythical-level cooking skills.
Although the ingredients were limited on the battlefield, and he couldn't make Yukihira Sōma's absolute specialty dishes,
Under Yagami's practiced hands, even simple ingredients turned into something that left Kushina wide-eyed.
As time passed…
The irresistible smell created under Yagami's hands began to slowly fill the valley.
Kushina, helping out at his side, couldn't help breathing in deeply again and again, constantly swallowing her saliva.
By the time night fell, Yagami had already lit the candles on the table.
Under his careful arrangement, the romantic atmosphere grew thicker and thicker.
Kushina, who had begun to sense something, felt the heat in her cheeks grow more and more intense.
Bathed in candlelight, Yagami stood and poured one-third of a glass of red wine into Kushina's goblet.
Kushina, who had never experienced anything like this before, was completely swept up by Yagami's romance.
When love runs deep, the rest comes naturally.
After dinner, both of their cheeks were flushed red from the effects of the wine.
They collapsed together onto the moisture-proof mat as Yagami casually kicked the dining table aside.
"W-wait, wait a minute—"
Just as Yagami was about to take things a step further, Kushina quickly stopped him.
Then her hands flashed through a rapid series of seals.
Adamantine Sealing Chains.
A barrier that allowed those inside to see out, but blocked all sight from the outside in—
Wrapped around the two of them in an instant.
"Hmm…"
"What are they doing in there?"
"It really makes you curious…"
On a large tree in the distance,
A half-black, half-white figure slowly emerged from within the trunk.
A childlike, curious voice came from its mouth.
"Hey, White Zetsu."
"Don't come out of the tree trunk so casually. That guy's sensory perception is very sharp."
Another voice spoke from the same mouth, but with a completely different tone from the curious one.
"I know, I know…"
White Zetsu replied helplessly, sounding both regretful and disappointed.
Then he slowly sank back into the tree trunk.
But at that moment, his puzzled voice rang out again.
"Right, Black Zetsu!"
"Do you know what 'poop' means?"
Hearing White Zetsu's question, Black Zetsu's already pitch-black half somehow seemed to darken even further.
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