6. Opening

"Youth!"

"Youth!"

Guy and Itsuki's enthusiastic voices echoed through the empty streets. 

Shopkeepers who were starting to open their stores looked at them weirdly causing some embarrassment to appear on Kakashi's face.

.....

How could Itsuki not be excited? He finally heard the heavenly sound, the voice he was dying to hear. 

*Ding*

[Perseverence System]

[Loading 10%....]

[50%]

[100%]

[Congratulations on binding the system, The system has only one goal which is to reward the host for his hard work. As long as the host is willing to work hard he can achieve great things]

[As a small perk for binding the system, the system will hide the host's information so that not even a sensory ninja will find anything different about the host] 

Itsuki felt like crying, his feelings couldn't be explained at the moment.

When he transmigrated into the world of Naruto, at first he was very excited, fantasizing about being a strong ninja, spamming fireballs, running on water, and doing supernatural things.

But the reality was cruel, he had no chakra or 'Civilian level of chakra'.

It was a bitter pill to swallow, but he got over it. He decided to live his life as an ordinary civilian, but he would be lying if he said he didn't have any inner grievances.

But all of that doesn't matter anymore as he finally heard the voice that he wished to hear.

He didn't know how many nights he was awake fantasizing about this moment.

Finally! He also had his gold finger.

...

If Itsuki wasn't in the middle of the street he would have started dancing.

Itsuki quickly calmed down his raging feeling and looked at Kakashi and Guy and sighed in relief as they didn't think anything was wrong with him.

Both Kakashi and Guy just thought Itsuki was very excited about his restaurant opening.

Itsuki quickly checked the system function in his mind.

He could see a simple status screen and there weren't any other functions.

[Status]

Chakra - Civilian

Physique- Civilian

Spirit- Civilian

Taijutsu - Civilian

Cooking Skill - 1 Teuchi

__________________________

Special Draw (Locked)

__________________________

[The system has showcased all the skills or perks the host currently has. The system uses a simple metric to showcase the host's proficiency]

[Currently, the Host is pitifully weak and the only notable proficiency is your cooking.]

[To the Host's predicament the system has gifted you 'Sleep is for the weak'

perk. The path of the grind is eternal and rewarding, the system wishes the host well in his journey]

.....

After looking at all of the information Itsuki was surprised and excited, although his system wasn't as rewarding as a Check-in or Sign-in system, he wasn't disappointed he was more than happy with it.

The satisfaction of the grind was something special.

...

Itsuki felt that today was one of the happiest days of his life and with renewed excitement, he opened his restaurant.

"Kakashi, Guy why don't you both come inside, I'll cook you something, on the house! " Itsuki said with a smile.

"That's.... not okay, right? " Guy felt like he was taking advantage of Itsuki and he didn't want Itsuki to give him a free meal. Kakashi also felt the same, as they were just helping out a friend.

"Guy stop talking nonsense, I'm just treating my friends. Or am I not your friend? " 

" Hahaha! If you put it like that then I won't have a choice. Kakashi, Itsuki let the fire of youth burn brightly ... Youth! " Guy shouted excitedly while walking into the restaurant. 

The restaurant wasn't too big and it had a cosy interior, there were only four tables and the customers had a view of the kitchen.

It was built in a way where the customers had a view of the chef preparing the food. It also helped Itsuki build a closer relationship with his customers. As he can interact with them more. 

....

"Guy, Kakashi wait for a moment while I make you something. " 

Itsuki went to the kitchen to prepare some food for the both of them. He decided to make some simple 'Buttermilk French Toast'.

[Image]

...

After a few minutes, the food was ready and served in front of Guy and Kakashi who were looking at the food with wonder and curiosity. 

It was their first time seeing this dish and they hadn't heard about this dish, Itsuki had previously told them the dish's name before he went to prepare it but both of them were clueless and decided to wait for it to finish.

And they could say with certainty that the wait was worth it as the aroma of the dish was making them salivate.

Guy couldn't wait anymore and he was the first to taste the food, after taking the first bite Guy was in a daze for a few seconds which caused Kakashi to be worried but it proved in vain as 

"Youth!!" Guy's loud voice reverberated through the restaurant causing a wry smile to appear on Kakashi's face.

Without further ado, both of them started wolfing down the food at insane speeds.

All of this was seen by Itsuki who gazed upon them with a joyous smile.

