Sakumo glanced at the dazzling array of agricultural products on the shelves.
The "Hokage No. 1 Special Supply Rice," with full grains that seemed to glow under the light.
The "Konoha Pork" pork belly, wiped clean and glistening with oil, each piece precisely cut with the White Fang short sword, with a weight error of no more than one gram.
And those cucumbers, tomatoes, and lettuce freshly picked from the constant temperature barrier, still covered with glistening dew...
"Sakumo, don't be nervous."
Seemingly noticing his mood, Nara Shikaku walked to his side and patted his shoulder.
"You've already done very well."
He pointed to the fruitful results on the shelves and said lazily, "You've shown everyone that the power of a ninja is not just for fighting."
"That's right, Sakumo!"
Akimichi Torifu also walked over, his booming voice filled with confidence. "Don't worry! With me, 'Konoha's Number One Gourmet,' here, today's opening will definitely be a complete success!"
Looking at the encouraging smiles on his two best friends' faces, the nervousness in Sakumo's heart was gradually replaced by a sense of pride.
Yes, he was not alone.
Behind him stood the entire farm, the Ino-Shika-Cho, the Inuzuka and Uchiha clans, and even... that omnipotent Lord Hokage.
Hatake Sakumo took a deep breath, stepped forward, and grasped the heavy door.
"Open for business!"
With his command, the shop door was slowly pulled open.
Outside, the tide-like crowd of villagers who had been waiting for a long time instantly saw red when they saw the high-quality and inexpensive agricultural products on the shelves.
"Charge!!"
Someone was the first to shout.
In the next second, the crowd surged into this brand-new shop, packing the originally spacious space until not a drop of water could trickle through.
A "war" centered around eating began.
The shop instantly turned into a lively battlefield.
Voices were loud, the noise shook the sky, a scene even more exaggerated than the graduation speech at the Ninja Academy.
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't push! Don't push! Everyone line up! There's enough for everyone!"
Akimichi Torifu shouted at the top of his lungs, his booming voice almost lifting the roof.
The villagers' enthusiasm was simply too high.
They looked at the dazzling array of high-quality agricultural products on the shelves, priced so cheaply it was outrageous, and their eyes turned red.
"Is this our village's 'Hokage No. 1' rice? It's cheaper than the old rice from the grain store outside!"
"My god! This Konoha Pork pork belly looks amazing! This texture, this color! Boss, you didn't mark the price wrong, did you?"
"The tomatoes are big and red, give me two catties! No, five catties!"
"I want that piece of pork belly! Yes! The fattiest one hanging right in the middle!"
"Stop pushing! If you push again, I'll use Earth Release!"
"So what if you use Earth Release? I know Water Release too! Let's go outside and settle this?"
The farm direct sales store was bustling with noise, as lively as a summer festival.
The villagers' enthusiasm exceeded everyone's expectations.
They looked at the high-quality yet surprisingly cheap agricultural products on the shelves, their eyes shining with happiness and madness.
For most ordinary villagers, being able to buy better food with less money was the happiest thing in the world.
They carried baskets and cloth bags, buying frantically.
In a short while, the cucumbers and tomatoes in the vegetable section were sold out.
The rice bags in the grain section, stacked like a city wall, were also decreasing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"...Hiss."
Nara Shikaku, responsible for the cashier, looked at the line in front of him that stretched out of sight, feeling like his head was about to explode.
His brain, with an IQ of over two hundred, was currently being tortured to death by countless simple calculations like "how much for three catties of cucumbers" and "how much for five catties of pork with a 20% discount."
Although he kept muttering "what a drag," his hands were not slow at all. Giving change, bagging, all in one go, without any mistakes.
The perfect cooperation of the "Agricultural Big Three" made this seemingly chaotic buying spree orderly.
On the other side, the battle in the meat section was the fiercest.
Hatake Sakumo, the former assassination master, the White Fang of Konoha, was now standing seriously behind the cutting board.
What he held in his hand was not the White Fang short sword that had drunk countless blood, but an equally sharp boning knife specially used for cutting pork.
"Ma'am, you want three catties of front leg meat, right?"
"Yes, yes, yes! The piece with a mix of fat and lean!"
Sakumo nodded, his gaze swept over the huge piece of pork, and then, the knife fell.
Swish—!
A silver light flashed.
A piece of front leg meat, exactly three catties, no more, no less, was precisely cut by him and placed on the scale next to him.
The scale bar didn't move a bit.
"Wow—!"
The villagers lining up around him gasped in amazement.
"God-like skill! This knife work is amazing!"
"As expected of Lord Sakumo! Even cutting pork is like art!"
Sakumo ignored the surrounding praise. His expression remained calm, just silently carrying out the incredibly precise cutting work.
For him, whether it was cutting an enemy's throat or cutting pork, essentially, it was the ultimate pursuit of the word "precision."
It was just that the former brought death, while the latter brought... joy.
Watching the villagers with satisfied smiles on their faces after getting the pork, a wonderful sense of accomplishment also welled up in Sakumo's heart.
On the other side, Akimichi Torifu became the most popular "salesman" in the venue.
He stood behind a huge tasting counter, holding a freshly grilled, sizzling "Konoha Pork" skewer, introducing it to everyone with spit flying.
"Come, come, come! Take a look, take a look! Freshly baked 'Konoha Pork'! It eats the Nara family's secret forage, drinks the spring water of the Naka River, and does aerobic exercise with the Inuzuka family's ninja hounds every day! I guarantee you'll want more after eating!"
"The meat is firm, fatty but not greasy! Look at this snowflake texture! Smell this aroma!"
"If it's not delicious, come find me, Akimichi Torifu! I'll eat the signboard of this shop!"
His booming voice and heartfelt passion for food were extremely infectious.
The villagers drooled at his words and stepped forward to taste.
"Mmm! Delicious!"
"This meat... melts in your mouth!"
"Lord Torifu's skill is just right!"
"....."
"Hey, you have a good eye! This tenderloin is the most tender part of the pig! Take it back and make sweet and sour pork for your child, I guarantee he can eat two more bowls of rice!"
Infected by the enthusiasm of the Akimichi clansman, sales in the meat section climbed steadily.
Throughout the morning, the shop was in an atmosphere dominated by happiness and satisfaction.
It wasn't until noon that the crowd gradually dispersed.
The villagers walked out of the shop with big and small bags, satisfied.
Their faces beamed with the purest and most tangible happy smiles.
For them, the Will of Fire might be a bit distant.
But being able to buy better rice and pork with less money, and letting the children at home eat a bite of fresh vegetables.
This was the sense of belonging and collective feeling named "village" that they could feel.
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