Chapter 20: Sasuke's Heartbeat

Ten jars were placed in front of Teuchi's hand-made ramen.

Shen Mo picked up his chopsticks again and began eating the ramen made by Teuchi. Although it couldn't compare to the gourmet food purchased from the system, it was still delicious.

Teuchi looked at Shen Mo's movements, as if he had been moved by some kind of determination.

"I never thought about reaching any kind of level in gourmet food," Teuchi bent over and slowly opened the cabinet, "but I hope that at the very least, every customer who comes to Ichiraku Ramen can feel satisfied."

A large pile of coins was placed in front of Shen Mo.

Fifty million yen.

Worth 30,000 trading points, enough to buy a set of level-one jars.

"Please take it."

Shen Mo reached out his hand and all the money disappeared.

"I'll do it, I'll open it," Naruto said impatiently, reaching out his hand.

Then there was a loud thud.

Tsunade punched Naruto's head directly.

"These jars are best opened by Teuchi," she remembered what Shen Mo had said earlier.

The jar represents the fate of the opener.

This was Teuchi's dream.

Really, dreams could be realized in this way.

Tsunade continued to eat her ramen.

And Teuchi.

Looking at the jar in front of him, he swallowed his saliva and slowly reached out his hand.

The rest of the people, even Sasuke, were all nervous and staring intently.

It was just that Shen Mo had described the jar as too magical, with gourmet food hunters, fate-changing, and Tsunade's legendary ninja attitude.

It always felt like something extraordinary would happen when the jar was opened.

Under such an atmosphere, Teuchi finally touched the first jar.

He picked it up and slowly opened it.

Inside was...a jar of edamame?

Teuchi emptied everything out, and it really was a jar of edamame.

"What is this? Just edamame?" Naruto seemed disappointed, "A 500,000 yen jar for just some edamame?"

"Just this?" Sasuke frowned at Shen Mo, with an indescribable disappointment in his eyes.

So, was he just a swindler?

"It's not just ordinary edamame," Tsunade already knew the jar's properties.

"Right," Shen Mo smiled and nodded, "although the luck was not so good, this thing is not worth a lot, but it's rare. Teuchi, please open the edamame shell and take a look."

Shen Mo's words seemed to have piqued the attention of the others again.

From the outside, it looked like ordinary edamame.

Teuchi didn't hesitate.

He took a slice and opened the edamame shell.

"Ah--!" Sakura let out a fine scream because inside the shell were some round eyeballs!

Yes, except for the lack of blood vessels, they were eye-shaped.

White sclera, black pupils.

Even Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke felt a shiver run down their spines at the sight.

"These are special edamame called Edamame Edo-ma," explained Shen Mo with a smile. "Despite their terrifying appearance, they taste delicious. When paired with alcohol, they have a unique aroma that is perfect for drinking."

This strange delicacy naturally came from the gourmet captive world. Shen Mo had placed many magical ingredients in these jars.

"An appetizer for drinking?" Tsunade seemed interested. "Teuchi , you must have some fine wine here. Give me some to try."

Although it was a ramen shop, there were many ninja who liked to drink, so Ichiraku Ramen also had a small supply of fine wine. Teuchi poured a glass for Tsunade and then a small cup for himself, which they paired with these terrifying-looking edamame.

"This... this is..." Teuchi's eyes widened as he tasted it, his face filled with wonder. "What a wonderful aroma. Although it still tastes like edamame, it's as if it has sprouted under the flavor of alcohol... it's hard to describe."

"See?" Shen Mo shrugged.

"Teuchi-san, is it really that good?" Naruto looked at Teuchi with a little hesitation.

"I would never eat something like this even if I died!" Sakura couldn't help but shiver.

"If it's used to make wine, no, to make wine-scented ramen..." Teuchi's eyes lit up with excitement.

Sasuke also looked eager, wondering if there really were magical things in these jars, things that could make him stronger.

Teuchi carefully put away these edamame and opened the next jar.

There was a luminous experience ball for cutting vegetables, a sweet ginger box for eliminating residual tastes in the mouth, delicious seasonings, and an aloe vera that could treat external injuries... all of them were incredibly magical items.

Of course, there was also the most annoying thing, the one yuan that cost 10,000 yuan.

Until the second-to-last jar, they finally found the most valuable thing, a recipe for a secret ingredient (incomplete).

"Mr. Shen Mo, why is this recipe only one-third complete?" Teuchi looked a little anxious, as if he were reading a novel and suddenly found that the bottom was missing. It was as if his heart was being scratched by countless ants, and it felt so uncomfortable.

"Hmph, it's this kind of trick again." Tsunade's expression was a little unpleasant. "I still haven't collected all the medical secret books from my side."

She had opened twenty sets of first-level jars, but still hadn't collected the medical secrets she wanted.

Knowledge is useless if it's just repetition.

"There's no way." Shen Mo spread his hands. "The price of a first-level jar is not enough to open a complete recipe."

Indeed, there was no way.

This kind of gathering method was the best way to trick people into spending money. If they didn't use it properly...