Chapter 779: NASM - 779

"Good thing I bought salt before we left — now we can actually flavour our meat. Food tastes terrible without it!" Hiroshi said with a grin while cleaning the meat thoroughly.

About ten minutes later, he had finished preparing all the rabbits. There was plenty of meat — definitely enough for both of them to eat their fill. He shook off the excess water and walked back over to Harumiko.

"Alright, now we’re ready to roast. It’ll take about thirty or forty minutes, and then we can eat," he told her cheerfully.

Harumiko nodded happily and found some clean, sharp branches to skewer the meat.

"Done! Now we just lay them over the fire and wait. Finally, that salt we bought is going to be useful!" she said as she arranged the meat on the grill.

Hiroshi went over to his pack, took out the bag of salt, and sat down beside the fire.

"You’re right. Tonight our food will actually have some flavour. Remember before, when we ate out here and everything was so bland? No salt at all — it was awful. But this time is different — tonight we’re going to eat properly!" he said with a smile.

Harumiko nodded in agreement and sat down next to him. Every now and then, she turned the meat slowly so it would cook evenly.

"Now we can just sit back and wait until it’s ready. From now on, we should always carry salt with us. We travel so much, we really need it — otherwise everything we eat tastes like nothing," she said, turning to look at him.

Hiroshi nodded — he completely agreed. Since they spent most of their time travelling, away from proper meals in villages, carrying seasoning was essential to make food enjoyable.

"We’ll bring plenty of spices and seasonings from now on — that way we can live well even on the road. And you know, we covered so much ground this afternoon... I think we might actually reach Konoha in less than three days," he said confidently.

He added a few more branches to the fire. The meat was already turning colour, and rich juices and fat were beginning to drip down.

"Look at that — we’ll be eating soon. The colour is perfect now, and all the juices are coming out, which makes it taste so much better. But don’t add the salt just yet — wait until it’s almost cooked, that way the flavour stays right," Harumiko said happily.

Hiroshi nodded and kept turning the meat from time to time so it wouldn’t burn.

"Once we’re home, we’re going to rest properly and spend lots of time with our families. It’s been over a year since we were last there," he said softly.

Harumiko smiled and nodded. "Don’t worry — we’ll stay a long time this visit. Long enough to do everything we want to do."

Hiroshi nodded back, his heart racing with excitement. In just a few days, they would finally be back home.

"It’s completely dark now. Thank goodness we lit this fire — we can’t see nearly as well as in the daytime, but at least we can see what’s around us. Not too bad at all," he said, glancing up at the sky.

She nodded gently. The sky had turned deep dark blue, and night had fully fallen — their vision was definitely limited now.

"It’s alright, don’t worry. I finished getting our sleeping spot ready earlier — I promise you’ll sleep really well. I even laid down a thick layer of soft grass up there. It should be way more comfortable than just lying on dry branches," she whispered with a smile.

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