Chapter 43: A Flashy Banquet
After settling the survivors in a nearby town, the Kakushi arrived quickly to coordinate with the local police. It saved Natsuya's group from a mountain of paperwork and tedious follow-up questions.
By the time they finally sat down at a Yatai (food stall) that Uzui frequented, it was already the evening of the following day.
Kojiro, the Kanoe-rank Slayer, had also wanted to join the "Victory Feast," but due to his severe injuries, the Kakushi had forcibly escorted him to a nearby Wisteria House to recover. The Butterfly Mansion at Headquarters was too far away, so local civilian allies would have to suffice for now.
The stall the trio chose sat on the edge of town. Despite the late hour, it was large, brightly lit, and filled with the roar of hungry patrons and the smell of charcoal.
According to Uzui, this was his "home turf." Whenever he finished a mission near Yamanashi, if he had the leisure, he would come here to reward himself with a feast. Now that he had acknowledged Natsuya and Kanae as "flashy comrades," he naturally brought them along.
"The exhaustion of a mission must be soothed with flashy food!" Uzui declared.
He greeted the owner like an old friend, took the menu, and began a series of fluid gestures and rapid-fire orders. Every other sentence was punctuated by his eccentric ninja philosophies. Had the owner not known him for years, he would have likely been kicked out for being a disruptive customer.
But it didn't stop there. Uzui was completely unfazed by the curious stares from other diners regarding his flamboyant uniform and shinobi gear. Instead, he grinned, nodded to a few familiar vendors, and proudly showed off his new hair ornaments and nail polish.
"Senior Uzui is certainly... a confident man," Kanae whispered, letting out a soft giggle as she watched him flaunt his charms. "If it were me, I don't think I could be quite so unabashed."
Natsuya leaned in. "He's not confident. He's just a narcissist with a severe case of main-character syndrome."
"Owner! Three salt-grilled mackerel, Oden with extra radish, double-pork Yakisoba, sweet Tamagoyaki, and a pile of fried chicken! Bring the Edamame first, and three jugs of sake!" Uzui shouted toward the counter.
"Hey, shouldn't the host let the guests see the menu first?" a regular at a nearby table teased. "Tengen, are these your colleagues? Are they ninjas too?"
Uzui flashed a blindingly confident smile. "Old man Okamoto, I only order the flashiest... and most delicious items! Trust in the taste of Lord Uzui!"
"Psh, you just ordered everything you like to eat," the regular retorted, raising a cup in a distant toast before returning to his conversation with his friends.
Uzui laughed and slapped Natsuya on the back. "HAHAHA! Don't listen to that old fossil. Lord Uzui was merciful enough not to order the blowfish sashimi this time!"
Natsuya had just taken a sip of hot tea and nearly sprayed it across the table from the impact of the slap. Kanae sat beside them, covering her mouth as she laughed.
Natsuya rolled his eyes at the massive ninja and leaned back in his wooden chair, finally starting to relax.
The izakaya was a cacophony of voices. From the kitchen came the rhythmic clack-clack of knives and the sizzle of pans. The aroma of charred meat, the warm steam rising from the Oden, and the gentle ripple of sake being poured into cups... for a moment, Natsuya felt like he was back in the real world.
Everything here is just too realistic, he mused.
It's an action game centered on combat, yet they spent so much processing power on the lighting rendering and NPC AI...
Holding his cup of tea, Natsuya's gaze went slightly out of focus. He wasn't checking his System; he was remembering his life before the "Deep Dive." Back home, he would often wander into busy backalleys after a long day of work or gaming to find a hole-in-the-wall restaurant to treat himself.
Even sitting alone, being surrounded by strangers—people he didn't know and would never meet again, all chatting happily about their futures and pasts—made him feel like he wasn't truly alone in the city.
It was the taste of a brief respite from the grind. The sound of humanity. The taste of being alive.
"Lively, isn't it?"
Uzui pushed a cup of sake toward him, snapping Natsuya out of his reverie. He pointed to the gourd at Natsuya's waist. "Don't give me that 'I'm a minor' excuse. You're carrying that hag Nikaido's wine gourd, aren't you?"
Natsuya took a small sip. As a beverage, it was a bit spicy; as an alcoholic drink, it felt weak and thin.
"Just like Nikaido's shochu. Average."
Uzui perked up. "What? You don't like shochu or sake? Don't tell me you prefer those fizzy sparkling wines, or the plum wine the girls like? Surely it's not that 'Flaming Oolong' the Westerners drink that catches fire when you touch a match to it?"
Natsuya took another sip of tea and said flatly, "I like Ice-Cold Coca-Cola."
What the hell is that? Uzui blinked.
"Maybe if you live another few decades, you'll find out," Natsuya replied.
Uzui: (´･_･)?
A passing diner let out a laugh and chimed in. "Tengen, you're behind the times! That's one of those rare things from the West. Like that... what was it... Ka..."
"Coffee," his companion provided.
"Right, right! Like coffee, croquettes, and curry! Only the rich folk get a taste of those imports. It seems this young man has a deep pockets! Hahaha!"
The diner clinked his cup against Uzui's and wandered off with his friend, swaying slightly from the alcohol.
Natsuya: ? Wait, you can actually get Coke in this era?
Uzui held his cup, inspecting Natsuya more closely. Kokonoe... was he a wealthy young master before joining?
Most people joined the Corps for revenge or because they were desperate for the high pay. It seemed Natsuya was the former, but with the background of a noble. He shifted his gaze to Kanae. Now that I think about it, this girl doesn't look like she comes from a common family either. A runaway lady?
Kanae smiled and shook her head. "I'm not much of a drinker."
Uzui shrugged. I'm not a boring man who forces a wounded girl to drink. He downed his sake in one go.
"So, Kokonoe. What's the plan? Want to form a permanent party with Lord Uzui?"
Natsuya bit into a chicken skewer. The flavor was decent.
"No thanks," he refused. "I still have a lot of grinding to do."
Thinking of the multiple breathing styles Natsuya had demonstrated, Uzui understood his intent. Kanae realized it too, her tone warm and curious.
"Natsuya-kun, are you planning to continue your training with Flame Breathing next?"
Natsuya nodded, talking through a mouthful of food. "I plan to develop my own unique Breathing Style eventually. I'm mastering multiple basic styles now to build the foundation."
Flame?
So it really is five?
Learning all five basic styles just to develop a derivative?
What kind of monster comes up with a build path like that? Uzui thought. With that much time and effort, you could have pushed one style to the absolute peak. Why waste the efficiency?
Uzui felt like the Yakitori in his hand had lost its flavor.
Natsuya continued, "Speaking of which... your Sound Breathing and Flower Breathing are derivatives of Thunder and Water, right? Do you have any tips or experience I could use for reference?"
The two of them froze simultaneously.
How did he... identify our derivative styles so accurately?
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