Chapter 85: {84 Is Not a Chapter}

Chapter 85: {84 Is Not a Chapter}

On Saturday morning, Makoto had made an appointment with Minato and the others to provide a detailed lesson on preparing squirrel mandarin fish.

He sent his shadow clone to guide the disciples while his real body cooked for Minato and Kushina.

The reason he didn't have the shadow clone demonstrate was primarily because the shadow clone didn't possess the chef skills blessing.

Makoto took out a fish and placed it on the chopping board, allowing Minato and Kushina to observe. While cutting the fish, he explained, "To process the fish, start by cutting it diagonally behind the gills and removing the spine."

After chopping off the fish head, he added, "Make sure to process the fish head a bit and cut off the gill cover. It will take shape when fried, making it look much better."

Kushina realized why her previous attempts didn't look good.

When handling the fish, Makoto told the two of them to control their strength and cut only four-fifths of the fish, avoiding cutting the skin, which would result in an unattractive appearance.

At this point, Makoto provided two fishes prepared in advance for Kushina and Minato to try.

Minato's performance was decent, but he was cautious, resulting in slightly shallow cuts. On the other hand, Kushina cut directly through the fish skin.

She humorously remarked, "Haha, the fish meat is too soft, and it came off all at once. Makoto, do you have any fish with firmer meat?"

Makoto showed a helpless smile and asked, "If the meat is too firm, will you still eat it?"

Fortunately, Makoto was well-prepared and gave Kushina another fish to try. With this first experience, it took Kushina three cuts to cut through the fish skin properly, which was considered a significant improvement.

"From now on, I'll leave the step of cutting the fish to you, Minato," Kushina said solemnly. In order not to waste Makoto's time, Kushina decided not to compete for the time being.

The teaching continued, and Makoto explained each step in great detail. After the explanation, he immediately asked the two of them to practice.

They proceeded slowly, and by noon, they had almost completed the instructional breakdown but hadn't yet prepared a complete squirrel mandarin fish.

It wasn't until after two o'clock in the afternoon that they were finally completed it. It was complete in the sense of being done, but the appearance was quite different.

"Obviously, we followed the steps, but why did the final result turn out so differently?" Kushina felt there was still a significant gap between her and Minato's finished product compared to Makoto's.

Minato reassured her, "After all, we're beginners. With more practice, we should improve."

Minato was quite satisfied; he had successfully prepared a dish that appeared so complicated.

If there were levels of difficulty in learning dishes, he believed that this squirrel mandarin fish dish would be at least a B level. He immediately added this dish to the recommendation menu he would give Jiraiya when he returns.nove(l)bi(n.)com

[Lecture completed]

[Evaluation: B]

[Reward: Magic Mapo Tofu]

Just when Makoto was about to say something, the system suddenly popped up a prompt. "Is teaching how to cook considered a lecture? Can teaching two people also count as a lecture reward?" Two doubts suddenly crossed Makoto's mind.

He also remembered teaching before and wondering why the rewards weren't triggered when teaching disciples. After careful consideration, Makoto had some theories.

The assessment of lectures might not solely depend on the number of people but also on the strength of the individuals being taught. Although he had only taught Minato and Kushina, they were exceptionally strong.

Regarding why the lecture reward didn't trigger when teaching cooking before, Makoto felt it might have been because the duration and depth of teaching weren't sufficient.

*Swoosh*

*Bang*

However, Obito's triumph was short-lived. Within three seconds, he tumbled into a large pit dug by Makoto shortly after expressing his confidence.

"One point deducted," Makoto's warm voice informed Obito.

*Swish*

Obito quickly leaped out of the pit and continued his cautious run, determined not to be careless again. The price of carelessness was too steep; not only would he have to restart the challenge, but he'd also need to answer a lot of questions.

After running carefully for a considerable time, Obito came across a kunai wedged into a wooden stake with a flag indicating the endpoint. Obito smiled once more.

'This is the finish line. I only have one points deducted, and I've done well as long as I'm careful,' he thought.

But as Obito approached the kunai, he was suddenly caught in a trap. To his surprise, there was a hidden trap near the finish line!

"One point deducted," Makoto's voice resounded again.

Obito quickly disentangled himself from the trap, refraining from laughing this time. He didn't want to risk losing his last point for laughter, so he cautiously reached the kunai.

Filled with a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction from his hard training and extraordinary caution, Obito looked around, then crossed the finish line.

Makoto appeared and congratulated Obito, "Although you have only one point left, it's still a success."

Obito couldn't contain his excitement and cheered, "Hahaha, great!" He laughed without restraint, relieved that he wouldn't have to answer the questions due to failure.

"Finally, I can learn to Soru like Shisui and Gai."

"Who told you that you can learn Soru now?" Makoto asked, puzzled.

"Didn't you say, Teacher Makoto, that I can learn it after completing the challenge?" Obito inquired, confused.

"Yes, you've completed the challenge, but you've only completed the first level of forest sprint. You haven't finished the second level yet," Makoto explained.

After a moment of contemplation, Obito recalled the relevant details from his memory. It was indeed as Makoto said.

"The second level is called river sprint. You need to cross from one river bank to the other within a specified time without falling into the water," Makoto elucidated.

"Is it really that simple?" Obito expressed his delight.

Treading water seemed like an easy task for him now.

"I will interfere with the use of ninjutsu on the river to some extent once you start," Makoto added with a smile.

"Like the Water Dragon Bullet?" Obito asked.

Makoto nodded, confirming that it was indeed the Water Dragon Bullet but with a smaller number.

Upon receiving this assurance, Obito felt at ease. Treading water and handling the Water Dragon Bullet were skills he had mastered long ago.

"Teacher Makoto, I'd like to begin the second level of the challenge," Obito declared, eager to complete the challenge and start learning Soru.