Chapter 19: Gourmet Hunters!

Shen Mo completely immersed himself in his emotions while eating the hand-pulled noodles, tears streaming down his face with every mouthful.

"Nii-san," Naruto suddenly leaned towards Shen Mo, looking very excited as he asked, "do you still have this kind of noodles?"

Not only is Shen Mo a fan of hand-pulled noodles, Naruto is also a loyal lover of noodles, including all kinds of instant noodles.

"These noodles were made by a former customer of mine who gave them to me and I preserved them using a special secret method," Shen Mo just smiled and replied, without giving a direct answer.

"Then that person must be a very great chef." Shen Mo had already finished the noodles in front of him, leaving the bowl cleaner than if it had been washed. He showed a look of longing and remembrance.

"Mister Teuchi" Shen Mo looked meaningfully at him, shaking his head slowly. "You don't think that this bowl of noodles is the pinnacle of culinary art, do you?"

"How could I..." Teuchi's mouth hung open.

This bowl of noodles had a unique texture and an extreme richness of flavor that evoked emotions one would feel when facing their mother.

For Shen Mo, it was as if he had opened the door to a new world, and he could not imagine a more delicious limit.

Could it be that there was even more powerful cuisine?

"The reason why I only bring out noodles of this level is because you can only enjoy this kind of noodles," Shen Mo smiled mysteriously. "Your body is too weak, and your taste buds are not enough to bear true gourmet food. I have seen some chefs who pursue extreme gourmet food. Do you know what kind of attitude they have?"

Gulu.

Shen Mo unconsciously swallowed his saliva.

Even the rest of them, Tsunade, Sasuke, and Naruto, were all attracted by Shen Mo's words.

"Powerful!"

Shen Mo's palm clenched into a fist with force, and under the effect of the trading points, even emitted a slight explosive sound.

"Unparalleled power! Those chefs have pursued a path of strengthening themselves with extreme gourmet food. The more they eat, the more delicious food they make, and the stronger their power becomes. Then, with such powerful strength, they go to the mountains, the deep sea, the secret caves... chasing the ultimate ingredients."

"In their eyes, everything in the world can be divided into two categories: delicious and not delicious! And they call themselves -"

" - Gourmet Hunters!"

Yes, what Shen Mo said was about the Gourmet Hunters in the world of prisoners of gourmet food.

The food in that world had completely exceeded imagination.

Even the system's descriptions of most of their gourmet food included warnings.

"The weak cannot eat!"

"Gourmet Hunters..." he murmured, repeating the words to himself, feeling a strange longing within him.

"Dude," Naruto looked skeptical, "if it's so great, why haven't we heard of it before?"

"Yeah," Sakura nodded in agreement, "I've never read about it in any of my books either."

"Hmph," Sasuke snorted, "it's just a bunch of lies to fool kids. You don't get stronger just by eating more. Becoming powerful is not that easy."

Although he tried to dismiss it as false, the disappointment in Sasuke's expression indicated that he might have secretly hoped for such a thing deep down inside.

A quick way to become strong.

Silently, Shen Mo glanced at Sasuke. Of the three main characters, he was the most likely to become a client.

He was willing to do whatever it takes to chase power. He was determined, resourceful, and capable.

"If anyone else said something like that, I wouldn't believe it," Tsunade looked at Shen Mo regretfully, "but if it's coming from you, then it must be true. It's a pity we can't just easily try it out for ourselves."

"Tsunade-sama..." Teuchi looked at her with surprise.

"This guy is really amazing, or rather, I should say formidable," Tsunade broke apart her chopsticks and seemed ready to start eating.

"...Since even Tsunade-sama says so," Teuchi looked at Shen Mo firmly, "I believe and understand that real chefs have their own pursuit of cuisine."

This was also a benefit of Tsunade establishing a good relationship with him.

Tsunade was still highly trusted in Konoha.

"As expected," Shen Mo praised Teuchi, "you and the chef who made this bowl of ramen are the same kind of people. So... do you want to follow in his footsteps and become a real chef?"

"What!?" Teuchi's pupils contracted.

Although he believed in Shen Mo's words, he also believed that it was unlikely to witness such a thing.

But from Shen Mo's words...

"In general, it's almost impossible to obtain that kind of power," Shen Mo's lips curled slightly as he stood up and spread his arms. "But as a merchant who provides clients with a turning point in their destiny, everything that everyone pursues, whether it's strength, wishes, or dreams, can be achieved through these jars. All it takes is a small price and a little luck."

He glanced slightly at Sasuke beside him.

As expected.