Naruto Immersive Replay, The Curse of the Sharingan

In an inconspicuous corner of the classroom, Shino Aburame, wearing sunglasses, stood like a silent observer, taking in everything.

He himself had a very low profile, but he always held a persistent desire to investigate Uchiha Nagi, the special being that caused the parasites in his body to have an abnormal reaction.

Akamaru's fear of you is exactly the same as his fear of his parasitic insects; this is no coincidence.

Watching Kiba Inuzuka tease Akamaru, Shino pushed up his sunglasses, thinking to himself, "Perhaps... I can start with Kiba."

The afternoon was club activity time, and the theme of this year's first-year activity was unexpectedly cooking practice.

Even before the activity started, Teacher Iruka had already asked everyone to form their own pairs and assigned a special practical task: during this club activity, you must obtain positive feedback from at least one of your partners and record it on a special form.

While the other students were excitedly discussing group assignments and menus, you sat alone in a corner, staring blankly at the blank sheet of paper with the apology Iruka had demanded in front of you.

All you can think about is how to use the most concise language to get by with this damn self-criticism.

Only when you see the gleaming pots and pans, the dazzling array of rice, flour, cooking oil, and various colored condiments do you belatedly look up.

Why do ninja schools teach cooking? It's far more complicated than shuriken throwing and hand-to-hand combat.

The cold weapons and clear combat techniques are at least logically sound.

These bottles and jars in front of you are full of uncontrollable variables, which is a nightmare for people like you who pursue efficiency and certainty.

You instinctively want to back away and find a corner to continue keeping company with your self-criticism.

Sakura Haruno, who knows you well, had already anticipated your move. "Nagi! Over here!" Sakura, quick as a flash, grabbed you as you were about to slip away, while simultaneously calling out to her friend Ino Yamanaka.

"Ino, let's be a team! Let Nagi... um, be in charge of supervising and judging!"

Although Ino was still a little intimidated by your unapproachable aura, she had no choice but to nod in agreement when she saw Sakura's insistence.

Sakura and Ino were in charge of all the hands-on work, while you were given the sacred duty of watching and eating.

After the division of labor was clearly defined, Sakura and Ino got to work enthusiastically.

They put on aprons, washed the ingredients, cracked eggs and kneaded dough. Although their movements were a little clumsy, they were full of focus and energy.

Sakura gently sat you down on a chair, and even thoughtfully placed a glass of warm water in front of you, truly making it so you only had to look and not touch.

At first, the atmosphere was relatively harmonious.

They would occasionally offer you scraps or half-finished products, their expectant eyes inviting you to try them.

"Nagi, try this dough, is it sweet enough?"

"Nagi, how's the cream whipped?"

Acting as a connoisseur, you offer a brief evaluation: "Okay," or "Not bad."

Having received recognition, Sakura and Ino worked even harder.

As the event progressed, especially as their works gradually took shape and began to bloom in color, aroma, and flavor, a subtle sense of competition quietly began to grow between Sakura and Ino.

Ino, who originally only took care of you because of Sakura's request, felt a strange competitive spirit ignite when she saw you sitting there quietly, tasting your food, your dark eyes occasionally narrowing slightly because of the deliciousness.

Even she herself didn't realize that she was starting to want to make food that you would like even more than Sakura!

As a result, the frequency of feeding increased dramatically.

"Nagi! Try this! I just baked some bear cookies! The ears are chocolate flavored!" Sakura eagerly presented you with a plate of fragrant cookies.

Just as you picked up a cookie, Ino brought over a delicate white porcelain plate with a sandwich made of fresh strawberries and cream on it.

"Nagi, try my sandwich! I used a little honey instead of sugar, so it's healthier!"

Looking at the two food items handed to him at the same time, he paused for a second, and then, under the intense gazes of Sakura and Ino, took a bite of the cookie, nodded, took the sandwich, took a bite, and nodded again.

“They are all delicious.”

You offered an objective assessment, attempting to maintain a balanced perspective.

However, Sakura and Ino were clearly not satisfied with this balanced assessment.

They looked at each other and saw in each other's eyes the unwavering belief that "mine must taste better."

The following days were filled with either Sakura's newly developed petal-shaped cookies or Ino's improved secret-recipe sauce rice balls.

They present their work to you in all sorts of creative ways, as if whoever feeds you the most and receives the most praise wins this silent contest.

You even feel that you can skip dinner tonight.

You immediately picked up a pen and quickly wrote down positive comments like "Excellent, tastes great" on Sakura's and Ino's forms.

