Chapter 146 Grilled Fish

When Ye Shan stood on the busy street, a feeling of loneliness arose. He didn't know what to do next, and he didn't know who to talk to about his troubles. So he just stood there absent-mindedly, looking at all kinds of people and the brightly lit streets.

Two small hands timidly grabbed the corner of Yeshan's clothes, interrupting his confusion. They were the hands of Kakashi and Obito.

Ye Shan came to his senses and realized that the dinner promised tonight had not been fulfilled. He felt a little guilty, so he squatted down, stretched out his hands and touched the hair of the two with a faint smile on his face.

"Sorry, we can't have barbecue. Let's go have grilled fish."

Kakashi and Obito nodded vigorously and followed Hayama closely towards the slightly crowded street. Soon, only the three figures of Jiraiya who was chasing after them were left.

"Oh, what is this all about!"

Jiraiya sighed, lost interest in eating, and went straight to find Orochimaru, hoping that his fellow friend could give the best answer.

Hayama walked on the street with Kakashi and Obito, and stopped when they came across a grilled fish restaurant. However, the owner apologized and told them that the chef had gone off work and could no longer accept customers.

Kakashi's eyes were filled with disappointment, and then he said softly: "Why don't we go eat ramen? I don't like grilled fish."

Ye Shan saw through Kakashi's insincere words and said to the boss, "It doesn't matter if the chef is off work. Please pack me a portion of the raw materials for the grilled fish and I'll pay for it."

Upon hearing this, the owner of the grilled fish shop happily went to prepare the ingredients. Soon he brought out a full baking tray and handed it to Ye Shan.

Ye Shan paid the money, carried the plate and led the two of them towards the Nanhe River, obviously intending to make the grilled fish himself.

The banks of the Nanhe River are still sparkling, with the sounds of flowing water, chirping insects and rustling caused by the wind interweaving together, making people feel relaxed and happy and intoxicated.

Ye Shan rolled up his sleeves, found a few stones of suitable size and arranged them into a simple stove, and told the two men, "Go catch some fish in the river. We will have an all-you-can-eat fish dinner tonight."

Kakashi and Obito cheered, took off their extra clothes leaving only shorts, and happily dived into the river. Under the bright moonlight, they had smiles on their faces that came from the bottom of their hearts, which made Yeshan's heart soften unconsciously.

It was easy for a ninja to catch fish. Soon, two fish that were still alive and kicking appeared in Ye Shan's hands, as if resisting the crisis he was facing.

Ye Shan squatted by the river, took out a kunai, first knocked the fish unconscious with the round tail to relieve their pain, and then ripped them open without hesitation.

Obito and Kakashi squatted beside Yeshan with their eyes wide open, their faces full of anticipation.

Ye Shan skillfully removed the fish's internal organs, scraped off the scales, and then carefully washed it with river water until all the blood foam was washed away before he stopped with satisfaction.

The kunai used for killing people became a cooking knife tonight. Ye Shan first cut the three fish into pieces to make it easier to season them, then stuffed the green onions, ginger and garlic into the fish stomachs, and finally spread the light soy sauce and other condiments evenly on the fish and marinated them for a while.

There is no convenient and quick oven to use in the Naruto world, but it still does not pose a problem for Ye Shan. He wraps the marinated fish with soaked kraft paper, and then concentrates the fire-attribute chakra on his left hand, and a simple and practical stove is formed.

Soon, a faint fish aroma emanated. Ye Shan stopped baking, tore off the kraft paper, and continued baking over low heat.

When the surface of the fish turned brown, Ye Shan took the baking tray given by the boss and put the fish in it. Then he added water to cover the fish, added celery, peppers, green onions, garlic, etc., placed it on the built stove, and started to cook.

After the water in the baking pan started to boil, Ye Shan added side dishes such as enoki mushrooms and vermicelli, and some salt, cumin powder and other seasonings. Then a plate of fragrant grilled fish was ready.

