Ch.64

--Zach POV--

The day after our conversation with Yao and then Hecate we started to bring the employees outside to see the city. The culture shock was very evident as their gazes flickered to the skyscrapers and cars that were all around us. I purposefully brought small groups out one at a time so that way they looked like tourists and I was guiding them around the city. Luckily with their ninja training, they were able to adapt well and learn the information I was giving them. Everyone was fascinated by the cars and how it transported people around. That just made me look to Tsunade and give her the biggest smile I could.

Tsunade: "No!"

Zach: "But dear, it would be reinforced to protect our babies when we go somewhere."

That made her falter, I pumped my fists in my head.

Tsunade: "We'll talk about it later."

I pumped my actual fists at that and took her by the hand as we continued to show the ninjas around. Me and Tsunade traded off who would push the double stroller with the kids in it and I answered all the questions the ninjas asked. The whole tour took about two hours, I at least did this for the next couple of days to get everyone acclimated. Tsunade and the children joined us for a couple more of them, but the majority I did was solo. I also took them on tours of London and they were able to see the way the British were.

Once we were getting closer to opening I started to work a little in my workshop. I wanted to get started on having an inventory of combat knives, daggers, swords, but mainly focused on having full cutlery sets and kitchen knives. I had made two display cases, one for each window, to showcase my work. Another reason I decided to forge a bit was to make sure the sound of me beating the metal wouldn't disrupt the atmosphere. The first day I had Tsunade and the kids sit in the dining room at different distances to test it out. Once I came out I went over to them and asked how it was.

Tsunade: "It's really not that bad, somehow the sound is the same anywhere we sit but I believe that's because of the gods. The sound is there and you can hear it, but it's not overbearing or even that loud. It's just enough to pique your interest enough to go check out the sound."

I had them go to the London side and test it out too, the results were the same and I was ecstatic. The plus side about having my forge in the middle of the two dining areas was that it was really easy to gauge the time of day, and if I need to make myself present in one of the restaurants. It was also easy to gauge my time because there was a huge ass clock that I suspect Hecate added after Tsunade and her became friends because it sure as hell wasn't there before.

A couple of weeks before I planned for us to open I decided to do two soft openings. I had used my godly connections to book the most famous food critics and alcohol connoisseurs on the planet. When word got out that the famous critics would be flying into London and New York to try Kajiya's food they started to camp outside the front doors. I had to restrict the staff from taking their outings until all this had blown over and the restaurants opened up fully.

The day of the first soft launch had arrived faster than I expected. Tsunade had brought the twins to Kayla's home where we had Karin and Hinata babysitting them for the night. As we were about to leave our home Tsunade stopped me and turned me to face her. She gave my suit a once over and straightened my jacket and tie. She then looked me in the eyes and gave me a radiant smile.

Tsunade: "You'll nail this dear."

I quirked an eyebrow at that and she softly hit my chest in admonishment. But her mischievous smirk didn't escape my sight. I then leaned down and kissed her softly.

Zach: "Only if you're by my side."

Tsunade blushed at that and walked hand-in-hand out of our home.

--Pier Dubois POV--

Here I am in London standing outside this restaurant named Kajiya. A mysterious request came through my office to review one of the two restaurants that they were opening. The sheer amount of money they transferred for me to review this restaurant made me take the offer right away. It also made me want to grade this restaurant even harsher than any I had before, people, who think they can bribe ME Pier Dubois better think twice. I am one of the world's foremost food and alcohol critics, my word will either make or break a restaurant.

My time waiting outside of the restaurant was pleasant as colleagues who I haven't seen in years were in attendance. We all shared the same thought of harshly grading this restaurant for being so pompous with their offer. Once everyone was finally gathered, and the press somewhat satiated, because let's be honest they never are, the door to the restaurant opened. It revealed a very fit young man that had a well-trimmed beard and a scar down his left eye but his suit looked immaculate. I didn't expect anything less with the amount of money he's throwing around. What really took my breath away was the woman standing next to him. She was around 160 cm tall with a nice bust and a black qipao that looked like it was painted on her. The woman's blonde hair was held up in a bun by two beautifully crafted hair sticks and you could get lost in her eyes for days.