Itsuki was happy as he noticed a change in his status

[Cooking: 1.01 Teuchi ]

Itsuki wanted to break dance on the spot.

...

After finishing their meal and thanking Itsuki for it Kakashi and Guy left for their duties not before promising to come back next time as customers.

After the departure of Guy and Kakashi Itsuki's restaurant experienced solitude once again but Itsuki wasn't discouraged as it was just the first day of his opening and it might take some time for him to gain traction or so he thought.

Until he heard the familiar jingle of the door opening resonating through the room causing Itsuki to look toward the source of the sound, he was surprised to see a stout man with spiky hair, the cause of Itsuki's surprise was that he recognized the person or at least the clan they belonged to.

" Yo Boss! " the large man cheerfully greeted Itsuki.

" Hello " Itsuki also returned the greeting with a smile.

" I haven't seen you around before. Are you new around here? " the Akimichi asked curiously.

" We just opened today " Itsuki said with a smile 

"Hahaha! Since it's your first day why don't you suggest a dish for me Boss, I don't mind as long as it is delicious." the Akimichi was delighted at the revelation and was more than willing to give Itsuki's food a try.

Itsuki thought about what dish to serve to the Akimichi, one thing he knew about Akimichi clansmen was that they were heavy eaters so considering all of that he decided to serve him some good old KFC.

" Wait a few minutes sir, I'll prepare your food in a moment"

" Haha! Ok, I'll be waiting then " The Akimichi replied heartily.

...

The Akimichi Clansman was gazing curiously at what seemed to be a chicken dish, he hadn't eaten anything like this and if going by the smell then this should be good.

[Image]

Although it was piping hot, he didn't pay it any mind and took a bite, after a moment his eyes lit up and he quickly ate the piece of chicken and moved on to the next one. 

After a few minutes he finished eating all of the food but he was far from satisfied so yelled for a second serving.

" Boss! One more plate "

"Okay! One more plate of chicken coming up" Itsuki had expected this outcome and he was already preparing the next batch when the Akimichi was eating.

And he knew one or two was far from enough and he would have to serve a lot, but Itsuki was more than happy as he never expected to get such a large customer on his first day.

Thus the scene of one person cooking and another devouring the food was seen inside the restaurant.

...

Itsuki's House

...

Kushina was currently scrutinising herself while standing in front of a mirror.

She was wearing a Yukata with cherry blossom prints on it.

The colour of the clothes complemented her vibrant red hair once again cementing the fact about her fame as a beauty albeit a hot-tempered and sometimes barbaric one.

*Cough*

While she was admiring herself in a mirror a cough broke her out of her reverie causing Kushina to embarrasidly turn her head towards the source of the cough.

Mikoto was standing at the entrance of her room with an amused smile.

"Go on ~ Don't mind me," Mikoto said with apparent mirth in her tone.

Kushina on the other hand was the same shade as her hair and threw an annoyed glare at Mikoto.

And Mikoto just laughed at Kushina's embarrassment.

" So I heard your 'Husband ' opened a restaurant today?" Mikoto asked Kuhina while emphasizing the word Husband.

Kushina knew all too well Mikoto was trying to tease her like the older sister she was, but she was not going to give the woman her satisfaction and just replied in a cold tone "Hmph, I'm just going to take a look and he's not my husband " 

"Yes~ Yes~" Mikoto agreed to Kushina just like how you would placate a child.

"Grrrrr!" Kushina growled at her in annoyance 

Mikoto just laughed while being happy inwardly, because it seemed Kushina was at least getting better and it seemed Itsuki also had a role in it.

Mikoto wanted Kushina to be happy, and even though she felt bad about Minato's demise, she didn't want Kushina to live a lonely life.

While thinking up to here, she also had a wry smile, her marriage itself is something done out of convenience, to bolster support within the clan between two factions. At least she had her children, Satsuki and Itachi were the most precious parts of her life.

Thus her sad thoughts were swept away in an instant, for her children she is willing to sacrifice anything.

" Stop dawdling, let's go before it's too late " Mikoto said to Kushina with a smile.

Kushina nodded and went towards Naruko's crib, picked her up, and went out of the house with Mikoto.

************

I know it has been a while but I have been busy and thus the delay.

The pacing will be slow and if any of you are wondering this is a slice-of-life novel. More focus on relationships and whatnot.

....

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