Naruto: Naruto's Uchiha girlfriend is too arrogant

Chapter 169 An Unsuccessful Start

"Oh, wait a minute, I'll be right there!"

In the afternoon, sunlight streamed through the window into Naruto's small but tidy apartment. Naruto was wearing a slightly worn apron and holding a rag, busy cleaning.

Hearing the sudden knock on the door, he immediately called out, guessing that it might be Zuo Yue coming to see him. He quickly walked to the door.

As expected, Zuo Yue's familiar figure was standing outside the door when the door opened. However, she looked a little strange today. Unlike usual, she didn't just come in directly. Instead, she lowered her head slightly, put her hands behind her back, as if she was hiding something, and looked hesitant and awkward.

"It's Satsuki," Naruto said, though he thought her posture was a little strange, he didn't think much of it and smiled as he stepped aside to let her in. "Come on in. If you're going out, wait for me a bit, okay? I haven't finished cleaning yet."

Satsuki gave a soft "Mmm" and quickly walked into the room with her head down. Naruto habitually walked to the refrigerator, took out a bottle of chilled strawberry milk, and handed it to her as usual. "Sit down for a bit, I'll be done soon."

Satsuki blushed slightly as she accepted the milk and sat down at the table, placing the square box wrapped in a clean cloth, which she had been hiding behind her, on the table.

Her heart was pounding. Inside the box were things she had painstakingly prepared all afternoon. Kakashi-sensei's words echoed in her mind.

"Listen up, Satsuki! This is the most direct and classic method! To win a man's heart, you must first win his stomach! Although Naruto's cooking skills are amazing, this step is still necessary!"

"When a girl makes a bento box for a man by hand, it not only shows him her thoughtfulness and care, but more importantly, it makes him feel cherished and cared for! This is a powerful weapon to boost his affection for her!"

Kakashi was holding that tattered book and talking about it with great pride.

Satsuki finally mustered up her courage and spoke to Naruto, who was still wiping the table, "Naruto... Naruto! Um... have you... have you had lunch?"

Naruto, who was cleaning, was taken aback by what he heard. His gaze instinctively turned to the carefully wrapped square box on the table, and he instantly understood what was going on.

It seems that Satsuki was being coy today because she made herself a bento box? An indescribable warm feeling instantly surged into Naruto's heart. He had been wondering why Satsuki hadn't come over to help with the cleaning as naturally as before. It turned out she had been secretly busy with this.

Even if he had already eaten lunch, he absolutely couldn't say that now. He replied very naturally, "Not yet, why? Did you bring something delicious, Satsuki?"

Although this was the first time in her life that Zuoyue had actually cooked, thanks to her deep memories of watching her mother Mikoto and Naruto cook, and her meticulous and perfectionist approach to replicating the dish, the final product actually looked quite decent. It shouldn't be too bad, right?

Hearing that Naruto hadn't eaten yet, Satsuki breathed a slight sigh of relief, but her next words were still hesitant and stammering. "Um... I... I tried making bento boxes today... but I made a bit too many... It's not good to waste food if we can't finish them... You... you can help me eat them."

"Oh, okay, thank you then." Naruto pulled out a chair, sat down, took the bento box from Satsuki, and opened the lid without hesitation.

Seeing Naruto so readily accept and prepare to taste it, Satsuki felt an overwhelming surge of joy and anticipation.

The bento box contained common Japanese dishes: two rice balls, yellow tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelet), and a piece of meat that looked nicely fried.

Naruto was filled with curiosity and anticipation at the prospect of eating a dish made by Satsuki himself. He picked up the chopsticks provided in the bento box, took a piece of the seemingly harmless tamagoyaki, and put it in his mouth.

next moment--

"……boom."

Naruto seemed to hear the sound of huge waves crashing against the rocks.

The salty taste swept over his entire mouth like a tsunami, violently assaulting his taste buds!

This tamagoyaki... how can it be so salty?! Naruto felt like his tongue was being pickled! He used almost all his willpower and facial expression control as a ninja to suppress the unnatural expression on his face that was about to go out of control and twist, and forcibly maintained the chewing and swallowing motions.

That's right... This dish, which was made with Satsuki's heart, can't be described as just "bad"... because it's simply inedible!

Uchiha Satsuki, as the daughter of the head of the Uchiha clan, the strongest clan in Konoha, received all kinds of elite education from a young age, including ninjutsu, taijutsu, shurikenjutsu, and tactical theory... but the only area that was completely neglected was housekeeping and cooking!

For a young lady of her status, her life goal is to constantly become stronger and revitalize the family's glory! Cooking and other mundane tasks are naturally handled by her mother; she is a dignified second young lady who never lifts a finger!

Unfortunately, Satsuki's first cooking attempt was a complete disaster. With her mother, Mikoto, temporarily out and no one to guide her, she perfectly mixed up the proportions of salt and sugar! And perhaps because of nervousness, she even added too much several times...

Of course, the cautious Satsuki had also conducted "experiments." The first person in the family to test the food—Uchiha Fugaku—after learning that the seemingly appetizing bento was made by his daughter specifically for that "yellow-haired brat" Uzumaki Naruto, one wonders what complex feelings he had?

He managed to suppress the twitching on his face and the discomfort in his throat, and calmly gave the evaluation that "it tastes pretty good"! Only after Zuo Yue left did he gulp down a large pot of water, revealing an extremely painful expression.

Naruto's hand holding the chopsticks trembled slightly, but he forced himself to steady it. Just then, he heard Satsuki ask expectantly, with a hint of nervousness, "How is it? Does the taste... suit your palate?"

Looking into Satsuki's bright, expectant black eyes, Naruto couldn't bring himself to say anything that would discourage her. He forced down the cloyingly sweet tamagoyaki in his mouth and managed a smile that looked as natural as possible. "...Um, it's...not bad...not bad."

Lost in her joy, Satsuki failed to notice the forced smile and the barely perceptible pain beneath Naruto's expression. Instead, she was emboldened by Naruto's "affirmation," and with a blush of shyness and excitement, she suggested, "I-really? Then...then I can cook more from now on! That way, Naruto, you won't have to go through the trouble of cooking for yourself when you come back from missions!"

"Pfft—cough cough cough!" Naruto almost choked on his own saliva when he heard this, and his heart skipped a beat! Eating this every day? It'll kill someone!

He quickly waved his hand, "No, no, no! No need, no need! I appreciate your kindness, Zuo Yue! But let me handle such a small matter as cooking! I prefer cooking, and I'm quick at it! Really! How can I let you go through all this trouble every day!"

Perhaps Naruto's refusal was too swift and resolute; the unusual tone in his voice finally caught Sasuke's attention. She carefully observed Naruto's face, which was still trying to maintain a smile but subtly revealed a hint of paleness and stiffness, and then recalled the seemingly extremely difficult movements he had made when swallowing earlier…

A thought suddenly struck her, making her heart sink. Naruto's expression... wasn't it a little too forced? Could it be...?

Almost instinctively, with the agility of a ninja, she swiftly reached out and snatched the chopsticks from Naruto's hand!

Naruto, still suffering from the unbearably salty aftertaste in his mouth, was a beat too slow to react. By the time he realized what Satsuki was about to do and panicked, he tried to stop her—"Wait! Satsuki, don't—!"

It's too late.

Without the slightest hesitation, Satsuki quickly popped the bento tamagoyaki into her mouth...

"Ugh...!"