A day later, in a wild woodland somewhere in the Land of Fire.
The iron pot bubbled with steam, and a rich, delicious aroma drifted with the evening breeze, making one's mouth water.
"Mmm, this is so delicious! Shinichi!" Shizune held her bowl, her eyes narrowing into happy crescents as she blew on the soup and took small sips, her cheeks flushed with satisfaction. "I didn't know a simple picnic could be so tasty! As expected of the champion of the National Gourmet Competition!"
Although Kurenai Yuhi didn't speak, her chopsticks were noticeably faster than usual. Her movements remained elegant, but her speed betrayed her outward composure.
Her beautiful red eyes sparkled in the reflection of the campfire, occasionally glancing at Shinichi, who was adding the final bit of seasoning herbs to the soup.
Tsunade took a large gulp, feeling the soothing warmth and rich layers of flavor in her stomach. She hummed and squinted at Shinichi. "You brat, you really kept this hidden well. With such skills, I didn't see you proactively honoring me, your teacher, while we were in the village."
Shinichi smiled and closed the small seasoning jar in his hand. "If Tsunade-sensei likes it, I naturally should when there's an opportunity in the future."
Tsunade snorted and ate a few more bites. Soon, she sensed a subtle change in her body. She raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but ask, "Brat, what exactly did you add to this dish?"
"It shouldn't be..." Before he could answer, she muttered to herself, "They are clearly ordinary ingredients, so why does it feel like I'm eating some highly nourishing medicinal meal?"
She had watched Shinichi cook the entire time and confirmed he hadn't added any special Materials. With her top-tier medical expertise, she judged the dish to be made entirely of ordinary ingredients.
But strangely, after eating, not only did her blood and Qi flow smoothly, but even her mental fatigue was significantly relieved. In medical terms, this dish nourished both physical and spiritual energy simultaneously.
Shinichi smiled without answering. He took out a roll of tied-up manuscript paper and handed it over. "Tsunade-sensei, please take a look at this."
"Hmm?" Tsunade took it, her gaze falling upon it. It contained panels of carefully drawn, sequential illustrations, with colors meticulously filled in.
A manga?
Tsunade raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise appearing on her face, which then turned into her usual disdain. "Brat, when did you start dabbling in drawing manga? Don't be like that idiot Jiraiya, who ignores his proper duties all day and only knows how to write those messy novels. Don't waste your time on such trivialities."
"I'm telling you, those who go into the arts, especially novelists, have no future."
Shinichi just smiled. "Tsunade-sensei, just keep reading."
"chuuka ichiban"?
Tsunade glanced at the title on the first page, curled her lip, but followed his words and continued reading.
The story was set in the Ninja World. The protagonist was named Shinichi, the heir to a place called "Chuka Rou" in the southeastern region of the Land of Fire.
He was cheerful, upright, kind, and sincere, with an innate love and extraordinary talent for cooking.
The beginning of the story revolved around the ultimate culinary duel for the inheritance of "Chuka Rou" between him and his mother's other Disciple, "Shōan."
In the drawings, Shōan used treacherous methods to seize Chuka Rou, which represented glory and Legacy. He advocated for absolute power and overwhelming taste to control everything, his cooking style sharp and domineering, filled with unscrupulous hostility.
Shinichi, however, was completely different. He held onto his mother's original intention that "cooking is the way of a person, aimed at conveying happiness and warmth," believing that truly ultimate flavors could awaken the most beautiful parts of the human heart.
The theme of the duel was "Tofu."
Shōan exhausted his efforts to present a "Nine Treasures Qilin Crystal Tofu," a dish with extremely complex processes, luxurious ingredients, and an aggressive, impactful taste, intending to conquer everything with absolute power and technique.
Shinichi, on the other hand, chose to return to the Origin of cooking, creating a "mapo tofu" that seemed simple and unadorned but contained deep craftsmanship and sentiment.
The manga used highly expressive panels to depict the scenes when the two dishes were presented. Shōan's dish was dazzling and imposing, like a visual and gustatory genjutsu feast.
Shinichi's mapo tofu was oily and red, its aroma seemingly piercing through the paper. The eight-character essence of "numbing, spicy, fresh, fragrant, hot, tender, crispy, and lively" leaped off the page through the judges' exaggerated yet infectious expressions, conveying a return to simplicity and a warm power that struck the Soul.
Ultimately, Shinichi, with this "mapo tofu" that carried his original culinary intent and could transform the most ordinary ingredients into a touching miracle, completely defeated Shōan, who had lost his way in the pursuit of power. He won the inheritance of Chuka Rou and defended the culinary path his mother insisted upon.
