Because he spoke the truth and was suspected of joking, and simply because Amanojaku refused to trust others, he earned a week’s worth of cold glares from Sasuke.
Amanojaku was about to raise a white flag and surrender.
Pity that no upright, impartial judge came down to prove his innocence.
Sasuke didn’t care whether this fellow was willing to tell him the truth or not anyway; in Orochimaru’s place, everyone possessed their own secrets.
If he continued to obsess over it like this, the only one troubled would be himself.
Uchiha Sasuke began to empty his mind; now that the mission was complete, he would continue his ninjutsu cultivation.
Right now, he still wasn’t strong enough and needed to continue learning more knowledge from Orochimaru.
Things had quieted down on his end, but Amanojaku couldn’t just act as if nothing had happened.
He didn’t want any rift to exist between himself and Sasuke-sama. Once a crack appeared in trust, it often wouldn’t heal properly with the passage of time; instead, it was even more likely to widen until it became an impassable chasm that neither party could bridge or cross.
He had indeed been far too anxious because of that illusion, and throughout that week, he hadn’t tried to mend their relationship; rather, after recovering his memories, he went to investigate certain things that he absolutely had to retrieve back.
He could use any means necessary for the sake of power, but he had to keep the original intention behind wanting power clearly in mind—he must never put the cart before the horse.
Thus, Sasuke discovered that the dishes and varieties appearing on the table were becoming increasingly numerous, growing ever more aligned with his palate, and damned if they didn’t also meet Orochimaru’s rigid nutritional balance requirements, leaving both Yakushi Kabuto and Orochimaru with no room to refute.
Even his beloved cherry tomatoes came in all sorts of flavors, their flesh plump and juicy, bursting with clear, sweet, and tart juice upon a light bite. He wouldn’t feel sick of eating them even for a month; in fact, he grew even fonder of them.
So much painstaking effort had been poured into this.
Of course, someone raised objections. Yakushi Kabuto wore a smile that didn’t reach his eyes as he stated: “We’ve been eating tomatoes for a month straight, Amanojaku-kun.”
Even the dishes had tomatoes added to them more or less for seasoning—could they switch to another flavor? Didn’t he notice that Lord Orochimaru’s face was about to turn the color of tomato leaves from eating them?
Where had Ōtsutsuki Amanojaku’s sense of propriety gone? Had he given it all to Uchiha Sasuke?!
Before Amanojaku could open his mouth, Sasuke coldly rebuked him: “Enough, freeloaders keep your mouths shut!”
Even without further explanation, the others could tell what his expression meant to convey: If you’re going to be so picky, go cook for yourself.
Yakushi Kabuto wasn’t stupid enough to fall into the same pit twice—he had never won an argument against this kid Sasuke, and even if he did win, there was no benefit, only earning a grudge from the kid.
Hence, he looked toward Orochimaru.
Orochimaru didn’t make a sound, and instead looked back at Amanojaku.
Circling around, they ended up right back where they started.
“Well, naturally everyone’s opinions have to be comprehensively considered.” Amanojaku wore a very troubled expression. Just as Yakushi Kabuto and Orochimaru both revealed flickers of hope, he lightly and nonchalantly stated: “However, everything must still primarily be based on Sasuke-sama’s wishes.”
Sasuke’s ice-cold, exquisite face softened considerably, and the black aura spreading around his body visibly diminished.
“Besides, the meals actually include things other than tomatoes; Sasuke-sama couldn’t possibly live on small tomatoes all day long either.”
So that last sentence was your actual intention! Yakushi Kabuto felt like tearing his hair out.
Orochimaru stepped in at the appropriate time to placate him: “Alright, alright. Amanojaku-kun still has to squeeze out time to cook every day, which is already very hard on him. Kabuto, you came here specifically because Amanojaku-kun’s cooking is good, right? Respecting his thoughts is what matters most.”
Yakushi Kabuto pushed up the round-rimmed glasses resting on the bridge of his nose and had nothing left to say.
The cylindrical glass water tank was embedded in the cave’s stone wall, the tank walls clear and thick, and the sealed container filled to the brim with crystal-clear water.
The water ripples inside swayed quietly, and the clear water that originally filled the vessel suddenly surged and gathered, reorganizing itself. The current climbed upward along the inner glass walls, gradually outlining a human silhouette.
Suigetsu half-solidified his form, turning his upper body into reality. His entire face pressed close to the cold, transparent glass, his cheeks nearly squished against the mirror surface, his brows and eyes lazy yet carrying a trace of banter. Wet short hair streamed water downward along his shoulders, and droplets slid windingly down the glass one after another.
He tossed his short white hair back, and the moment he opened his mouth, a mouthful of sharp shark teeth was revealed: “I say, Ōtsutsuki Amanojaku, the dishes sent over today won’t have tomatoes again, will they? Those are just your own failed experimental products made to curry favor with that Uchiha Sasuke! To actually make us suffer for it, aren’t you going too far?!”
He had never seen such an outrageous base manager; he was even more excessive and terrifying than Orochimaru used to be.
Feeding them under the fine-sounding guise of nutritional balance—it was obviously just that the tomatoes he had cultivated for that guy Sasuke earlier had yielded too much production, and the ones with poor flavor or substandard appearance had no choice but to become their rations.
It was simply heartbreaking for those who heard and tear-jerking for those who saw.
Amanojaku felt no remorse whatsoever. Standing outside the tank just like that, he watched Suigetsu throwing a tantrum with a beaming smile, not a shred of anger visible on his face: “Ah, if you don’t want to eat, forget it. When you’re hungry enough, you can eat anything.”