"Eat, eat!"

After hearing this, Obito hurriedly picked up the chopsticks and accurately picked up the fattest meat from the fish's belly, but he did not eat it himself. Instead, he put it to Yeshan's mouth.

"Master, you eat first."

A warm feeling passed through Ye Shan's heart. He swallowed the steaming fish in one gulp, but he grimaced because of the burn.

"It smells so good, please eat it quickly."

The two were already starving, and they had no resistance to the delicious grilled fish, so they started to eat it voraciously.

The small flame under the simple stove was still releasing its heat. Occasionally a naughty breeze blew by, blowing the thin flame all over the place, but it was never really extinguished.

Kakashi and Obito quickly ate up three fish weighing five kilograms each. Yeshan simply ate a few bites of vegetables and then lost his appetite. He lit a cigarette and watched them eat quietly.

To be honest, the grilled fish made by Yeshan didn't taste very good, at most it was not bad, but Kakashi and Obito thought it was the most delicious food they had eaten in recent years.

As Kakashi ate, his eyes became moist and a deep sadness appeared on his face.

"What's wrong?" Ye Shan asked softly.

Kakashi wiped his eyes and choked up, "I miss my father."

"When I was a child, my father often took me to camp in the territory of the Hatake tribe. At that time, we also hunted and cooked our own meals."

Ye Shan remained silent, not knowing what to say.

Obito put down his chopsticks. This was the first time in years that Kakashi mentioned his father in front of him, and he sounded so sad and nostalgic.

"Kakashi, don't cry. Ninjas can't cry."

It would have been better if Obito didn't say anything, but once he did, Kakashi could no longer suppress the sadness in his heart and sobbed with his hands covering his face.

In fact, the three people sitting by the fire tonight are simply a novel of Les Miserables. Three people cannot make up a living father, let alone a healthy mother, let alone a complete family.

But Ye Shan is lucky, at least compared to Kakashi and Obito, because he is a time traveler, not only does he have a strong mental endurance, but he also has a much weaker relationship with his biological parents. He will not miss his dead father when he eats some delicious food at a certain time, nor will he think of the warm daily life when he gets along with others during the bright spring days, nor will he feel lonely when he is alone at night, so it is really difficult for him to sympathize with Kakashi's feelings.

Yes, Yeshan's heart has been hardened as iron by the hardships of the years. He seems to be just as Hatake Sakumo said, gradually losing the kindness that an excellent ninja should have, and turning into an emotionless killing machine.

Yes, at this moment Ye Shan realized that even in the ninja world where the strong are respected, force cannot solve all problems. It may be able to solve the enemy, but it can never solve the wounds in people's hearts.

The dead cannot be resurrected, the past cannot be regretted, and the embodiment of ninjutsu can only destroy rather than save. This is the reality.

At this moment, Yeshan figured out why such a brilliant figure as the First Hokage would come up with such a boring and unnecessary thing as the Will of Fire, and he also understood what the core of the Will of Fire was.

The core of the Will of Fire is that ninjas should retain some humanity. As Hatake Sakumo said, if a ninja has no humanity in his heart, if a ninja's heart is wrapped in hatred, then he is just a violent machine and not a ninja.

To become a ninja, you must first be a human being. The order cannot be confused.

Once upon a time, Ye Shan would feel sad when he saw the corpses of his companions in front of him; once upon a time, Ye Shan would feel pity for the wild cats and dogs that died unfortunately; once upon a time, Ye Shan would feel indignant because the flowers on the roadside were destroyed for no reason.

These are the emotions that a normal person should have, but they have disappeared from Ye Shan for a long, long time, so long that he has forgotten that he is still a human being, not just a simple ninja.

Of course, Ye Shan did not think that his previous behavior was wrong, nor did he think that his killing was absurd, and he would not deny his own ninja way. He just thought of Hatake Sakumo who once led him out of trouble on this moonlit night.

