My Techniques are a bit off

Evening – Yakiniku Q

"Ahh... so satisfying!"

Link patted his belly contentedly. Over the past month in the Land of Rivers, he hadn't had a single decent meal.

Eating roasted game meat in the wild might seem novel at first, but without proper seasoning or marination, and with no grilling techniques to enhance the flavor, it was simply unappetizing.

Whether in the world of Naruto or on Earth, modern people's taste buds were accustomed to seasonings. No matter how fresh the meat was, it simply didn't taste as good without the right flavors.

It was the same with ramen—why was ramen so delicious? Because it was packed with heavy, intense flavors.

On top of that, they had deliberately minimized their presence to avoid being tracked, which meant many meals consisted of dry rations or soldier pills. Under those circumstances, being able to enjoy freshly grilled meat with sauce upon returning was pure bliss.

[If I ever have to spend a long time in the wild again, I should learn how to grill properly… and maybe seal a portable grill and seasonings in a scroll.]

Link pondered his future outdoor survival strategies. He wouldn't even need to do the grilling himself—his shadow clones could handle it.

Wait…

There was a serious flaw in that plan.

Shadow clones replicated his physical and technical abilities at the moment they were created. If he learned how to grill now, would the clones he made later even retain that knowledge?

…Or should he just have his clones learn by themselves?

[You guys are grown-up shadows now, time to be independent.]

"Kankuro," Link said, noticing the puppet master's eager expression, "If you want to buy a puppet, bring the money tomorrow, and you can pick one out."

"Really?!" Kankuro beamed. Even if he couldn't get Sasori, the other puppets were still enough to keep him entertained for a long time.

After all, these were puppets crafted by Sasori of the Red Sand himself!

"I'll pay for this meal."

Link stood up, stopping Temari from taking out her wallet. He pulled out his own freshly filled purse and said generously,

"Consider it on me."

To him, money wasn't just about spending—it was tied directly to his combat power. As long as the money in his possession was real, recognized, and circulated currency, it could be used to activate Binding Curse: Money Jutsu.

Fake money or ghost currency wouldn't work—he had tested that before.

However, he was still unsure whether self-made money with real value could be used for the jutsu. That was why he had considered creating an economy system within the Pure Land for the deceased shinobi.

After all, as long as the Sage of Six Paths didn't intervene, the Pure Land was basically his playground.

There were plenty of dead shinobi who wanted to return to the living world. Though few were willing to cooperate now, he already had four trustworthy "people" who maintained contact with him.

[Damn that inherently evil white-haired old Senju ghost.]

Still, Link believed that over time, more allies would come.

[If I ever stop being a shinobi, maybe I should start a "Dream Fulfillment Company."]

After paying for the meal, Link was about to leave when Temari leaned against the counter and said with a grin,

"Since you treated us to dinner, how about I treat you to a movie?"

"Busy," Link replied without hesitation. His mind was already filled with training plans, and he dismissed the offer casually. "If you have free time, take care of Gaara instead. Be at Training Ground Seven tomorrow morning."

With that, he disappeared in a flash.

"This guy… he's dense as a rock."

Temari's smile dropped.

[Chasing after a guy is really tough.]

If she could, she'd rather just knock him out with her fan and drag him home.

…but what if she couldn't beat him?

"Good luck," Kankuro whispered as they left the restaurant.

He was immediately rewarded with a death glare from his sister.

Gaara, who had been observing silently, processed the interaction.

[Does Temari also want to hug Link-sensei? Is she trying to get closer and spend more time with him? If she wants to compete with me for him...]

He quickly recalled one of Link's lessons during training:

"Don't attack your comrades, or you'll get punished."

[Interesting… but also troublesome.]

Gaara stood at the street corner, yawning.

[I should go back to sleep first. When I wake up, I'll ask Kankuro about this.]

…

Link's New Home – Training Room

[Sasori of the Red Sand joined an organization called the Akatsuki after killing the Third Kazekage…]

Hmph.

The spiritual phone line was cut off.

Link immediately summoned another spirit using Summoning Jutsu.

During his mission in the Land of Rivers, he had gained some inspiration for developing summoning techniques.

Since conventional verbal persuasion didn't work well thanks to that damn evil Senju ghost, maybe it was time to switch tactics—storytelling.

Link was confident in his ability to spin a tale.

After all, he had already successfully scammed an evil little Uchiha ghost into becoming his loyal meat shield.

["Speaking of which, the Akatsuki is actually a terrorist organization that originated from the internal conflicts of the Amegakure. All of its members are S-rank rogue ninjas… Konoha's rogue ninja, Orochimaru and Uchiha Itachi, were once members…"]

Link improvised his words, carefully controlling the flow of information.

If he wasn't specifically summoning someone, his summoning jutsu functioned like an open radio transmission.

Any dead shinobi who hadn't blocked him—except for those who had willingly embraced death and refused to return—could hear his words.

Considering that some shinobi might later be resurrected via Edo Tensei, it would be troublesome if certain classified information got leaked.

Especially if that damn Uchiha ghost was secretly eavesdropping.

If Madara Uchiha decided that Link "knew too much" and responded by resurrecting himself just to fight him, that would be a serious problem.

["That's nonsense! The Third Kazekage was the strongest Kazekage—there's no way that brat Sasori could've killed him!"]

Oh?

Someone had been emotionally provoked and had angrily spoken up—only to immediately vanish from the call.

A hit-and-run heckler, huh?

Link smirked and called them out.

["Oi, oi, oi—who just insulted me? Come out and say it to my face. I even have the Third Kazekage's human puppet in my collection, taken directly from Sasori."]

Suddenly, another voice—more hesitant—spoke up.

["Wait… did you just say… that the Akatsuki is an organization that harbors S-rank rogue ninjas?"]

Huh?

~~~

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