Ling carried a bouquet of flowers taller than her upper body, swinging a frying pan in her right hand, and the shrill whistling never stopped along the way.
When Ling arrived outside Kushina's house, she could already smell the food, and her stomach immediately began to rumble like thunder.
"It smells like steak, and sukiyaki, and grilled eel."
Ling's body had been strengthened to the point where her five senses were beyond imagination; her nose was no less sensitive than the Inuzuka Clan's, and her ears could even hear the voices of three people inside the house.
"It must be Sister Mikoto and the weasel cub, right?"
Ling tapped the door with her toe, and soon heard hurried footsteps, then the door opened.
"Ling, long time no see, welcome back."
The one who opened the door was naturally Uchiha Itachi; at two years old, Itachi still had the innocence of a child, unlike in the original story where he pondered the meaning of life daily at four or five.
"Ah, it's little Itachi. Help me hold the flowers."
Ling handed the flowers, which were taller than Itachi, to him, completely obscuring his body. Ling took off her shoes and walked behind Itachi, carrying the frying pan.
Watching Itachi wobble and struggle to carry the flowers into the inner room, Ling couldn't help but lament that the weasel cub was still quite cute.
Uchiha Mikoto came out of the kitchen carrying dishes and saw Itachi, his small face flushed, struggling to hold the flowers and walking tremblingly towards her.
She immediately put down the dishes and took the flowers from Itachi's hands, then gave a chiding look to Uchiha Rei, who was secretly laughing behind him.
"Ling, you're teasing Itachi as soon as you get back."
Mikoto was somewhat helpless about Uchiha Rei's mischievousness and her fondness for teasing Itachi. Itachi also didn't like playing with children his own age; instead, he particularly liked Ling, this little girl.
"Mother, Ling isn't teasing me. Ling asked me for help."
Itachi didn't think Ling was teasing him. He didn't dislike the feeling of being needed, even if it was for small things. He preferred playing with the older Ling.
"Nah, Sister Mikoto, Itachi isn't an ordinary child. He's a genius. He's much better at skipping stones than I am."
Ling also felt that Itachi's Ninja talent was too good. Although he hadn't cultivated Chakra yet, his varied techniques for skipping stones already showed initial signs of his potential.
Don't underestimate skipping stones; it requires a high degree of body control and coordination, especially since Itachi could learn to throw stones using the same method Ling taught for throwing Shuriken.
Itachi lifted his small head, quite proud, because Ling always told him he was very talented, a little genius, much better than she was when she was little.
Ling always maximized the emotional value, so Itachi naturally liked and relied on Ling more. The main reason was that the games Ling taught him could all train his thinking ability and physical coordination.
"Alright, alright, you're right, then from now on, please be Itachi's master for his Ninja training."
Mikoto was a little jealous, mainly because her son had never been so close to her. Now he called her "Mother" instead of the word "Mom" that she preferred.
"Ling, you're finally back! A new all-you-can-eat hot pot restaurant just opened in Konoha. Let's go eat it out of business!"
Kushina came out of the kitchen carrying the sukiyaki; the lavish dinner was finally ready, and they could start eating. Ling's chopsticks had long been craving food.
"Okay, Sister Kushina, I should be able to stay in the Village for a long time."
Ling knew about that all-you-can-eat hot pot restaurant; it was opened by Ling's Second Body through Sara. Now, there are branches in all Five Great Nations, and business is booming.
Sara went to the Land of Rice Fields to find the Second Body as per Ling's instructions. The Second Body managed that valley very well. Although Wood Release cannot directly ripen crops, it can greatly accelerate their maturation time.
Vegetables that originally took forty to fifty days to mature could be sold in about ten days, plus rice that matured in two months, allowing the refugees from Rōran to live in peace and contentment.
The Ninja World is full of hidden talents, and opening an all-you-can-eat hot pot restaurant is actually very easy to be eaten out of business, but most Ninja's appetites are still within the normal range.
The price per person at the all-you-can-eat hot pot restaurant is a bit expensive, and most people don't break even, except for Ling, Kushina, and Tsunade, but overall, it's still profitable.
"Sister Kushina, your birthday was a few days ago, and I wasn't in the Village. These are your belated birthday gifts."
Ling always thoughtfully remembered the birthdays of all her close acquaintances, and she would prepare suitable gifts for each birthday, unless she wasn't present.
"Ah? Is it this frying pan?" Kushina was a bit confused. What kind of gift was a frying pan? Ling used to give handmade crafts.
"This isn't just any ordinary frying pan. This frying pan is made from a perfect ratio of chakra metal and meteoric iron. It's indestructible, can withstand Ninjutsu and Ninja tools, and can also attack enemies."
Ling infused Lightning Release Chakra into the frying pan, and immediately, a dazzling lightning glow erupted from it, with electric arcs constantly jumping. One didn't even need to look to know its incredible power.
"And it can also be used as a cooking utensil. You don't need to light a fire; you just need Fire Release Chakra to stir-fry dishes."
Ling then infused Fire Release Chakra, and the frying pan quickly began to heat up, the air above it distorting. Ling took a piece of raw steak and demonstrated directly.
"Look! Isn't it amazing? Try this steak grilled with Fire Release combined with a chakra metal frying pan and see if it's not delicious."
Ling poured the cooked steak onto a plate; it was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, looking perfectly cooked. The rich charred aroma combined with black pepper sauce was simply perfect.
Ling and Kushina were both carefree; they were both busy tasting the steak to see if it was good, while Mikoto watched Uchiha Rei with a somewhat strange expression.
To make a frying pan out of chakra metal and meteoric iron—the entire Uchiha Clan had never been so wasteful in its history, and perhaps the entire Ninja World hadn't either.
"It really is delicious, and the frying pan feels great in hand. The design is very user-friendly and very easy to use."
Kushina swung the frying pan, and it indeed felt incredibly natural, as if this frying pan was born to belong to her.
Itachi looked at the frying pan with a hint of envy, but then he remembered the wooden Kunai Ling had given him and didn't mind anymore; those were made by Ling herself.
"Ling, I heard you captured Pakura of Sunagakure and the One-Tail Jinchuriki, Kitsuchi of Iwagakure, and the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, right?"
Kushina wanted to hear about Ling's legendary experiences, mainly because she was so bored staying in the Village every day and couldn't go out, so she could only listen to stories to satisfy her curiosity.
Kurama, who was bound into a ball inside Kushina, also perked up his donkey-like ears. He also wanted to know how Shukaku and Five-Tails, Mū King were doing.
"Ah, that… when I first went to the Sunagakure battlefield… then I captured Pakura, and after returning from Rōran, I encountered the One-Tail Jinchuriki…"
Ling swallowed a piece of steak, drank a glass of orange juice, and then continued to narrate slowly. Ling tried to be as detailed and story-like as possible, and Mikoto and Itachi also enjoyed listening.
"And when I went to the Iwagakure battlefield, on the way… then I captured Kitsuchi and the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, and then the Third called me back."
Ling naturally embellished the battle process a bit. She couldn't just say she captured Kitsuchi with one move, right? Naturally, she was surrounded and won after a bloody battle.
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