(A/N: Is it bad that I forgot what Zach looks like?)

Pier: "Why are all the good ones taken"

I couldn't help but mutter under my breath as I saw the matching rings on the man and woman's left hands. Looking around at my colleagues I could guess they felt the same way as me, but some of the shadier critics had stars in their eyes at the sight of her. I just shook my head at them and felt sorry for the couple. Before any of us could continue our musings the man spoke up.

???: "Hello everyone, I want to thank you for coming. My name is Zachary Briggs and this my wife Tsunade Briggs. We'd like to welcome you to our restaurant Kajiya."

I already liked the man, he didn't stand fan-fare and didn't try to play up to the cameras. I quickly got in line with my longtime colleague Raphael. The first hurdle of getting everyone into the restaurant went by nicely. When it was our turn to enter I was shocked at how the decor had a warm and inviting feel to it. Looking around I saw the waiters in suits that would make many millionaires jealous. The waitresses were simply elegant in their kimonos and almost rivaled the owner's wife Tsunade. By appearances so far I would rate this restaurant as one of the best. The hostess had guided us to a table that was by the bar and right next to a window that looked in what I would assume was a forge by the placement of an anvil in the middle of the room. I turned to Raphael with a questioning look.

Pier: "I wonder if it is actually used, or if it's just decoration."

Raphael just shrugged as he took his seat and I followed and took mine. The hostess placed two separate menus in front of us, they were the usual drink and food menus. When I was looking down the drink menu I saw none of the brands I was familiar with. It was all some brand called DIO and I was fairly curious about that. The restaurant spent so much money, why would they not go with a no-brainer top-of-the-shelf alcohol?

Before I could go down the rabbit hole of their choices a woman in the black kimono with white cranes came to our table. She was a little shorter than the owner's wife Tsunade and had black hair with dark eyes. She gave us a radiant smile and a small bow then introduced herself.

???: "Hello, I'm Mikoto and I'll be your waitress tonight. Is there anything I can get you two to drink?"

Raphael was caught in a daze by the beauty, but my years of being married to my ex-wife saved me. I cleared my throat to hopefully knock Raphael out of his stooped.

Pier: "Yes Mikoto, I would like to try the DIO Blood Red Wine."

Raphael had come out of his stooped and ordered the DIO Scotch, neat. Mikoto thanked us and went off to get our drinks. While she was gone I went through the menu to see what they had. It seemed to be a traditional Japanese restaurant with sushi, ramen, and soba. For some reason, I had a hankering for the Miso Ramen that was listed in the ramen section.

Once Mikoto came back with Raphael's scotch and poured my wine, I thanked her and told her I was ready to order. She took my order of Ramen and Raphael's selection of sushi and made her way to put the order in. I slowly grabbed the wine and brought it up to my nose. With a sniff I felt like my mind had been blown by all the fragrances, it was the first time I was salivating just by smell alone. I swirled the glass and the smell permeated the air, even more, it took all I had not to drink it down right there. Maintaining my image I put the glass to my lips and slowly tilted it, letting just a tiny drop hit my tongue. The wine tasted so good that I couldn't help but tilt it back for more of it.

Pier: "Sacre bleu, Raphael this is amazing!"

I looked over to my table mate running into the same trouble I was. It looked like he was trying so hard not to devour his scotch I had to chuckle. Before we could collaborate on our drinks there was movement in the middle of the dining room as Zach and Tsunade stood there.

Zach: "Hello everyone, I see that most of you have a drink by now. I'll let you know that they are only sold in my restaurants and will not be sold outside of it. Also, some of you may be wondering why I called these restaurants Kajiya. Kajiya is Japanese for Blacksmith, and that is what I am and the forge is a working forge that I will work in. I will demonstrate it here in a bit but think of this restaurant like Medieval Times in the United States. It will be dinner and a show when I'm working. Though the wine won't be for sale, my smithing work will be. There is a showcase at the base of the window for you to see my work. Chefs, I believe you will really love my work."

