Ch.64 Gourmet Mafia

[Ding! New Quest: The Birth of the Gourmet Mafia.]

[Task: Successfully establish Kuku Shop branches in all five major ninja villages and form your own underground organization. They will grant you money, influence and fame.]

-Hidden Leaf Village (Completed)

-Hidden Sand Village (Not completed)

-Hidden Cloud Village (Not completed)

-Hidden Rock Village (Not completed)

-Village Hidden in the Mist (Not completed)

[Optional task: Each land has its original dishes or characteristic ingredients, now it's time to make them your own. Discover as many local specialties as possible!]

[Reward: Devil Fruit Awakening + Gourmet Judges Three Pack + Aqua Lagoon Salt (One piece) + Substantial and Comprehensive Increase in Host Strength]

[Optional Reward: Chef Nyanta (Log Horizon) + ??? (Depends on amount discovered.)]

[Due to the host's self-imposed restrictions, the time limit for carrying out this mission is three years.]

[Note: Borders be damned, fine dining is for everyone!]

Tony examined the mission and shrugged. He already had plans to do exactly that, so he was actually getting rewards conveniently.

Now, Tsunade assigned him a grade A mission which was to deliver a scroll to each village on different miscellaneous matters. The person who can take care of said scroll will either be the Kage or someone important enough to discuss with Tony opening his shop in the village, so again, it's convenient.

The trip was going to be kind of boring, since it wasn't just Karin who couldn't accompany him, neither would Anko and Tayuya. Since Tony removed the drawbacks of the Cursed Seal, Anko was able to access two new forms that made her more powerful and the best person to help her get familiar with them is Tayuya. At the same time, Anko would teach her some jonin knowledge that Tayuya did not have access to when she was under Orochimaru's orders.

But not everything is negative, since Anko finally allowed him to sign the snake summoning contract. She actually should have been able to sign it right after the chunin exam, but too much happened. She though she still has an outstanding favor from Anko to use. At the moment, she can only summon common snakes, nothing as huge as Manda and co. As soon as she travels to Ryuichi's cave, she will put it off for now.

She said goodbye to everyone and left the village, heading to her first destination: the grass village.

Oh yes, Tony did not forget the treatment Karin and her mother received. Now that he could roam free for a few years, it was the perfect time to act. After arriving at the grass village, Tony created some clones that transformed into civilians and were sent to investigate.

Unlike the five big villages, the grass village didn't have anything like a barrier around it, so it wasn't difficult to sneak into it. He basked in the sun with half a pineapple in hand as he drank the tropical fruit mix inside. After a few hours, the clones dissipated and he gained the memories of the observations from him.

"Looks like I won't have as many regrets as I thought." He shook his head irritably.

It was not only the ninjas of the place who acted with arrogance and thirst for power, even the civilians had a detestable attitude. Maybe that's why there were so few children, it's hard to find love when you're insufferable.

He knocked out the children and left them in a secluded place before proceeding with the plan.

"Summoning Technique: Forest of Gluttony!"

The ground of the grass village trembled, and a huge plant lifted up the village in its center. The ninjas were alarmed and tried to figure out what was going on, while Tony just waited.

And just as he deduced, it didn't take long for someone to take the food from the forest. After that person enjoyed it and nothing happened, more people followed.

Bad selection.

…Two days later…

"Have you heard the rumours?" The grass village has disappeared without a trace! Not even the buildings have been left behind.

"Who could have done such a thing?" And how did you find out?

"Kazuho's grandson's wife's wife's brother-in-law's cousin's sister's daughter told me."

Two women were gossiping in the inn while Tony sampled the local speciality, mushrooms in a wild berry sauce.

Nothing remarkable unfortunately.

The children of the grass village had been placed in an orphanage along with an anonymous sum of money large enough to cover their costs until their adulthood. Tony didn't have the heart to kill innocent children and he hoped he never would.

He currently was on his way to the capital of the country of fire, where he would open some shops before leaving for the village of sand in the country of wind. It would be very convenient to have a few places in a place with such commercial influence and where he could find many things.

As for why he decided to go to the sand village, it is because he is quite confident that it will be the easiest village of all. Sure, it doesn't have a great economy, but such a nutritious and stable food source was certainly attractive to them.

That, and the fact that they currently didn't have a Kazekage. He just needed to talk to the council or whatever was keeping the village running. Perhaps he would even pay Gaara and Temari a visit, he wanted to see if they would try to move against him.

Kakuro? Nobody likes Kankuro, he has been too influenced by Chiyo and his puppets.

After some thought, Tony decided to join a caravan that he had to make a stop at the Sand Village before continuing on his journey. The reason was simple, he didn't feel like walking under the scorching sun while his feet were baked on contact with the hot sand.

And speaking of hot sand, he heard that they have a type of cooking that consists of burying the ingredients in the sand to take advantage of the heat and cook it, he should give it a try to see if it's tasty enough.

Wait, maybe Gaara was inspired by that for his famous desert funeral move?

Crazy.

"So this is the sand village." Tony looked at the curious architecture and the people around him. Although he was wearing comfortable clothes for the heat, he tied the Konoha sash on his arm to be recognized and act as a "messenger" rather than a tourist.

He was about to start looking for the Kazekage's office to see how he would deliver Tsunade's scroll, when a voice called out to him much to his surprise.

"Tony?"