Naruto: Starting as the Third Hokage with Tears in His Eyes

Chapter 609 Classroom at Sea

"Please be sure to include this great technology in our Kirigakure revitalization plan!"

Hozuki Shio's tone was as solemn as if she were reading out an S-rank mission file.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, holding the plate, looked at the silver-haired girl in front of him who was bowing ninety degrees to the cake, and his lips twitched twice.

He simply baked a cake out of boredom early in the morning.

"...I'll think about it."

Hozuki Shio straightened up, a kind of almost fanatical flame burning in her purple pupils. "Hokage-sama, do you know what the children of Kirigakure eat from a young age? Dried salted fish! The kind where they don't even bother to add soy sauce!"

"……Um."

"If they can get to eat this—"

Her hands were trembling as she held the cake. "All the ninjas in the Land of Water will kneel down and shout 'Long live you!'"

Hiruzen Sarutobi remained silent for three seconds.

It wasn't that I was moved; it was that I was mentally calculating: the manufacturing cost of a chakra oven, the sourcing channels for flour in the Land of Water, and the feasibility of butter preservation technology in a maritime climate—

Forget it.

Go back and ask Orochimaru for a solution.

"Okay, write it in."

He placed the plate on the table. "But I can't mass-produce it all by myself. You all need to learn."

Hozuki Shio's eyes were so bright they could be used as searchlights.

"I'll learn! I'll learn right now!"

Uchiha Shisui, who was leaning against the bulkhead, put down his teacup, pushed his mask up to reveal his ever-present gentle smile: "Hokage-sama, I can help too."

"You?" Hiruzen Sarutobi looked his sharpest assassination weapon up and down. "You can cook?"

"Won't."

Zhi Shui readily admitted, "But I think the learning process itself is a form of spiritual practice."

Hozuki Kaigetsu sat in the corner, flipping through the worn-out "Kirigakure Revitalization Plan," without even looking up: "Boring."

"Brother! You're here too!"

Hozuki Shio rushed over and tugged at his sleeve.

"I'm not going."

"Then don't eat the first serving I make."

Hozuki Kaigetsu paused for a moment.

He closed the reel, stood up, and looked like a cat being forcibly dragged out of bed.

"……Walk."

In the kitchen, Hiruzen Sarutobi tied on an apron.

The fact that he wore a Naruto-themed apron was absurd enough. But what was even more absurd was how skillfully he tied it, his knot-tying technique being even smoother than hand seals.

—Muscle memory from a solitary office worker in my past life.

He took out flour, eggs, sugar, and a small can of fresh milk specially supplied by Shuomao Farm from the cabinet.

"There are only three key steps to making a cake."

He held up three fingers. "First, separate the egg whites and yolks. Second, whip the egg whites. Third, mix them into the oven."

Hozuki Shio nodded seriously, rubbing her hands together in anticipation.

"That sounds pretty simple."

Looking at her confident expression, Hiruzen Sarutobi recalled his own painful experience of blowing up the kitchen the first time he made a cake.

Simple?

Oh.

"Here, crack the eggs first." He handed four eggs to Hozuki Shio. "Crack them gently, don't let the shells fall in."

Hozuki Shio took the egg, took a deep breath, as if she were carrying out an A-level mission.

She held the egg up, aimed it at the rim of the bowl, and cracked it hard—

The egg burst open in her palm. Egg yolk spilled down her wrist and onto the table.

"..."

"..."

"Power".

Hiruzen Sarutobi handed over the second egg without changing his expression. "You're cracking an egg, not crushing an enemy's skull."

"I know! I just... accidentally dropped it."

Hozuki Shio wiped her hands and started again.

This time she was very careful, using only about one-tenth of her strength. The egg hit the rim of the bowl, but didn't budge.

"..."

She applied a little more pressure.

*Snap.* It shattered again.

Uchiha Shisui watched from the side, his lips pressed into a thin line, his shoulders trembling slightly.

"Don't laugh!"

Hozuki Shio turned around and glared at him.

"I wasn't laughing." Shisui's tone was as calm as if he were reporting a mission, but the tips of his ears were slightly red.

Hozuki Kaigetsu reached out from the side, gently pinched and tapped the eggshell with two fingers, creating a perfect crack. The egg liquid slid into the bowl through the crack without a single broken shell.

He didn't even glance at the girl.

"Wouldn't it be faster to separate egg whites and yolks using water?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi raised an eyebrow: "It's possible, but when it comes to cooking, feel is more important than ninjutsu. You can use Water Release to separate things, but what if you teach ordinary villagers in Kirigakure? Would they use Water Release to crack eggs too?"

Hozuki Kaigetsu's mouth opened and then closed.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was secretly pleased.

To reason with young people, you have to shut them up until they have nothing to say.

"Alright, the eggs are separated. Next, whip the egg whites."

He took out a bamboo chopstick and began to demonstrate. His wrist propelled the chopstick to spin rapidly in the bowl, and the egg whites gradually expanded as they were whipped, turning from a transparent liquid into white foam.

"You need to beat it until you can lift the chopsticks and pull out a sharp point, and that point won't fall down."

Hozuki Shio took the chopsticks and imitated his movements to stir.

A minute passed.

Two minutes passed.

three minutes.

"Lord Hokage... my hand is getting tired."

"continue."

"But it's still just a puddle of water!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi leaned over for a look and remained silent for two seconds.

"You forgot to add sugar."

"……what?"

"As I just said, you need to add the sugar in three batches when whipping it."

Hozuki Shio recalled for a moment.

Did the Hokage say that? She did remember his mouth moving, but at the time, all her attention was focused on the golden cake…

"Um... I think I might have... spaced out."

Looking at her sheepish face, Hiruzen Sarutobi thought of his colleagues when he was leading a team, who were always slacking off in meetings.

The same.

He sighed and began explaining again.

This time, Uchiha Shisui stood in front of the control panel.

He took over the stirring work, his wrist movements as precise as a metronome.

The sugar was added three times at almost precise intervals, and the egg whites quickly expanded and stood up in his hands.

In less than two minutes, the perfect meringue was formed.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at the bowl of fluffy white meringue, then glanced at Shisui's calm face.

The dynamic vision of the Mangekyou Sharingan, combined with dark-level muscle control, is used to beat egg whites.

To waste such a precious resource.

But he didn't intend to say it. After all, he hadn't gotten revenge for yesterday's pinball machine incident.

"Made by Zhishui, it can be used as a standard teaching material."

He gave a compliment without any expression.

Shisui bowed slightly: "It's thanks to the Hokage's excellent teaching."

Hozuki Shio looked at the bowl of meringue with a sour expression: "So what if you have Sharingan?"

"Truly remarkable."

Hozuki Kaigetsu delivered the finishing blow with a blank expression.

"Brother! Are you my brother or his brother?!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi mixed the batter, poured it into the mold, and put it in the oven.

He adjusted the heat of the chakra stove to a precise temperature—a step that did indeed require a ninja's chakra perception ability.

Thirty minutes.