Ye Shan is still Ye Shan, he will always be himself, there is no doubt about that.

A mature soul cannot tolerate even the slightest bit of other people's thoughts, but Kakashi and Obito can.

In the past, Yeshan swore in front of thousands of heroic spirits of the Hatake clan that he would implement the Ninja Way for Hatake Sakumo during his lifetime and carry forward the Ninja Way that he defended with his life, but he seems to have failed over the years.

Hatake Sakumo's grave was placed by Yeshan at the highest honor place in Konoha Village with great care; Hatake Sakumo's achievements were placed in the Tower of Heroes by Yeshan; Hatake Sakumo's stigma was washed away by Yeshan, but his ninja way still did not receive recognition from the village.

"A ninja should not become a mission machine. A ninja's sacrifice can only be because he is willing to sacrifice, and it should never be sacrificed [for something]."

This is what Hatake Sakumo said to Ye Shan and what he did in that dangerous canyon.

Although Yeshan did not agree with Hatake Sakumo's ninja way, he had great respect for this true ninja in his heart. He admired him so much that these words were still engraved in his heart after so many years.

Each generation has its own mission and responsibility. Ye Shan grew up in the bloody storm, and his hands are stained with the blood of his enemies and even his companions, but he has the responsibility to prevent the next generation from having to do the same.

So, after a long silence, he said these words.

“May you be the breeze in the mountains, may you be the water in the stream, may you be the sun in the sky, may you be the stars in the sky, and may you be the lark singing loudly without worries, not being defined, moving forward courageously, burning freely, shining in the darkness, and singing loudly.”

"May you be a book of poetry and writing, a brush stained with ink, a sword hidden in a scabbard, or a bamboo in the wind and rain, inspiring thoughts, freely expressing one's thoughts, showing one's sharpness, and being strong and upright."

"You two are the best of the new generation of Konoha. I ask you to remember your tragic experiences and be strict with yourself and lenient with others in the future so that the next generation will not have to suffer these hardships."

Kakashi stopped crying and stared at Ye Shan with wide eyes, savoring his words carefully in his heart. Even though there were many things he didn't understand, he engraved them all in his heart and dared not forget even a little bit.

Uchiha Obito frowned and asked his doubts: "Then what should we do specifically?"

Ye Shan was speechless, and smiled faintly: "I don't know."

After thinking for a while, he said seriously: "Everyone's experience is different, which leads to different mentality and worldview. I will not use my experience to mislead you."

As he spoke, Ye Shan pointed to the small flame that was still strong and releasing heat.

"Just like this small flame, sometimes cheerful, sometimes swaying, sometimes vigorous, sometimes dying, the things it encounters lead to these different forms. You are still young, too many things are waiting for you ahead, and too many setbacks are also waiting for you."

"I just hope that you can truly follow your inner thoughts and truly live like a human being, a person with flesh and blood."

Seeing that the two were still confused, Ye Shan laughed a few times and stopped preaching. He rubbed their hair with a gentle look on his face.

"Someone once said this to me, but I still haven't done it. You don't have to have too much psychological burden. Just do whatever you want. I'll take care of everything."

Kakashi and Obito understood this and laughed together.

"Master, please tell us about your childhood story." Obito begged.

Ye Shan pondered for a moment and felt that it was not appropriate to tell them about his experience, so he decided to sing a song for them. Of course, the song was sung in a language that had been passed down for five thousand years, and no one could understand it except Ye Shan.

"With a burning determination, I move towards"

"The most lenient execution ground"

"Cracked and shattered, all echoing hollowly"

"In the end, I was glad to see the sunset"

“Still Remaining on the Body”

"There's no time to tell the story"

“The most rugged peaks”

"I'm arrogant after helping you"

"The clear light of the sea and the full moon are poured into the cup of light"

“There is the most lonely snow mountain”

"I have listened to you and I reciting the chapter"

“The scenes that amaze the world are nothing but ordinary”