Chapter 162: Even with Family, Keep the Accounts Straight

Teuchi's smile froze on his face, veins popping out on his forehead as he yelled at Takuya's retreating back.

How is it my fault I look older than I am?

Rubbing his face, Teuchi began questioning his life choices.

Running into Uchiha Fugaku had been a minor interruption, but Takuya hummed a tune from his past life as he made his way back home.

The next morning, Takuya was still snoozing when someone barged in, yanking the covers.

"Takuya, get up! I need to talk to you!"

Kushina tugged at the blanket with enough force to nearly pull Takuya out of bed.

"It's only seven in the morning… and I'm not wearing anything," Takuya groaned, thoroughly awake now.

"Really?" Kushina asked, peeking curiously, while Takuya twitched slightly.

Since when did Kushina get this bold, pulling my blanket like that?

Even though she was just teasing and hadn't actually looked, her transformation from her former, more timid self was shocking.

So, you want to peek, huh?

Fine, let me give you something to see!

With a sharp tug, Takuya threw the blanket off himself. Kushina's mischievous grin froze on her face.

Two seconds later, she screamed, covering her eyes as she dashed out of the room.

Just as I thought—hadn't even seen anything, and she freaked out.

Though Takuya wasn't wearing a shirt, his lower half was covered by custom-made pants. It wasn't like he slept naked.

"Takuya, you tricked me again!"

Kushina poked her head back through the doorframe, glaring at him with puffed-up cheeks.

"Well, that's what you get for yanking my blanket," Takuya shrugged, yawning as he made his way to the bathroom.

"By the way, why'd you wake me up so early?" he asked.

He'd planned to sleep in, but that idea had clearly been shattered.

Sensing his irritation, Kushina grinned sheepishly.

She quickly jumped to the fridge, pulling out a bottle of orange juice and even twisting the cap open for him.

Watching her casually twist off the cap with ease, Takuya was reminded of a meme from his past life: I might not be able to open this bottle, but I can crack open your skull!

"Something's up, isn't it? You've got that overly sweet act going on," Takuya muttered, giving her a suspicious glance. Better to be on guard than let her trick him into something.

"No, nothing like that!" Kushina pouted, stomping her foot in protest.

"I just wanted to talk to you about opening a restaurant together," she said.

Pffffft!

Juice sprayed from Takuya's mouth as he stared at her, wide-eyed.

"A restaurant? Are you serious?"

You own an entire luxury street in Konoha, filled with all kinds of shops. You really need to open a restaurant? Are you messing with me?

Plus, Kushina didn't exactly strike him as someone who'd be into running a restaurant. She'd probably run it into the ground.

"It's for my clan," Kushina blushed, clearly embarrassed. She felt awkward coming to Takuya with this request, but he was the only person she trusted to help.

After all, Takuya was a great cook, capable of making all sorts of delicious dishes.

"Alright, explain," Takuya sighed, more understanding now.

If it was for her clan, then it made sense. If it was Kushina's own idea, he'd be wondering if she'd lost her mind.

"Wait a second," Takuya held up a hand, stopping her before she could begin. "Didn't you already find jobs for your clan members? Why open a restaurant?"

Working a steady job with a stable salary seemed like a much easier solution.

"They don't want to work in the official positions Konoha assigned to them. They want something more flexible, but they also don't want to take any financial help from me. So, I thought of you," Kushina explained, clearly exasperated.

Though the Uzumaki clan members had settled in Konoha, they still held onto some resentment. They refused to take jobs from the Third Hokage's arrangements, which left Kushina in a tough spot.

The only solution she could think of was to open a restaurant and ask Takuya for help.

"So, you're planning to open a restaurant, let them manage it, and split the profits with them? Is that right?"

With Kushina's personality, Takuya was sure she'd refuse to take a salary for herself. She'd probably end up giving away her share to her clan members, even if the restaurant ran at a loss.

"Exactly. So, will you help me?" Kushina knelt before him, hands clasped together, giving him her best puppy-dog eyes.

"I've been scouting the streets of Konoha for weeks, checking out different restaurants and food joints, but I can't think of a signature dish that would make our place stand out."

Konoha's most famous dishes were things like ramen, dango, BBQ, and rice balls...

Seafood wasn't really a big thing here, mostly because of how far they were from the ocean. By the time the fish were transported to Konoha, they often went bad.

The Land of Water's dried fish was more popular—mainly because it was the only thing from that region worth eating.

Well, you certainly know who to come to for help.

Takuya could come up with a dozen unique dishes, but whether Kushina's clan members could learn how to make them was another question.

"So, what's your idea for the signature dish?" Takuya asked.

In this world, most restaurants focused on one signature dish, with other options available on the side. It wasn't like back in his previous life, where you could walk into a restaurant and choose from a massive menu of different meals.

This lack of variety was why Takuya preferred cooking for himself at home.

"Hotpot!!" Kushina declared, her excitement bubbling over as she jumped up.

Takuya had made a lot of different dishes over the years, but the one that left the biggest impression on her was hotpot.

As for the other dishes, they were too hard to master and control.

But with hotpot, all Takuya needed to do was prepare the broth and ingredients, and it was good to go.

...You little schemer.

She definitely wanted him to be in charge of preparing the hotpot broth.

Takuya rolled his eyes at her, but Kushina just giggled, grabbing his hand and pulling him toward the door.

"Come on! I've already got the restaurant ready. We just need you to get things started!" she urged.

"...Hold on, I'm still not dressed!"

Takuya found himself staring at a newly renovated shop on one of Konoha's luxury streets. Kushina buzzed around him like an excited little bird, chattering away non-stop.

He hadn't expected her to go all out like this—using one of her own shops and transforming it into a hotpot restaurant. Everything was ready, just waiting on him to come in and prep the broth.

After a quick look around, Takuya realized there was no getting out of this.

Well, money is money, he thought.

No one ever complained about making more of it, not even him.

Since Kushina had already set everything up, he figured he might as well go along with her plan.

"Alright, but let's get one thing straight: I'm fine with opening the restaurant and partnering with you, but we need clear agreements. Even with family, you have to keep the accounts straight. Your clan members can get a cut of the profits, but they can't get involved in the restaurant's management."

"And absolutely no clan members handling the cash," Takuya added firmly.

Boundaries needed to be set, or things would get messy fast. The Uzumaki clan could handle odd jobs and help out, but they shouldn't interfere with running the restaurant.

"No problem! You can have a 50% share," Kushina said cheerfully, pounding her flat chest with pride. Money wasn't a big deal to her.

If it weren't for her clan members, she wouldn't have bothered going through all this trouble. Of course, she also had a bit of a selfish motive—she missed the food.

When Takuya was around, she could always sneak over to his place for a meal.

But when he was away from Konoha, she found herself bored and frustrated, especially after being spoiled by his cooking.

She was sick of dango, ramen, BBQ... nothing satisfied her anymore.

"Alright then. Start getting the supplies. I'll find someone reliable to handle the cash," Takuya said.

He needed someone trustworthy and with plenty of free time, so he decided to pay a visit to Mikoto's mom.

With a few gifts and some fruit in hand, Takuya returned to the Uchiha district for the first time in years.

"Isn't that Takuya Yagami?"

"What's he doing here in the Uchiha clan grounds?"

"Maybe he's visiting Mikoto and her mother."

As soon as he stepped into the district, Takuya noticed the subtle surveillance that began tracking his movements.

Ignoring them, he made his way to Mikoto's house with practiced ease.

The door wasn't locked.

Mikoto's mother was sitting in the courtyard, enjoying a cup of tea.