"The story is decent, and the artwork is okay." Tsunade rolled up the manuscript. "The art style is fresh, and the plot makes one want to keep following. If it were actually serialized, it might have the potential to be a bestseller."
She shifted her tone, narrowing her eyes slightly. "However, why did you set the protagonist's name to your own?"
Shinichi explained calmly, "Tsunade-sensei, becoming a great chef has never been an empty dream for me. But the reality is that I chose the path of a Ninja and will firmly walk it. Naming the protagonist Shinichi is, in a sense, a way to place my hopes. It's like watching another version of myself through him, focusing on moving forward in the culinary world and achieving a dream I haven't personally stepped into."
"Furthermore, if the manga is truly serialized, I plan to continuously upload new dishes I've created or improved as the protagonist grows. For example, the mapo tofu featured this time is one of them. This will make the manga more realistic and attractive to food lovers, and it's also another way to share my understanding and passion for cooking."
Shinichi's thoughts were naturally not so simple.
The deeper calculation lay in the story of "chuuka ichiban": Shinichi set the protagonist to have talent in extraordinary swordsmanship and the mastery of controlling ingredients with fire (Fire Release).
At the same time, since the background was set in the Ninja World, there would naturally be no shortage of powerful enemies and blood-pumping battles. The protagonist "Shinichi" would demonstrate his excellent swordsmanship and Fire Release to defeat various enemies.
When people became immersed in the excitement of that Genius youth—also named "Shinichi"—who constantly challenged the culinary Peak and defeated powerful enemies...
It would be hard for them not to project that appreciation and association onto the manga's author—the young Genius Ninja of Konoha with the same name, also famous for his swordsmanship and Fire Release.
Shinichi planned to continuously "upload" new dishes he personally developed or improved as the plot progressed, attaching the creative ideas and flavor profiles. This directly linked the fictional story with real-world creativity.
While readers marveled at the culinary talent of "Shinichi" in the manga, they would simultaneously receive a message: these mouth-watering, wonderful dishes were real and came from the hands of the real-life Higashino Shinichi.
This continuous, concrete intertwining of fiction and reality greatly strengthened the cognitive connection and uniqueness.
The beauty of this carefully crafted effect, where fiction and reality reflected each other, went far beyond just increasing fame. It would subtly accomplish two things:
First, image expansion and cognitive deepening: It would expand the public's perception of "Higashino Shinichi" from the relatively singular and perhaps distant label of "Ninja Genius" to a richer, more relatable, and human dimension.
This multi-dimensional Genius image would be more likely to gain widespread favor and recognition, and his legendary status would become more three-dimensional and full.
Second, positive feedback and cognitive nourishment: The qualities of focus, passion, integrity, never giving up, and constant self-Breakthrough shown by the protagonist "Shinichi" would subtly attach themselves to the author, Higashino Shinichi, through the emotional power of the story.
Readers' love and respect for the virtual character would partially transform into positive imagination and recognition of the real person's character, invisibly shaping an extremely favorable public image for him.
And all of this—public attention, multi-dimensional perception, emotional identification—would ultimately converge into a precious source of cognition to nourish his Entry System, especially for the newly acquired Blue Entry: [Gourmet].
Regarding the acquisition of cognition, Shinichi's gaze was never limited to Ninjas.
The mainstream of this world was indeed Ninjas, but Shinichi knew very well that the true foundation supporting this world was the billions of ordinary people.
They might not understand how difficult an A-rank Ninjutsu was or what a Chunin Exams champion meant—humans cannot imagine things they haven't seen—but they knew if a dish was delicious.
That was enough.
When these perceptions spread from one person's tongue to another's ear, from one family to a street, from one city to the entire Land of Fire, and from the Land of Fire to the whole world.
Gourmet food was even just an attempt; the next step was medicine.
Not the high-end Medical Ninjutsu, but bringing medical technology down to the fields and the masses.
So that children from ordinary families no longer die from a cold or fever, so that women in childbirth no longer gamble with their lives, and so that elderly people who have worked their whole lives don't just wait for death when they fall ill.
The education from his past life had etched something into Shinichi's bones—what truly shakes the heart is never some eye-catching novelty, nor high-and-mighty gods.
It is those people who make people's lives better!
When they find they eat better, can afford medical care, and can live better and longer...
People will thank the creators of all this from the bottom of their hearts. Those thanks transcend borders, races, and ethnicities.
It will flow like a river from the cracks of thousands of households, gathering into the deepest and broadest power.
That is what truly cannot be erased.
That is the true power of the masses.
From the people, for the people.