Sakura and Ino both breathed a sigh of relief, which meant that their assignment had been successfully completed.

When they looked at the forms in each other's hands and found that the evaluations were exactly the same, that competitive spirit resurfaced.

While Sakura and Ino were arguing over the last piece of piping decoration, you quietly slipped away from them.

Your practical assignment form still has an empty evaluation section. Since the requirement is to receive positive feedback from others, the best way is to make a dish and then find someone to evaluate it.

Looking around, you see other classmates working enthusiastically, and Sakura's cookie-making process doesn't seem complicated, so you decide to follow suit.

I walked to an empty workbench and, relying on the vague memory of what I had just observed, began to work.

He found the bear mold, and then brought out eggs and flour. His movements were clumsy but unusually focused. He stared intently at the ingredients in his hands, as if he were analyzing some kind of complex ninja scroll.

"Uchiha-kun, are you making cookies?" A憨厚 voice rang out from the side. Akimichi Choji had walked over at some point, holding half a potato chip in his hand, and looked at your simple preparations with curiosity.

You nodded, without saying anything more.

Choji, recalling the scene of Sakura and Ino vying for your attention earlier, couldn't help but sigh sincerely, "Actually... I'm quite envious of you, being taken care of so much by both Sakura and Ino at the same time..."

In his eyes, being surrounded by girls feeding him was like heaven.

"What are you guys talking about here?" Kiba Inuzuka, carrying Akamaru, strolled over, clearly drawn in by the atmosphere.

When he saw you standing seriously in front of the control panel, wearing a pink apron, he was stunned for a moment. He couldn't help but blurt out, "I don't know why, but I have a feeling you're going to poison me?"

You completely blocked out the noise from Choji and Ya, mixed the flour and beaten eggs together, laboriously stirred the suspiciously colored batter with a spoon, and then poured it into the bear mold with a reckless decisiveness.

Just then, Choji and Kiba both sensed that there was another person beside them.

"Wow!" Choji was startled by Shikamaru's sudden appearance, nearly dropping the potato chips in his hand. "Shikamaru! When did you get here?"

Shikamaru didn't answer Choji; his gaze fell on your fluid yet completely off-track operation. "I feel like... something's off about her procedure?"

Although he is lazy, he still has basic common sense.

Kiba sniffed, already faintly smelling the burnt odor wafting from the oven. Holding Akamaru, he instinctively took a half-step back, muttering nervously, "It didn't... explode, did it?"

The expected explosion did not occur; instead, the oven indicator light emitted a steady red glow, and an increasingly noticeable burnt smell permeated the air.

You stand in front of the oven, slightly relieved; it seems the refining process is going smoothly.

I put on thick gloves, opened the oven door, and saw a blackened bear lying on the baking tray.

"..."

You silently look at your masterpiece, then slam the oven door shut again. As long as you can't see it, these failures don't exist.

"Nagi-chan! Are you done yet?" Naruto Uzumaki, who had noticed the commotion earlier, ran over excitedly, his face beaming with an unguarded smile. "I want to be the first to try your cookies!"

You stood in front of the oven, one hand pressing down on Naruto's outstretched hand. "I think... you can reconsider!"

Naruto was confused by your reaction. "Huh? Why? Nagi-chan's cooking must be delicious!"

Kiba Inuzuka, with his boundless curiosity, took advantage of your attention being on Naruto and suddenly opened the oven door again.

The indescribable dark biscuits were once again exposed to the light of day.

Chapter 304 - Undercover Agent

"!!!" Kiba Inuzuka stared at the objects emanating an ominous aura, falling into a long silence. Was...was this really food?

Naruto saw it too. His smile froze on his face, and his eyes widened. He never expected that you, who seemed so adept at ninjutsu and taijutsu, would be such a terrifying killer in the culinary field!

But! A strange protective instinct welled up inside Naruto! How could he let him down! Even if it was poison, he would still praise how delicious it was!

So, under the horrified gazes of everyone, Naruto resolutely reached out, picked up the most intact black biscuit, closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and stuffed the whole thing into his mouth. He chewed it haphazardly a couple of times and then swallowed it whole.

Naruto's expression contorted uncontrollably, his features almost scrunched up, but he suppressed the urge to gag and gave a thumbs up. "Y-Y-delicious! Nagi-chan! Super delicious!"

Seeing Naruto struggling through excruciating pain, everyone felt a complex mix of admiration and respect. Perhaps this is the power of true love?

Kiba Inuzuka snapped out of his shock and immediately found the perfect excuse to escape. He chuckled dryly and tried to grab Akamaru from his arms.