“Hey, come to think of it, shouldn’t everyone in the base only be eating soldier pill rations? I’m already being quite merciful.”
Suigetsu clenched his fists so hard they cracked. If not for the water-storage vessel crafted by Orochimaru restricting his freedom, he would have already rushed out and punched a hole right through this guy’s hypocritical face.
This bastard—after going out and being unconscious for a few days, he had become even more arrogant and malicious than before, truly detestable!
“Amanojaku.”
A youthful voice with a steady cadence devoid of fluctuations knocked into the eardrums of both men.
Suigetsu watched as the smile that had been extremely hypocritical just a moment ago shallowly dissolved, transforming into a sincere softness. You couldn’t even flip a book that fast.
Suigetsu was dumbfounded.
“Sasuke-sama.” This youth, who always looked down on them with his Byakugan, cast aside his previous arrogance and coldness. He probably wouldn’t show this much enthusiasm even upon seeing Orochimaru.
Sasuke walked out from the shadows of the corner, stepping unhurriedly over to the two of them.
He lowered his gaze to look at the food box Amanojaku was holding. Aside from the rice balls kneaded by hired cooks, the vast majority of the rest unexpectedly really were just tomatoes.
Sasuke: “…”
That guy Suigetsu’s protests weren’t entirely unreasonable either.
He reached out his hand, picked up a ruddy, translucent small tomato, and slowly popped it into his mouth—sweet and sour just right, delicious as ever.
“Since they don’t like eating them, there’s no need to force it,” Sasuke said unhurriedly. “I like all of these tomatoes; whatever can’t be finished can be sold off instead.”
Amanojaku naturally agreed in a single breath: “Alright.”
Suigetsu grew restless and eager: “I don’t want to eat soldier pills either!”
He was afraid that once the tomatoes were removed, this arch-demon Amanojaku would completely overturn their rations.
Stupid as he was, he knew who made the decisions here, so he gazed imploringly at Sasuke.
Amanojaku didn’t speak, quietly waiting for Sasuke to step forward and make the decision.
Yet Sasuke’s consciousness took a public leave of absence, his thoughts drifting far off elsewhere—Amanojaku seemed remarkably accustomed to a subordinate relationship, not acting like someone who only stumbled into taking on this enterprise after being assigned by Orochimaru, but rather carrying a propriety and courtesy carved into his bones, as natural and profound as his family’s Uchiha name following him, Uchiha Sasuke.
Perhaps he had spaced out for too long, as Amanojaku softly inquired: “What is it, Sasuke-sama?”
Sasuke steadied his mind and said, “Isn’t Orochimaru finding all sorts of ways to make money? Don’t mistreat them when it comes to food.”
The fate of experimental subjects was already tragic enough; who knew when they might return to the Pure Land, and Orochimaru’s money ought to be funneled back into them anyway.
Suigetsu eagerly raised his hand: “Then I want yogurt!”
Water droplets wound their way down from his arm, plunging along his shoulder line toward his bare chest, tracing past the tightly muscled gullies before finally vanishing into his abdominal muscles.
Amanojaku stepped over, blocking Sasuke’s line of sight.
Suigetsu: “?”
Sasuke: “?”
Amanojaku said with a smiling expression: “I will do whatever you request.”
“Ah, did you come over alone because you have something to discuss with me?”
This subject change was truly rather stiff, though Sasuke didn’t mind, nodding with an “en.”
Sasuke said calmly, “I’m not angry anymore, so you don’t need to go out of your way to do those troublesome things either.”
He could tell that Amanojaku had expended a great deal of mental energy on managing his affairs. If before he was merely a highly competent steward attentively taking care of his employer, now it was a cherishing and caring akin to family.
It was hard for him not to be moved by this.
Amanojaku’s eyes curved into crescent crescents as he spoke unhurriedly: “I am very happy to do these things for you.”
“Not trying to make amends because you were angry, but because my actions can make you happy.”
Sasuke revealed an indescribable expression, asking aloud with utter incomprehension: “Why, why on earth are you going to these lengths? The one who saved you was Orochimaru; as for me, I merely appeared in your life.”
He was no different from a familiar passerby appearing around Amanojaku, a small potted plant on a windowsill, or a wisp of breeze one happened to like, right?
Not to the point of being irreplaceable, nor to the point of painstakingly currying favor.
“As for that… wanting to explain it clearly might be a bit difficult. To coldly dissect emotion into concrete things—even the greatest literati would probably find it tricky.”
Sasuke couldn’t help frowning; he was merely asking for a reason, not needing some abstract explanation.
Amanojaku chuckled: “Put it this way: you are the most richly inked, breathtaking color in these white eyes of mine, the person I must protect. Leaving you, my world would forever return to pure white—this is something I cannot endure no matter what.”
Sasuke: “…… Aren’t your literary skills rather good?”
He probably understood it now: he had inexplicably become the destination of Amanojaku’s heart, completely unrelated to any debt of gratitude, nor viewable through conventional logic.
In short, the bizarrely built bond was absurdly eccentric as well.
“Forget it,” Sasuke said as he reminded the other party, “Don’t let guys like Yakushi Kabuto ride roughshod over you anymore.”
Ah, if it was about this matter, Amanojaku was actually quite grateful to Yakushi Kabuto and the others; otherwise, Sasuke wouldn’t have recovered his usual pleasant demeanor toward him so quickly.
Of course, he wouldn’t refute Sasuke’s words, and even wore a look of gratitude on his face.
“Rest assured, Sasuke-sama, I will only obey your commands.” This was the truth.
“And Orochimaru?”
“Just cooperation.” Half-true and half-false.
“You don’t need to do any extra things from now on.”
“Understood, strictly obeying your will.” This was a lie.