Naruto: Strength Through Teaching

Chapter 60: Learning Sealing Jutsu

After concluding the disciples' training on Sunday afternoon, Mutsuki went to the main city area, skipping a visit home and heading directly to Minato's house.

During dinner at Mutsuki's place last night, Kushina and Minato informed Mutsuki that they had almost completed their pork belly practice and were planning to officially start cooking it the next afternoon. Mutsuki was invited to drop by if available.

When Mutsuki arrived, the two had just finished boiling the pork belly and were preparing to color it with soy sauce.

As Mutsuki was about to offer help, Kushina stopped him.

"Mutsuki, you can just watch. If you notice any mistakes in the process, feel free to point them out, but there's no need to assist," Kushina said.

Having dinner at Mutsuki's house almost every night, Kushina didn't want to inconvenience Mutsuki by asking for help.

Minato handed Mutsuki a fruit plate and poured a glass of water, gently smiling.

"You don't need to help today, Mutsuki. Be our exam proctor for once," Minato said.

Minato and Kushina had the same idea, thinking that this time they should do it themselves.

"Well then, I guess I'll take it easy," Mutsuki said with a smile.

"You can use a chopstick to poke some small holes in the pork skin before pouring the soy sauce. This way, the pork will absorb more flavor, and when frying, it will turn out more fluffy," Mutsuki reminded.

Kushina and Minato only then realized they had forgotten about this small detail.

With Mutsuki's reminder, Kushina and Minato efficiently completed each step - frying, slicing, preparing the seasoning sauce, and steaming.

By the time the two finished their busy work, it was already dark outside.

"Although this pork belly is delicious, it's quite troublesome to make. Mutsuki, you must be hungry by now," Kushina asked.

Compared to the usual home-cooked dishes she prepared, making pork belly was much more complicated, involving boiling, frying, and steaming processes.

"I'm okay. After all, I just watched from the sidelines," Mutsuki replied.

While the two were talking, Minato brought over the completed pork belly.

"Next, let's have Yumi-sensei give us a score," Minato joked.

"After all the hard work, why don't you taste the fruits of your labor first?" Mutsuki didn't rush to taste the dish and instead chose to let Minato and Kushina eat first.

"Then let's eat together," a hungry Kushina decided not to make it overly formal.

The three quickly served their meals, and without any formalities, they declared, "Let's dig in!" and started eating.

"That's right, it has that perfect balance of richness without being too greasy!" Picking up a piece of meat and putting it in her mouth, then grabbing a mouthful of rice with chopsticks, Kushina's face lit up with excitement, feeling a sense of accomplishment.

She felt her time wasn't wasted; she had successfully learned to cook a delicious dish.

Although she still thought Mutsuki's cooking was tastier, Kushina believed that in this world, there was no one who could cook better than Mutsuki. Being just a bit short of being the best in the world seemed perfectly normal.

"When Jiraiya-sensei returns, I'll definitely make this for him to taste," Minato said while eating.

Minato was also very satisfied with this plate of pork belly and wanted to share it with Jiraiya.