Chapter 37: Chapter 38: Tobi's Fiery Life
Tobi looked up at the sky. The black smoke rising from the volcanic crater obscured the sky, and with the dark gray land beneath him, it felt as if he were in a monotonous world of black and gray.
"It's so hot! It's so spicy!" Tobi breathed heavily, trying to cool his burning tongue.
Boom!
Suddenly, there was a loud rumble, and an indescribable torrent of terrifying molten lava erupted from the volcano, spraying into the sky.
The intense black smoke, the raging flames, and the dark red magma added a dangerous red tint to the already black and gray world.
Soon, the terrifying lava descended from the sky, submerging Tobi, and his vision returned to clarity.
"Spicy! Spicy! Spicy!" As his awareness returned, the intense heat gradually faded, but the lingering spiciness that clung to his tongue still hadn't disappeared.
However, Tobi didn't stop eating.
Although it was spicy, it was just too delicious to resist.
"High temperature... Burning." Tobi couldn't help but recall the inexplicable illusion that had appeared earlier—the flames erupting from the earth, the lava that had nearly melted him.
Whoosh!
In the next moment, Tobi, while still sticking out his tongue and panting, accidentally released a stream of fiery red flames from his mouth.
While exclaiming how spicy it was, he was also spitting fire and waving his hand in front of his face, like a circus performer demonstrating fire-breathing tricks.
"Ahh…" Tobi was bewildered.
"Stop the chakra output." Muyu said calmly.
It was then that Tobi realized he had been unknowingly using chakra. He immediately cut off his chakra supply, and the flames disappeared.
"Quickly, train while the feeling is still there," Muyu said, handing Tobi a palm-sized ice cube.
"Remember the feeling you had earlier—the high temperature, the burning," Muyu reminded him.
Recalling how Tobi had been lost in thought earlier, Muyu had a rough idea of what was happening.
"I didn't expect the cooking skill to have such an effect," Muyu thought to himself, somewhat surprised.
"I guess I'll need to make Tobi some spicier dishes from now on," Muyu mused.
If a simple stir-fry with chili had this kind of effect, what would happen if Tobi ate Mapo Tofu every day? His progress would skyrocket.
"Tobi, look!" Tobi shouted excitedly, looking at the ice cube in his hand, which was rapidly melting.
Muyu nodded slightly, seeing that the ice cube had already shrunk within a minute.
"Good, keep it up. Don't forget that feeling," Muyu encouraged him while reminding him not to get cocky.
"Okay!" Tobi nodded eagerly, focusing intently on the ice cube as he continued to release chakra.
He felt thrilled by the progress he had made.
Sometimes, the dullness of training is unbearable because there is no immediate feedback. But if every training session could bring this kind of progress, Tobi thought he might become obsessed with training.
"Tobi, you don't mind eating spicy food, do you?" Muyu suddenly asked with a smile.
"Spicy? If it's as delicious as the dish from earlier, a little spice won't be a problem," Tobi said, licking his lips as he recalled the delicious meal.
He had never tasted such a good stir-fry before. Although it was a bit too spicy, it was still incredibly tasty.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure it tastes good," Muyu said as he patted Tobi's shoulder.
Tobi suddenly had a bad feeling. Could it be…
Though he was still holding an ice cube in his hand, he couldn't shake the chill creeping down his back.
"Muyu, I actually really like fried rice too," Tobi tried to salvage the situation.
"Hmm, spicy fried rice, right? I'll make it for you," Muyu said with a gentle smile.
"Can you make the spicy fried rice without the chili?" Tobi asked eagerly.
He had a bad memory of the last time he ate something excessively spicy. He learned the hard way what it meant to feel the full extent of the heat.
If Muyu kept making "spicy dishes" for him every day, Tobi feared he wouldn't be able to walk into the bathroom and might get stuck there.
"Spicy fried rice without chili? I didn't know you had such strong tastes. Well, I guess it's possible," Muyu pretended not to hear the request.
Hearing this, Tobi's eyes went dark, and his legs nearly gave way. He almost collapsed in place.
He looked helplessly at Shisui, who had just finished his meal and was savoring the taste. Upon seeing Tobi's gaze, Shisui looked up at the sky, pretending not to notice.
It wasn't that Shisui wasn't concerned about his clan brother, but rather that he didn't want to get involved in this.
After all, Tobi had indeed improved his training efficiency after eating, and it was possible that eating spicy food had some positive effect on his fire-style nature transformation.
Besides, Tobi had said it was delicious, even while shouting how spicy it was and continuing to eat.
Of course, the main reason Shisui didn't want to get involved was because he knew that Muyu might make him eat spicy food as well.
Though Shisui didn't mind spicy food, he didn't want to eat it every day, especially since he didn't need to improve his fire-style nature transformation urgently.
Tobi then turned to Might Guy.
Might Guy noticed Tobi's gaze and, smiling, gave him a thumbs-up, saying, "A fiery youth should eat more spicy food!"
Tobi: …
At that moment, his hands felt cold, and his heart was colder still. Where was the brotherly bond? Where was the teacher-student relationship? At the crucial moment, no one was reliable!
Tobi unleashed chakra with all his might and melted the ice cube in one breath. He then adjusted his goggles, determined.
"Teacher, I think it's too much trouble to make three separate dishes. It would be easier to just make one big dish and divide it into three portions for all of us," Tobi suggested, pretending to be thoughtful for Muyu.
Since that's the case, no one will have it easy. Let's all suffer together.
"That sounds good," Muyu said, nodding seriously.
He of course knew what Tobi was thinking, but Muyu still chose to answer in a way that was fun to watch.
Shisui, who had always maintained a calm demeanor, couldn't hold back his expression. He hadn't expected this seemingly naïve clan brother to come up with such a clever solution when it came to pulling others into his plan.
"A fiery youth should eat spicy food together," Might Guy laughed heartily.
"So, this is what he really meant," Tobi and Shisui thought silently.
Muyu thought it over and decided that it might not be a bad idea. After all, the taste was guaranteed, and since Tobi and Shisui both needed to train fire-style jutsu, and Might Guy was willing to eat it, it seemed like a win-win.
From that day on, Tobi, Shisui, and Might Guy began their physically "fiery" lives.
"So spicy, but so good!" Tobi cried, tears streaming down his face as he kept eating the Mapo Tofu from his lunchbox.
"So spicy! So delicious!" Might Guy also cried tears of joy as he ate his Mapo Tofu, though his tears were from happiness, not from the heat.
Shisui, who was also sweating from the spice, silently moved a little further away from the others.
The three of them ended up in the bathroom together. Standing as they entered, they hunched over, bracing themselves as they came out.
Back at school, Rin looked at Tobi and wondered why he always seemed to have his bottom sticking out. Concerned, she asked,
"Tobi, are you feeling unwell?"
Tobi, with a dejected expression, replied, "No, it's just a small side effect from all the hard training."
"Rin, you won't believe how much my fire-style jutsu has improved. I'll definitely defeat Kakashi in this upcoming Chuunin Exam," Tobi said confidently.
One of the reasons he endured such grueling training was to wash away his past humiliation and defeat Kakashi in front of Rin, taking first place.
"But Kakashi probably won't even enter the competition, right? He's already a Chuunin, and this competition is usually just for us academy students," Rin said.
She believed that Tobi's training had indeed led to great progress, but Kakashi, now a ninja, would probably not participate in such a civilian competition.
"Eh?" Tobi was stunned. He had assumed Kakashi would definitely be participating.
(End of Chapter)
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