Starving, About to Die

It seemed that even if he punched himself a thousand times, his Blood Essence wouldn't increase by even 1 point. Moreover, the effort spent punching himself a thousand times could be better used to train Taijutsu, which would yield a greater increase in Blood Essence.

However, given the nature of his "Cause and Effect Reversal," the more others trained and grew stronger, the weaker he might become from training.

"Could it be that Blood Essence and Defense only increase significantly when attacked by others, and not when I attack myself?" Watanabe guessed.

He felt regret. He had planned to exploit this bug and get stronger by staying home and constantly hurting himself, but now that path was blocked.

The improvement he gained from hurting himself at home for a day was less than what others gained from a morning run. Of course, it wouldn't work.

"If only there was a Taijutsu that was both powerful and damaging to the body. If I practiced such Taijutsu, I'd definitely get twice the results with half the effort."

Watanabe sighed inwardly. He didn't know the plot of the Naruto World, nor did he know if the Taijutsu he imagined even existed.

After pondering for a long time, Watanabe, while contemplating how to efficiently improve his strength with Cause and Effect Reversal, subconsciously entered a state of cultivation, refining the Chakra within him.

[Cultivating: Chakra (Blood Essence) -1, -2, -2...]

"Holy crap!"

Watanabe was suddenly startled. His Chakra wasn't much to begin with, and after only a short period of cultivation, a fifth of it was already deducted.

"What's the point of cultivating then!"

Watanabe immediately gave up, letting his mind go blank and thinking of nothing.

[Being Lazy: Chakra (Blood Essence) +3, +4, +3...]

"..."

Not bad, the Chakra increase at this moment was much more efficient than what he usually accumulated through cultivation.

"This isn't a bad way to get stronger either!"

Watanabe's eyes lit up, pleasantly surprised.

If he continued being lazy at this rate, he would soon surpass geniuses like Orochimaru and Tsunade in Chakra quantity, truly achieving an underdog's comeback.

However, ninjas aren't necessarily stronger the larger their Chakra reserves are; they also need to master advanced Ninjutsu. Take the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, for example. It's said he could understand and use all the Ninjutsu existing in Konoha, earning him the title of "Professor of Ninjutsu" and "Strongest Hokage."

"The Ninja Academy only teaches the basic Three Body Techniques. Advanced Ninjutsu are all held by the major ninja clans and the Konoha higher-ups. To learn advanced Ninjutsu, one must make outstanding contributions to the village or ally with other ninja clans. It's a bit difficult..."

Watanabe's civilian status was ultimately a limitation. Not only did he lack the Kekkei Genkai passed down through ninja clans, but he also found it difficult to even find a way to learn advanced Ninjutsu.

After hesitating for a moment, Watanabe stopped dwelling on it.

He would worry about Ninjutsu later. What he needed to do now was to increase his Chakra and Blood Essence as much as possible, so that when opportunities arose in the future, he would have enough strength to seize them.

With this thought, Watanabe became motivated, flipped over to a more comfortable position, and continued to lie flat.

[Being Lazy: Chakra (Blood Essence) +4, +5, +4...]

As Watanabe slacked off, time ticked by, and soon night fell, enveloping the room in darkness.

Watanabe suddenly remembered he hadn't eaten dinner. Just as he was about to go to the kitchen to cook instant noodles, at that moment--

[Being Hungry: Satiety +4, Stamina +2, Weakness -3...]

Watanabe blinked, incredulous. "There's such a good thing?!"

If he didn't need to eat, then he wouldn't have to worry about making a living at all. He was so poor right now that he could barely afford food, and that wasn't an exaggeration.

He then carefully felt his stomach. It didn't feel hungry at all; instead, it felt as if he had just eaten a huge meal and was stuffed.

"Skipping three meals a day, how much money will that save me!"

Watanabe felt happy just thinking about it.

However, he couldn't stay happy for long, because as time passed, the feeling of fullness in his stomach grew stronger, as if a person who had already eaten was still continuously consuming food.

[Being Hungry: Satiety +5, Stamina +3, Weakness -2...]

"I can't take it anymore. If I don't eat soon, I'll be stuffed to death."

Watanabe felt extremely uncomfortable from being stuffed, even more so than when he was hungry. Gritting his teeth, he rolled out of bed and went to the kitchen.

Only after eating two bowls of steaming hot instant noodles did his stomach return to normal.

[Eating: Hunger +15, Weakness +5, Stamina -6...]

"If I keep eating, will I starve myself to death?"

Rubbing his flat stomach, Watanabe felt both curious and depressed.

He had originally thought he could use the "Cause and Effect Reversal" to skip three meals a day, but it seemed the expenses for food and drink were still unavoidable.

Others would starve to death if they didn't eat; he would be stuffed to death.

Cause and Effect Reversal, it truly lives up to its name.

Time rewound to the evening.

In the Hokage Building, Hiruzen Sarutobi finished his day's work and began reviewing the reports submitted by the Ninja Academy teachers.

Regardless of the grade, the Ninja Academy held two practical sparring sessions each academic year, with the aim of discovering potential talents within the school. After all, the ninja academy students represented the next generation of Konoha.

In addition to serving as Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi was also the principal of the Ninja Academy. Today, Hiruzen was in his prime, incredibly capable.

He first reviewed the combat situation in Class 4-A. He had been keeping an eye on Tsunade all these years. Tsunade's identity was truly special; as the granddaughter of the First Hokage, Hashirama, she was born to be the center of attention.

In fact, Hiruzen had wanted to take Tsunade as his personal disciple long ago, to cultivate her into his confidante, teaching her just as Tobirama had taught him. However, Mito Uzumaki disagreed.

Only a few years had passed since the end of the First Great Ninja War, and the five great nations were enjoying a brief and precious peace. Mito Uzumaki wanted Tsunade to have a carefree childhood, to let her stay in the Ninja Academy until graduation like a normal child. Besides, Tsunade was already being taught by Mito at home, so she didn't lack a teacher in Hiruzen.

Despite his helplessness at Mito's refusal, Hiruzen dared not force the issue. If there was anyone the Hokage feared in Konoha, it would undoubtedly be Mito. The First, Second, and Third Hokage had all been intimidated by her.

"Hmm? This child named Watanabe is quite a promising talent."

Looking at the report submitted by Osaka Rukawa, Hiruzen murmured to himself.

He had expected Tsunade to defeat the opponent with overwhelming force in combat. To his surprise, Watanabe, who fought Tsunade, was extraordinarily tenacious. He was sent flying again and again, only to get back up each time. He even asked Tsunade to go all out and not hold back, wanting to lose honorably.

Hiruzen knew Osaka Rukawa well and understood that he was an excellent teacher who dealt with facts. His personally written report would certainly not be fabricated. The actual situation at the time was likely even more moving than what he had written.

Hiruzen lit his pipe and exhaled a puff of smoke.

He naturally admired tenacious people like Watanabe. His father, Sasuke Sarutobi, had been a renowned iron-blooded hero during the Warring States period. Although he had originally intended to focus on Tsunade, he unexpectedly discovered a potential seed that caught his eye.

"After graduation, I can assign an elite jonin to be his team leader. How far he can grow will depend on his own abilities."