Konoha Year 46, October.
Although it had already entered autumn, the air was still stiflingly hot, as if it had solidified. Even within Konohagakure, surrounded by lush greenery, it was difficult to completely dispel that unsettling heat seeping in from all directions across the shinobi world.
The tension of the situation had already been drawn taut.
The Raikage of Kumogakure had grown increasingly hardline in his public statements, while the Tsuchikage, Ōnoki of Iwagakure, maintained an inscrutable silence. Kirigakure remained shrouded in the closed-off Blood Mist, yet the fragmentary intelligence coming from that sea region carried an even deeper sense of strangeness.
As for Sunagakure, although the Kazekage had not made any explicit statement, he had not appeared publicly for quite some time.
However, the frequent domestic military movements and the expansion of ninja forces had already laid bare its intentions.
Still, for a village's Kage to go more than a month without appearing in public was rare in the shinobi world. Sunagakure's explanation was that he had made some realizations and was undergoing a period of focused training—perfectly reasonable on the surface. Yet a small number of people privately made malicious speculations—at such a critical moment, could it be that the Third Kazekage had encountered trouble?
With no public appearance for so long, it was possible he had gone missing, his life and death unknown.
Well then, if his life and death were unknown, then he must be dead.
Of course, such claims were confined to a small group of ill-intentioned speculators and were treated by the public as little more than a joke. After all, the Third Kazekage was known as the strongest Kazekage in Sunagakure's history—how could something happen to him within his own territory?
Nevertheless, anyone with a keen sense could tell that the curtain of peace was slowly being pulled open by an invisible hand, revealing the cold glint of blades behind it.
However, amid this oppressive atmosphere of an impending storm, a completely different wave—filled with everyday vitality and searing heat—was sweeping across the streets and alleys of the Land of Fire at an astonishing speed.
At first, it was only children excitedly passing around a manga with a novel art style that told of culinary duels—Number One Chef—discussing the young chef inside who shared the same name as the real-life genius ninja author.
Then, some adults who already loved manga and cooking were drawn in as well. They were astonished by the almost obsessive level of detail in the depiction of the cooking processes, as well as the dishes portrayed in the manga, described with such irresistible allure.
The name Higashino Shinichi, after "Konoha's genius ninja" and "Special-Grade Chef," became firmly associated with a new and highly approachable title—"culinary manga author who created new dishes."
The wave was so intense that even Konohagakure, far removed from worldly distractions and focused on war preparations, could not completely avoid its influence—in fact, it was even more fervent, since the manga's author was Shinichi himself, their village's genius ninja.
...
On Konoha's main street, the afternoon sun was somewhat scorching.
"Shinichi, when's the next chapter coming out? What's with those legendary cooking utensils mentioned at the end? I'm dying to know!"
"Shinichi, I tried recreating one of the dishes using the recipe from your manga's appendix—my kids absolutely loved it! I just can't quite balance the flavors the way you described. Could you go into more detail next time?"
"Oh, isn't this our great manga artist and Special-Grade Chef? Not in the shop researching new dishes today? Nor drawing storyboards?"
"I heard the next opponent is a noodle master? A noodle showdown? Shinichi will definitely win, right?"
"That glowing cooking concept is amazing! How did you come up with it?"
With a flawless gentle smile on his face, Shinichi calmly responded to greetings, questions, and teasing from all directions. Yet his steps never stopped as he steadily walked toward the meeting point agreed upon by Team Ten today.
The immense popularity of the manga and the craze for various new dishes had embedded the name "Higashino Shinichi" into the daily conversations of many ordinary villagers—and even ninja—in a more intimate and life-like way.
...
[Name: Higashino Shinichi]
[Profession: Chūnin / Sword Master]
[Talents: Clear Comprehension and Thorough Insight (Blue), Medical Proficiency (Green), Guidance (White)…]
...
As he walked, Shinichi's mind slightly sank into the panel. In the talent column, the entry representing "Quick-Witted" had already disappeared, replaced by a clear, profound blue glow.
[Clear Comprehension and Thorough Insight (Blue): Your mind is clear and focused, allowing you to perceive the underlying connections and deeper workings beneath the surface of things. Your efficiency in learning and comprehension undergoes a qualitative transformation.]
