Chapter 60: Chapter 60: Learning Sealing Jutsu
After finishing his disciples' training on Sunday afternoon, Muyue went to the main district, not returning home but heading straight to Minato's house. Last night, when eating at Muyue's place, Kushina and Minato had told Muyue that they had almost mastered the braised pork belly and planned to start making it officially tomorrow afternoon, inviting Muyue to come and see if he had time.
When Muyue arrived, the two had just finished boiling the pork belly and were about to color it with soy sauce. When Muyue prepared to step forward to help, Kushina stopped him.
"Muyue, you can just watch. If there are any incorrect steps, you can point them out, no need to help," Kushina said. Kushina felt awkward letting Muyue help since she had been freeloading meals at his house every night.
Minato brought a fruit platter and poured Muyue a glass of water, smiling gently : "Muyue, you don't need to help today. Just be an examiner for once." Minato and Kushina shared the same thought, feeling that this time they should do it themselves.
"Then I'll be lazy," Muyue said with a smile.
"You can poke some small holes in the pork skin with a skewer before pouring the soy sauce. This will make the braised pork belly more flavorful, and it will become looser when fried later," Muyue reminded them. Kushina and Minato realized they had forgotten this small detail. Under Muyue's guidance, Kushina and Minato completed each step in an orderly manner: frying, slicing, seasoning, and steaming... By the time they finished, it was already dark.
"Although this braised pork belly is delicious, it's really troublesome to make. Muyue, you must be very hungry, right?" Kushina asked. Compared to some of the home-cooked dishes she usually made, braised pork belly was much more complicated. It was just one dish, yet it required three procedures: boiling, frying, and steaming.
"Not too bad, after all, I was just watching," Muyue replied. As they spoke, Minato brought out the finished braised pork belly.
"Now, please give your score, Muyue-sensei," Minato joked.
"You two have been busy for so long, why don't you try your own hard work first?" Muyue didn't rush to taste it, choosing instead to let Minato and Kushina eat first.
"Then let's eat together," Kushina, who was already very hungry, decided not to bother with formalities. The three quickly served themselves rice, said "Itadakimasu," and began to eat.
"That's right, it's this melt-in-your-mouth, non-greasy feeling!" Kushina's face lit up with excitement and a sense of accomplishment as she picked up a slice of meat, put it in her mouth, and then took a bite of rice. She felt that her time hadn't been wasted, and she had successfully learned a very delicious dish. Although she still felt that Muyue's cooking was better, Kushina thought that there was no one in this world who cooked better than Muyue, so being slightly worse than the world's best was perfectly normal.
"When Jiraiya-sensei comes back, I definitely have to make this for him to try," Minato said while eating. Minato was also very satisfied with this dish of braised pork belly and wanted to share it with Jiraiya.
"Mmm, the completion is very high, with no major flaws," Muyue praised after tasting it. It wasn't entirely about building goodwill; this dish was originally a simple home-cooked meal, and with his guidance, the finished product naturally wouldn't be bad.
However, an awkward scene soon unfolded: the braised pork belly was quickly eaten, and the three of them stared at each other.
"Sorry, I forgot to make other dishes," Minato realized, looking at the empty plate.
"We were too focused, and just forgot," Kushina said with an embarrassed smile.
"I'll cook two dishes," Muyue said, standing up.
"Oh, no, that's not right. You're our guest; how can we let the guest cook?" Kushina was tempted, but felt it was improper.
"So, you want me to go home, cook it, and then bring it over?" Muyue asked with a smile.
"I'll wash the vegetables," Minato quietly stood up. Kushina thought about the taste of Muyue's cooking and finally couldn't resist nodding.
"Muyue, aren't you interested in sealing jutsu? Are you learning any sealing jutsu recently? I can teach you some sealing jutsu techniques," Kushina, sitting idly at the dining table, couldn't help but ask. Since she had been freeloading meals at their house, Kushina felt bad and wanted to repay Muyue.
"Currently, I'm still reading various theoretical books. Do you have any recommended sealing jutsu, preferably ones available in the library?" Muyue thought for a moment and asked.
"If you haven't started learning yet, how about I teach you an introductory sealing jutsu of our Uzumaki clan? It can also test your sealing jutsu talent. If you learn it within a day, you're a sealing jutsu genius. A week means you have talent for sealing jutsu. If it takes more than a month, it's probably not advisable to waste time on sealing jutsu," Kushina said.
"Then, Kushina, how long did it take you to learn it?" Muyue asked while heating oil in the wok.
"One day," Kushina replied proudly, she was just waiting for Muyue to ask.
"Then you're a sealing jutsu genius, aren't you?" Muyue praised.
"Just average, I just learned most of our Uzumaki clan's sealing jutsu," Kushina said "average," but the smile at the corner of her mouth was uncontrollable.
After dinner, Kushina handed Muyue a scroll and then went to wash the dishes, while Minato explained it to Muyue. Muyue listened very intently, more seriously than ever before.
"This sealing jutsu is called 'One-Finger Swift Seal'. It rapidly creates a chakra-binding seal, but the binding force is not strong and can be easily broken. It doesn't have much practical combat significance and is generally only used for introductory training," Minato explained. Muyue felt that this One-Finger Seal seemed quite simple, perhaps because Minato's sealing jutsu level was high and his explanation was good, or perhaps Muyue himself had a talent for sealing jutsu. Muyue didn't show this, only asking questions occasionally.
On Monday, Kotetsu Hagane arrived early at the Ninja Academy. Seeing that Izumo Kamizuki hadn't arrived yet, he nodded in satisfaction. He placed a novel on the table and began to read. When he felt that Izumo Kamizuki was about to arrive, Kotetsu put his textbook away, leaving only the novel on top.
"Kotetsu, didn't you say you didn't need to review? Why are you here so early reading?" Izumo Kamizuki, who had studied until 1 AM last night, asked in surprise. Kotetsu waved the novel in his hand and said, "What review? This is a newly released ninja novel, and it's really good." Izumo Kamizuki looked at the cover art and the title of the book, then relaxed and chuckled, "Reading a novel to relax is indeed a good choice." "So Kotetsu likes reading novels. Tomorrow I'll buy him a bestseller to send him, and let him read novels for two weeks," Izumo Kamizuki secretly thought. He felt that first place was becoming more and more secure.
"Izumo, you look a bit tired. Did you stay up late studying? That's not good for your health, and it's not good for the exam either," Kotetsu asked with feigned concern.
"No, I was playing games with my cousin and them last night and forgot the time, so I went to bed very late," Izumo Kamizuki said naturally.
"Playing games to relax, that's not bad either," Kotetsu smiled, feeling that first place was becoming more and more secure. It was good that he liked playing games. He decided to inquire more about various games after school, striving to make Izumo Kamizuki play all sorts of games every day for two weeks.
"What novel? What game?" Anko, who had just entered the classroom, became interested.
Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday are really important; please keep reading!