He was so charismatic you couldn't help but want to throw your money at him. I looked over at the window next to me and I saw the showcase he was talking about. Judging the kitchen knives that were in it I almost didn't believe that he made them. Being a food critic meant you had to understand every process of the food, bad cuts of meat, and worsen the taste. Looking at these knives it seemed like they could cut through anything with ease. After I had my fill of the view I turned away from the window to see many of the critics who were chefs coming over and admiring the view of the knives.

Eventually, after pestering the owner enough he brought two knives out, a cutting board, and a thick piece of meat. He then handed a knife to the infamous Gordon Ramsey and Robert Irvine. The two went to town on the slabs of meat, cutting it straight through the middle like it was butter, slicing thin slips that you could see through. You name the test, they put the knives through it and it passed with flying colors. I was half tempted to give all the money I received back to him and take a set of knives instead. Looking at the chefs I could see they more than considered it and were handed forms to fill out for custom orders.

After the bustle of the chefs clamoring at the knives ended the room became more of a buzz. Everyone seemed to have loosened up and decided to enjoy everything as it came. Zach had disappeared in the back while Tsunade was floating around the room making an appearance. I noticed she would handle the more... Problematic tables, while the original servers would help out elsewhere. She handled the leches with a smile and never once broke character, I had to applaud her at that. The way the man threw around money he could sink any one of us, and they're too horny and dumb to realize that.

As our food arrived I saw movement in the forge. It was Zach entering from the back in jeans, a white shirt, work boots, and a leather apron. I watched him curiously as he went to what looked like a storage closet and pulled out a couple of bars of metal. He then brought them to the furnace and tossed them in to heat them up. I was captivated at watching how he flowed around the forge like a fish in water.

I unconsciously started to eat the ramen as I watched Zach work the forge. When the noodles first hit my mouth I was jolted out of my stooper and looked down at the ramen. The texture of the noodles was exquisite, and the broth was nothing to laugh at. I could not find any fault with the dish whatsoever and decided not to overthink it and just enjoy the whole experience that was Kajiya. I dug into the food with no regret and struggled to keep my manners up and not slurp everything down.

--Later that Night--

When I got to the hotel after my visit to Kajiya I was still giddy from the experience. With the experience fresh on my mind, I sat down at the little desk and started to write my review. Of course, it would be a fantastic one, I will brag to everyone about my experience.

[ Kajiya clenches my taste buds and heart.

The owner of the restaurant named Kajiya, which means blacksmith in Japanese, is named Zachary Briggs and he runs the restaurant with his wife Tsunade Briggs. They named the restaurant that because of the unique atmosphere that they've brought to the restaurant. One side of the wall is an honest to-god working forge that Zach forges in. He likened it to Medieval Times, a dinner and a show. He sure downplayed it, when he started to work during our dinner I was fascinated and couldn't take my eyes of how elegant he was. If his restaurants fail I have no doubt he would still succeed in his smithing shop. Most of the top chefs have already placed custom orders with him and they hadn't even tasted his food yet! But speaking of food, I had the Miso Ramen and it was magnificent. I would rate it one of the best, if not best dishes I have EVER tasted, sorry mom you might have been dethroned. For my drink, I had a brand that will only be sold at Kajiya called DIO. I had picked out the nice red wine called "Blood Red Wine" and once they pour it in the glass you can smell it. The heavenly taste made it feel like Dionysus made it himself. I believe they named it DIO in homage to the Greek God, and I'd be positive that he would approve of the wine. To sum up everything, everyone should go to one of these restaurants at least once in their lives. You will not be disappointed.

Atmosphere: 5/5

Cleanliness: 5/5

Waitstaff: 5/5

Alcohol: 100/5

Food: 10/5

~Pier Dubois]

(A/N: Thank you guys like always! We're making our way back up the power rankings! Be sure to feed me your power stones. I love comments also, they bring me joy and more drive to continue writing.

Discord: https://discord.gg/Eph2esQ

-Pepto)