"You're saying the dishes inside are all real?" Tsunade's gaze fell once again on the plate of glossy red Tofu drawn on the manuscript page, its oil shimmering as if its aroma could almost be smelled. She licked her lips. "So it's a new dish you created yourself?"
"Yes, Tsunade-sensei." Shinichi smiled slightly.
Its layered taste—spicy, numbing, fragrant, piping hot, tender, and silky—perfectly matched that nation's pursuit of bold, rice-pairing, impactful flavors that were intensely addictive.
Shinichi could almost foresee what kind of sensation this dish would cause once it appeared alongside his manga and began to be promoted in reality.
The timing was also perfect. He had just won the championship at the nationwide cooking competition that had drawn the attention of countless people, and had received the Special-Class Chef certificate personally issued by the Daimyō. At this very moment—when his personal reputation and culinary talent had received the highest level of official recognition—striking while the iron was hot was the obvious move.
Releasing Number One Chef!—a manga bearing his own name, whose protagonist was likewise a prodigy—and unveiling Spicy Tofu at the very beginning, a dish destined to become a decisive trump card, would undoubtedly push both attention and discussion to their peak.
And this was only the beginning. The blueprint Shinichi had planned went far beyond that.
After the spicy tofu, there would also be trump cards such as oden, which in his previous life had swept through the streets and alleys of Japan at explosive speed.
Little by little, he would recreate the best dishes from his previous life that had gone viral. Having grown up in the information age—where short-form videos flourished—one of his small hobbies had been watching uploaders cook and explore restaurants.
With his current culinary skill, combined with the boost from his Gourmet Entry, recreating those dishes would not be difficult.
And all of them would be brought into this shinobi world through the serialization of Number One Chef!, under the name of "Shinichi, heir to the Supreme Cuisine House."
When these delicacies—condensed from the hard work and wisdom of countless generations from another world—conquered this world's taste buds one dish after another and swept across the Five Great Nations and even the entire shinobi world, what he accumulated would not be merely culinary fame. It would be an enormous influence that crossed cultures and penetrated daily life.
By then, he would become a publicly acknowledged culinary legend—the grandmaster who had founded an entirely new school of cuisine, the magician of taste who made countless people fall under his spell.
Even calling him "the greatest culinary master in history" would seem inadequate. Perhaps only the two words Food God would be enough to summarize that ultimate position standing at the pinnacle of cuisine.
And what kind of vast feedback and enhancement would the immense and profound recognition brought by the name of Food God produce for his Gourmet Entry?
More importantly, this broad and deeply rooted goodwill and fame would, like a lighthouse, continuously draw people's attention to his achievements in other areas—swordsmanship, Fire Release, physical strength, intelligence... forming a virtuous cycle of recognition, allowing his other talent Entries as well to continuously receive the nourishment of recognition and opportunities for advancement.
This was a form of recognition management that transcended dimensions, a laying of soft-power foundations with culture and taste as its vehicle. Cuisine would become, aside from ninja power, another solid and unique pillar of his that would sink deep roots into this world, and might even directly change this world's food culture.
Once it succeeded, the breadth and depth of recognition it might bring would be unimaginable!
"You brat, then hurry up and make that dish already so your sensei can try it!" Tsunade did not know about the far-reaching calculations in Shinichi's heart. She had simply been completely tempted by the exaggeratedly enticing depiction of that plate in the manga, along with the nearly frenzied expressions of enjoyment on the judges' faces.
Once she confirmed that this was actually a new recipe that the brat in front of her had come up with, that curiosity and impatience instantly overwhelmed every other thought.
On the other side, Shizune and Kurenai also turned their gazes toward him in unison. Though they said nothing, their eyes were filled with the same longing and anticipation.
Shinichi spread his hands and smiled helplessly. "Tsunade-sensei, even if I wanted to make it now, we're out here in the middle of nowhere. There aren't any suitable ingredients—tofu, the specific sauces, fresh minced meat, scallions… we don't have any of them."
"Then we'll buy them when we reach the next town!" Tsunade waved her hand, as if this were not a problem at all. "I want to taste it myself and see whether that dish you drew so miraculously is really that delicious!"
…
One day later.
Tsunade was the first to sit down. Without any ceremony, she picked up a spoon and scooped up a large spoonful first. The tofu trembled slightly in the spoon, coated in glistening red oil along with bits of minced meat and pepper.
She blew on it and put it into her mouth.
The next second!
"Mmm!"
Tsunade's eyes suddenly widened, as if a flash of lightning had passed through them. Her movement froze for a moment, and then the speed of her chewing noticeably increased.
"Ha!" After a moment, Tsunade finally let out a long breath tinged with the fragrant heat of spice. A thin flush had appeared on her face from the heat, yet her eyes shone with startling brightness. "Good kid! This flavor is incredible!"
Without another word, she scooped up another large spoonful. This time she mixed it directly with the bowl of distinct, fluffy white rice prepared beside it. Red and white intertwined, their aromas blending together, and she ate with complete relish, utterly unconcerned with her image.
Seeing this, Shizune and Kurenai also began to eat impatiently.
"Ah! So spicy! But… it's too delicious! I can't stop!"
Shizune gasped from the heat, fanning her mouth with her hand, tears nearly forming in her eyes. Yet the spoon seemed to have a will of its own, repeatedly reaching toward the basin of red tofu that seemed almost magical.
Kurenai ate somewhat more quietly, but her beautiful crimson eyes had widened as well. Each bite was taken with careful savoring and growing surprise.
For a while, the small courtyard was filled only with the light clinking of spoons against bowls and plates, along with the occasional satisfied sighs and sharp breaths caused by the spiciness. The large basin of Tofu was visibly shrinking at a speed the naked eye could see.
Watching this scene, Shinichi felt a quiet certainty in his heart that his recipes would be a success. If his culinary skills had to be compared, they would rank among the very best chefs of Shokugeki no Soma in the neighboring world.
However, serializing a manga was ultimately a grueling task.
Conceiving the plot, designing the panels, repeatedly revising draft sketches, maintaining the update schedule… all of this required an enormous investment of time and energy.
For Shinichi, whose main body needed to focus on ninja training, the development of Fire Release nintaijutsu techniques, and dealing with an increasingly tense situation, this was undoubtedly a considerable burden.
Shinichi let out a faint sigh in his heart.
Ah, forget it.
The shadow clones could suffer a bit.
I'll take the blame.
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