"Haha! Um... Akamaru! Akamaru loves these chewy biscuits the most! Come on, Akamaru, have a taste!"

Animals have much more acute instincts than humans. Akamaru had already perked up his ears the moment he first opened the oven door and smelled that odor.

Seeing that Ya was going to use it as a poison test subject, it let out a shrill cry, kicked its limbs, broke free from Ya's embrace, and dashed out of the classroom without looking back, disappearing without a trace.

"Akamaru! Come back here!" Kiba Inuzuka shouted, then immediately used the excuse of chasing a dog to make a quick getaway.

Choji Akimichi looked at the plate of cookies, then at Naruto's pained expression, and a look of hesitation crossed his chubby face. "Suddenly... I'm not so excited anymore..."

He was about to quietly back away when Shikamaru placed his hand on his shoulder.

Shikamaru glanced at you, who seemed a little frustrated, and stroked his chin, his lazy tone carrying a hint of calculation.

“Such a unique product,” he said slowly, “it would be a shame to keep it all to myself; everyone should have a share.”

You think Shikamaru isn't really here to help; he's more like someone who's there to watch the show and drag everyone else down with him.

But you can't find a reason to argue that these cookies do need to be evaluated to complete the assignment.

Soon, Shikamaru was distributed evenly to most of the students in the class in a way that seemed fair and just, but in reality, left no room for refusal.

They called it "sharing Uchiha's first cooking achievement to enhance friendship among classmates."

When most students received these strangely shaped cookies, their faces showed varying degrees of fear and resistance.

But under Shikamaru's lazy yet subtly oppressive gaze, many people still forced themselves to take a small, symbolic bite, and then their facial expressions spiraled out of control, making for a rather chaotic scene.

Shikamaru got a piece for himself, but he didn't eat it.

The cookie had a strong eggy smell. He handed it back to you very naturally, saying it was perfectly normal, "Your own hard work has solved my problem."

Looking at the dark object in front of you, and then at Shikamaru's nonchalant attitude as he returned it to its rightful owner, you didn't reach out to take it. Instead, you asked, "Then why did you specifically take one with you?"

If he didn't want to eat it, wouldn't it have been better not to share it in the first place?

Upon hearing this, Shikamaru coughed twice, his eyes darting around, and lowered his voice, saying, "Iruka-sensei works so hard managing us, so it's only right that he should also taste the students' good intentions."

As he spoke, he shook another biscuit in his hand, which was wrapped separately in oil paper, clearly indicating that he had planned this all along.

You glanced at him silently, and Shikamaru simply shrugged and carefully put away the biscuit he had offered to Iruka.

After distributing the cookies, he fell silent, looking at the few remaining cookies on the worktable.

Even you yourself have no desire to taste it, so how could you possibly share it with others? You simply can't bring yourself to do it.

Perhaps we need to find other ways to complete practical assignments...

Just then, a figure silently approached the control panel.

You looked up in surprise and met Uchiha Sasuke's unreadable eyes. When did he arrive?

Sasuke didn't look at you; his gaze was fixed on the poorly presented cookies. He had a cold expression and said nothing, simply extending his hand.

Under your puzzled gaze, Sasuke picked up the last few cookies, then calmly put them all into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed.

The whole process was so smooth that there wasn't a moment of hesitation, and not even a frown.

After finishing his meal, he picked up the pen on the workbench and quickly wrote two words on your blank practical assignment evaluation form: "Not bad."

After he finished writing, he pushed the form back in front of you.

Looking at those two words on the evaluation form, and then looking up at Sasuke's still expressionless handsome face, she showed a look of astonishment for the first time in front of him.

"You...you think it's delicious?" you couldn't help but ask, your voice tinged with disbelief.

There is serious suspicion that Sasuke's sense of taste suffered some irreversible damage on the night of the massacre of his clan.

Sasuke's ears turned slightly red from your question, but he forced himself to remain calm, avoiding your gaze, and squeezed out a short syllable from his throat.

"...Hmm." This can be seen as an admission of the absurdity of the assessment.

You picked up the form, looked at the two words on it, and nodded to Sasuke, your tone carrying an objective gratitude, "It's strange, but... thank you for your evaluation."

Sasuke didn't respond to your thanks; his gaze fell on you as you put away the form, as if he was preparing something.

Amid the slightly noisy background of the classroom, he suddenly spoke, his voice still cool and detached, "Are you free this weekend?"

You put the form away and nodded, indicating that you had time.