With the explosive popularity of Number One Chef, the precise culinary knowledge it displayed, the ingenious design of its duels, and its profound depiction of culinary spirit and inheritance allowed countless readers to enjoy the story while being deeply amazed by the author's talent and depth of thought.
In addition, as real recipes spread widely and earned high praise, people came to realize that this author—only ten years old and sharing the same name as the protagonist—was in fact both a genius ninja and a Special-Grade Chef who had won a national culinary competition.
Such multi-domain excellence beyond common sense further reinforced the external perception of his extraordinary talent and exceptional intellect.
These continuously accumulating and deepening perceptions—regarding his astonishing creativity and cross-domain insight—
Finally triggered a qualitative change, pushing the green entry past its bottleneck and evolving it into the higher-tier blue entry [Clear Comprehension and Thorough Insight].
This was not merely an increase in thinking speed, but a fundamental leap in insight and comprehension. For his future in personal learning, ninjutsu development, and even higher-level exploration of power, it would provide immeasurable assistance.
Then, the entry representing [Basic Medical Knowledge] had also disappeared, replaced by a vibrant green glow—[Medical Proficiency].
[Medical Proficiency (Green): Your speed in learning and mastering medical ninjutsu and related knowledge increases significantly. Complex anatomical diagrams, pharmacological reactions, and chakra pathway charts—you can quickly memorize and rapidly understand them. In practical operation, your technique is extremely stable and precise.]
Over these past months, amid intense missions and ongoing manga serialization, Shinichi still unwaveringly went to Konoha Hospital.
He took on a large number of diagnosis and treatment tasks—from common bruises and chakra disorders to rather troublesome cases such as old hidden injuries or complex toxins that even veteran medical ninja found difficult.
The level of medical ninjutsu and clinical adaptability he displayed not only far surpassed most full-time medical ninja who had worked hard for years, but even reached the level of the hospital's top performers. Many senior medical ninja, in private discussions, had to admit that this Higashino Shinichi was already ahead of many.
Those gazes and discussions—admiration, amazement, and even a trace of pressure—as well as the gradually spreading reputation of a medical genius as he cured more cases, all turned into more substantial cognition, gathering bit by bit, ultimately pushing that white base entry to naturally transform into the green [Medical Proficiency].
Finally, there was a newly generated white entry—[Guidance].
[Guidance (White): You possess basic instructional ability, capable of clearly teaching others the skills and knowledge you have mastered. Those who train under your guidance gain a slight increase in learning efficiency and can more easily grasp the key points of your explanations.]
This entry came from Isshin, his clone. Although he currently had only two disciples, he often encouraged them—on the grounds that sword training could not be done in isolation—to spar with apprentices from other dōjō. While it caused a bit of trouble, it also left many with the impression that Isshin could teach disciples as well.
Shinichi shifted his focus back to [Clear Comprehension and Thorough Insight] and thought to himself: 'Looks like my decision was correct. In the future, when I become a major figure in the shinobi world, someone who commands influence wherever he goes, perhaps I can write an autobiography, detailing how diligent and hardworking I was, how I achieved success… I've even thought of the title—it'll be called 'Mein Ka…'
Huh?
Why did this hand suddenly lift?
After dealing with another wave of enthusiastic passersby, Shinichi finally turned onto the quiet path leading to the training ground, slightly isolating himself from the noise behind him.
"Ah, look who's here? So it's our wildly popular bestselling manga artist of the Land of Fire, the Daimyō-certified Special-Grade Culinary Master, Konohagakure's rising genius ninja, the developer of the A-rank non-hand-seal ninjutsu Rasengan, the genius doctor praised by Konoha Hospital, the champion of the Sunagakure Chūnin Exams, the pioneer of a new path in Fire Release nin-taijutsu, and the outstanding practitioner of the Will of Fire personally praised by the Third Hokage—Higashino Shinichi."
Tsunade crossed her arms, leaning against a wooden post at the edge of the training ground. Watching Shinichi approach unhurriedly, she deliberately dragged out her tone, her signature voice carrying three parts laziness and seven parts teasing as she rattled off a string of titles as if reading a menu.
This exaggerated list of somewhat ridiculous titles, delivered in Tsunade's uniquely teasing, slightly rising tone, had an outstanding effect.
Beside her, Shizune couldn't help but burst into laughter, quickly covering her mouth as her shoulders trembled slightly.
Kurenai also pressed her lips together, amusement rippling in her beautiful red eyes.
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